Preferred Citation
Custodial History
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Related Materials
Processing Information
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Center for Sacramento History
Title: Sacramento County (Calif.) Naturalization Records
Identifier/Call Number: CNTY0008
Physical Description:
74 Volumes
Physical Description:
2.5 linear feet
Two bankers boxes, two Hollinger boxes, one flat oversized
box.
Date (inclusive): 1850-1955
Abstract: Court records
pertaining to the legal process of an immigrant becoming a naturalized American citizen.
These records are drawn from Sacramento's District, County, and Superior Courts. The
naturalization process is recorded in three documents: 1) Declaration of Intention, 2) Petition for Naturalization, and 3)
Naturalization Record.
Language of Material: English
Preferred Citation
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], CNTY0008, Sacramento County Naturalization Records, Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento, CA
Custodial History
The bulk of these records (the 74 bound volumes) were transfered from the Sacramento County
Clerk to the California State Archives on 10-22-1969. They were received by David L. Snyder,
Archivist II. It is unclear how the unbound materials came into the possession of the State
Archives.
It is unclear how these records came into the possession of the County Clerk.
Scope and Contents
These records are artifacts of the process that individuals took to become a naturalized American
citizen. This typically took the order of Declaration of Intention, Petition for Naturalization, and a Oath. There is an additional
volume of Court Orders and
Recommendations.
The information found in the records includes: country of nativity, name of petitioner, and
witnesses.
This is an artificial collection which draws records from three different Courts; County,
District, and Superior and includes indexes. The District Court appears to have been
responsible for Naturalizations until 1880 when the Sacramento County Superior Court assumed
the role.
These records also include a repatriation book, which is comprised of petitions by women to regain the citizenship which they
lost due to marriage to a foriegn national.
Arrangement
These records are arranged chronologically by volume.
Within each volume the arrangement is as follows: Indexes are arranged alphabetically by
the name of the petitioner. Petitions for Naturalization volumes are arranged by petition
numer.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Naturalization records were acquired by the Center for Sacramento History from the
California State Archives as a large transfer of government records. This transfer was
assigned the accession number of 1980/132.
Related Materials
The Records of the Sacramento County Clerk includes blank naturalization certificates which
were accessioned as 1978/93.
Processing Information
Note all individual processing actions that were taken