United States, New England, Petitions for Naturalization - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of naturalization records from Federal, state and local courts filed in the National Archives Northeast Region which includes: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, NARA NAID 4752894 and is part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The collection covers the years 1787 to 1906. The collection is indexed in NAID 4752892 Index to Naturalizations in New England Courts, 1939-1942.


 * Work Projects Administration. Copies of Petitions and Records of Naturalization in New England Courts, 1939–ca. 1942nAID 4752894

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

Petitions for naturalization • 2

Declaration of Intent • 3

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know: If you do not know this information, check the 1900 or 1910 census and then 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.
 * The full name of your ancestor
 * The approximate immigration and naturalization dates
 * The ancestor’s residence

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?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * 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
 * If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct
 * Continue to search the naturalization records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have naturalized in the same area or nearby
 * The witnesses named on naturalization records may have been older relatives of the person in the naturalization process. Search for their naturalizations
 * You may want to obtain the naturalization records of every person who shares your ancestor’s surname if they lived in the same county or nearby. You may not know how or if they are related, but the information could lead you to more information about your own ancestors

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

 * Check for variant spellings. Realize that the indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings and misinterpretations
 * 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 counties

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the United States.
 * United States Guided Research
 * United States Record Finder
 * United States Research Tips and Strategies
 * Beginning Research in United States Immigration and Emigration Records
 * Beginning Research in United States Naturalization Records

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

FamilySearch Catalog

 * John J Newman, American Naturalization Records;1790-1990: what they are and how to use them. Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1998. FS Library 973 P47na
 * Loretto Dennis Szucs, They became Americans: finding naturalization records and ethnic origins Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, c1998 FS Library 973 P47t
 * edited by Rhonda R. McClure, Genealogist's handbook for New England research 6th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society®, 2022 FS Library 974 D27mr
 * Index to New England naturalization petitions, 1791-1906
 * 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.

Estados Unidos, Nova Inglaterra, Petições para Naturalização (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)