Naturalization Records for Martin Hambsch

Martin Hambsch is my Grandmother's natural maternal grandfather (my great-great Grandfather). Today I received a copy of his naturalization records. Before 1906, there were two steps to becoming a U.S. citizen. First, you had to declare your intent to become a citizen, then, five years later, you petitioned to become a naturalized citizen. Martin declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen on 6 November 1893 in the Superior Court of New York City (while living at 34 Rector St in Manhattan). He petitioned for U.S. citizenship on 6 April 1899 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. By this time, he was living at 41 Ralph St in Brooklyn.

The petition clearly states he arrived at the Port of New York on 9 Jun 1891, lived 5 years in Manhattan, then lived in Brooklyn from then on.

Here is Martin's 1893 declaration of intent:

These are the two pages of Martin's 1899 petition to become a U.S. Citizen:

Naturalization card for Martin Hambsch

Found my first naturalization record today, which, much like finding an ancestor on a ship's passenger list, is exciting because it's a big step towards my goal of tracing all my children's ancestors back "to the shore" when they immigrated to the U.S.

Here's an image of the index card for Martin Hambsch born 2 Oct 1865 in German. I believe Martin is my Grandmother's biological grandfather.

Citation: Ancestry.com. New York Petitions for Naturalization [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004. Original data: Soundex Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts located in New York City, 1792-1906. New York, NY, USA: National Archives and Records Administration, Northeast Region.