Above, part of the 1925 New York State Census from the Bronx, showing my maternal great-grandparents, Morris (Moritz) Farkas and his wife Lena, plus 5 of their children: Julius, Peter, Rose, Fred, and Regina.
What I particularly love about this New York Census is the question about citizenship and where/when naturalized. As marked above, Great-grandpa Morris told the enumerator he was a citizen, naturalized in New York in 1907. Great-grandma Lena Kunstler Farkas said she was a citizen under "husband's papers." Two Hungarian-born children, Julius and Peter, simply were shown as citizens with no further details.
Good thing Morris didn't wait to become a citizen because after March 2, 1907, Lena and the minor children would NOT have been able to claim US citizenship by virtue of Morris's naturalization papers. Each would have needed to apply for naturalization individually. More about searching for citizenship documentation online can be found here.
"What the Census Suggests" is this week's genealogy writing prompt from Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors series.
Yes, these are clues to tell us to look for the naturalization papers. I have a few who only did the first papers and then thought they were naturalized, or perhaps I just haven't found the place where they did naturalized.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for good timing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great example of how much insight a state census can provide! I love how you connected Morris’s 1906 naturalisation to Lena and the children’s derivative citizenship, it really shows how timing made all the difference. The 1925 New York Census question about where and when naturalized is such a gem for researchers. It’s amazing how one carefully read line can clarify an entire family’s legal status.
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