Citizenship Lost

When reviewing records from the first half of the 1900s, you may find entries about citizenship that you might think are errors.

For example, in the 1920 census in West Hoboken, New Jersey is the Nelson household. Bessie is listed as "Al," or alien. Yet her place of birth is listed as New York.

1920 United States Federal Census
Bessie Nelson. No year of immigration. Alien. Born in New York.
Husband Harry Nelson. Immigrated in 1908 from Norway; has first papers.
West Hoboken is now Union City, Hudson County, New Jersey.

Bessie was correctly described as an alien in the 1920 census. In 1919 she married Hartwig Nelson, an immigrant from Norway. Under the 1907 federal law known as the Expatriation Act (34 Stat. 1228), American women who married men of a foreign nationality lost their American citizenship. Bessie's legal status became that of her husband- a Norwegian immigrant who was not an American citizen. She was no longer a citizen of the United States, even though she was born and resided in the United States.

Marriage record
Hartwig Nelson (1890-1970) and Bessie M Durling (1892-1969) married May 31, 1919
in West Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey

Note: Bessie listed her place of birth as Warwick, New York. As New York has stopped issuing genealogy records, we cannot obtain this record.

A woman who lost her citizenship had to apply to regain her citizenship- if her husband was eligible to become a citizen. This is why Pearl Maurer petitioned for naturalization in 1927, even though she was born in Connecticut.

Pearl's petition is stamped "Declaration of intention omitted under Cable Act Sept 22, 1922." This law (42 Stat. 1021b) reversed the 1907 law for women who married foreigners after September 22, 1922. Women who lost their citizenship by marrying foreigners between 1907 and 1922 still had to apply for naturalization. Apparently the Cable Act was interpreted to mean that filing a Declaration of Intention could be skipped.

In 1940, The Nationality Act (54 Stat. 1137) eased the repatriation process by only requiring an oath to reestablish citizenship lost because of marriage, as long as the woman had continuously resided in the United States.

At this point in time, any woman who lost her citizenship because of marriage is now deceased, so this is no longer an issue.

For further explanation, please view this video by Amy Johnson Crow.