What are census records?
Census records contain specific information about a population that the government gathers in order to provide a snapshot of that population. Census records are collected on a specific date or between a specific date range. The federal U.S. censuses is taken every 10 years, and is used to provide insights about that population.
Why are census records important in the context of citizenship by descent?
To qualify for Italian citizenship by descent you must evidence an unbroken line of descent from your Italian-born ancestor to you, the applicant. Census records list important information such as the immigration and citizenship status of the ancestor, the names of the family, month and year of birth, occupation, country of origin, year of immigration and naturalization information. Exploring the rich and complex information contained in census records is fundamental in the early evaluation stages and genealogical research our team conducts as it helps construct a picture of your family history and lineage, which our team examines in order to determine eligibility. Particularly, census records can be helpful to identify your ancestor’s date of birth, when that is not known. Furthermore, census records normally list the citizenship status of anyone who was not born in the U.S., and so understanding when your ancestor was naturalized is particularly relevant when determining your eligibly for citizenship by descent. Finally, census records can help you to recognize the correct ancestor in the case of namesakes, or misspelled names or last names. In fact, the various family members in the household, the profession, the year of emigration and the place of residency can be compared and cross-referenced in various census records to confirm the identity of your ancestor.
When are census records taken?
The U.S. Federal Census was first recorded in the late 1700s and then every 10 years on the “zero” year after that. Italian emigration was at its highest between 1880 and 1930, and the U.S. Census Records between the 1890 Census all the way to the 1950 Census (the most recent census available) are the ones most utlized when researching family genealogy.
Descendants of Italian immigrants can be also traced using other censuses. Until 1925 the State of New York allowed for state censuses to be taken every 5 years.
What is the importance of census records in relation to vital records?
Census record research is an important prelude to identifying and gathering vital records, which are documents such as birth, marriage, and death, as well as naturalization certificates, and records that prove your ancestor never naturalized or when he/she naturalized.
Vital records prove your direct lineage to your Italian ancestor, and therefore validate your citizenship claim. Vital records must be submitted when a citizenship by descent application is made, and so gathering the relevant vital records is essential. In order to find a birth, marriage, or death certificate for any of the individuals in your Italian line of descent, it is first necessary to identify the town and county where the event occurred. Census records also list the date when the ancestor emigrated (though not always accurate), and also if the ancestor married in the U.S. or Italy. This helps our researchers understand where the marriage certificate/record is potentially located.
As mentioned above, census records can also indicate if/when your ancestor became naturalized. When becoming U.S. citizens, the first step was to file a “Declaration of Intention”. If your ancestor filed a declaration of intention, this would be indicated as “PA” on a census record, meaning “first papers filed”. Once your ancestor met the residency requirement, generally 5 years, they would file a “Petition for Naturalization”, and following approval the ancestor would sign the “Oath of Allegiance”, and be issued a Certificate of Naturalization. This would be the date they officially became a U.S. citizen, meaning up until that point they still held Italian citizenship. Naturalized individuals were marked as “NA” on census records. On the other hand, non-U.S. citizens were marked as “AL”.
Prior to 1906, individuals could file for naturalization in any of the authorized federal, district, state, or local courts. After 1906, however, the naturalization process was managed by federal courts alone, and duplicate copies of all records held by USCIS were made. In some cases, an individual filed the declaration in one court, and years later, the petition in another court. This can cause some confusion when researching and trying to locate ancestors, which is why having a professional to assist is extremely helpful. For more information about locating naturalization records see here.
How can ICA help?
At ICA, we have a direct access to many databases, and can easily retrieve individual state census record archives. Our team of genealogical research specialists access the census record databases and conduct preliminary research to establish if you can apply for citizenship by descent. Our team examine census records, draft cards, naturalization records and passenger lists in order to configure your family history, we then cross-reference multitudes of information to locate your ancestor, which identifies the pathway through which you can apply for Italian citizenship.
The information contained within census records is invaluable in aiding our understanding of your family history. Such information can highlight if your ancestor was already a U.S. citizen at the time of the birth of their child who was born in the U.S. For example, if on the first census taken after the birth of the immigrant’s child it said “AL – alien”, then we can deduce that your ancestor was still an Italian citizen at the time of the birth of his/her child, and can establish your eligibility based on this information. For more information about our free preliminary assessment see here.
Where are census records held and how can they be ordered?
Census records up until the 1950 census are publicly available on various genealogy websites, on the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), or on the website of the State Archives.
In terms of census records taken after 1950, it is possible to view and order copies from census.gov.
Are census records important if applying via a consulate or a 1948 case?
Census records are important when establishing which ancestor to use when applying for citizenship by descent. For example, if it is determined that your male ancestor became naturalized before the birth of the next person in the Italian line, it might be possible to apply through your female ancestor. However, if she gave birth to her child prior to January 1st of 1948 you will have to pursue citizenship via the court system.
Furthermore, determining the naturalization status of your Italian ancestor is relevant in respect of Italian 1912 immigration law, which stated that if an Italian citizen became a citizen of another country through naturalization, he, his wife and all his minor children lost Italian citizenship together. However, if the Italian father naturalized on or after July 1, 1912, all his previously foreign-born or adopted children retained Italian citizenship even if they were minors as long as they were granted the same foreign country’s citizenship automatically when they were born in that country.
With the above considered, if your ancestor appeared on the 1900 and 1910 census as “NA”, this would indicate that they were naturalized before 1912; meaning you would not be eligible for citizenship by descent through them, but you could still potentially qualify through the wife, if they married before 1922 based on the fact that she would have become naturalized completely involuntarily and automatically.
See a related article here for more information.
What are the potential obstacles when locating census records?
One challenge with census records is that they are self-reported, which means errors can occur. Furthermore, when naturalizing, for reasons ranging from language barriers, desire to assimilate and integrate, or simply human errors when recording information, Italian immigrants would sometimes take a different first or last name, in order to to “Americanize” their name (e.g. Giovanni to John) or legally change to a last name that was misspelled, or, to appear older or younger, give a year of birth that was different to their real one.
A further challenge our researchers encounter is that some of the information gathered in census records changed from year to year, for example the 1910 and 1930 records both have columns relating to how long the person was married and the age they married.
With that said, by cross referencing and verifying information, it is then possible to calculate the date your ancestor was married, which is extremely useful when carrying out genealogical research going back to great-grandparents.
All of these factors can present difficulties when researching family history and trying to gather Italian vital records relating to the Italian-born ancestor, and therefore having a genealogical research specialist in the preliminary stage of an application is essential; not only to discover if you qualify, but also to ensure that your application has a successful outcome.
Potential applicants may be concerned that errors within census records can impede the progress of their application, but it is important to state that census records play a pivotal role only in the process of determining eligiblity, and serve the valuable purpose of allowing our team to establish if you have a viable Italian ancestor through whom you can apply to have your Italian citizenship recognized.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the citizenship application process, you can contact us directly and one of our friendly experts will be in touch to answer your questions.
