Washington, Western District, Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of naturalization records and indexes of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1853-1957 for Seattle and Tacoma. These records correspond to NARA publication M1542 and is part of Record Group 21 Records of the District Courts of the United States.


 * Seattle, rolls, 1-121
 * Tacoma, rolls 121-153

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Records may contain the any of the following:

How Do I Search This Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The location or date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page'''. br>
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Record type, year range and volume number or letter

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.

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 the Person 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 the Person 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 Washington, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Washington Archives and Libraries.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

"Washington, Western District, Naturalization Records, 1853-1957." Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Citing NARA microfilm publication M1542. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

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