Indiana Naturalization Records and Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Indiana

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains seven naturalization indexes of the Northern and Southern Districts of the U.S. District Court in the state of Indiana. The Indexes are part of Record Group 21 Records of District Courts of the United States and was acquired of the National Archives at Chicago.


 * Northern District
 * South Bend Division, Index to Petitions for Naturalization, 1955-1967 5682644
 * South Bend Division, Index to Petitions for Naturalization,1955-1991 5682646
 * Hammond Division, Index to Petitions for Naturalization,1907-1985 5890428
 * Fort Wayne Division, Index to Petitions for naturalization, 1930-1984 5674638
 * Hammond Division, Lafayette Term,Index to Petitions for Naturalization,1956-1984 5687052


 * Southern District
 * Indianapolis Division,Index to Declarations of Indention and Petitions for Naturalization,1927-1992 4481511
 * Indianapolis Division, Index to Declarations of Intentions and Petitions for Naturalization,1907-1962 4478178

What Can these Records Tell Me?
These records usually include the following information:


 * Full name of citizen
 * Residence at the time of naturalization
 * Birth place
 * Admission date
 * Certificate date
 * Name of court
 * Petition number
 * Registration number
 * Signature

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date and place of naturalization

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Name Range

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

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

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing this Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information found in the record to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests.
 * Use the record to learn your ancestor’s foreign and “Americanized”.
 * Use the record to learn the place of origin and find their church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and probate records.
 * Use the record to see if other family members who may have immigrated with the person you are looking for are listed and have additional information or leads; you may also find additional information on new family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived. Then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts, then in state, county, or city courts. An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process.
 * Check other possible ports of entry
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

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

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