Naturalizations in Criminal Courts
The original records of naturalizations for Orleans Parish criminal courts (First District Court, Superior Criminal Court, and Criminal District Court) are housed at the Jefferson Parish Public Library (deposited there by the American Italian Renaissance Foundation Museum). The records were originally housed at Tulane University and, while at Tulane, were filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. The loose declarations of intention are housed here in the City Archives. Although several different criminal courts are represented among the criminal court records, the microfilms are all labeled “Criminal Courts.”
Index to Certificates of Naturalization Issued by Louisiana Courts, 1831-1906
Prepared by the New Orleans District Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, this index serves as a master index to the final naturalization certificates (but not to the declarations) in Orleans Parish civil and criminal courts and in civil courts in other Louisiana Parishes. The index also includes some naturalizations for Mississippi courts. (The original copy of this index is housed at the National Archives and Records Administration’s Southwest Region facility in Fort Worth, Texas.)
Available on microfilm in the City Archives, call number:
Since the index does not reference declarations of intention, the declarations can be easily located only if the naturalization certificate notes the date and court where the declaration was filed. Some certificates include that information; others do not.
- Declarations of Intention, 1880-1899, Orleans Parish Criminal Courts. Available on microfilm in the City Archives, call number: mf VNL320
- Additional indexing included on microfilm
- Loose Declarations of Intention, 18471876, Orleans Parish Criminal Courts. Available on microfilm in the City Archives, call number: mf VNZ320
- Certificates of Naturalization, 1853-1898, Orleans Parish Criminal Courts. Available on microfilm in the City Archives, call number: mf VNL743
- Additional indexing included on microfilm