New Hampshire, County Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains naturalization records for the years 1771 to 2001 from the following counties:


 * Belknap
 * Carroll
 * Cheshire
 * Coos
 * Grafton
 * Hillsborough
 * Merrimack
 * Rockingham
 * Strafford
 * Sullivan

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information found in Naturalization Records vaires by county and individual record. You may find any of the following:


 * Name of petitioner
 * Name of court
 * Date of emigration
 * Occupation and place of residence
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date of Declaration of Intent
 * Date of marriage
 * Spouse's full name (sometimes, wife's maiden name)
 * Spouse's date and place of birth
 * Children's names and birth places
 * Name of Judge
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The 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, 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.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County category
 * 2) Select the Record Type, Year Range, and Volume category which will take you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

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

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?
You can use naturalization records to:


 * 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

Keep in Mind:


 * 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 immigrant 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 of the names.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

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: