Series 13475

District Court (Sixth District : Sevier County) Naturalization record books

Dates: 1896-1965

2.70 cubic feet and 6 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Scope and Content

This series contains records documenting the naturalization process. While the beginning of the process was filing a "declaration of intention," these records date to the later step of petitioning the court for citizenship. Petitions were filed at least two years after declarations of intention, and usually include copies of the declarations of intention, oftentimes a certificate of arrival from the port or land crossing at which the applicant arrived in the United States, oral statements regarding his worthiness to be a citizen, written petitions, affidavits from witnesses attesting to the applicants' character and the validity of his statements. Once a court had reviewed these records, a judge ruled the applicant eligible or ineligible . If eligible , an oath was administered and the individual renounced his former citizens. A certificate of citizenship was then issued to the newly naturalized petitioner. These certificates are also included in this series.

Certificates of citizenship include such information as the date, the applicant's name, the former foreign residence, and the current residence. Usually, there was a standardized summary of the steps taken prior to the issue of the certificate. The applicant and judge both signed the certificate attesting to the applicant's admission as a citizen.

Petitions include such information as the individual's name, residence, occupation, birthdate, and birthplace; the place from which he emigrated, the date, port of arrival, and vessel name; the date on which he declared his intention of becoming a citizen and the name of the court involved; his wife's name, birthplace, and residence; and any previous petitions filed. When applicable, the petitions also include children's ' names, birthdates, birthplaces, and residences.

Also included on the petition form were the affidavit of two citizen witnesses who validated the individual's petition information and declared that he was of good moral character. The printed oath of allegiance and court order admitting the petitioner to citizenship are also included when available. By 1920, there is space for memoranda of continuances in the proceedings, names of substitute witnesses, and space to record the denial, not just the acceptance, of the petition.

Various corroborating documents had to be produced at the time of application and hearing. When included in this series, they are usually bound into the volumes or otherwise attached to the petitions.

Arrangement

Chronological by date record was filed.

Related Records

Declarations of intention record books from the District Court (Sixth District : Sevier County), Series 13476, includes declarations of intention for some of these same individuals.

Record book from the Sevier County. Probate Court, Series 23908, also includes naturalization records for Sevier County residents.

Certificates of citizenship record books from the District Court (First District), Series 83895, includes naturalization records for Sevier County residents prior to statehood.

Declarations of intention record books from the District Court (First District), Series 85113, may include declarations for some of these same individuals prior to statehood.

Custody History

Records in this series were transferred to the State Archives by Sevier County in October 2020.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

This series is available online as part of the Utah State Archives Digital Archives.

Copies of these records are located at Familysearch.org View Online.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Processing Note

Records in this sereis were processed for microfilming by A.C. Cone in March 2003. Physical records were processed by Mahala Ruddell in December 2020.

Finding Aids

Indexes: Each volume has an index alphabetical by initial letter of petitioner's surname.

Indexing Terms

• Naturalization--Utah--Sevier County.
• Citizenship--Utah--Sevier County.
• Naturalization records--Utah--Sevier County.
• Utah--Sevier County--Emigration and immigration.

Container List

REEL	BOX	FOLDER	DESCRIPTION
1	1	none	1893-1933; Petition for Naturalization
1	2	none	1896-1902; Certificate of Citizenship
2	3	none	1904-1906; Naturalization affidavits
3	4	none	1907-1922; Petition for Naturalization and accompanying documents
none	5	1	1918-1927; Certificate of Naturalization, stubs
none	5	2	1918-1927; Certificate of Naturalization, stubs
3	6	1	1927-1965; Petitions for Naturalization, and accompanying documents
3	6	2	1931-1965; Petitions granted, denied, and continued