This collection of immigration records includes original and restored Declarations of Intention to Naturalize and Naturalization papers filed in Hamilton County approximately between 1837 and 1916. During a riot in 1884 the courthouse was burned and many records series were destroyed. A great number of the citizenship documents were lost forever but a significant number survived and others were restored. Some of the records in the database are records from other states and counties that were filed in Hamilton County.
The records included in this database contain the following elements: Applicant name, age, country of origin, departure port and date, arrival port and date, declaration date, naturalization date, and restored date. This represents the complete information available on the document. Please note that the original documents cannot be photocopied due to the possibilty of damage, however patrons are welcome to visit the Archives & Rare Books Library to take non-flash digital photographs of the records.
A "T" in the Declaration column indicates that the record is a Declaration of Intention to Naturalize. A "T" in the Naturalization column indicates that the record is a Naturalization. Some of the original records are in volumes and some are individual documents. Volume and page numbers indicate records are in volumes. A "T" in the Folder column indicates that an item is an individual document in a folder.
Patrons can currently browse through an alphabetical list of applicant names. (Browse the Database) Additionally, the UC Libraries site search can be used to do a basic search of the database. Advanced search capability will be added in the future. The record details can be accessed by clicking on the applicant name in the list.
1. In the UC Libraries search box at the left, type in the surname of the person for whom you are looking and the word "citizenship." Click the "Go" button.
2. If the name is found, an entry should appear near the top of the list on the results page. Click on the link provided which will take you to the page within the database where the name falls.
