Immigrant Ancestor Checklist : Naturalization Records

My local genealogy support group spent a session a month or so ago learning about naturalization records. It seemed like a good idea to use the notes I took in class to make a little worksheet that would help me gather the information that I might need to track down my immigrant ancestors' naturalization records.

And then I thought I should share it with you :-)

• This worksheet is designed to help you gather in one place the information that you might need to find immigration records. 
• Once you narrow down the time and place, find out where your ancestors might have filed, and where those records are stored today.

Note the section at the bottom that gives some information you might find useful if your ancestors didn't naturalize as US citizens. My Lithuanian great-grandparents never became citizens, but I was able to get some great information about them through their A-File (Alien Files) records.

When you are trying to pin down the earliest possible dates for Declaration of Intent and for Naturalization be sure to find out what the immigration rules were for those actions at the time your ancestor might have been applying for citizenship. You'll find a general overview at the National Archives website.

PDF : Immigrant Ancestor Checklist : Naturalization Records 

You can click on the image to make it larger, or click on the link above to access the PDF file.

Resource Roundup: New Jersey State Census Update

Good news! FamilySearch has now made available the 1885, 1905, and 1915 New Jersey state censuses. They are indexed and searchable, and best of all, with images.

Previous indexes I've seen for the 1915 census included only the most basic information. With access to the images of the enumeration pages themselves you get so much more. Information on the census form includes:

• Address
• Name
• Color or race
• Sex
• Month and year of birth
• Age
• Marital status
• Place of Birth
• Place of birth of parents
• Citizenship information, including number of years in U.S. and naturalization status
• Occupation
• Education: reading, writing, abitlity to speak English
• School attendance, including the name of the school and whether public, private or parochial
• Home ownership information, including ownership, rental, mortgage, and house or farm

Here are the links to search the newly updated records:

1885
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1803972

1905
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1928107

1915
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2061544

I've been going through the 1915 census and have found some interesting things. For instance, my grandmother, Lillian (Maita) Traina, was 11 years old when the census was taken, but the name she is given on the census is "Rosalie." Was Rosalie her middle name, or was Lillian? 

1915 NJ state census record showing my grandmother, Lillian (Maita) Traina - listed under the name Rosalie.
The birth month and year are a match, so it must be her.
 "New Jersey State Census, 1915", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9W-4DZY : 8 October 2014), Vincent Maita, 1915. Downloaded 11 June 2017.

 I've also found adults ennumerated in both their parents' household as well as in the household with their own spouse and children. More than one example of that, actually.

If you've found anything interesting about your family in the 1915 census I'd love to hear about it! Leave a comment below.

Battin High School

The original Battin High School.
Located at 300 South Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ. [1]

Battin High School, in Elizabeth, NJ,  was named for Joseph Battin, president of the Elizabethtown Water Company. In 1889 he donated the mansion that you see here for use as a public school. The mansion was replaced with a much larger building in 1913, at the same location.

When it first opened, Battin High School was coeducational. But starting in 1929, the boys in the community were transferred to the newly-built Thomas Jefferson High School.

Battin and Jefferson's status as a single-sex schools continued, remarkably, until 1977, when a new high school was built to hold all of the students from both schools.[1]

 My mother was a graduate of Battin in 1945, and it's likely that her brother attended Jefferson. I'll also be looking for other relatives and friends there. [Stay tuned for more in future posts.]

The "New" Battin High School, c. 1928 [2]

Did any of your ancestors attend Battin or Thomas Jefferson High School?

1889 - 1929 : Co-ed
1929 - 1977 : Females only at Battin
1929 - 1977 : Males only at Thomas Jefferson High School

School Resources

Ancestry.com, which is where I found the most relevant information for my purposes, has a collection of U.S. Indexed School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. It contains indexed records and online images for Battin High School Yearbooks from a variety of years between 1924 and 1958. There are fewer years represented for Thomas Jefferson High School for the years beween 1937 and 1954. Other Elizabeth, NJ schools in the collection include Alexander Hamilton Jr. High, Benedictine Academy, Sacred Heart High School, St. Mary Assumption High School, St. Patrick High School, and The Pingry School.
 
See Cyndi's List for a page full of links to school-related resources.

Lisa Lisson has a great blog post offering some suggestions for using school records in your genealogy research. 

Citations

1. Battin High School. (2015, December 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:02, 22 January 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battin_High_School&oldid=696954601

2. The Red and White, Battin High School Yearbook 1928. Ancestry.com.U.S.,SchoolYearbooks,1880-2012 [databaseon-line].Provo,UT,USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2016, from http://interactive.ancestry.com/1265/43134_b199586-00013 

See also, 
The school interests of Elizabeth : a city of New Jersey, U.S.A. : 1664-1910 / by Elias D. Smith. p. 55, from  http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101059434082;view=1up;seq=61

Genealogy Do-Over 2016

Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon
Yes, she really said that. Often.

"If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right." - Grandma Dixon

Even as I'm working on this blog I'll be participating in the 2016 Genealogy Do-Over. This is a great program designed by Thomas McEntee to help us become better genealogists. Topics are divided into a monthly format with to-do lists.

I just started doing my genealogy research in 2015, so I don't have years of research to review. Still, I started out as a stark-raving beginner (as a former riding instructor used to call newbie equestrians) with more enthusiasm than organization. Yes, my college major was History. But apparently there are rules, or at least strong suggestions, on how to proceed with this family tree stuff. And really, I'd like to get it right the first time. Or I guess the second time, what with the do-over and all.

I'm going to try to post what I'm going to do for the assignments at the beginning of each month, and then give a little progress report at the end of the month.

Hopefully, just writing this will make me stick to it!

January Assignments and What I Plan to Do

Setting previous research aside : time to break up with the old files and research.

Aside from the few items I will use for my blog posts here, I intend to pretty much ignore the research I've done so far and start from scratch. I'm trying out some new software since Ancestry has decided to discontinue Family Tree Maker. I figured the do-over would give me a chance to learn the new software while I was reviewing all my research.

Preparing to research : This assignment is all about how you researched in the past, what worked and didn't, and making changes in time, location, tools, etc. We are to think about our past research habits and consider what changes to make. Also, we're to make a list of tools that are essential to our research process, and write a few research exercises as warm-ups for when we get to the research part of the program.

I will be the first to admit that my research process is a bit whimsical. Also, the desk is usually cluttered with papers of various sorts. So here are some things I'd like to do:

• Clean off the desk before and after each research session.
• Have a research goal in mind when I start, make notes of what I've found where, and make a note of where to start next time.
• Think about what tools might help me research more efficiently. I pretty much do everything on my computer now, putting my iPad to use for quick reference. I'm going to look into Evernote, which people seem to rave about, and see if it will be useful for my work flow.
• Research "warm-up" exercises. I'm not entirely sure what to do for that. I'll get back to you!

Helpful Resources

• The Genealogy Do-Over Website, where you'll also find a link to the Genealogy Do-Over Workbook
• The Genealogy Do-Over Monthly Topics for 2016
• The Genealogy Do-Over Facebook Group
• Genealogy Do-Over Blog posts and resources
• Genealogy Do-Over Pinterest Board