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26 March 2012

Not All Immigrants Became Citizens

Do not assume that every immigrant naturalized in his new country. If an immigrant was not interested in voting or running for political office, becoming a citizen might not have been high on his priority list before the early 20th century. Immigrants could often own land and sell and bequeath it without being a citizen--although those rights were governed by state statute.

So if you can't find any proof that your 1860 immigrant naturalized, consider the possibility that he never naturalized.

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