Texas, Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas

What is in the Collection?
The collections consists of naturalization records for Dallas and San Antonio from the National Archives - Southwest Region. The collections are from Record Group 21 Records of District Courts of the United States.

U.S. District Court for the Dallas Division of the Northern District:
 * Index to petitions, 1908-1989, NAID 4509780
 * Declarations of intention from 1906 -1922, NAID 566197

U.S. District Court for the San Antonio Division of the Western District:
 * Index to petitions covers 1933-1985 NAID 4424085

Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. Counties recorded naturalization procedures in the court records as legal proof of citizenship. Immigrants to the United States were not required to apply for citizenship. Of those who did apply, many did not complete the requirements for citizenship.

Naturalization to become a U.S. citizen was a two-part process: the Declaration of Intent to Naturalize, or First Papers, and the Naturalization Record (including the Naturalization Petition), or Final Papers. The First Papers were normally filed five years before the Final Papers because of the five-year residency requirement to become a citizen.

No centralized files existed before 1906. In 1906 federal forms replaced the various formats that had been used by the various courts. Copies were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), creating a central file for naturalization papers. The INS is now known as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Naturalization records are generally well preserved, but some records may have been lost to fire or other disasters. The index is very accurate and the information that was current at the time of naturalization was usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors or other circumstances.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The information generally found in the indexes includes the following:


 * Name
 * Date
 * Volume
 * Document or page number

Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petitions usually include the following:


 * Name of the immigrant
 * Date and place of birth
 * Port of departure
 * Name of ship
 * Port of entry and arrival date
 * Date of Declaration of Intent or Naturalization
 * Personal description of immigrant
 * Age, occupation and marital status of immigrant
 * Name of spouse
 * Last foreign residence
 * Current residence
 * Names of witnesses
 * Signature of judge or court official

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The full name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate immigration and naturalization dates.
 * The ancestor’s residence.

If you do not know this information, check the 1900 or 1910 census and calculate the possible year of naturalization based on the date of immigration. The 1920 census may tell you the exact year of immigration or naturalization.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then: ⇒Select the "Record Category" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Volume, and Year Range" category

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as emigrations, port records, ship’s manifests, birth, christening, census, and land records.
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Texas, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Texas Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: Top of Page