The index of naturalizations has been abstracted from the Knox County Circuit, Criminal and Chancery Court Minute Books covering the years 1792–1907.
Prior to 1907, naturalizations were processed in local courts of record and in federal courts. In 1906, the Federal process changed, requiring local courts to use a standardized book and procedure. The Knox County courts decided not to participate in this revised naturalization process, instead, deferring to the local federal court to handle this function. This index is for the naturalizations processed in the Knox County courts until the time they withdrew from the process.
Naturalizations from 1907–present have been processed in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee(link is external) at Knoxville and the records for 1906–1991 have been digitized and indexed by Ancestry.com (Ancestry Library Edition is available for use free at the East Tennessee History Center). Ancestry.com has also digitized the naturalizations processed in this federal court prior to 1907. Currently, the only Knox County individuals known to have had their records processed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville prior to 1907 are: Declarations - Charles Economy, Jake Friedman, Soloman Grossman, Anselm Kistler, Bernard Machta, Henry S. Smart & David John Williams; Declarations & Petitions - William Kaller.
To see the key to this index and to better understand the naturalization process, please read the related file attached below.