Notes

Microfiche of original records in possession of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington, in Washington, D.C.

No circulation to family history centers.

"Until World War I, the United States government did not require its citizens to use passports when traveling abroad. Prior to that time, individuals sometimes found it convenient to carry them in foreign countries where proof of identity might be an issue. U.S. Consulates issued emergency passports to individuals traveling abroad as early as 1790, usually to replace a citizen's lost passport. They were when it was necessary to prove U.S. citizenship or to obtain the protection of the American government while traveling overseas."

"With the mass immigration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the emergency passport took on new meaning. Under American law, wives and minor children automatically derived citizenship from their husband and father's naturalization. Since men often emigrated to the U.S. ahead of their families,, it was not unusual for women and children back in Europe to become American citizens--even though they had not yet set foot in the United States. Once the husband became a citizen, his wife and their minor children could apply for an emergency passport at the nearest U.S. consulate abroad. With this passport, they could emigrate to the United States as citizens and thus by-pass the often onerous inspection at a U.S. immigration station.

"World War I brought a temporary halt to immigration from Europe, but people continued to apply for emergency passports as a form of protection accruing to all U.S. citizens. Derivative citizenship ended in 1922, but until that time following the end of World War I, the use of emergency passports was the most certain method of immigration. There was another group that sought emergency passports: the many native-born Americans who parents (for one reason or another) had brought them back as children to Europe to live. The now-adult children flocked to U.S. consulates to substantiate their claims to U.S. citizenship."

"Most applications are indexed, but the State Department has lost the index for applications from 1915 to 1926. Since the majority of those who applied for emergency passports at that time were Jews, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) was motivated to create an index of Jewish applicants for 1915-1926. Included in this index is the full name of the applicant, birthplace, consulate where application was made, the box number, book number and application number (called 'page number' in this index)."

"The application includes considerable information about the applicant as well as the naturalized citizen, including the latter's ship arrival data and naturalization information. Almost all applications include perfectly preserved photographs. Applications made during the war years usually provided detailed information about the circumstances under which the applicant was living. Applications made by those born in the United States and who wished to return as adults include data about the family and the circumstances under which the family had left the United States for Europe"--Introd.

The library has the emergency passport applications to which these indexes refer. See entry in the Author/Title catalog: United States. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Passport applications, 1795- 1924 ; Indexes 1830-1831, 1850-1852, 1860-1925. Also see the same title in the Locality catalog under: United States - Jewish records.