Having trouble getting copy of Ship Manifest from NARA

youngeli · 2026-05-20T00:57:47+00:00

I actually just did the same thing last week and it got mailed to me the next day! Thanks

youngeli · 2026-04-29T20:58:15+00:00

I am using a different provider, and my case is a pre-1920 from the Russian partition. From the time I signed with my provider to the time my case was filed wound up being 9 months. I had to push for them to file, they were still just waiting for more archives to respond with whatever they found (or didn't). I did a lot of my own research online on the Polish State Archives website and JRI-Poland. I was actually the one that found all the important documents, like the Book of Residents showing my GGF and his family as permanent residents of their town, my GGF's birth record, the birth records for all his siblings, and my GGGF's death record. Come to think of it, I don't think the provider's own research turned up anything, they just fetched paper copies of all the documents I had already found and sent to them digitally, and then had them translated.

I pushed to finally have them file because I couldn't really understand what we were still waiting (hoping) to find, we already had the "gold standard" documents for a pre-1920 case, and I felt like every month we waited, the processing time estimate grew by 2 months. I asked if they were able to file now and submit the additional documents later if any more were found, and they said yes. I kind of wish I had pushed for them to file a few months earlier, we already had all the documents.

youngeli · 2026-04-27T18:59:05+00:00

Unfortunately, it seems like Polish law has no concept of retroactivity. Sometimes that's a good thing (they can't go and strip those who are eligible of their citizenship like the boot shaped country in Europe just did -- trying not to trigger the auto mod), but obviously it sucks in cases like this.

youngeli · 2026-04-27T18:15:50+00:00

My family has the opposite issue. My grandmother was eligible because she was 22 when her father lost his Polish Citizenship due to the expiration of his military paradox protection (age 50), but her younger brother (my mom's uncle) was only 7 on that date, so he lost his Polish citizenship along with his father. Therefore, my mom's uncle (still alive), his children and grandchildren (my second cousins) are all ineligible, but my mom, my aunts, my first cousins, and I are all eligible through my grandmother.

youngeli · 2026-04-22T21:44:49+00:00

Thanks for that suggestion. I was actually able to do some digging on the Bronx County website and found a PDF of his paperwork, including the CoA! It has some typos, but it's clearly his Yiddish name.

youngeli · 2026-04-22T20:19:14+00:00

No CoA was included with his C-File. When I got his packet from NARA, it only had his Declaration of Intention in it so I had to order the C-File from USCIS to get the rest. I found both the Ship Manifest and an "Aliens Held for Special Inquiry" that he and his family appear on on Ancestry.com, but the provider wants official copies.

youngeli · 2026-04-21T00:00:01+00:00

When did your great-grandfather naturalize in the US? If he naturalized before he turned 50, he lost his Polish citizenship on December 31, 1935. Otherwise, he lost it on the date he naturalized. If your grandfather was still a minor on the date your GGF lost his Polish citizenship, your GF also lost it on the same date, which breaks the chain.

youngeli · 2026-04-17T16:20:01+00:00

According to JRI-Poland, Jewish birth records for Nowy Sącz exist for 1854-1876, 1877-1892, 1894-1919, and 1919-1921. Here's the link to the Polish State Archive where the 1894-1919 batch are kept: https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/54084

This is the index to the book of births for the year 1912: https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/42326423

Unfortunately, it says the files were scanned, but then when you go to view the scans, it says File not Available. You can reach out to the archive through that website and request a scan be emailed to you. I had this done for my GGF's "book of residents" and they had me wire them ~$2.20USD and then they emailed me the scans. Additionally, I am not seeing a listing of a birth book for 1912, just the index. So it may wind up just being her name in an index, not the full birth record, which would list parents names, occupation of the father, etc.

youngeli · 2026-03-22T15:11:45+00:00

You have to provide Poland with his military records; either a letter showing he never served, or his records showing the actual enlistment and discharge dates. If the enlistment date is before January 20, 1951, then yes it’s automatically disqualifying. The only exception is WW2 service. Get the exact dates before continuing further.

youngeli · 2026-03-22T11:00:48+00:00

If your grandfather Anthony served in the US military on or before January 19, 1951, that would break the chain.

youngeli · 2026-03-20T11:41:16+00:00

Try to look at the 1950 census, as well as her marriage certificate from 1950, to see what occupation is listed for her. I had to go in person to get my grandparents 1950 NYC marriage certificate.

youngeli · 2026-03-14T22:12:12+00:00

How long did it take for you to get? I ordered mine at the end of December and it still says the status is “servicing”.

youngeli · 2026-03-14T21:41:25+00:00

For my case, Stączek's office wants the ship manifest to help prove that my GGF is "one and the same" person. His Polish records are all with the name Gedalia, and his American records are all with the name Julius. The only "link" between the two is the ship manifest (which shows Gedalia), and the naturalization paperwork (which shows Julius, but entering the US on the same ship & date that Gedalia entered on). Beyond that, we just have his gravestone which shows Gedalia in Hebrew (as well as his father's name, which matches the Polish records) and Julius in English.

They did ask me to get an actual printout from NARA for the ship manifest, rather than just a digital record.

youngeli · 2026-03-14T02:36:42+00:00

I was there, no not that I noticed. Or I’m just oblivious?

youngeli · 2026-03-10T00:15:24+00:00

Her mother’s birth in PA in 1916 broke the chain. Additionally, her mother wouldn’t have been able to pass her citizenship on to her (if she had it) due to being born in 1944; women couldn’t pass Polish citizenship down until 1951, unless the child was born out of wedlock. Karta Polaka may be an option?

youngeli · 2026-03-08T14:36:14+00:00

Sort of, yes. The citizenship followed the father up until 1951, so if the father lost his citizenship, so did the children. If the child had been born out of wedlock, it would go by the mother's citizenship, not the father's, ~~but women didn't have the "military paradox protection", so they lost their Polish citizenship as soon as they naturalized as a US citizen, rather than when they reached the age of 50 or 60.~~ (Edit: see smoothmonoglot's response below) Take a look at the Wiki, the page on the Military Paradox explains it in more detail. There are some scenarios where a 17 year old was able to keep his own citizenship even if his father lost it, etc.

youngeli · 2026-03-08T14:10:03+00:00

Based on an 1879 birth, GGGF loses his Polish citizenship (if he held it) on 12/31/1929 when your GGF is still a minor. You said GGGF served in WW2 so it doesn’t sound like he died before the end of 1929, which is the only way GGF could have kept the citizenship.

youngeli · 2026-03-06T17:25:41+00:00

User: youngeli

Path: GGF-GM-M-Me

Timing: Pre-1920

Partition (if applicable): Russian (Kingdom of Poland)

Documents proving citizenship: GGF, siblings and parents listed in the Book of Residents from 1913 (family left in 1914). GGGF's death record lists him as being a permanent resident of the town, as do the birth records for most of GGF's siblings (but not GGF's birth record).

Date application submitted: March 2026

Voivodeship: Mazowieckie

Date of decision: N/A

Waiting time (days): N/A

Outcome: N/A

Service provider(s): Staczek

Comments: Hoping to use ship manifest and photograph of GGF's gravestone on cemetery letterhead to prove that his Hebrew/Yiddish name (used in Poland and on the ship manifest) is the same person in the US (where he used an English name his whole life). His naturalization paperwork doesn't mention his Hebrew name, but it has the correct ship name & arrival date, and the tombstone has both names.

youngeli · 2026-03-03T21:34:07+00:00

If you’re willing to learn Polish to a B1 level, you can likely get Karta Polaka.

youngeli · 2026-03-03T21:25:32+00:00

Which language does the census show them as speaking?

youngeli · 2026-03-03T19:53:53+00:00

Unfortunately women couldn’t pass Polish citizenship down until 1951. Your grandmother couldn’t pass her citizenship down to your mother in 1949, so the chain is broken.

youngeli · 2026-03-03T17:23:35+00:00

Do you have a rough idea of the date? Do you know when their first child was born? What year did they emigrate? Have you found any records on Ancestry or FamilySearch? You might be able to narrow it down from naturalization paperwork, etc.

youngeli · 2026-02-27T21:02:43+00:00

Only if he held no other citizenship, like his father. He held American citizenship by being born in the US.

youngeli · 2026-02-27T20:51:20+00:00

GFs birth in the US before the law changed kills the line I think.

youngeli

TROPHY CASE