Steve’s Genealogy Blog

Last month I received an email from Jay Evans who told me that he had been unsuccessfully looking for the Immigrant Passenger Manifest for John Jwanauski, and asked me if I had any suggestions.

I asked Jay for more information and he sent me three documents that should provide all the information necessary to find the Passenger Manifest.

The first document Jay sent was John Jwanauski’s Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States.

Declaration of Intention for John Jwanauski

Click on the link for a PDF copy of John Jwanauski’s Declaration of Intention.  The Declaration states that:

• John Jwanauski filed Declaration of Intention No. 1796 in the District Court of Waterbury in Waterbury, Connecticut
• He was 20 years old when he filed this document on March 3, 1917
• John was employed as a Shop Hand
• John was white, had a light complexion, was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed 165 pounds, with light brown hair and gray eyes
• He was born in Kovno, Russia on October 28, 1897
• At the time he filed the declaration, John resided at 995 Bank St, Waterbury, Conn.
• John emigrated to America from Bremen, Germany on the Grosser Kurfurst and arrived at the port of New York in the state of New York on December 15, 1912
• John’s last residence was in Kovno, Russia
• He was not married

Tomorrow: John Jwanauski’s Enlistment in the United States Army

Three years after filing his second Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States, Stanislaw Markiewicz filed his Petition for Naturalization

Stanislaw Markiewicz’ Petition for Naturalization - Front

Stanislaw Markiewicz’ Petition for Naturalization - Back

Click on the link for a PDF copy of Stanislaw Markiewicz’ Petition for Naturalization.  The Petition states that:

• Stanislaw Markiewicz filed his Petition for Naturalization No. 30012 on July 12, 1939 in the Superior Court of Massachusetts of Worcester
• Stanislaw resided at 320 Millbury St., Worcester, Mass.
• He was Polish and was born in Bracijowice, Poland on Apr. 20, 1936
• He declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States on May 11, 1936 in the Superior Court of Massachusetts at Worcester, Mass.
• He was married to Antonina Lejwoda on Feb. 2, 1913 in South Framingham, Mass.
• Antonina was born on Apr. 23, 1891 in Lublin, Poland and entered the United States on Oct. 20, 1912 in New York, N.Y.
• Stanislaw had seven children:  Stefan born Jan. 22, 1914, Mrs. Bronislawa Skowronski born Oct. 7, 1915, Waclaw born Aug. 15, 1917, Edward born Dec. 17, 1919, Helena born Mar. 15, 1922, Janiena born June 4, 1925, and Ryszard born Feb. 24, 1928, all born and living in Worcester, Mass. except for Edward who was living in Fort Ethan Allen, Vt.
• Stanislaw’s last residence was Bracijowice, Poland
• He emigrated from Antwerp, Belgium under the name Stanislaw Markiewicz on the Zeeland and arrived in New York, N.Y. on May 29, 1912
• He renounced allegiance to The Republic of Poland
• He had lived continuously in the United States of America since May 29, 1912 and in the County of Worcester since June 1913
• He had not previously made petition for naturalization
• Two witnesses provided affidavits of Stanislaw’s good moral character:  Stanley J. Dusak, a machinist residing at 15 Lafayette St., Worcester, Mass. and Joseph H. Nahorski, an assembler residing at 69 Seymour St., Worcester, Mass.
• The witnesses stated that they had known Stanislaw since Dec. 1, 1931 and that to their knowledge Stanislaw had resided in Worcester, Mass. in the County of Worcester since that date and the witnesses signed the petition in Worcester, Mass. on July 12, 1929
• Stanislaw’s Certificate of Arrival No. 1 177792 and his Declaration of Intention No. 46155 were noted
• On the reverse, Stanislaw renounced allegiance to The Republic of Poland and gave his Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America on March 25, 1940
• Stanislaw’s Petition was granted and noted on Line No. 9 of List No. 477
• Stanislaw was granted Certificate of Citizenship No. 4735432

Note:  The correct spelling of Stanislaw’s birthplace is Braciejowice, Poland.  In his Declaration of Intention, Stanislaw stated that he was born in Lublin, Poland, but in his Petition for Naturalization, he stated that he was born in Bracijowice (sic), Poland.

Tomorrow:  Stanislaw’s Immigrant Passenger Manifest

Stanislaw Markiewicz filed a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States on May 11, 1936.  This was the first step to becoming a citizen.  Under the laws in effect at that time, Stanislaw would have to wait at least three and no more than seven more years before he could file a Petition for Naturalization.

The Declaration of Intention of Stanislaw Markiewicz - Front

The Declaration of Intention of Stanislaw Markiewicz - Back

Click on the link for a PDF copy of Stanislaw’s Declaration of Intention.  The Declaration States:

• Stanislaw Markiewicz filed his Declaration of Intention No. 46155 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, County of Worcester in the Superior Court of Massachusetts at Worcester, Mass.
• Stanislaw resided at 320 Millbury St., Worcester, Worcester Co., Mass.
• His occupation was Moulder
• He was 45 years old, a white male, of medium complexion, blue eyes, dark brown-grey hair, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 192 pounds, with a scar on his left index finger
• His race and nationality were Polish;  he was born in Lublin, Poland on April 20, 1891
• He was married to Antonina Lejwoda on Feb. 2, 1913 in South Framingham, Mass.
• Antonina was born in Lublin, Poland on April 23, 1891, entered the United States at New York, N.Y. on Oct. 20, 1912
• Stanislaw had seven children:  Stefan born Jan. 22, 1914, Bronislawa born Oct. [?], 1915 (Oct. 7, 1915), Waclaw born Aug. 13, 1917, Edwart born Dec. 17, 1919, Helena born Mar. 15, 1922, [?]iena (Janiena) born June 4, 1925, and Ryszard born Feb. 24, 1928, all born and living at the time in [?]rcester, Mass.
• He had previously made a declaration of intention Number 24764 on Dec. 16, 1921 in the Superior Court of Worcester, Mass.
• His last foreign residence was Braciawicze (Braciejowice), Poland
• He immigrated to the United States from Antwerp, Belgium at New York, N.Y. under the name Stanislaw Markiewicz on May 29, 1912 on the SS Zeeland
• Stanislaw signed the declaration in Worcester, Mass. on May 11, 1936
• The Declaration of Intention cross-references Stanislaw’s Certificate of Arrival No. 1-177793
• The reverse of the declaration includes a stamp indicating that the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service on Nov 9, 1938

Stanislaw gave all of his children Polish first names.  Those names in English are:

• Stefan = Stephen
• Bronislawa = Bernice
• Waclaw = Walter
• Edwart (apparently misspelled - should be Edward) = Edward
• Helena = Helen
• Janiena = Jane
• Ryszard = Richard

Tomorrow:  Stanislaw’s Petition for Naturalization

While I was at the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston a few weeks ago, I found the Naturalization Papers for Stanislaw Markiewicz.  Stanislaw was the grandfather of my cousins’ cousins.  Let me explain… 

My Uncle Michael Danko married Jean Skowronski, and my Uncle Joseph Danko married Helen Skowronski.  Jean and Helen were sisters, and they had several siblings, one of whom was Edward Skowronski.  Edward married Bernice Markiewicz.  Stanislaw Markiewicz was Bernice’s father.  Clear?

One problem with finding the Ellis Island Passenger Manifest for Stanislaw Markiewicz is that when I searched the Ellis Island records, quite a few immigrants named Stanislaw Markiewicz came up.  I had no idea which was the correct immigrant.  One way to find the correct immigrant is to first find the Naturalization Papers.

The Massachusetts State Archives holds microfilm records of many of the Naturalization Papers for those naturalized in the Worcester Superior Court. On a whim, I searched one of the microfilm indexes:

 WO/SUP
Superior Court Department
INDEXES
Box 2111265
From: 01/01/1943 To: 12/31/1978
Case #’s: NATURALIZATION-SEE EXTEN
[MARZILLI:PERLIN]

and found a Stanislaw Markiewicz listed under Petition for Naturalization number 30012.

 In short order, I had another microfilm on the reader:

WO/SUP
Superior Court Department
NATURALIZATION-PETITION AND RECORD BO
Box 2131573
From 01/01/1939 To: 12/31/1939
Case #’s: VOL. [112:114]
PETITION # [29907:30373]

and I zipped right to Petition 30012.  I quick check of the Petition for Naturalization and I saw his wife was Antonina Lejwoda and among his children was listed Mrs. Bronislawa (Bernice) Skowronski.

The first page in Stanislaw’s file was his Certificate of Arrival, a document I previously described on this Blog.

Certificate of Arrival for Stanislaw Markiewicz - Front

Certificate of Arrival for Stanislaw Markiewicz - Back

Click on the link for a PDF copy of Stanislaw Markiewicz’ Certificate of Arrival.  The Certificate states that:

• Certificate No. 1 177793
• Name: Markiewicz, Stanislaw
• Port of entry:  New York, N,Y.
• Date:  May 29, 1912
• Manner of arrival:  SS Zeeland
• The Certificate of Arrival was issued on April 17, 1938 by Byron J. Uhl, The District Director, New York District
• The Certificate was received by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service on April 23, 1936
• The Certificate is signed on the back by Edna Endman (Sometimes the Certificates of Arrival have a signature on the back, sometimes they don’t.  I don’t know what the significance of the signature is.)

At the time Stanislaw applied for citizenship, the Certificate of Arrival was required to prove that he lawfully entered the United States (there were concerns about illegal aliens even in 1936) and to prove that he had been in the United States for at least five years before applying for citizenship.

The Certificate of Arrival pinpoints when Stanislaw arrived in the United States and shows on what ship he arrived.  This information should make finding Stanislaw’s Passenger Manifest much easier.

Tomorrow:  Stanislaw’s Declaration of Intention

Devi provided me with some additional information on her grandfather, Josef Sarwetnik (Joseph Savitt) that she obtained from her cousin.  The information was from her grandfather’s naturalization papers, which stated that Josef Sarwetnik arrived in New York on December 10, 1906 aboard the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria which departed from Hamburg.  The naturalization papers also stated that he was born on December 10, 1869 in Shumsk, Russia and listed Josef’s wife Ida and children Morris, David, William, and Jacob.  The Petition for Naturalization was dated June 17, 1918 and provided Joseph’s address as 1328 So. Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Kaiserin Auguste Victoria

A search of Ellis Island Records produced no positive results.  Likewise, using Stephen Morse’s search tools for the Ellis Island Records produced no results.  Since Devi knew the name of the ship and the date on which her grandfather arrived, I searched the ships lists on Stephen Morse’s site.

I entered the name of the ship and the arrival date and was rewarded with a link to the first page of the Passenger Manifest for the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria for passengers arriving on December 10, 1906.

I searched the manifest, page by page, until I found the name Sarwetnik on one of the pages.  Although a significant portion of the page was missing (including the first name of the passenger), I became confident that this manifest matched the information on Josef’s naturalization papers.

Passenger Manifest for Josef Sarwetnik (1906)

Click on the link for a PDF copy of Josef Sarwetnik’s Passenger Manifest.  The manifest states that:

• (Josef) Sarwetnik was a 38 year old married male, listed on line 22 of the manifest
• He traveled on the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, departed from Hamburg on November 23, 1906, and arrived in New York on December 10, 1906
• He was not able to read or write
• His nationality was Russian, his race was Hebrew, and his last residence was Shumsk
• Josef’s final destination was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he had a ticket to his final destination, and he paid for the passage himself
• He had seven and a half dollars;  he had not been in the United States before
• He was going to stay with his brother, Isaac Sarwetnik at 1254 [Psum] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• He was 5 feet 6 inches tall, with light brown hair and grey eyes
• His place of birth was Shumsk

Since this manifest is torn, not all of the information is available.  The first name is missing and we can only assume this is Josef.   His occupation is missing, the date of arrival shows December 8, 1906 overwritten with December 10, 1906.  The actual date of arrival was December 10, 1906.  The information on his brother Isaac is actually written on the wrong line, but we can conclude this is the correct information for our passenger by counting down the entries on the page to arrive at line 22.  The street address for Isaac is hard to read.

Devi had also told me that her grandfather had a brother Isaac, so this is further evidence that this is the correct manifest.

I also found the World War I Draft Registration Card for Isaac Sarvetnik.

World War I Draft Registration for Isaac Sarvetnik

Click on the link for a PDF Copy of the World War I Draft Registration for Isaac Sarvetnik from September 12, 1918.  The Draft Card states that:

• Isaac Sarvetnick’s Serial Number was 1247 and his Order Number was 2325
• He lived at 1324 South Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• He was 40 years old and was born on October 25, 1878
• He was white, a declared alien, and was a citizen of Russia
• He was employed as a shoemaker at J. Edwards and Company at 314 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• His wife was Ida Sarwetnick who lived at 1324 South Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• He was of medium height, medium build, with grey eyes and black hair

Note that Isaac’s address from his World War I Draft Card in 1918 is right next door to Joseph’s address from his Petition for Naturalization in 1918.  Note also that both Isaac and David Sarvetnick (see yesterday’s post) worked at the same shoe company.  Both of these observations provide further evidence that Joseph, David, and Isaac are related.

All in all, the Passenger Manifest for Josef Sarwetnik appears to be the correct manifest.  However, Josef arrived alone in 1906 but his son Jacob was born in Russia in 1908.  Furthermore, the family reported on the 1910 Census that they immigrated in 1909.  Did Josef return to Russia, sire a son, and return to Philadelphia in 1909?  If so, there should be another Passenger Manifest to document the arrival of the family in 1909.  As yet, we have not found this manifest.

I’m back home now.  I’m really bushed so I think I’ll try to get to bed early tonight.  My body clock is now 3 hours ahead of Pacific Time, so I suspect I’ll be up extra early for work tomorrow!

At the end of my vacation, I drove to Dorchester and checked into the DoubleTree Club Hotel.  I spent most of Friday and Saturday researching my family’s history at the Massachusetts Vital Records Office and the Massachusetts State Archives, both of which were within walking distance of the hotel.

I spent all day Friday at the Massachusetts Vital Records Office in Dorchester.  Fortunately, Massachusetts allows researchers to work onsite at the Vital Records Office, so I was easily able to find many records I couldn’t find otherwise.  The Vital Records Office charges $9 per hour do conduct research and $18 for a certified copy of a vital record, making research at the Vital Records Office rather expensive.

I purchased 47 birth, death, and marriage records.  The cost for copies of vital records onsite is $10 less than the cost to order the records by mail, so I saved quite a bit of money by ordering onsite.  The staff at the Vital Records Office tried to give me computer printouts of some of the recent births, but I asked if they could give me photocopies of the actual certificates and they graciously did so.  The actual certificates contain a lot more information than the computer printouts, so I’m happy that I insisted on the photocopies.  With recent efforts by some members of the Massachusetts Legislature to restrict access to Vital Records, I decided it was time to get as many records as I can as soon as possible.

On Saturday, I went to the Massachusetts State Archives and made copies of 7 birth records, 3 death records, and 12 naturalization records.  The Archives doesn’t charge for research onsite and charges only 50 cents a page for copies, so my research at the Archives was a lot less expensive than my previous day’s research at the Vital Records Office.

The information I found at the Massachusetts State Archives included the birth and death records for all three infants buried in the grave in Notre Dame Cemetery that I discussed in Aunt Bronisława Has Been Misplaced!  It turns out that the surnames of two of the three infants were misspelled in the cemetery records.  The data I complied from three birth records, three death records, and one cemetery record are:

• John Kurpiel, born October 30, 1912, died December 20, 1912, buried December 21, 1912, age 1 month
• Bronisława Dańko, born January 3, 1912, died January 13, 1913, buried January 15, 1913, age 1 year
• Franciszek Stoma, born December 3, 1913, died August 29, 1914, buried August 30, 1914, age 8 months

I also ordered a monument for the grave, and the stone will be put into place sometime later this year.  Notre Dame Cemetery pours foundations only twice a year - in May and September - so the stone can’t be put into place until September at the earliest.  Tomorrow, I’ll call the monument company to provide them with the correct names and dates, and then I’ll wait to receive the proofs of the inscription.  I’m looking forward to getting monument set in place on this grave that has been unmarked for 94 years!

There’s a lot more to report on my vacation and research trip to the east coast.  I’ll post some of the more interesting records as soon as I get the photocopies scanned.

Many people have found the Passenger Arrival Manifests for their Immigrant Ancestors on the Ellis Island Records site.  I have found the Passenger manifests for all of my grandparents and several other relatives.  Only recently, however, have I started to take a second look at these records to discover what additional information they contain about my ancestors - information that may be hidden in annotations and even on other pages of the manifests.

If you already have found the passenger manifest for your immigrant ancestor, take another look at the manifest and look for annotations.  Two types of annotations were made. The first type was made prior to or at the time of arrival and includes:

• Numbers in the left margin (typically 2 to 7 digits), especially on lists of ships that sailed from England.  This number is the contract ticket number and may be helpful in finding the individual in the British “Outbound Lists”.
• Rarely, a solitary number to the left of the passenger’s name will indicate a Head Tax receipt number.
• “Not Shipped”, “NOB” (Not On Board), “Did Not Sail”, or “Cancelled”, often with the entire line crossed out indicate that, for some reason, the passenger listed did not sail with the ship.
• Sometimes an entire line is crossed out, not because the passenger was not on board, but because they are officially listed on another page of the manifest.
• An “X”, “D”, or “Held” at the left of the manifest, between columns 1 and 2 or in the name column, means that the passenger was temporarily detained or held for a Board of Special Inquiry and the name may have been recorded with further information in a list at the end of the manifest.
• The notation “S.I.” or “B.S.I.” at the left side of the manifest before the name means that the passenger was held for a Board of Special Inquiry hearing and the name may have been recorded with further information in a list at the end of the manifest.
• The notation “USB” or “US Born” or “USC” (US Citizen) may have been made to indicate that the record is for a returning citizen of the United States.
• The letter “C” followed by a string of numbers (C-######), indicating the Naturalization certificate number, may have been made on the records of returning citizens.

The second type of annotation was made after arrival and includes:

• Numbers similar to “435/621″ with no date is the New York file number which indicates an early verification/record check.  The actual file no longer exists.
• Numbers similar to “432731/435765″ indicate that the passenger was a permanent resident of the United States returning with a Re-entry Permit.
• Numbers similar to “1X-151593″ indicate that the arrival of the immigrant was verified prior to naturalization and typically indicates that the verification was made after 1926.  The first number indicates the naturalization district, the “X”, if present, indicates that no fee was required for the Certificate of Arrival, and the second part of the number is the Certificate of Arrival number or the Application number.
• The date of the Certificate of Arrival or the date of Application may follow the Certificate of Arrival number or Application number.
• “C/A” indicates a request for a ”Certificate of Arrival” was made in connection with the filing of papers for Naturalization purposes.
• “V/L” indicates a “Verification of landing” was made.
• “W/A” indicates that a Warrant of Arrest was made.
• “404″ or “405″ is the Verification Form used to reply to a request for Passenger Manifest information to the INS.
• If only the name is crossed out with a line or a series of X’s and another name was written in, the name was officially amended.

The manifest page for the Siborowski/Skowronski family shows a number of these annotations, including “S.I.” showing that one family was sent to a Board of Special Inquiry, an “X” showing that the Siborowski/Skowronski family was detained, and a listing of numbers indicating that Certificates of Arrival were issued for some of the passengers, including Pawel Skowronski.

To find additional information such as the “Record of Detained Alien Passengers” or the “Record of Release of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry”, repeatedly click on the arrow to move to the next frame of the film (on the Ellis Island Records site) or scroll through the microfilm to the end.  You’ll need to be careful with the Ellis Island site, however, since many of the records are recorded in reverse order, and the “forward” arrow may actually take you backward through the pages in the manifest.

Stephen Morse’s Website

If you already know when your immigrant ancestor arrived and you know the name of the ship on which they traveled, it may be far easier to use Stephen Morse’s website to scroll to the end of the film.  Go to Stephen Morse’s site, click on Ship Lists, enter the name of the ship and the date of arrival, and click on “Search” and you will be presented with a link to the correct manifest.  You may still need to scroll through images to find the beginning or end of the manifest, but on Stephen Morse’s site, you can scroll though four frames at a time rather than one at a time on the Ellis Island Site.  Since Stephen Morse’s site actually directs you to the records on the Ellis Island Records site, you may need to click on the -1 button rather than the +1 button to move forward to the next image if the images were scanned from last to first.  If you have the actual frame number for the image of interest, you can enter the frame number directly and jump to that image.

By accessing these images through Stephen Morse’s site, you can save or print the images, even though these functions are disabled on the Ellis Island Site.  

Furthermore, Stephen Morse’s site will provide additional information about microfilms containing the images for the ship of interest, information which may be useful to construct a reference source citation for the manifest image.  The Siborowski/Skowronski manifest can be found on FHL US/CAN Film 1399018 and on U.S. National Archives Film Series T715, Roll 333, Volume 580, Frame 108.

Of course, you can conduct your entire search for Passenger Manifests from Stephen Morse’s site, which includes a much more powerful and versatile search function than does the Ellis Island Records site.

Record of Detained Aliens and Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry

At the end of a post-1903 passenger manifest from Ellis Island, you may find a Record of Detained Aliens and a Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry.  Although these images are available at the Ellis Island Records site, the individuals in the Records of Detained Aliens and Records of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry are not indexed and you will have to serach for those names manually.  Passengers who were dependants of a detained passenger were also detained, but only the number of dependants are listed in the Records of Detained Aliens; their names are not listed.

More Information About the Journey 

Finally, by scrolling through the entire ship’s manifest for a given date of arrival, one may discover that the ship stopped in several ports along the way.  By examining all pages of the passenger manifest, it becomes apparent that, when the Siborowki/Skowronski family traveled to America, their ship the S.S. Graf Waldersee:

• departed Hamburg, Germany (on the Elbe River) on March 13, 1903;
• departed Cuxhaven, Germany (on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River in Lower Saxony) on March 14, 1903;
• departed Boulogne-sur-Mer, France (at the mouth of the River Liane on the Pas de Calais, a narrow bottleneck that separates the English Channel from the North Sea) on March 15, 1903;
• departed Plymouth, England (in the southwest of England in the County of Devon at the mouths of the Rivers Plym and Tamar) on March 16, 1903;
• and arrived in New York on March 29, 1903.

Tomorrow:  More about the Record of Detained Aliens and Record of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry.

Friday’s entry completed the story of my grandfather’s immigration and naturalization experiences, but I didn’t post Kostanty Niedzialkowski’s Certificate of Naturalization (clicking on the link above will bring up a PDF file, and clicking on the image below will bring up a JPG file).

So, Kostanty became a citizen of the United States, but what about his wife, Helen?

Through history, the way in which women acquired citizenship in the United States has changed several times. 

After passage of the Act of February 10, 1855, an alien woman acquired citizenship simply by marrying a citizen. 

The Naturalization Act of 1906 decided that when a man became a citizen, his wife and minor children also became citizens (derivative citizenship). 

The Immigration Act of 1907 required that a woman who married an alien or a married woman whose husband became a citizen of another country lost her citizenship in the United States.  This Act did not apply during World War I.

The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing women the right to vote was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920.  Now, for the first time, women actually had a reason to become a citizen.  Two years after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, the Cable Act of 1922 repealed the provisions of the Immigration Act of 1907 whereby women lost their citizenship through marriage.  In addition, a woman no longer automatically became a citizen when her husband did.

Consequently, my grandmother, Helen (Chmielewska) Niedzialkowski, did not acquire derivative naturalization when Kostanty became a citizen.  She had to go through the whole process herself.  I haven’t yet obtained all of her papers, but I do have a copy of the Index Card to her Naturalization Records, which states her Petition Number (46714) and her Alien Registration Number (3179566).  This information provides me with enough information to order a copy of these documents from the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  I also have a copy of Helen Niedzialkowski’s Certificate of Naturalization (clicking on the link above will bring up a PDF file, and clicking on the image below will bring up a JPG file).

For an interesting article on Immigration and Naturalization Laws affecting women, see “Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married . . .” Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940 in the Summer 1998 issue of Prologue Magazine, a publication of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Finally, here’s a little snippet of information you can toss into the conversation the next time you’re having dinner with a group of genealogists:  Ellis Island was named after a land developer, Samuel Ellis, who bought the island in 1782.

Kostanty Niedzialkowski obtained a Certificate of Arrival on April 5, 1935 and filed a new Declaration of Intention April 27, 1935.  He had to wait at least three years but no more than seven years before filing a Petition for Naturalization.  He did so on July 18, 1939.

Kostanty’s Petition for Naturalization included much of the same information contained in his Declaration of Intention with three exceptions:

1. Kostanty was now living at 18 Huntington Avenue, Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts
2. Kostanty renounced allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly the Republic of Poland and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
3. Kostanty obtained the affidavits of two witnesses who were already citizens of the United States

The affidavits of witnesses were signed by Walter Meleski who was a bartender, and Alfons Dapkiewicz who was a fireman.  Both resided on Glacier St., Morningdale, Massachusetts.  Walter and Alfons testified that they had known Kostanty since 1920 and that he had resided in Worcester, Worcester Co. continuously since 1920.  They also testified that he was a person of good moral character and suitable to be admitted as a citizen of the United States.

On March 25, 1940, Kostanty signed his Oath of Allegiance and was granted a Certificate of Citizenship.

His timing was perfect.  In July 1940, the United States began the Alien Registration Program in which all alien residents over the age of fourteen, regardless of nationality or naturalization status, were required to register at the post office.

My grandfather, Kostanty Niedzialkowski, filed his Declaration of Intention to become a citizen of the United States in 1917.  The Declaration was required by the Act of January 29, 1795.

A few years before Kostanty arrived in the United States, immigration and naturalization laws were amended by the Act of June 29, 1906.  This act did not specifically require a Certificate of Arrival, nor did it not specifically mandate that the applicant legally enter the United States.  The courts, however, generally refused to accept a Declaration of Intention without verification that the applicant entered the country legally.  The Act of March 2, 1929 included a requirement to verify that the applicant was a lawful permanent resident through a Certificate of Arrival.  Passenger Arrival Manifests were searched and information on the manifests was used to generate a Certificate of Arrival.

Above:  Helen and Kostanty Niedzialkowski

Whether Kostanty had difficulty obtaining a Certificate of Arrival or just became too busy after marrying Helen Meleski (Chmielewski), raising a family, and earning a living, he failed to complete the naturalization process in a timely manner.  The Declaration of Intention he filed in 1917 stated that the declaration was “Invalid for all purposes seven years after the date hereof”, and so he had to start the naturalization process all over again.

On April 5, 1935, a Certificate of Arrival was issued to certify that Kostanty had been lawfully admitted to the United States of America.  The Certificate states:

• Name:  Niedzialkoski, Konstanti
• Port of entry:  New York, NY
• Date:  May 24, 1910
• Manner of arrival:  SS Ryndam

The upper edge of the Certificate appears to be perforated, suggesting that the Certificate was torn from a larger sheet.

The Passenger Arrival Manifest of Konstanti Niedzialkoski included the annotation 1-151593- 4/5/35 in the Occupation column.  The first number is the naturalization district number, the second number is the number of the Certificate of Arrival, and the date is the date of issuance of the Certificate.  This annotation corresponds to the correponding number and date on the Certificate itself.  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website list several annotations to the Passenger Arrival Manifests.

Because Kostanty’s Declaration of Intention had expired, he submitted a new Declaration on April 27, 1935.  The new Declaration includes a wealth of information not included on the Declaration he made in 1917.  It includes:

• His residence at 44 Byron St., Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts
• His occupation as a Machinist and the fact that the second and third fingers of his right hand were injured
• A description of him as male, white, medium complexion, blue-gray eyes, blonde hair, height 5 feet 9 inches, and weight of 190 pounds
• His Polish-Russian ethnicity and his polish nationality
• His birth on October 28, 1892 in Pomocki, Lomza, Poland
• His marriage to Helen Meleski on July 10, 1918 in Worcester, Massachusetts
• Helen Meleski’s birth on February 15, 1897 in Likisski, Vilna, Poland and her entry into the United States at New York, N.Y. on January 14, 1913
• The names and birthdates of his five children: Natalie, Raymond, Jane, Fred, and Henry, all born and residing in Worcester
• His emigration from Rotterdam, Netherlands on the SS Ryndam and arrival in New York, NY on May 24, 1910
• His prior Declaration of Intention No. 12755 on June 2, 1917 in the Massachusetts Superior Court
• His photograph and signature
• A reference to his Certificate of Arrival No. 1-151593

Kostanty now had to wait another three years to file his Petition for Naturalization, and if he did not file within seven years, this Declaration of Intention, too, would become invalid.

Next:  Kostanty files his Petition for Naturalization, obtains Affidavits of Witnesses, and signs an Oath of Allegiance.