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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Carl's Certificate of Naturalization

Carl Albert Gillberg Certificate of Naturalization Cropped

My regular readers may remember that my Great-Grandpa Carl had filled out two Declarations of Intention to become a United States citizen. He filled out the first one in 1924 and the second one in 1939. Why did Carl fill out two declarations? The following statement, which is at the top of both declarations, may provide the answer.

 Declaration of Intention Time Requirement

It appears that Carl may not have completed the requirements to become a U.S. citizen after filling out the 1924 declaration, so he had to fill out a second one. I'm actually pretty glad he had to fill out that second declaration because it contained so much more information.

After completing the 1939 Declaration of Intention, Carl did complete the requirements to become a U.S. citizen. And on July 10, 1942, at 60 years of age, and thirty-three years after emigrating from Sweden, Carl became a citizen of the United States of America. I wonder how Great-Grandpa Carl felt when he was given his Certificate of Naturalization.

Information listed in this document:
  1. Age – 60 years old
  2. Sex – Male
  3. Color – White
  4. Complexion – Light
  5. Color of Eyes – Green
  6. Color of Hair – Gray
  7. Height – 5' 8" Tall
  8. Weight – 180 Pounds
  9. Visible Distinctive Marks – Left Forefinger Off At Second Joint
  10. Marital Status – Married
  11. Former Nationality – Swedish
  12. Bonuses – Carl's Photo and Signature (Hurray!)
  13. Address – 12306 Wick Street, Roscoe, California

 I'm so glad my Grandma Ingrid (Carl's daughter) kept a copy of her father's Certificate of Naturalization in one of her Books of Remembrance. It truly is a family history treasure.

Thanks for reading!

 Jana

 © 2013 Copyright by Jana Last
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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2013 at 7:14 PM

    So much information. Plus a picture. Plus a signature. Truly a treasure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 16, 2013 at 8:04 PM

      Hi Kathy,

      Yep, lots of information + Carl's picture + Carl's signature = genealogy happy dance!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. DeniseinVAJuly 16, 2013 at 8:31 PM

    How wonderful! I have made a start doing my family's genealogy and hope to step it up in the near future.

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    Replies
    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 16, 2013 at 9:57 PM

      Hi Denise,

      Thank you! It's great that you've started doing your family's genealogy. Thank you so much for stopping by my genealogy blog. And thanks for the follow as well. =)

      Delete
  3. WendyJuly 17, 2013 at 3:00 AM

    And what beautiful penmanship he had! Don't you love knowing he had green eyes?

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    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 22, 2013 at 5:55 PM

      Hi Wendy,

      It's so fun to see the writing of our ancestors isn't it? And yes, it is fun to see that Carl had green eyes. I have hazel eyes - green and brown. Kind of like a little from my mom's side of the family and a little from my dad's side of the family. A true blend.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Devon Noel LeeJuly 17, 2013 at 5:37 AM

    Yeah Grandma Ingrid!!!!! Yeah for you. Those Books of Remembrance can be awesome.

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    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 22, 2013 at 5:56 PM

      Hi Devon,

      Oh yes, Ingrid's Books of Remembrance are truly awesome! She did an amazing job with them. They're stuffed full of family history treasures, such as this.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Michelle TaggartJuly 17, 2013 at 8:01 AM

    I agree with Wendy, what beautiful penmanship. Thank goodness they didn't sign everything electronically back then (signatures haven't been the same since).

    I love anything with their picture on it, so what a bonus!

    I noticed the hand indicating "sign here." I have seen other old documents with that on it and for some reason, I just really love that. I told my husband when we signed our wills that I wanted that on my will (he is an attorney). He just laughed, but I was serious. Sadly, it wasn't on there when we signed.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 22, 2013 at 6:07 PM

      Hi Michelle,

      Your mention of the electronic signature sparked a memory of mine. I remember when I worked at Chevron in San Francisco in the Word Processing Department that we had a signature machine to add signatures to documents. It was a large metal thing that we would attach a pen to and it would sign the documents. Pretty interesting but impersonal.

      And I love that old-timey hand pointing to where the signature goes too.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. MariannJuly 17, 2013 at 6:11 PM

    Yes, more good information -- and even his picture, from 1939. I wonder if his hair was blond when he was younger -- that's how I think of people from Sweden?

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    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 22, 2013 at 6:09 PM

      Hi Mariann,

      From some pictures I've seen, I don't think he was blonde. His hair looked somewhat dark in those photos.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Debi AustenJuly 18, 2013 at 11:28 AM

    A picture! LOVE THAT!

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    Replies
    1. Jana Iverson LastJuly 22, 2013 at 6:10 PM

      Hi Debi,

      I know what you mean! Pictures are always a treasure within themselves in addition to any information gleaned from old documents.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete