Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. Naturalization papers are an important source of information about an immigrant's nation of origin, his foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. Information in post-1906 records is more detailed and may include birth dates, birth places, and other information about the immigrant and members of his family.

Naturalization in Territorial Utah

Immigrants in territorial Utah typically filed for naturalization in the probate courts from the 1850s to 1874. Because of the problems between the federal government and the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, most members went to probate courts. The judges in the probate courts were usually members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which made it easier for other members to become citizens. From the 1850s to 1896 federal district courts were also used and other courts, such as county courts, were occasionally used for the naturalization process.

Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who applied for naturalization during the 1870s and 1880s were often denied naturalization because of their belief in polygamy. This was seldom a problem after the Manifesto of 1890 that advised members to discontinue the practice of polygamy.

Naturalization Since 1896

Since 1896 most naturalizations have been processed by the state district courts or the United States District Court for the District of Utah.

State district courts. The state district courts naturalized immigrants from 1896 to about 1979. The records of these courts are located in the county clerk's office for each county or at the Utah State Archives. The Family History Library has copies of some records.

United States District Court for the District of Utah. The central division office of this court in Salt Lake City has naturalization court orders, petitions, and certificate stubs from 1898 to the present. This office maintains an incomplete but helpful index of their naturalization records from 1908 to the present.

To learn more about the different courts see the "Court Records" section of this outline.

Location of Records

The Family History Library has naturalization records for many counties and different courts. In some counties, the records from different courts are combined. There are two naturalization indexes for the most populated areas of the state. Both indexes cover several courts and several counties. The district courts usually covered more than one county. Check the Utah State Archives Internet site for the counties covered by the different district courts and the years covered. The "Archives and Libraries" section of the outline lists the Internet site.

Utah. District Court. (Utah County). Naturalization Index, ca 1860–1989. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989. (FHL film 1643939 item 2 and 1643989; computer number 581069.) The index is divided into two time periods. The first time period covers 1860–1940 and the second covers 1940–1989. This index contains naturalizations recorded in district court minutes, petition books, and probate minutes. Besides Utah county, Juab, Millard, and Emery counties are also covered in this index. The court minutes indexed in this record are found in the following:

Utah. District Court. (Utah County). Court Minutes, 1852–1966. Provo, Utah: Utah County Microfilming Department, 1962–1966. (On 18 FHL films beginning with 482920; computer number 143556.) These records consist of the records of the First and Second Judicial District of the Territory of Utah. The naturalization records are found in books until September 1948. Millard, Juab, and Green River (now Emery) counties' records are included until 1886.

Utah. District Court. (Salt Lake County). Naturalization Records 1853–1936, Salt Lake City: Utah State Archives and Records Service 1980–1981, 1989–1990. (On 48 FHL films beginning with 1643989 item 3; computer number 577923.) The index is located on the first film covering about 1858–1980. The index covers the territorial courts and district courts. It includes most northern Utah counties. The declarations and petitions from 1851–1936 are located in this record. The territorial minutes indexed in this record are found in:

Utah. District Court. (Salt Lake County). Court Minutes, 1858–1920. Salt Lake City: Utah State Archives and Records Service, 1981–1982. (On 33 FHL films beginning with 1670847; computer number 578141.) These early minutes include naturalizations. They are arranged chronologically by volume numbers.

Copies of the district court naturalization records since 1906 have been sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS case files also include the original applications and may contain affidavits, copies of vital record certificates, photographs, emigration materials, and other information.

The naturalization records are listed in the Locality Search in the Family History Library Catalog under:

UTAH, [COUNTY] - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP
UTAH - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP