Share This Article

Who was the first naturalized citizen in the USA at time of new rules adopted approximately 1790?

—DA

? ? ?

Dear DA,

The first person to be naturalized under the first Naturalization Act signed on March 26, 1790, is regrettably lost to history, aside from the certainty that it was “a free white person of good character.” As explained by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (below), the records of those first naturalized citizens were kept in local or state courts and not by a central federal bureau until 1906, by which time the act had undergone several changes.

http://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/whos-1

Sincerely,

 

Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History
www.historynet.com

More Questions at Ask Mr. History

 

Don’t miss the next Ask Mr. History question! To receive notification whenever any new item is published on HistoryNet, just scroll down the column on the right and sign up for our RSS feed.