Naturalizations
See my feature article, Naturalization In Our Ancestor's Time, published in the June 2014 issue of the Old Franklin Township Historical Society newsletter.
See also Banners in Plain, Wisconsin
The naturalization act of 1802 was a three-part process: 1) Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen; 2) Petition for Naturalization; 3) Certificate of Naturalization and Citizenship
For a complete explanation of the naturalization process, see United States Naturalization and Citizenship (sign in to your account), Wisconsin Naturalization and Citizenship, and Wisconsin Historical Society's Overview of the Naturalization Process and Naturalization Records, 1790-present
Plain, Sauk County, Wisconsin, residents
Non-citizens of USA who moved to Franklin Township in Sauk County, Wisconsin, generally applied for citizenship in Sauk County, but may have applied in Dane County and in Iowa County as well. They may have gone to the courthouse in Baraboo in Sauk County for one part of their application and into another county for another part of the application. They filed the Declaration of Intention to Become a Citizen first. It may have been years later when they filed the next part of the application. Some never did file their last papers.
Petitions in the early 1900s included more personal information such as a physical description; occupation; place of residence in their homeland and in America; a picture; birth dates and places of the petitioner, names and birth dates of spouses and children; marriage dates and places; the full date of emigration; and the ship name and place of departure and arrival.
Where can you find naturalization records? The 4th floor archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, has original naturalization books and images of naturalization records on microfilm. Most of the books have indexes. As with any record, there may be spelling and date errors. The naturalization records on microfilm can be saved as jpegs or printed from the microfilm reader. If you cannot travel to Madison, you can search for naturalization records online at FamilySearch.org. In their catalog, search for Wisconsin Naturalization to see the entire list of their collection for counties in Wisconsin: HERE or search for names at Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992
The Reedsburg Public Library also has naturalization records on microfilm.
The following table shows names of people who once lived in Sauk County, Wisconsin, in or near Franklin Township, Bear Creek Township, Spring Green Township, the Village of Plain, Wilson Creek, Loreto, etc. Information in the table came from naturalization records and ship passenger lists. The table includes the names of applicants, year and place of birth, emigration date, name of vessel and ports, naturalization years, and names of witnesses. The full emigration date appeared on most of the records. When you know the exact date, it makes it easier to find the ship manifest list.
When searching for locations of towns in Germany, search Meyers Gazetteer and BayernAtlas
Table below created by Debbie Blau on April 18, 2014; update in progress in 2022....