Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor: A Guide to Naturalization Records, Revised Edition (Everton Publishers, 1986, 153 pp.) is a recent addition to our club library. It’s shelved in the “Research” section. The authors are James and Lila Neagles. Mr. Neagles is also the author of U.S. Military Records and Confederate Research Sources, both in our library, as well as various other books.

Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor focuses on the United States and naturalization, especially prior to 1907. It has six chapters:

1. Early Migrations
2. Resources Related to Naturalization
3. The Naturalization Process
4. The Recent Records – After 1906
5. The Early Records – Before 1907
6. Location of the Early Records

The historical overview is informative.  1986 is when the book was published, so it has no references to the web or online databases.  But courthouses have not moved, and many early records have not been digitized. Chapter 6, on finding them, takes up 77 pages and gives a state-by-state account of records and their location. You might want to copy a page or two if you’re planning a trip to Maine to search for your GGGF.

Thanks to Irma Franke for donating this book to our library.