Town of Portland, Record of Naturalization Papers, 1850 - 1910
PLEASE READ THE INTRODUCTIONS FOR CLARIFICATION OF ENTRIES
This data was abstracted from the original records by a volunteer. There may be errors so please always consult the original document before recording the data as fact.
INTRODUCTION: The information in this database come from Book 27 in Manuscript Collection 4 (Portland Voter Registry Collection) in the Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine. It is a listing of naturalized citizens from 1855 to 1911. This book was most likely created by staff in the Portland Voter Registry office to prove that someone was a naturalized citizen before they were allowed to register to vote. The entries in the volume are arranged chronologically within each letter in the alphabet.
CLARIFYING ENTRIES: When looking for a name, consider that some people dropped letters, changed spellings, and even lost the "Mac", "Mc", or "O" in front of their names. Every effort was made by the transcriptionist to capture the proper name when the handwriting was in question. When the handwriting was unreadable, the transcriptionist entered a guess in brackets or entered question marks.
In most cases, the names of the courts are entered as they appeared in the entry. The following abbreviations were used:
- USDC - United States District Court
- USCC - United States Circuit Court
- UCCCt - United States Circuit Court
- SJC - Superior or Supreme Judicial Court
COLUMNS IN ORIGINAL FORMAT: The original book opened to display five columns per page. The columns have been kept the same in this digital representation. The original columns are as follows:
- Date of Approval: actual date that the naturalization was final.
- Names: Surname with first name and, in some cases, middle initial.
- Date of Papers: date on which the individual filed his intention to become a citizen.
- Court: the court where the individual was finally naturalized.
- Residence: The ward or street in Portland where the individual lived.
COLUMNS ON THE TRANSCRIBED PAGE:
- Date of Approval
- Name
- Date of Papers
- Court
- Residence
- Notes: additional notes that were written on the original record.
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