Charles H. Albers Declares His Intent to Become A Citizen of the United States, 11 Oct 1890

      Getting to know my Great Grandfather Albers is a little difficult. His early background and whereabouts seem to be hiding. But, these characteristics became just a little clearer when his 1890 Declaration of Intent to become a citizen emerged.  I could imagine a 19-year-old young man leaving home in Germany in 1884 to travel across the ocean to the United States.  And then, six years later Charles H. Albers went into the Marion County Circuit Court in Indianapolis, Indiana, declaring his  intent to become a citizen of his new country.  
        I learned of the naturalization record first through the online index at the Indiana State Archives website (HERE).  Then I took that information in person to the State Archives in Indianapolis to request a copy of the original document.   Following is the page that includes Charles’s name on the list from the  Naturalization Records, Book 3, Page 1, Box 07-B-02.  This is a stitched copy of the large record book page that was scanned for me by the archives staff.  His name and the date are marked with yellow marker.  The transcription is below the document.

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The record above gives the following information: 
Name of Alien:  Albers, Charles
Date of Declaration:  Oct 11, 1890
Place of Birth:  Germany
Age: 25
What Nation: Germany
Date of Arrival:  Jan 15, 1884
To Whom Owes Allegiance: Emperor Wm
Clerk Issuing Papers: John Wilson

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     A microcosm of the immigration story overall might be told from looking at this one page of names that start with the letter A.  The page was recorded between 1887 and 1892 and of the 29 men listed 19 were German.  Their ages ranged from 21 to 39.  Our Charles was in the younger range, of this tiny sample, at the age of 25.  There are also Irishmen, 1 Dane, 1 Swede, 1 Swiss, 1 Italian and 1 Russian. Of those on this particular page, only Charles is recorded on October 11, 1890.  I guess the A’s weren’t popular that day.  Or was he the only person declaring on that day?  For now, I can’t access the whole record to know these answers.  
     So, what happens now?   Of course, the search goes on to locate documentation of the day when Charles was actually made a citizen  -- his naturalization.  In the 1900 census the enumerator recorded that he was a naturalized citizen.  But, if, when and where that occurred is still a question.  One thing is sure, I have a glimpse at Great Grandfather Albers through this Declaration of Intent registered on 11 October 1890.

Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties,
Nancy

To learn about Naturalization Records through the Indiana Archives and Records Administration, go to their website: http://www.in.gov/iara/2941.htm
For information on the Indiana Naturalization and Records Indexes available at Family Search: http://bit.ly/2d5zYWy
I wrote one previous story about Charles Albers: HERE

Copyright © 2016, Nancy Niehaus Hurley