What I Learned from Nellie Block's AR 2

Earlier this month, I sent for a digital copy of the Alien Registration Form (AR-2) filled out by my paternal great aunt Nellie Block (1876?-1950). Nellie was the oldest sister of my paternal grandfather Isaac Burk. She gave inconsistent answers to each US Census in which she was enumerated and even her death cert raised questions. So I spent $20 to try to learn something new about her. It was worth it.

This is not my first adventure in AR-2 ordering. An earlier order (fee $20) gave me a bit of detail about a different immigrant ancestor. This time I got more for my money.

1) Nellie did not come through Ellis Island

One of the key pieces of new information: Nellie said she immigrated through the Port of Boston in May, 1890. I will now research this port and date to try to find her passenger list. Most of my ancestors came through Ellis Island but not Nellie, apparently!

I have long puzzled over the fact that Nellie was the first among her siblings to leave Lithuania (which was part of the Russian Empire at the time) and come to America. By finding her passenger manifest, I may discover that she did not come directly to America but, like two of her brothers, might have stopped in another country en route. Finding her Boston arrival is now on my genealogy to-do list!

2) Nellie gave a different birth date

She was inconsistent about her age on every document I've seen. For the AR-2 she gave a specific birth date of July 10, 1872. That means she was 78 years old at the time of her death in 1950--not 85 as her gravestone shows. 

Which birth date is real? Even her younger brothers didn't seem to know her actual birth year. I'm just going to have to go with what Nellie swore to in her AR-2 statement.

3) Nellie's activities and occupation

From 1930 on, Nellie was involved with Beth El Hospital, now Brookdale Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York. Presumably she was a volunteer, but no additional info is on the AR-2 Form. By 1940 Nellie was almost 68 years old and probably she was not employed regularly so she might have had time to be a volunteer.

Her occupation was listed on the AR form as housework and sewing. I wonder whether she sewed for private clients to make extra cash. Earlier in life, for at least 15 years, she was an "operator" on furs and other materials, according to Census answers about occupation.

4) Nellie never applied for citizenship

Of course I looked diligently for any sign of a naturalization document and now I see Nellie told officials she had not applied for first citizenship papers. She would know.

5) Nellie was mostly truthful (I think)

She told the truth about having no living parents, spouse, or children in America. She told the truth about never being in the military. 

However, she definitely didn't tell the truth about her marital status: She was actually widowed, not single, in 1940. Possibly she was not presented with the opportunity to explain how she was widowed not long after her marriage. 

Two Pages of #FamilyHistory for $130

CD with grandpa Isaac Burk's Alien Registration Form

In November, when dramatically higher fees were proposed for requesting genealogy records from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), the first thing I did was write a strongly-worded protest letter, and copied my legislators.

Then I looked at my family tree and decided to finally obtain USCIS records for my paternal grandfather Isaac Burk (1881?-1943). After all, if the price goes even higher, it will be entirely out of reach. Better to check on Grandpa's records now.

First step: Pay $65 for a Search

I clicked to the USCIS page for genealogy and read the directions. As the page explains, without a case number or other identifier, I needed to pay $65 for the department to search for Grandpa's name in its files. I submitted my request and my credit card number online just before Thanksgiving.

The search was completed in mid-December. USCIS said it had two types of records: C-File (naturalization court records) and AR-2 Form (Alien Registration Form).

Because I've already found Grandpa's naturalization documents (citizenship, petition, and so forth--dating from 1930s through his naturalization in 1942), I decided to send only for his 1940 AR-2 Form.

Second step: Pay another $65 for AR-2--and Wait

After waiting the requisite 24 hours to order documents mentioned in the USCIS letter, I applied online to receive the AR-2, paying another $65 by credit card. The date was December 14, 2019.

Six weeks later, I received two follow-up letters from the USCIS, acknowledging my records request and providing me with a case identification number. One letter said that the results would be mailed to me. The other letter said I would receive the records on a CD.

On March 8, I received an envelope with a CD dated February 26, 2020.

What $130 Buys
 

AR-2 Form for Isaac Burk

On the CD was a cover note explaining that there were exactly two pages corresponding to my AR-2 Form request.

Also on the CD was an excellent scan of Grandpa's Alien Registration Form, two pages long!

Did I learn anything?

• Grandpa Isaac said he was born in "Kovna, Russia" which was technically correct--it was within independent Lithuania until 1939, when the area was taken over by the Soviets. Not new news, but confirmation of what he said in some other documents (when he didn't say simply "Russia"). For instance, in one of his naturalization papers, he declared his birthplace as "Kovna, Lithuania."
• Grandpa Isaac gave his birthday as June 5, 1881. On some other documents, he gave the year as 1882. Maybe I should believe 1881?
• Grandpa Isaac said he was a "machinist" working for a manufacturer of dress forms. In most older documents, Grandpa's usual occupation was shown as "carpenter, cabinet-maker" with the same or a nearby address for his employer. This dress-forms company was also his employer on his WWII "old man's draft" card...and it was run by an in-law. So this was of interest.
• Grandpa Isaac said he was a member of the Independent Harlem True Brothers (a benevolent society) since 1916. Grandpa and his wife, Grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954), were both buried in this society's plot in Riverside Cemetery, Saddle Brook, NJ. But I hadn't known how long he was with the group, which he obviously joined within a year of settling down in New York City permanently.

This was an expensive experiment that I'm glad I tried but won't repeat. Not enough new information to make two pages worth $130.

IF, however, I didn't know Grandpa's date of immigration, his place of birth, his address at the time, and other details, this could have been more valuable than it turned out to be for me, 22 years after first beginning my search for Grandpa's life story.