<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6002.18255" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Georgia color=#000000 size=3> <DIV>In response to:</DIV> <DIV>"Naturalization records have never been my strong suit, but one of my<BR>students was having a problem with getting the full file of naturalization<BR>records from someone that she had contracted with on Genlighten.  It was<BR>my impression that the term "First Papers" would net you everything in the<BR>file from the declaration up to the oath - but this is not what she's getting.<BR><BR>The person that she contracted with just sent her a copy of the<BR>declaration and charged her $16.  here is what my student said:<BR><BR>"..This  lady is telling me that the declaration is the first papers and<BR>that is what I got. To tell you the truth it was not worth $16 I paid for<BR>them. Is that not true.<BR>http://www.genealogybranches.com/naturalization.html  - this is the link<BR>that I got. She told me to go look on ancestry to find the petition papers<BR>or final oath then she could find them. Am I still not understanding?..."<BR><BR>Could someone clearly define the term "First Papers"?<BR><BR>Thank You<BR><BR>Leslie Drewitz PLCGS"</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Hello Leslie,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It would certainly be great to find a full file of naturalization records, but the <U>only</U> place I've ever found that is in a Land Entry file for an ancestor that homesteaded in Colorado.  His complete homestead file included his declaration of intent, which was filed in a county in Iowa (I don't have any idea to this day why he filed there or if he even lived there) and his subsequent papers in Colorado.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Gin Shaw</DIV> <DIV>Atlanta</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><BR> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>