Extracted Cochise County Naturalization Records

These records of Naturalizations for Cochise County are housed in the Arizona State Archives and digital images are offered by the Archives through Ancestry.com. Those of you with an Ancestry.com account can find the collection here. Those of you who live in Arizona but do not have an Ancestry account can use the contact link from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records and request a copy. Alternatively, you can also request records (for a fee) from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS).

Through the years, the requirements have changed with the times. Generally speaking, in this collection, you may find records pertaining to declaring intent to naturalize (commonly referred to as first papers), petitioning to naturalize and the actual oath/naturalization. Some case files are further bolstered by investigative records for those denied citizenship. There were many factors that have influenced who could apply and who were ineligible for citizenship. Requirement changes were often the result of socioeconomic factors and racial bias, which shifted and changed over time. Some applications were actually processed quickly, as was the case of many immigrants who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during wartime. Early records (early to mid 1800's) are a skeleton of information when compared to later records, which can provide extremely valuable genealogical information such as dates and places of birth, dates and places of marriage, children, and where entry to the U.S. occurred. Some also include a photo of the applicant. More than a few genealogy researchers have had a "Eureka!" moment finally locating the original birth location of an ancestor from these important documents.

The records collection totals about 17,000 documents, so this will be a long, ongoing process. Be sure to check back frequently as the extracts will be updated regularly.

Please note that the search engine in this web detects names located within a .pdf document such as this, so it is not necessary to page through the entire document to located one record. Just a friendly reminder - it is Cochise County AZGenWeb © 2021.

For more information on U.S. immigration and naturalization, I recommend: They Became Americans Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins written by Loretto Dennis Szucs. And remember! The National Archives has a wealth of knowledge about immigration and naturalization just waiting for you!

~Jean Walker