Secrets of the Census, Part 7: 1900

Our last post in this series was in January when we reminded our readers of what happened to the 1890 census and why we don't have digital copies of it for most of our ancestors. (Did you miss that post? You can read it here.) We now come to the start of a new century and a world that was in the throes of major changes. It was the year The Wizard of Oz was published, work began on the subway system in New York City, and those new-fangled automobiles scaring horses and humans were labeled "devil wagons." Hawaii became a U.S. territory, McKinley was president, and a new baseball club, the American League, was formed in Chicago. The census takers for the 1900 federal census began their jobs on 1 June and were given just thirty days to complete their tasks, no small feat for a U.S. population that exceeded 76,000.000! This first twentieth-century census gives us new and important information on our ancestors.

New Naturalization Indices Added to the StLGS Website!

Almost all of us had immigrant ancestors, although not all of them chose to become American citizens. Necessary for voting and to attain some legal status, citizenship was not a priority for those who didn't expect to buy land, weren't welcomed by the often-crowded communities in which they found themselves, or didn't especially care about electing local or national officials. Prior to September 1906, naturalization was a function of individual states and could take place in any court in the country. The number of years one had to be a resident fluctuated over time, and there were no restrictions about where you had to complete the process once you started it. And it was a process. First, an immigrant had to file a declaration of intention to become a citizen; these were often called first papers. The next step, after a certain number of years had passed, was a petition for citizenship, or final papers.

Action Needed from Genealogists to Prevent Unreasonable Fee Hike!

Did you know the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has a genealogy records program? This program gives the public access to copies of immigration and naturalization records dating from the beginning of federal immigration records in 1893 into the 1950s. However, the program has not been supported adequately, and now, because of a proposed hike in fees, these valuable documents may become far less available to genealogists. Read on for more information and how you can help to save access to these records.

November Genealogy Events and News

Finally, it feels like fall! Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa will be here before we know it. Our genealogy year is winding down, but we have an interesting monthly meeting planned for November, and, if you missed the livestreaming of our Fall Speaker Series, "Mapping Our Ancestors," you can still register to watch the digital recordings. Our friends in St. Clair County, Illinois, have an upcoming meeting that may be helpful to you, and we want to share an honor recently bestowed on a historic African American cemetery in St. Louis County. Read on for all the details.

February 2021 Upcoming StLGS Meetings and In Memoriam for Three Long-time Volunteers

As we enter the heart of winter, we hope that wherever you are located, whether it's snowing, raining, or mild and sunshiny, you can brighten up your February by attending some of the upcoming StLGS meetings we have scheduled. In addition, we hope those of you who are society members will take advantage of our free classes for members coming up in March and April.