Maine, County Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains naturalization records acquired from Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington, and York counties. The collection covers the years 1800 to1990.

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Date of petition
 * Name of petitioner
 * Residence
 * Country of birth
 * Place and date of arrival
 * Names of two witnesses
 * Petition number
 * Volume and page number of the petition

Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petitions may include any of the following:


 * Name of the immigrant
 * Country of birth
 * Arrival date and port of entry
 * Date of Declaration of Intent or Naturalization
 * Birth date and birth place
 * Age
 * Race
 * Last foreign residence
 * Current residence
 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse
 * Maiden name of wife
 * Birth date of spouse
 * Residence of spouse
 * Names of witnesses

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The full 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.

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Year Range, and Volume” category which takes you to the images

Many of these volumes have indexes at the beginning or end. You should search these first. If your ancestor is in the index download a copy or write down the page numbers listed for your ancestor. You can then quickly turn to those pages.

If you do not find your ancestor in the index, 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.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example


 * 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.

Tips to 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 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.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Related Websites
Maine Naturalization Records

Related Wiki Articles
Maine Naturalization and Citizenship

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

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