Emanuel Levitas Naturalization in New York Eastern District

Interestingly, the surname of Levitas is not that common, so once I found Max Levitt's brother, Emanuel Levitas, in New York City, I was able to find quite a bit about him by searching for the surname Levitas.

Since I shared Max Levitt's Cape May County, New Jersey, Naturalization records, I thought I would share Emanuel Levitas' Naturalization records.

I found these records at Fold3.com, and they're available on Ancestry.com as well. The source information is Petitions for Naturalization, Eastern District, New York, New York, 1904; Petition Volume: 60. Petition Number: 246, for Emanuel Levitas.

Emanuel arrived in the U.S. before his brother Max, and he lived in Newark, New Jersey, for a short time. It was here that he first filed a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen.

On July 3, 1893, in Essex County, New Jersey, Emanuel Levitas declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce his allegiance to the Emperor of Austria.

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It wasn't until August 8, 1904, that Emanuel Levitas completed his paperwork to become a naturalized citizen.

This document notes that Emanuel Levitas, "By occupation Manufacturer Garters" petitions to be admitted a Citizen of the United States. Isaac Geffner, a Jeweler, living at 181 2nd Street, Manhattan, vouches for Emanuel, and has been personally acquainted with him for 14 years.

Emanuel resides at 234 E. 63rd Street, Manhattan, has resided continuously in the United States since 1890, and in New York since 1896. He declares that he was born in Austria, on August 5, 1864, and emigrated to the United States, landing at the port of New York on or about  May 7, 1890.

He has lived in New Jersey and the Borough of Manhattan since arriving in the U.S.

I have had no luck trying to find a passenger list with his name on it. Castle Garden was where immigrants arrived at the Port of New York up until April 18, 1890. Between that date and January 1, 1892, when Ellis Island received its first immigrants, new arrivals were processed at what was known as the Barge Office in the Battery at the tip of Manhattan (see EllisIsland.org for a timeline). So that is very likely where Emanuel Levitas arrived.

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And on that same day, August 8, 1904, Emanuel Levitas became a citizen of the United States, along with his family, though they don't get to be listed here because of the laws that were in effect at the time.

Again, no luck with finding the specific birth place in Austria for a member of this family.