Declaration of Intent — Patrick Murphy, native of Ireland, b. 1858, arr. NY March 1882; filed Jamestown ND 4 Nov 1884

Summary

Patrick Murphy's **Declaration of Intent** ("first papers") filed 4 November 1884 at the District Court of Stutsman County, Dakota Territory (= Jamestown ND area). The handwritten form attests: - Patrick Murphy personally appeared before the Clerk of the District Court of Stutsman County, Dakota Territory - Born in **Ireland** on or about **1858** - Emigrated to the United States and landed at the port of **New York** on or about the month of **March** in the year **1882** - Renouncing forever all allegiance to "the Queen Victoria and Great Britain and Ireland whereof he is a subject" - Signed: Patrick Murphy - Subscribed and sworn 4th day of Nov, 1884 - Clerk: Chas. T. Kell (or similar) Confirms: 1. Patrick's birth year **1858** (matches the GEDCOM and the 1900/1910 censuses). 2. NY arrival **March 1882** (matches GEDCOM exactly). 3. Patrick was in **Jamestown ND in 1884**, not yet in Butte. This bridges the Cork → NY → Jamestown ND → Butte arc and confirms he was a Jamestown resident at this date. Under the 1795 + 1798 Naturalization Acts in force at the time, the Declaration of Intent had to be filed at least 2 years before the final Petition for Naturalization. Patrick's final naturalization (the Petition + Certificate) would have been granted in 1886+ — possibly already in Stutsman or possibly after his move to Butte. By the 1900 census he is "Na" (naturalized), so the second papers were filed and granted at some point in 1886-1900.

People

• Patrick Murphy (my ancestor)(as printed: Patrick Murphy)
  role: applicant · family confidence: 100 certain

  born: 1858 · birthplace: Ireland

  The user's paternal great-great-grandfather. Primary-source confirmation of birth year + March 1882 NY arrival + 1884 Jamestown ND residence. Establishes the Jamestown chapter of the family's American story.

Also mentioned

• Chas. T. Kell · court_clerk

  Clerk of the District Court of Stutsman County, Dakota Territory, in 1884. Signed the same page as a second declaration for George Linskens (Holland) sworn 6 Nov 1884 — the clerk handled multiple immigrant naturalizations that week.

• George Linskens · peripheral_same_page

  Born Holland 1859, arr. NY May 1874, sworn Declaration of Intent 6 Nov 1884 — entry directly below Patrick's. Peripheral but evocative — same Jamestown week, multiple Northern European / Irish immigrants filing first papers.

Places

• Dakota Territory / North Dakota (primary)
• Stutsman County, North Dakota (primary)
• Jamestown, North Dakota (primary)
• Ireland (context)

Themes

• emigration_from_ireland
• dakota_territory_settlement

Story threads

• The Pat-and-Ellen Murphy household — Butte 1887 to LA 1980

Tags

• source_primary_family
• evidence_corroborating
• direct_family
• book_chapter_material

Related sources

• 1881-02-13 — Marriage Returns, Superintendent Registrar's District of Castletown — Marriage of Patrick Murphy and Ellen Lyne, 13 Feb 1881, Ardgroom
• 1900-06-01 — US Federal Census 1900 — 1900 US Census Butte Ward 2 — Murphy household (Patrick + Ellen + James 16 + Daniel 5 + Theresa 2)
• 1883-08-31 — Jamestown Weekly Alert, p.4
• 1885-06-01 — Composite — 1885 Dakota Territory State Census (Stutsman County, Jamestown) + 1884 Patrick Murphy Declaration of Intent — 1885 Dakota Territory Census (Jamestown) + 1884 Patrick Murphy Declaration of Intent (composite PDF)

Open questions

• Patrick's final Petition for Naturalization + Certificate (the "second papers") — not yet in the archive. He was Na by 1900; should exist in either Stutsman County records 1886+ or in Silver Bow County records after his Butte move.
• The clerk's surname — could read "Kell" or "Hill"; the cursive is ambiguous between the two.