Amanuensis Monday: Declaration of Intention for Kate Newmark Jacobs (1894-1960)

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

Today I share the Declaration of Intention to Naturalize for my great grandfather's sister, Kate Newmark Jacobs. She is the only female kin for whom I have naturalization papers. All other women who were immigrants either received derivative citizenship through their husbands, prior to 1922, or didn't become citizens. Kate and Phillip married early enough to have gone through the process prior to 1922, but for some reason didn't become citizens until 1941. Once women received the right to vote, legislation was passed requiring them to go through the process of naturalization on their own.

---

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DECLARATION OF INTENTION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

My full, true, and correct name is KATE JACOBS 

My present place of residence is 5608 Kenmore Avenue

My occupation is Housewife

I am 45 years old

I was born on Sept 1896 in London, England

My personal description is as follows: Sex female, color white, complexion fair, color of eyes brown, color of hair black, height 5 feet 2 inches, weight 195 pounds, visible distinctive marks none, race White, present nationality Polish.

I am married; the name of my wife or husband is Phillip; we were married on 2-6-1912 (1913) at St. Louis, Mo.; he was born at Lomya, Poland on Dec 1889; and entered the United States at New York on about 1910 for permanent residence in the United States, and now resides at with me.

I have two children; and the name, sex, date and place of birth, and present location of each of said children who is living, are as follows:

Natalie, F., Dec 16, 1913 (1914)

Harold, M., July 27, 1916 both born and reside in Chicago, Ill.

My last place of foreign residence was London, England

I emigrated to the United States from Liverpool, England.

My lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States was at New York under the name of Newmark, Kate on March 21, 1909 on the SS Campania.

Since my lawful entry for permanent residence I have not been absent from the United States for a period or periods of 6 months or longer, as follows:

I have not heretofore made declaration of intention

[...]

Katie Jacobs (Signature)

Subscribed and sworn to (affirmed) before me in the form of oath shown above in the office of the Clerk of said Court, at Chicago, Ill. this 26th day of September anno Domini 1941 hereby certify that Certification No. 11-318136 from the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, showing the lawful entry for permanent residence of the declarant above named on the date stated in this declaration of intention has been received by me, and that the photograph affixed to the duplicate and triplicate hereof is a likeness of the declarant.

Hoyt King, Clerk of the US District Couret

By (illegible signature) Deputy Clerk

Notes: 

1) Contrary to what she states in this document, she was born on November 27, 1894, according to her birth certificate. Fibbing about the year of birth isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but I’m not sure the cause of the month/date variation.

2) It's not clear from this document why 1914 is written over the year of her daughter, Natalie's birth. Natalie's birth certificate confirms 1913 is correct. This leads me to believe that 1912 is also correct for their marriage, though I have not yet found their marriage records. I will share the naturalization form for Kate's husband next week. It appears he provided the inaccurate years, and after he filled out his forms, Kate's were 'corrected.' There are no marks on his forms to indicate alternate years.