It’s anecdotal, but illustrative nonetheless.

The 1888 Chicago voter’s registration list for  Chicago resident Thomas Frame indicated that he was a naturalized native of England. None of that was a surprise as it was already known he was a native of England from other records and the only way he would have been eligible to vote would have been for him to have naturalized. Unnaturalized aliens cannot vote. Voting is one of the benefits of citizenship.

The voter’s registration lists for Chicago include details about the naturalization of each voter. Thomas indicated that the “date of [his] papers” was in September of 1872 in the county court of Cook County. The ledger uses the phrase “his papers,” but the reference clearly is to final naturalization papers. Filing a declaration of intent would not be sufficient to vote as it was only the first step in the naturalization process.

It’s possible that Thomas got confused, but any confusion cannot be attributed to his not knowing English. It was his native language. The incorrect date also makes it appear that the presentation of naturalization papers probably wasn’t required to get on the voter’s list (unless the voter’s registration clerk made a mistake in copying something down).

Thomas was a little off, but he was a citizen and was one well before 1888. He made his declaration of intent in District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in December of 1870 and finalized his naturalization there in June of 1873. The records are pretty clear on the dates.

Why the record indicated that his papers were made out in September of 1872 is not known.

It may be just a simple mistake. Sometimes errors are just that.