Received the CD from the Immigration Service today. Contains copies of my paternal grandfather’s “Declaration of Intent” to become a US citizen, his Petition for Naturalization, and his Certificate of Naturalization. As was the practice at the time, his wife and spawn are all listed on the Certificate of Naturalization, including my dad, even though he was born in the US.
One curious thing. iirc, Canada became independent of the UK in 1867. Gramps was born in 1881. came to the US in 1896. via train, from Canada, and became a naturalized citizen in 1921. but the certificate says he was formerly a subject of Great Britain. On the application, he renounces allegiance to “George V, King of Great Britain And Ireland”. Even more interesting, while all the other entries on the form are written in script, the bit about “George V” appears to have been entered by a rubber stamp. Most have been a lot of immigrants in New Jersey at that time from somewhere in the Empire.
Now, to print out these forms, and put them, and the CD, in my fire files.
Well, that is interesting. If gramps was considered a British subject, and Great Britain controlled all of Ireland at the time, would I have a claim on Irish citizenship? British citizenship? (edit no, because gramps was not born in Ireland)
I keep seeing ads on TV for the PBS program about researching people’s ancestors. Often, the family history reports the name of the ship their forebears came to the US on. I wondered how they could find that information? It’s on the naturalization form. The form asks for the date of arrival in the US, and asks for the name of the “vessel”. In the blank for the name of the vessel, on gramp’s form, “international railway” is hand written in.
Charles was merely identified as King of Great Britain and Ireland, because that was how he was known in most of the world. However, he was also Sovereign of almost all of what was the “Commonwealth,” and that continues to this day in Canada.
Does not count for much any more…..
One of my favorite populist commentaries on royalty occurred with the issuance of an Australian 20 cent coin with Queen Elizabeth on one side and a wonderful platypus on the other. The delighted Aussies promptly named it the “Twin Lizzies”.
I checked status with Canada. Nope. If your father renounced allegiance to Canada, or the King of Great Britain And Ireland, your gone. Can’t claim Canadian citizenship. That OK, considering the fever dreams going on in DC. As I said to Tim, years ago, Canada is too rich to escape the US’ grasp forever.
My parents came here in 1962. I was born in 1963 and one of my sisters arrived a year later.
In a HoJo in 1966 with my grandfather from Ireland a lady leaned over and said, "You must be the “Gramps”. He had been an Englishman who built a business in Dublin. He was a gentleman. He hated the idea of being called Gramps. My parents would not let him live it down. They thought it was hilarious.
He came quickly to love his grandchildren calling him gramps.
What is your story about that? Because no one chooses that name.
BTW one of my younger cousins is a supervisor on construction sites in the EU. His name is Lawrence. I called him Larry kidding around. The family in Belfast put up a greenhouse for his father last year. They all kidded him by calling him Larry the Builder. He loves it. It is so un Irish. So American.
Gramps is a very common diminutive for Grandpa…or Grampa as most young children tend to pronounce it. I use it very frequently when referring to my husband since he’s become one.
I could imagine it not being used in non English speaking countries…they would have their own versions of such terms in their own language.
I can only speak to England…or specifically the handful of regions where I’ve lived. Limited experience, granted…but not as limited as yours, apparently.
There is no disrespect; it is a common nickname and has been around a lot longer than Dobie. My two grandfathers were Grampy and Pop-Pop and my two grandmothers were Grammy and Nanny. Not sure where you are from but your viewpoint is wrong.
Because I’m too lazy to spell out “grandfather” every time I mention him. Calling him “Walter” would obscure the relationship.
(edit) I never met dad’s parents. That tribe tended to be short lived. By the mid 60s, only his younger brother, and sister still survived. The brother died in 66, only a year after I met him. Marie is not in the family plot in NJ. When I was cleaning out dad’s apartment, I found a couple letters from Marie with a Florida address, so she must be down there, somewhere.
As others have said, “gramps” is a common term in the US.
What irks me is that, having seen the forms, I am sure my dad had the originals. In the 60s, his brother lived in the family home in Old Bridge, NJ. When his brother died, dad cleaned out the house. A lot went to the dump (including an armload of the brothers “souvenir” German officer’s daggers), but dad brought some family papers back. I remember seeing those naturalization forms in his hands. When dad died, I bought all the paperwork he had home. But, I tossed all the paperwork in the dumpster when I moved from Kazoo to metro Detroit in 96. Never thought the US would get this nutty.
Steve<-----hard to deport, father both born in the US, and naturalized.
I have a friend in England that was trained in some sort of program as “Silver Tea Service…” to be a waitress. She can not fathom that not most waitresses or waiters in the US have little training at all besides memorizing the menu.
The rest of the world does not agree with US ideas. English speaking or not.
Language wise it is slang. It is not a nickname exactly. It is not a proper addressing of a grandfather. It shares a minimalist disrespect that all slang shares. My parents were young at the time and took it as great fun.
Dear Vee,
Gillis was a short lived show that had a bit of an impact. The TV networks made the term Gramps popular. I am not saying it did not exist previously. It was fadish at that time because of TV.
Trying to read the port of entry on the Naturalization certificate. I was looking for a Vaughn, Maine. No such place.
Found the Wiki entry for the “International Railway of Maine”, which crossed the border at Vanceboro, Maine. Well, I supposed that could be “Vanceboro” written on the form.
I tend to believe that one should address a person by the name they prefer to be addressed. Often, I think, that is not the formal term for the relationship.