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My g-grandfather came over here from Weurttenberg, Germany.  I don't know the exact year, but his name was Frank (Franz) Graser and he was born in 1835.  I'm not sure if the name was changed before it became Graser.  He married my g-grandmother, Mary Musser, in York, PA in 1860.  Although I know this information I would like to get doucmentation, specifically for my g-grandfathers naturalization papers.  Can anyone tell me where to go from here?  I belong to ancestry.com and can't believe I am unable to find the naturalization papers.

 

Thanks

Barb Graser

 

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1. The state of Weurttemberg did a good job preserving their records, and many have been filmed by the LDS, so, if you know the town from which your g-grandfather came, check the library catalog at familysearch.org .

2. LDS has a guidance article on locating naturalization records at http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/RG/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&a...

3. Info from the US National Archives website:
Where can I find Naturalization Records?

Pre-1906:
Prior to 1906, any "court of record" (municipal, county, state, or Federal) could grant U.S. citizenship. As a general rule, the National Archives does not have naturalization records created in State or local courts. However, a few indexes and records have been donated to the National Archives from counties, states and local courts and are available as National Archives microfilm publications. See the list of this county and state microfilm available.
For pre-1906 naturalizations:

* Contact the State Archives for the state where the naturalization occurred to request a search of state, county, and local courts records.
* Contact the NARA regional facility that serves the state where naturalization occurred to request a search of Federal court records

Naturalizations After 1906:
After 1906, the courts forwarded copies of naturalizations to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

* Naturalizations from Federal Courts are held in the NARA's regional facilities for the Federal courts for their area.
* The National Archives in Washington, D.C. holds naturalization records for Federal Courts in Washington, D.C.
Have you found other records for him? Did you check the census to see when he was naturalized?
Where did they live, childrens names? A bit more info would help others to help you. Not every record is online at ancestry, sometimes you have to use other sources as well. I'd think first thing would be to track him backwards through ancestry databases, census, city directories, civil war perhaps, etc etc, that will give you a better idea of when and where he immigrated and from where in Germany. Many records are now online at many websites, but research still requires other sources as well if you haven't already gotten this information I'm suggesting (you didn't mentions what records you have so far) and what you find may very well NOT be the same as what you "know", many of us have experienced that! I'm happy to help if you give a bit more info.
Lisa
maybe this one? I've no idea how early he arrived here.

All U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 results for Fran* Graser

Name: Frank Graser
Issue Date: 24 Sep 1868
State: Pennsylvania
Locality, Court: Western District of Pennsylvania, U.S. Circuit Court
Title: Indexes and Registers of Declarations of Intention and Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1820-1906
Description: Index to Declarations of Intention and Petitions for Naturalization
Series: M1208

Ok, I saw in family trees, they are the ones I saw in Frederick, MD.
this person with your family in her tree, has naturalization info there as a source for your Franz Graser. You might want to take a look at it and see where you can order a copy.



*
Graser Family Tree
*
View Family Tree
View family tree

o

Owner: missythepug
hmmm, just looked at that the name is Fred Graser,maybe not yours after all....??
That is my family tree, and I just found Fred the other night. I think he was my g-grandfather's twin. They were born the same year and both came from Wuerttenberg. I knew somewhere down the line there was twins, I think it was them. I also know that my g-grandfather married my g-grandmother in June 1860 in york, pa. That is where I am living now. (I was born and brought up in Salem, Ma). Now I just don't understand and cannot find why my g-grandfather came to PA and his twin? went to Wisconsin. I would like to be able to make a connection between them somehow. Also my g-grandfather was the one to went to Frederick, MD. My father and his five other siblings were born there also. Unfortunately, they are all gone. I don't know the name of the town where my g-grandfather was born, only Wuerttenberg. I thought that was the city. No wonder I can't find anymore info. Thank you for everyone's help.
Try the Stuttgardt Archives.
How do I get to those? Earlier I tried LDS but couldn't find any information. I need some direction to those.
those WHAT?
I found them in 1870 census, perhaps you'd found the info already, it didn't say on your tree:

Ancestry.com:
1870 United States Federal Census
about Franklin Greaser
Name: Franklin Greaser
Birth Year: abt 1837
Age in 1870: 33
Birthplace: Württemberg / Wurttemberg
Home in 1870: District 9, Baltimore, Maryland
Race: White
Gender: Male
Value of real estate: View image
Post Office: Towsontown
Household Members:
Name Age
Franklin Greaser 33
Mary Greaser 32
Emma Greaser 8
Margaret Greaser 6
Christiana Greaser 4
Ida Greaser 2
Elenora Greaser 9/12
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
Original data: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Microfilm Publications; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for NARA microfilm details.
About U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995

Introduction to Naturalization Records:

The act and procedure of becoming a citizen of a country is called naturalization. In the U.S., naturalization is a judicial procedure that flows from Congressional legislation. From the time the first naturalization act was passed in 1790 until 1906, there were no uniform standards. As a consequence, before September 1906, various federal, state, county, and local courts generated a wide variety of citizenship records that are stored in sundry courts, archives, warehouses, libraries, and private collections. After 1906 the vast majority of naturalizations took place in federal courts.

Naturalization laws have changed over the years. These acts are important to understand as they would have greatly impacted when your ancestor was able to become naturalized, as well as the exact process he or she had to go through to become a citizen. For example, some naturalization acts required residency in the U.S. for a certain number of years, some excluded certain ethnicities from being able to become citizens, and others helped expedite the citizenship process for those who served in the military.

The Naturalization Process:

The first responsibility for an immigrant wishing to become an official U.S. citizen was to complete a Declaration of Intention. These papers are sometimes called First Papers since they are the first forms to be completed in the naturalization process. Generally these papers were filled out fairly soon after an immigrant's arrival in America. Due to some laws, there were times when certain groups of individuals were exempt from this step.

After the immigrant had completed these papers and met the residency requirement (which was usually five years), the individual was able to submit his Petition for Naturalization. Petitions are also known as Second or Final Papers because they are the second and final set of papers completed in the naturalization process.

Immigrants also took a naturalization oath or oath of allegiance. A copy of this oath is often filed with the immigrant's first or second papers. After an immigrant had completed all citizenship requirements he was issued a certificate of naturalization. Many of these documents can be found in the records of the court in which they were created. Other naturalization records include naturalization certificate stubs and certificates of arrival. See further below for a description of these two documents.

Many immigrants took out their First Papers as soon as they arrived in America, in whatever county and state that may have been. Later they would file their Second Papers in the location in which they took up residence.
# Pennsylvania, Western District, U.S. Circuit and District Courts: Index to Declarations and Petitions, 1820-1906 (NARA Roll Series M1208)

For copies of the original file, write to:
National Archives - Mid-Atlantic Region
900 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-597-3000
Fax: 215-597-2303
Email: Philadelphia.archives@nara.gov
Attachments:

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