JEROME POSNER (AGE 30) - DECLARATION OF INTENTION - SEPTEMBER 28, 1916 - STATEN ISLAND

DOCUMENT: posner-jerome-declaration-of-intention-1916-09-28.pdf

NOTES:

• This is the declaration of intention by Jerome (Esther's father). In a declaration of intention (also referred to as "first papers"), a person declares their intent to become a U.S. citizen—this was a step towards naturalization
• Received by mail from USCIS Genealogy Program in 2015.
• This declaration reveals the ship and date of Jerome's immigration (Czar, July 6, 1913); this information made it possible to find Jerome and Sonia's immigration listed in a ship manifest on the Ellis Island website!
• Jerome's declaration reads as follows (this is my transcription -- the PDF file above shows which words were pre-printed on the form and which were typed specifically for Jerome):

  I, Jerome Posner, aged 30 years, occupation Newsdealer, do declare an oath that my personal description is: Color white, complexion light, color of hair brown, color of eyes blue, other visible distinctive marks none. I was born in Doobrovna, Russia, on the 16th day of March, anno domini 1886; I now reside at 11 Harrison Ave., Port Richmond, New York. I emigrated from Libau Russia on the vessel Czar; my last foreign residence was Mogileff Russia. My wife's name is Sophie. She lives with me. It is my bona fide intention to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly to NICOLAS II Emperor of all the Russias, of whom I am now a subject; I arrived at the port of New York, in the State of New York, on or about the 6th day of July, anno domini 1913: I am not an anarchist: I am not a polygamist nor a believer in polygamy: and it is my intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States of America and to permanently reside therein: SO HELP ME GOD.

• Dubrovna is a town in Belarus (which at the time was part of the Russian Empire). For info about this place, please see Places in Belarus where the Jerome and Sonia lived.
• 11 Harrison Ave., Port Richmond is in Staten Island. See this address today in Google Maps.
• Libau refers to a port city in Latvia; Mogilev is a city in Belarus (and it's also the name of the region in which that city is located).
• Jerome's occupation, newsdealer, is the same as that of his older brother Zalman (Samuel) Posner -- since Zalman had immigrated earlier, probably he helped Jerome get into this line of work?