Alien registration card

[jamurp01]

Wow thanks Johnny (sorry for the long reply, passed right out from all this stress!)

Well the gossip through the generations is that Antonino was "possibly" married in the same Sicilian town before he got together with Grazia... my grandmother and her sisters were "tight-lipped about" this; especially since he died long before their mother did.. "supposedly" (all speculation) there was a son left in Biancavilla AND he went back sometime to Italy for a visit- but there was also another son on the manifest, or brother- we have no idea- He's underneath Grazia; Benedetto- He was 12, that would have made him born the same year Grazia and Antonino got married.... juicy gossip at that time?!

I was never able to find anything about Antonino on any later manifests.. I searched EI's records.. lots of Antonino/Antonio/Antony's but after 1920 the records get hazy! Nor did I ever find anything on Benedetto- he seemed to disappear... BUT on an interesting note (I found, and I've tried doing so much research on everyone I forget why I found this, but it was from NARA's ARC) a death certificate that for an Antonino Verzi (one year old child) at the same address as the Russo family in Lawrence... this told me that the Verzi family, who they must have met up with after getting of the ship from Palermo, and the Russo family resided together in Mass.

I also know that Grazia never really learned english (she sort of raised my father and he only spoke italian until he was about whereas Antonino spoke more english...

Since USCIS and all of my searches don't seem to find any Antonio that Naturalized, I'm still inclined to believe that he never did.... but why did he never get an ARC????? AND on the 1930 census he still declared himself an Alien...

Thanks Qnana- its good to know that even if there are no numbers he COULD have been naturalized... did your Grandfather naturalize in a State or Local court, instead of the Federal Court?

I cannot go thru Grazia- first of all she never could get her name straight, hehe, and second she had my grandmother way before 1948!!! (you were right)

I am thinking of purchasing a one-month prescription to Ancestry- do you think it's worth it, that I could find more information on my GGF? It would be beneficial, I'm still also just interested in learning more about them and the extended family....

Perhaps I try NH......

[suanj]

thanks for such a quick response!

My great grandfather's name info:

Antonino Russo-
b. June 29th 1870, Biancavilla Sicilia
marriage: Feb 13 1902, Biancavilla Sicilia
d. Nov. 22 1949, Waltham Mass

Emigration: Apr 25 1914, from Palermo to Ellis Island on the Patria

wife: Grazia Verzi
daugther (my grandmother): Anna Russo (born in Rollingsford NH)

Antonino Russo lived in Lawerence Mass after he landed in America, then the family moved to Rollingsford New Hampshire, then moved back to Mass sometime after that..

I need to prove that he never naturalized between 1914, and March 11, 1918!

He was also registered on the 1930 census in NH (strattford county) as still being an alien....

I have a record for an Antonino Russo b. July 18th 1870 with an alien registration number, but not my great grandfather

hi,
on the ship's manifest ( pag 1 )
it are naturalization marking only abt Grazia... and in 1930 census, Antonio and Grazia Russo are both aliens:
1930 United States Federal Census
about Antony Russo
Name: Antony Russo
Home in 1930: Rollinsford, Strafford, New Hampshire
View Map
Age: 58
Estimated birth year: abt 1872
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Gracia
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace: View image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Antony Russo 58
Gracia Russo 48
Mary Russo 19
Annie Russo 12
Josephine Russo 9

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/9546/1930russo.jpg
I cannot find a naturalization record abt your Antonio Russo...
regards,
suanj

[jamurp01]

I still wonder if it's possible that he never naturalized and never filed for an alien registration card; has anyone ever encountered this same issue? I did write to the New Hampshire State Archives to see if they can locate anything as well!

Perhaps NARA will locate something this week... i am keeping my fingers crossed....

[jamurp01]

Are alien registration number assigned by order of application? I was thinking that logically my GGF's alien number would either be the one before or after the number "4735504" (My great grandmother's number.)

Is there anyway to do a reverse lookup on an alien registration number or card number, or even a naturalization petition number to find the person who did it right before or after the existing individual?

I was contemplating giving the USCIS a call and asking why they could not locate any AR-2 form on an individual if they never naturalized... perhaps they didn't do a thorough job???

[johnnyonthespot]

Question: Are you absolutely certain of Antonio's date of death? Do you actually have a document/death certificate?

It crossed my mind that perhaps Antonio died earlier - let's say 1939 instead of 1949 - that would explain both the missing Alien Registration Card and also the somewhat unusual fact that his wife naturalized on her own while he did not.

[jamurp01]

Positive- I have the death certificate (certified and apostilled)

I've scanned thru both footnote and also ancestry, and can't find anything on him other than the 1930 census... so weird?! Is it possible that the death certificate is wrong- even if it's certified???

[johnnyonthespot]

Is it possible that the death certificate is wrong- even if it's certified???

No, not likely; only if it is for the wrong Antonio Russo...

Oh well, it was just a thought which crossed my mind while driving back from the mall.

[qnana]

jampurp01-

Sorry I didn't answer your question sooner. My grandfather naturalized in the Special Term of the Supreme Court of Bronx County in the Bronx. I haven't found his Declaration or Petition yet.

Good luck- qnana

[johnnyonthespot]

jampurp01-

Sorry I didn't answer your question sooner. My grandfather naturalized in the Special Term of the Supreme Court of Bronx County in the Bronx. I haven't found his Declaration or Petition yet.

Good luck- qnana

Do you know approximately what yerar that was? Since you haven't found the documents, what are you basing this information on?

[PeterTimber]

They originally put in the Citizenship certificate(file) on the arrival manifest as an anti fraud device since there were many fraudulent documents in the pre ww11 years and so anyone who received a bonafide cititzenship certificate it would also show up on the original arriving manifest for that specific alien. This practicestopped upon the advent of ww11. =Peter=

[johnnyonthespot]

They originally put in the Citizenship certificate(file) on the arrival manifest as an anti fraud device since there were many fraudulent documents in the pre ww11 years and so anyone who received a bonafide cititzenship certificate it would also show up on the original arriving manifest for that specific alien. This practicestopped upon the advent of ww11. =Peter=

On the records I have examined in detail, it is not the "Citizenship certificate(file)" but the "Certificate of Arrival" number which is written on the manifest. The Certificate of Arrival was submitted along with the Declaration of Intent to prove the immigrant entered the US legally.

[VaDeb]

Just some info to add to Certificate of Arrival


What was a Certificate of Arrival? (United States only)
Certificates of Arrival were a product of the Basic Naturalization Act of 1906, and begin to appear in court naturalization records ca. 1911. The 1906 law required that each applicant for naturalization be a legally admitted immigrant, and applied to all immigrants arriving after June 29, 1906. These began to apply for citizenship in 1911 (5 years later), and in response to the applications to the courts (Declarations or Petitions), the Immigration Service would issue a Certificate of Arrival, which simply certified information taken from the passenger manifest. The Certificates of Arrival were never given to the immigrant. They were issued and sent to the court, to satisfy the court that the applicant met the admission and residency requirements for naturalization. Certificates of Arrival were associated with Declarations and/or Petitions, but were not the same document. When an immigrant filed a Declaration (or, if they were exempt from the Declaration requirement, when they filed their Petition), one copy of that document went from the court to the US Immigration Service. The INS then checked the immigration records to verify the immigrant's claimed port/date/ship of arrival. When found, they would certify that information on a form called "Certificate of Arrival," and mail it back to the court. Today these forms are often found filed with the court records. Copies of the certificates were not kept by the INS, since they had the passenger list itself.

http://www.theshipslist.com/Forms/faq.html

Debbie

[johnnyonthespot]

Thanks, Debbie!

[PeterTimber]

The "C" file is the certificate of citizenship number on the petition for citizenship and that is what I referred to. You can call it certificate of arrival if you wish but the "C" file number appeared on the certfiicate of citizenship and on the manifest. =Peter=

[johnnyonthespot]

The "C" file is the certificate of citizenship number on the petition for citizenship and that is what I referred to. You can call it certificate of arrival if you wish but the "C" file number appeared on the certfiicate of citizenship and on the manifest. =Peter=

No, the "C" file number (which is the same number on the actual, final, Certificate of Citizenship and also entered on the Oath of Allegiance, is not the number which is notated on the manifest. The number on the manifest, usually handwritten next to the "given name" column, is the Certificate of Arrival number. The document Debbie described above.