Grandpa Kallman becomes an American

My grandfather, Richard Severin Kallman, arrived as a Swedish immigrant on the Cunard Line vessel "Ivernia" which left Liverpool, England and landed in the U.S. port of Boston, Massachusetts June 7, 1906.

from the collection of  Björn Larsson

On May 26, 1920 he filed this petition of intention to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. According to naturalization laws at this time, when Richard became a citizen his wife would automatically become a citizen, in a process called "derived citizenship".  In fact, at this time in history it would not be possible for my grandmother Lydia to become a citizen if her husband was not already a citizen. Even more bizarre (to our 21st century mindset anyway) was the rule that if  Lydia had already been a citizen when she married, either native born or naturalized, she would have lost her citizenship by marrying an alien. 

Grandpa Kallman took his oath of citizenship in 1925. Unfortunately for Grandma Kallman, the law changed in 1922. The wife of a naturalized citizen did not automatically obtain a "derived citizenship". She would have to personally petition for citizenship which I am proud to say she did a few years later. 

When I first received this copy in the mail, after a long wait, I was disappointed. I thought the blank spot lower left on the document indicated his photo had been lost. It seems though that a photo of the petitioner for citizenship was not required until 1929.

*click on documents to enlarge for easier viewing*