Michigan, Eastern District, Naturalization Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains images of soundex cards to naturalization petitions. A guide to using a soundex appears at the beginning of most of the image ranges within this collection. Corresponds with NARA publication M1917: Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995. Images 5-19 contains instructions for using the soundex. For additional information on soundex indexes see the wiki article Soundex.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Naturalization The records usually include:
 * Full name of citizen
 * Date naturalized
 * Name of court
 * Certificate number

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of immigration
 * The approximate date of naturalization
 * The place where the naturalization occurred

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?
Use naturalization records to:
 * Use the information in this index to locate your ancestor's actual naturalization record
 * Learn an immigrant’s place of origin
 * Confirm their date of arrival
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests
 * Immigrants could naturalize in any court that performed naturalizations. That included city, county, state and federal courts. Begin by looking for naturalization records in the courts of the county or city where the immigrant lived
 * Look first for the petition (second papers), because they are usually easier to find in courts near where the immigrant eventually settled
 * After 1906, the declaration can be filed with the petition as the immigrant was required to submit a copy when he submitted the petition
 * Because immigrants were allowed to naturalize in any court, they often selected the most convenient court. If they worked somewhere other than their residence, they may have gone to a court closer to work to naturalize
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived, and then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts and 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

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names and for nicknames
 * Try a different index if there is one for the years needed. You may also need to search the naturalization records year by year
 * Search the indexes of nearby localities

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Michigan.
 * Michigan Guided Research
 * Michigan Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Newman, John J. American Naturalization Records;1790-1990: what they are and how to use them. Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1998. FS Library 973 P47na
 * Szucs, Loretto Dennis They became Americans: finding naturalization records and ethnic origins Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, c1998 FS Library 973 P47t
 * United States. District Court. Eastern District. Southern Division, Detroit. Index cards to the naturalization petitions, 1907–1995
 * United States District Court. Eastern District. Northern/Southern Division. naturalization records : index, 1965-1984. NAID 74883380
 * U.S. District Court. Eastern District. Declarations of intention, 1911-1930
 * U.S. District Court. Eastern District. Southern Division. Repatriation records, 1918-1943
 * U.S. District Court. Eastern District. Southern Division. Naturalization records, 1837-1999
 * U.S. District Court. Eastern District. Naturalization records, 1913-1931

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954
 * Michigan, Eastern and Western Districts, Naturalization Records, 1837-1993

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Directory of courts having jurisdiction in naturalization proceedings. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1963

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.