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Presenter: Hal Bookbinder

One of the first things that the newly created United States of America did was to establish laws covering naturalization. These laws were administered by the states with many variations. Over the years, the laws were changed. In 1906 the Federal Government took control of the entire process. The standardized documentation after 1906 has proven invaluable to genealogical researchers. Similarly, laws controlling immigration have also changed over time with the Federal Government taking control in 1890. The speaker's maternal grandmother was born in St. Louis, Missouri and so was an American citizen by birth. In 1917 she married a man who was brought to the U.S. as a toddler. Upon marriage she lost her American citizenship and was not to be an American again until being naturalized in 1936. This lecture will provide a short history of immigration and naturalization laws and provide general guidance in finding your ancestor's documentation.