Today’s post will be of interest to those who have immigrant connections to the Chicago area.

Cook County isn’t the easiest place to obtain information from local sources. However, the county does have an online searchable database to look for declarations of intent to become a U.S. citizens.

Remember, many immigrants made their way to Chicago and the Midwest and filed naturalization intentions in Cook County, even if they didn’t permanently settled and live there.

The website Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Naturalization Declarations of Intention: Documenting the Immigrant Experience is free to access and search.

More than a half million petitions dating from 1871 to 1929 have been indexed.

The website explains:

What information is found on a Declaration of Intention?
All Declarations of Intention include the following information:

• declaration number
• name
• age
• occupation
• physical description
• birth city
• birth country
• birth date
• current address
• current city
• departure location
• vessel of departure
• last foreign residence
• arrival location
• arrival date
• signature
• declaration date

*Most declarations also include marital status, name of spouse with birthplace and residence information.

That is a goldmine of information!

The site is easy to use. Just click on “Search Records” and enter whatever information you have about your person of interest:

I have no one in Illinois, but entered my maiden name and got five pages of hits that included spelling variations and other surnames that had the same letters within them.

If you are successful in your search, declarations can be ordered online:

Fees are not too bad:

Good luck with your search!