My grandmother, Helen Niedzialkowski, became a citizen of the United States on June 12, 1953, forty years after she arrived in the country . I’m not sure what inspired her to become a citizen after all those years, especially since her husband, Kostanty, became a citizen in 1940.
In July, while I was at the Massachusetts Archives, I tried to find Helen’s Naturalization Papers on microfilm, but I found that only the index cards for 1953 had been microfilmed . Nonetheless, I did find the index card for my grandmother’s naturalization.
Index Card for the Naturalization of Helen Anne Niedzialkowski
Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Index Card for the Naturalization Of Helen Niedzialkowski -1953 . The record is actually very informative . The card states that she was granted Certificate of Naturalization No. 7089706, that her name was Helen Anne Niedzialkowski, that she lived at 40 Barnes Ave., Worcester, Mass., that she was born 2/15/97 (that’s 1897), and that she became a citizen on 6/12/53 (her Certificate of Naturalization was dated the same day) at the Superior Court at Worcester, Mass . She had filed Petition of Naturalization No. 46714 and had previously held Alien Registration No. 3179566.
Since I now know her Petition number and Certificate of Naturalization number, I should be able to find her complete naturalization records at the Superior Court at Worcester, Massachusetts . Perhaps even more interesting is that, since she waited so long to become a citizen, she was obligated to register as an alien and she had an Alien Registration Number . With this number, I should be able to request a copy of her alien registration from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko
