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Think about your immigrant ancestors - those brave and sometimes desperate characters who clambered aboard creaky sailing ships and headed for American soil. Picture that immigrant and plunk him or her in 21st century America standing before a Citizenship and Immigration Services bureaucrat. Your bewildered ancestor stands mute as the official rattles off the list of requirements.

Do you have legal permanent residence status? Have you been in the country for 5 years? Can you read, speak and write English? Do you have a basic understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights? Are you well-versed in U.S. history? Do you have good moral character? Will you support and defend the country and the Constitution?

Considering what I've learned about some of my rogue immigrant ancestors, I suspect an emphatic "Reject" would be stamped on their applications.

In the years since 1906, when the federal government took full charge of the naturalization process, would-be citizens have grappled with fairly stringent paperwork, procedures, and perennial red-tape.

Fortunately, all of my immigrant ancestors came to this continent long before 1906, when naturalization was a remarkably casual affair.

In pre-Revolution days, the colonies exercised their independence from each other and from England. Naturalization rules differed from colony to colony.

For some early 18th century immigrants, citizenship was easy. After sailing for months across the Atlantic, male immigrants staggered down the ship's gangplank onto dry land where an official handed them a written oath of allegiance to the British crown. A quick signature and they were done.

The laws changed from time to time, and the founding fathers took exception to Britain's attempts to control the naturalization process.

In fact, when they penned their laundry list of complaints against King George in the Declaration of Independence they mentioned the naturalization issue, scolding the king for "obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners."

In post-Revolution days, government officials tinkered with naturalization laws a few times before finally settling on a fairly standard procedure in the early 1800s.

For the bulk of immigrants throughout the 19th century, naturalization was a two-step process. Immigrants presented themselves before a court and declared their intention to become citizens.

They waited three years, then presented themselves again before a court, not always in the same court, the same county, or even the same state, and requested full citizenship.

Naturally, there are exceptions. Thousands of African slaves landed on our shores and had no say in the whole naturalization matter. In New Mexico, many of the early settlers came from Spain, and since it was Spanish territory, naturalization wasn't an issue.

And then there were our civilly disobedient ancestors who ignored the whole naturalization issue and never bothered to become legal citizens.

Next week: I'll review where you can find naturalization records and what clues they hold.