In 1790 citizenship required a two year residency in the U.S. and one year in the state, to be of good character, and to be performed in a court of record. The laws affecting naturalization changed over the years and who was responsible for granting citizenship also changed. The naturalization side of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) did not come into being until Congress created the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization by passing the Naturalization Act of 29 June 1906 under the Department of Commerce and Labor. The new agency became responsible for overseeing and supervising the courts in the naturalization of aliens and for keeping a duplicate of each court's final naturalization records. Prior to that date, naturalization was exclusively a function of the courts.
The intention of the Basic Naturalization Act was to provide a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens throughout the United States. The law, effective 27 September 1906, was designed to provide "dignity, uniformity, and regularity" to the naturalization procedure. It established procedural safeguards and called for specific and uniform information regarding applicants and recipients of citizenship status.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service was separated from the Labor Department and placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice in June 1940. In 2002, the INS was dismantled and many of their functions became the responsibility of the new U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Sources: Szucs, Loretto, They Became Americans. Ancestry Incorporated, 1998; Szucs, Loretto and Sandra Luebking, editors. The Source, 3rd edition, Ancestry, 2006.
In 1906, The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization required all aliens to be registered. Residency requirements for citizenship were two years to file intent and five years for final papers. Final papers comprised the Declaration of Intention, Oath of Allegiance, and certificate of naturalization.
Thomas J. McIntyre declared his intention to become an American citizen on March 18, 1908 by completing the Declaration of Intention (often called "first papers"). The Declaration of Intention was made by an alien, as a preliminary to naturalization, before a court of record, to the effect that it is his intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States.
He filed his first papers in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The document reads:
I, Thomas McIntyre, aged 28 years, occupation Motorman, do declare on oath that my personal description is: Color: White, complexion: dark, height: 5 feet 7 inches, weight: 180 pounds, color of hair: Black, color of eyes: Grey, other visible distinctive marks: none; I was born in County Sligo Ireland, on the 14th day of April, anno Domini 1879; I now reside at 35 Flournoy St. Chicago, Ills. I emigrated to the United States of America from Queenstown, Ireland on the vessel Majestic; my last foreign residence was County Sligo, Ireland. It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to Edward VII King of Great Britain and Ireland, of which I am now a subject; I arrived at the port of New York, in the State of New York on or about the 22nd day of April, anno Domini 1903; I am not an anarchist; I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy; and it is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States of America and to permanently reside therein: So Help Me God.
Signed: Thomas McIntyre
Subscribed and sworn before me this 18 day of March, anno Domini 1903.
Signed: Joseph E. Bidwill, Jr., Clerk of the Circuit Court, by B. W. Reid, Deputy Clerk.
He had been in the country since 1904, but he writes 1903 on the Declaration. Also, he makes himself a year younger, by stating he was born in 1879.
In 1910 he completes his Petition for Naturalization and takes his Oath of Allegiance.
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