The Genealogist as a Super-Sleuth

Question: I found my ancestor’s 1868 declaration of intention to become a citizen mentioned in an Index Catalogue of Minute Entries Concerning Naturalization in the Courts of Mobile County, Alabama, 1833-1907. It carried the notation that this source was prepared from original records by the municipal and court records project of the Work Projects Administration.

When I wrote to the courthouse in Mobile they said they did not have any records. Where can I locate these naturalization papers?

Answer: Locating naturalization papers makes super-sleuths out of genealogists. They may have been filed in any court of record and often are located in three different locales. However, in your case the National Archives Atlanta Branch, 1557 St. Joseph Ave., East Point, Ga. 30344, has the records of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Alabama (Mobile), including the declarations of intention dated 1855-1929. Write that repository for details on how to access these records.

Possibly these records also have been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are available on interlibrary loan through a nearby branch LDS (Mormon) Family History Library. Check the locality microfiche for Alabama and/or Mobile, under the topics “Emigration/Immigration” and “Naturalizations.”