Sam Handler Naturalization Papers 1920

As I noted in Josef Handler's Naturalization Papers, if you have Ohio ancestors, you may have luck finding information for naturalizations from the United States District Court, Cleveland, (1907-1946) at Fold3.

Sam Handler became a naturalized citizen in Cleveland about a month before his younger brother, Joseph Handler became a naturalized citizen in Akron. The following images are from:

"Naturalization Petition and Record Books for the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Cleveland, 1907-1946", digital image, The National Archives (www.fold3.com); Original data from The National Archives), Record for Sam Handler, naturalization file no. 1386239.

His Declaration of Intention (31 Dec 1912) tells us that he works as a Clerk and has dark complexion, black hair, blue eyes and is 5'6" tall and 182 lbs. His birthdate is December 27, 1887, and he was born in Erdvick, Hungary, (a location which I have not been able to identify, not even in the JewishGen Communities Database). His World War II Draft Card has a birthplace of Illok, Hungary, which is where his older brother Joseph was born, which was his prior foreign residence.

Update: With help from a reader, I found Erdvick in the JewishGen Communities Database.

Although this declaration indicates that he arrived in America on the Fatherland (Vaderland) on January 18, 1905, I have not had luck finding him on a passenger list.

Sam's Petition for Naturalization (20 Mar 1919), has "the good stuff" - information I might not find elsewhere. Here we get a street address in Cleveland (6314 Central Ave) and an occupation of merchant. His birth information and immigration information is the same as on the Declaration of Intention.

Although he was married when he filed his Declaration of Intention, it is not until the Petition for Naturalization that he reports that his wife Sadie was born on May 24, 1890, in Ungvar, Hungary (JewishGen Communities Database helps me here - this is now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). And their children are listed:

Esther born Jan. 6, 1909 at Cleveland Ohio
Arthur born Jan. 20, 1911 at Cleveland Ohio
Alfred born Aug 16, 1914 at Cleveland Ohio

HOWEVER, if you have been following this family, and seen their marriage record, you'll question whether or not Esther's and Arthur's birth years are recorded correctly here. (Based on census records, I would suggest that Esther was born in 1910 and Arthur in 1912.) It is also a surprise to me to find a third child, Alfred. More about him in a separate blog post.

Sam has lived in the United States continuously since January 18, 1905, and in the state of Ohio continuously since January 22, 1905. (I wish I could find the passenger list so I could determine who he was going to stay with upon his arrival!)

At the bottom are the Affidavits of Petitioner and Witnesses with surname of Herskovitz, which is Sadie's maiden name, so are likely relatives.

The last document is Sam's Oath of Allegiance (completed a little more than a year later, on 27 May 1920), which is when he officially became a citizen of the United States (along with his wife and children.)