US Alien Registration Files/What did I find in my Great-Great Aunt's file?

My Great-Great Aunt Bridget Mullen was born in February 1888 in Milltown, Co. Galway, Ireland. I knew she had immigrated to the United States like her sister my Great-Grandmother Helen Mullen-Mason. I didn't know when but did find a Bridget Mullen born about 1888 from Milltown on a passenger list for the ship S. S. Teutonic in 1907.  My great-grandmother was already here and was married with a daughter. I also found what I thought could be her on the 1910 US Census for Chicago. Bridget didn't marry but instead she became a Nun about 1911. She took the name Sister Mary Kathleen when she joined the convent. 

My father enjoyed visiting with her, but I had never met her even though she lived until the age of 103. She had lived in both Chicago, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa and I hadn't visited either of those places until recently. I live in Southern California and didn't have the time to make the trip to ancestral areas until recently. 

An uncle and cousin were nice to share some digitized photos with me. There were unmarked photos included in these photos. I've been using naturalization and other immigrant files to help identify people in the unmarked photos. 

I assumed a nun in many of the photos was Sister Mary Kathleen Mullen. A man with Sister Mary Kathleen and my Great-Grandmother Helen was a mystery to me? Who is he? Could it have been her brother Thomas? Did Thomas come to America? I didn't know.

According to available census records for Sister Mary Kathleen she hadn't naturalized as of 1940. I searched for a naturalization record in the places she lived but never found one. My father said a relative was naturalized through an act of congress. I wondered if she was? 

Since I didn't find any naturalization for her I've been searching for another record collection that might answer my questions about her. Alien files were created for US residents who weren't citizens in the 1940's. Aliens were required to register with the government. The registration documents were kept in the files along with all interactions the alien had with the INS. 

This is a great video about Alien Files: TMCC Genealogy - Alien Registration Files

When I learned about the Alien Files (aka A-Files) I searched for a record for Sister Mary Kathleen (you can read more about alien files here). There is an index for these files on the National Archives Catalog and at Ancestry.com. I didn't find one under that name but did find one under the name Bridget Mullen, her birth name. The birth year a date for this Bridget were corrected so I figured that was her, but I wasn't completely sure. 

I decided to contact the National Archives in Kansas to ask about the file and cost of getting a copy. They confirmed it was the correct file. I then ordered a copy. The cost was $27, it would have cost me $65 if I ordered it from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) . The archivist who responded to my request was very nice and quickly made copies of the information and sent them to me. I wasn't expecting that as the staff was only allowed in the offices for a limited amount of time because of the COVID pandemic. 

Email from archive:

What was I hoping to find?

What did I hope to find in the file? I hoped to confirm that the photos were of her because a photo was required for the Alien Registration cards. I wanted to confirm I had the correct passenger list for her. I wanted to know whether she ever naturalized and how? I also didn't have any documents where my Irish immigrant family identified their parents and place of birth and hoped that information would be on these documents. I was hoping other relatives who immigrated to America may show up on these documents. 

What I received

I received  25 pages of documents and photos. 

Page 1

Was just a citation for the source of the information at the National Archives Kansas.

Page 2

This page immediately confirmed that Sister Mary Kathleen Mullen did naturalize because this is her naturalization certificate. The photo was a duplicate of one I received from my uncle and cousin. Two questions already answered.

Page 3

This page was a mostly blank page with just a stamp for when the INS received the naturalization  documents. 

Page 4 

This page was a copy of Sister Mary Kathleen's naturalization petition. It confirmed her place and date of birth. There are disagreements in the records regarding the day of birth. Some records say February 1st and some 2nd. Her civil birth record in Ireland is completely wrong because the family was hiding the fact they registered her birth late and they wanted to avoid a penalty. Her church birth record is missing. 

This record also confirms that the passenger list I have a copy of is the correct one for her. She did indeed arrive on the Teutonic in May of 1907. 

Page 5 

This page was the witnesses affidavit for naturalization. I was hoping the witnesses would include a relative. No, her witnesses were also Nuns. 

Page 6

This page contained a document called Statement of Facts for Preparation of Petition. It basically contained the same information the petition did. I hadn't found this document before in my other immigrant ancestors files. 

Page 7

This page was the 2nd page of the document Statement of Facts for Preparation of Petition. This is what I was hoping for not only was her place of birth confirmed again but her parents names were listed. Now I have a document Mary Kathleen provided information for that states who her parents were. 

Page 8

This document was called Application to File a Petition for Naturalization. This gave the name of her employer which was Immaculate Conception Academy, Iowa. 

Page 9

This document was the 2nd page of the Application to File  a Petition for Naturalization. Mainly check boxes. I guess nuns weren't required to pay income tax. 

Page 10

This is a Certificate of Admission card which was produced to officially verify Mary Kathleen's arrival information. I believe the cousin listed as a person she was going to meets name was actually a cousin named Martin Jennings not Timmins. 

Page 11

A cover page for a call for an interview. 

Page 12

 A page with a notation regarding a call either in person or on the phone likely to ask her questions about her filing for naturalization. It said they called on her and she wasn't home. She was on vacation on that day in 1956. I wondered if she came out west to California to visit her sister, my Great-Grandmother Helen, who had relocated to California with her family in the 1940's? I wondered if that was when the photo was taken I'm trying to identify the unknown man in? 

Page 13

A cover message letter the request for information on Sister Mary Kathleen's arrival information at Ellis Island. Oddly they asked if she still lived in New York but she never lived there. She came and joined her family who had settled early in Chicago. 

Page 14

Just contained page 2 of the above letter with a typed date and nothing else. 

Page 15

A document from the INS requesting information from the FBI regarding Sister Mary Kathleen. 

Page 16

This page contains Sister Mary Kathleen's fingerprints. They were needed to compare with FBI files to make sure she didn't have a criminal record. 

Page 17

Apparently the first set of fingerprints sent to the FBI weren't clear enough. A document explaining how to get clear fingerprints was than provided. 

Page 18

This document provides the outcome of the FBI investigation. As expected Sister Mary Kathleen had no criminal record or file with them. 

Page 19

Another document regarding the request for arrival information for Sister Mary Kathleen. 

Page 20 

Now finally an Alien Registration document. This was the postcard all non US Citizens were required to return in the early 1940's. The postmark is dated June 21st 1941. It's postmarked Chicago. Sister Mary Kathleen divided her time between Chicago where her sister and her sister's family lived, and where her order's mother house was located in Iowa. 

Page 21

The opposite side of the postcard with the form information. 

Page 22

A longer Alien Registration form filled out in 1940. It contains much of the same information as found on Sister Mary Kathleen petition for naturalization. 

Page 23 

This is page 2 of the Alien Registration long form. It confirms that Sister Mary Kathleen became a nun about 1911. It also has another of her fingerprints. I now have the first set of fingerprints of a relative. 

There was a question about family members living in the United States but unfortunately it only referred to immediate family, and didn't provide any spaces to write the names of family members. 

Pages 24 and 25

These pages are just two identical photos of sister Mary Kathleen Mullen for her Alien Registration. 

These documents did answer many of my questions and confirmed some of my speculations. I had believed that Sister Mary Kathleen's brother Thomas also came to America. I was hoping to find his name in these documents to confirm that. I've been wondering if Thomas was the unknown man posing with his sisters in the photo I've been trying to identify the people in. The little girl in the photo is also unidentified. I will blog about what I've learned subsequently in a later post. 

A Southern California Family Through the Years/ Sorting through family photos

Introduction

My maternal grandparents first settled in California in 1925. Charles Lynn Forgey and his Nicaraguan born wife Graciela del Castillo met while my Indiana born grandfather was serving in that country as a US Marine. My mother was born in Nicaragua in 1921. I was born in California in 1963 (I was my parents only child born when my mother was 42). Traces of an earlier era in California could still be seen when I was a young child. My parents also shared their stories of early days. My father's recollection of Southern California history only went back to the period just after WWII when his family migrated to Los Angeles from Chicago. 

Most of the photos below were recently sent to me by an Aunt and I’m still trying to identify some of the people in them.

My mother Edna Forgey-Kapple's memory went back to California in the 1920's. She passed away in 2015. She often shared her early memories of California. 

Her earliest memory was arriving at the port of Los Angeles in 1925. Her father was already in California and met her mother and herself at the dock with a Nicaraguan family friend. The Nicaraguan recently relocated to California and he asked my 4 year old mother if she remembered him, which she did. 

1920’s thru 1930’s

The photo below was taken of my mother Edna soon after the family arrived in California in 1925. The palm trees remind me of a song about California. The song “Home In Pasadena“ lyrics talk about being “under the palms in someone’s arms”.

Another photo my family kept shows a little girl standing in the yard of a palm lined street. This little girl is named Mary Rita and she died as a child according to the back. Unfortunately there is no surname to identify her?

There is a shadow of a palm in this photo. 

The family originally settled in bungalow court style housing in San Pedro. The photo below would have been taken in late 1926 after my aunt Grace was born. As you can see she was just learning to walk. 

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The photo below was likely taken at Venice, California where canals were dug to imitate the Venetian Canals. Spending time at the beach would have been nice for the family in the hot summers in California. 

 About 1928 my family relocated from the beach area to the hot dry San Fernando Valley. Sadly I don't think we have any photos of that first house. The photo below may have been taken in the yard of the house my grandfather built in La Cresenta. 

Below is a photo of the entire Forgey brood somewhere in their new location home in the San Fernando Valley. 

When the depression hit in 1929 the family lost the house and property and began renting houses in nearby Glendale. The house below is one of the houses the family rented in the 1930's. Blue collar working class workers generally lived in 2 bedroom 1 bath houses of about 900 or 1000 sq ft. Highly skilled blue collar workers could live in larger two story houses that were probably 1400 to 2000 sq ft. It was generally white collar workers who lived in the 2 story craftsman houses however. In the 1930’s apartments began to be popular with renters from working class families. 

This photo appears to be a photo taken in front of a similar house. The rock pillars were a typical feature of California bungalows. Large rocks are numerous in the mountains near Glendale. The photo appears to be of my aunt Grace one of her twin brothers and aunt Dorothy. I enhanced the photo and colorized it at My Heritage.

Play dates were appear to have been popular with mothers and children spending time playing and chatting. 

Here my mother Edna (in the print dress) is hanging out with her fellow girls scouts and her siblings. The blonde girl far left is the troop leader Bunny's daughter. 

Friends of the Forgey family sporting the latest fashions sometimes appear in the family photos.

Someone called the "First Lady of Glendale" Dora Verdugo became a friend of the family in Glendale. Her family received a 36,000 acre Spanish land grant covering all of what today is Glendale. The photos below appear to have been given to our family by Dora. The portrait photo appears to be of her, and the group photo was likely taken near the old Verdugo homestead and adobe. Dora said her heart was always a part of that place. 

The outings the family took from home were similar to the rest of the community. In Southern California we do something called "going to the snow" in winter. In many parts of the country the snow comes to you, but in most of California we have to go to the mountains to find it.  

More snow photos from the late 1920's or early 1930's. They may have been taken at Lake Arrowhead, California?

Being a hot place in summer the family spent time relaxing away from home. Below we find the Forgey family spending the day at Big Tujunga creek not far from Glendale. 

Many years the family would pack into their old model T and head to the beach. They would camp at Laguna beach and my grandfather would fish in nearby San Clemente. 

The photos below show family and friends at the beach. Its interesting that the women are dressed up in heels on the beach.

The family would often join friends and family at the beach. The photo below appears to be of Francisco Alvarado Granizo and his wife Germaine taken in the 1920's or 1930's. Francisco was grandmother Graciela's cousin and godfather. 

The family also loved taking a boat out to Catalina Island off the California coast. 

Picnicking was a popular pastime in early to mid century California. State themed picnics drew thousands of people. The Iowa picnic in Ontario and the All States picnic in Long Beach were very popular. I'm not sure where the picnic below took  place or who sponsored it? The photo shows a typical park of that era and the Forgey children have grown from earlier photos. 

The family could also travel farther north to Sequoia. 

Life was far from all play, during the Great Depression especially. My grandfather Charles Forgey worked as a carpenter when the family first arrived in California. During the early 30’s he trained to become a landscape gardener. He loved being outdoors, living in small houses with a large family I can understand why. He worked at some very posh residences during his gardening career in the Los Angeles area. Below you can see one of the houses he worked at through the trees. 

The photo of the women with the dogs may have been taken in a clients yard? My grandmother toured a kennel at a home my grandfather worked at and she said the dogs lived better than her family. Apparently the family was wealthy enough to provide a very comfortable roomy kennel for the dogs. 

When my grandfather Charles Forgey wasn't working he enjoyed painting. Below his wife and children are in front of their house with some of his paintings. He enjoyed photography also.

Underneath the normal appearances in the photos there was the ugly reality of the Great Depression followed by WWII. 

My mother felt the stigma of many who received handouts meant to discourage people from seeking assistance. My mother told me that she received a coat given to people on relief and the coat made those wearing it stand out. I’m thinking the striped coat she has in this photo was probably what she was referring to? It would definitely make you conspicuous.

Some thought an easy way out of the difficult economic times for their families would be to get their children into show business. Many children in Glendale were enrolled in the Meglin Kiddies dance school. Children from that school often appeared in Our Gang shorts. 

As you can see from the photo below a distant Nicaraguan cousin hoped to make it big in show business someday. Here she is dressed for a hoped for movie role. 

1940’s thru 1950’s

Around 1940 the Forgey family stopped renting houses in Glendale and purchased a house and some property in Puente, California (La Puente now). The Forgeys had enough land to start a small farm. Below the now older Forgey children, and friend, stand next to some of the crops.

Below my mother and grandfather sit in front of the Forgey family home in Puente. My Forgey grandparents owned the house for over 35 years.

Soon after the family moved to Puente WWII started. The economic situation improved but the rationing and blackouts made life challenging. My grandfather got a job working at Douglas Aircraft in shipping and receiving. He was able to afford to add an additional bedroom to the two room house. 

Below is a photo of Aunt Grace and her date at the prom for El Monte High School students. She worked at a candy stand in Los Angeles in order to buy a formal dress.

Below the Forgey teens, and older sister and friend, line up in the traditional style in the Forgey yard.

The Forgey boys were too young to serve in the military during WWII. Forgey family and friends did serve and sent their photos to the family. 

My grandfather continued his outdoor lifestyle continuing to garden, and sit in his favorite place on his front porch. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and traveling to the High Sierras. Below he is in his yard caring for his extensive gun collection. 

My twin uncles joined the Navy as soon as they were old enough in the late 1940's. 

The photo of uncles Charles and Cecil dressed as sailors was a portent of their future stint in the Navy.

Children again were photographed at the Forgey home as grandchildren were born. 

The California tradition of going to the snow continued after the move to the San Gabriel Valley. Here we see my aunts and uncles spending a day in the mountain snow. 

Here I am in the snow as a child. Continuing the California tradition in the 1970's. 

My grandfather's brother Claude and his wife visited the family in 1957. 

This was just a sampling of the many photos my family has taken here in California over the decades.