One Rhode Island Family

Great news!

As the Family History Library moves its microfilm holdings to the web, record sets are becoming newly available to logged-in FamilySearch.org users AT HOME. Naturalization records of our ancestors, including Declarations of Intentions and Petitions for Naturalization are coming online but many of them are unindexed, so will not come up in any search. To use unindexed records, look for record sets which contain original indexing on their pages, then, with a page or form number found for your ancestor, look at other record sets which contain the forms or record books.

Links to a number of record sets, for each Rhode Island county and the federal record index sets related to Rhode Island are available below. When using a record set on FamilySearch, click on the CAMERA icon to see the images; if the camera shows a LOCK, you will need to either log in or use the records in a Family History Library Affiliate Library. The links below are for FamilySearch microfilm, but note that the large sets for the federal and state records related to Rhode Island also are held on Ancestry.

It will take some trial and error to match an index entry with a record page; be sure you are looking at records for the same court (Common Pleas, Superior or Supreme) and if you cannot make a match, try inquiring at the State Archives. For federal court records (Circuit Court and District Court), the major indexing sets are now available online, linked below, and are very helpful, but for the full papers, inquire with the National Archives at Waltham, Mass.

The U.S. naturalization process is the path to legal citizenship for those who qualify and apply. The process included “first papers” or an initial statement of intention to become a U.S. citizen, followed, later on, by a final decree of naturalization. These petitions and decrees are court proceedings, so, the records are court records. Since the beginning of the United States, county, state, and federal courts have all been utilized for this process although after 1906, the federal government controlled it more tightly, but still not exclusively. All of those settings should be reviewed for the desired papers, but a general rule is to look at the court that might have been the easiest for your ancestor to access. Check the 1920 federal census for a year of naturalization (and other state and federal census years for year of immigration). Note that we may find American-born women in these records in the early 1900’s, as their citizenship was linked to their husbands’ for a couple of decades.

State and county naturalization records

Here is a guide to the pre-1950 naturalization records created in Rhode Island, and how to find them. In all cases you will need to find an INDEX entry, then try to find a petition or certificate FORM online (although those may not be available in every case). Read the record set descriptions on FamilySearch carefully, if available.

First, let’s use any index sets for state and county court records, usually sorted by county. I’ve included record sets of petitions, declarations and other Naturalization materials, for use after you have found a record in the index. I have maintained the record set names as used by FamilySearch.org even though they look a little confusing here. In some cases it will not be clear how to take the INDEX from a certain court and find the RECORDS for that same court; I would suggest really looking around and trying things.

INDEX sets in RED below.

BRISTOL COUNTY

• Rhode Island, Bristol County, Bristol, Supreme Judicial Court, naturalization records, 1804-1842. Supreme Court
• Bristol (R.I.) naturalization records (1890-1902) and index (1896-1998) –, 1890-1998. Superior Court
• Rhode Island, Bristol County, Bristol, Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1806-1893. Court of Common Pleas (Bristol County)
• Rhode Island, Bristol County, Bristol, Supreme Court, naturalization records, 1843-1903. Supreme Court

KENT COUNTY

• Naturalization petitions, 1793-1958 [Kent County, “Wisconsin” – should say “Rhode Island”] Court of Common Pleas (Kent County); Supreme Court; Superior Court
• Rhode Island, Kent County, Supreme Court, naturalization records, 1854-1903. Supreme Court
• Rhode Island, Kent County, Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1868-1892 Court of Common Pleas (Kent County)
• Rhode Island, Kent County, Superior Court, naturalization records, 1905-1906. Superior Court
• Declarations of intention, 1917-1929 [Kent County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1917-1947. Superior Court
• Declarations of intention, 1929-1951 [Kent County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1923-1960. Superior Court

NEWPORT COUNTY

• Rhode Island, Newport County, Superior Court, naturalization records, ca. 1792-1906. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1793-1921 [Newport County, Rhode Island] Court of Common Pleas (Newport County)
• Naturalization index, 1793-1942 [Newport County, Rhode Island] Court of Common Pleas (Newport County); Supreme Court; Superior Court
• Naturalization index, 1793-1981 [Newport County, Rhode Island] Court of Common Pleas (Newport County); Supreme Court; Superior Court
• Rhode Island, Newport County, Supreme Judicial Court, naturalization records, 1799-1811. Supreme Court
• Rhode Island, Newport County, Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1802-1903. Court of Common Pleas
• Rhode Island, Newport County, Supreme Court, naturalization records, 1809-1905. Supreme Court
• Declarations of intention of naturalization 1888-1905 Court of Common Pleas (Newport County)
• Declarations of intention, 1890-1929 [Newport County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions (Newport County, Rhode Island), 1915-1929. Superior Court
• Naturalization papers index, soldiers and sailors, 1918-1919 [Newport County, Rhode Island] Court of Common Pleas (Newport County)
• Declarations of intention (Newport County, Rhode Island), 1929-1941. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions (Newport County), 1929-1945. Superior Court
• Declarations of intention (Newport County, Rhode Island), 1929-1941. Superior Court

PROVIDENCE COUNTY

• Naturalization and citizenship index. 1793-1892 [Providence County, Rhode Island]. Supreme Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1793-1892 [Providence County, Rhode Island]. Supreme Court
• Naturalization and citizenship index, 1793-1905 [Providence, Rhode Island]. Court of Common Pleas (Providence County)
• Rhode Island, Providence County, Supreme Court, naturalization records, 1793-1903. Supreme Court
• Rhode Island, Providence County, Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1818-1893. Court of Common Pleas (Providence County)
• Naturalization petitions, 1820-1893. Court of Common Pleas (Providence County)
• Rhode Island, Providence County, Superior Court, naturalization records, 1905-1906 Superior Court
• Declarations of intentions (Providence County, Rhode Island), 1917-1927 Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions (Providence County, Rhode Island), 1917-1929. Supreme Court
• Declarations of intention, 1928-1949 [Providence, Rhode Island] Superior Court
• Naturalization records, 1930-1946. Superior Court
• (see additional Providence County records under the federal records, below.)

WASHINGTON COUNTY

• Rhode Island, Washington County, Supreme Judicial Court, naturalization records, 1817-1819. Supreme Court
• Rhode Island, Washington County, Court of Common Pleas, naturalization records, 1842-1899. Court of Common Pleas (Washington County)
• Rhode Island, Washington County, Supreme Court, naturalization records, 1847-1905. Supreme Court
• Declarations of naturalization intention, 1881-1900. Court of Common Pleas (Washington County)
• Rhode Island, Washington County, Superior Court, naturalization records, 1905-1906. Superior Court
• Declarations of intention, 1917-1929 [Washington County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1917-1929 [Washington County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Declarations of intention, 1930-1952 [Washington County, Rhode Island]. Superior Court
• Naturalization petitions, 1930-1945. Superior Court

Federal naturalization records

These index records are for United States Circuit Courts or District Courts located in Rhode Island.

Index to Rhode Island naturalizations, 1918-1968. Rhode Island: United States Circuit and District Courts filmed at NARA, Waltham, Mass. OVERALL SET SEARCHABLE BY NAME.

Contains:

• Index to Military Naturalizations, 1918-1940
• Index to Military Naturalizations, 1943-1945
• Index to naturalizations outside of the United States, 1953-1956
• Cancelled declarations, ca. 1942-1948
• Index to women’s repatriations, 1936-1968

Indexes to naturalization records for the District Court, 1906-1991, and the U.S. Circuit Court, 1906-1911, Rhode Island : NARA RG21 publication M2084. SEARCHABLE BY NAME.

Contains:

• Index to naturalization petitions
• INDEX TO DECLARATION OF INTENTIONS, 1906-1939, UNITED STATES CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT COURTS
• INDEX TO DECLARATION OF INTENTIONS, 1940-1984, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS

A large index to New England naturalization petitions have been available online for some time:

• Index to New England naturalization petitions, 1791-1906 SEARCHABLE BY NAME.

Some record sets found for U.S. District or Circuit Court:

• Rhode Island, Providence County, U.S. Circuit Court, petitions for naturalizations
• Rhode Island, Providence County, U.S. District Court, naturalization records, 1842-1906