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Chicago/Cook County Naturalization Search

By Craig L. Pfannkuche

Chicago was a "Yankee" invention but it took immigrant labor to make the machine work. Consequently, the city's population in the late 19th century was far more immigrant than native-born. Modern Americans whose immigrant families struggled through that "brutal filter" are today exploring their historic origins. Whether their families only paused in Chicago or remained for generations, the city has become an important place to begin that search.

Finding a record of a specific community within one's historic homeland can be a daunting proposition. It is possible, however. Although this writer cannot trace his Murphy family beyond "County Cork" in the 1840s, there are many Chicago-based sources that can pierce the fog of time.

If interviews with surviving family members do not identify a community name. Federal censuses are a good starting point. The 1900, 1910, and 1920 full censuses (NOT the Soundex cards) list immigration dates, whether respondents were naturalized citizens, and the nation (occasionally, and more helpfully, the province) of origin. Researchers should remember that respondents were not always certain or accurate about their year of immigration.

Good sites for Chicago/Cook County census research are the National Archives - Great Lakes Region (NA-GLR) on South Pulaski Avenue and the Harold Washington Public Library at State and Congress streets. Another research step is the microfilm index to naturalizations. The index cards list a person's name (in Soundex order), nation of origin, date of naturalization, the court where the naturalization occurred, and a document number. Occasionally, dates of birth, resident address, and the names and addresses of witnesses/sponsors are listed.

Unfortunately, not all persons listed in the censuses were necessarily naturalized, though family histories might indicate otherwise. In Chicago from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many alien residents voted in city and county elections, and mistakenly believed this act gave them all the rights of citizens.

Before 1906 Chicago naturalizations took place in the Circuit and Superior courts of Cook County. But in most cases before 1906, the only document is a signed oath affirming allegiance to the United States and a disavowal of loyalty to the birth nation. Still, it doesn't hurt to check.

Between 1906 and 1924, county courts asked potential citizens for additional data, often including birthplace communities. Even if census and family legends suggest a pre-1906 naturalization, you should check to see if the event occurred later in a person's life than is remembered.

Naturalization indexes can be viewed at the NA-GLR, at the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) at the Ronald Williams Library at Northeastern Illinois University, and at the Archives of the Clerk of the Cook County Court at the Daley Center. If a pre-1924 naturalization document number is found, you can visit the Clerk's Archives and view the document. After 1924 the Federal government took over the naturalization process. You need only to check at the NA-GLR to see if family naturalization data exists in their holdings.

An underutilized source for naturalization research is the Chicago Election Commission's "Record and Index of Persons Registered and Poll Lists for Voters," which can be found at the IRAD. This record covers a very limited time (1888 - 1890, 1892) but lists the country of origin as well as the date when and court where a voter was naturalized. Rarely, a birth place community is listed. If an index search fails, visit your ancestor's neighborhood.

Occasionally, groups of individuals from the same community or province clustered together. Interviews with church parish secretaries or sextons can provide helpful data. Remarkably, patrons of local family taverns can often contribute helpful data.

Death data can also be helpful. While death certificates usually provide a nationality, they (death notices included) rarely mention that home immigrants often had their birthplaces carved on their grave stones (especially the Irish).

For those whose ancestors fought in America's wars, military pension records (through World War I) are available from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and are a good place to look.

If these records do not provide an answer, seek out your living cousins and second cousins. They might know exactly where specific ancestors were born.

Only after all the above legwork is done should a family researcher begin contacting the appropriate state, provincial, or parish archives. By thoroughly searching Chicago/Cook County records you can save a lot of time and expense. Besides, such work allows you to gain fascinating insights into the lives and times of those ancestors who set the conditions for our own lives.

15 ILLINOIS HERITAGE


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