This process of naturalisation was so expensive that only a few could afford it, but you were granted full rights and became a subject of the Crown. Denization on the other hand, although requiring a payment was a much more affordable option, however, this offered less rights than a fully naturalised citizen. After 1844, naturalisation was extended to the Secretary of State for the Home Office to make the judgement on all naturalisation applications.
TheGenealogist also has over 5,000 Huguenot records available to view as well, covering the influx of Protestant refugees from Holland and France escaping religious persecution at the time.
There are a number of well-known people who became naturalised British citizens who are discovered on TheGenealogist. People such as Egon Ronay, TS Eliot and William Waldorf Astor, Michael Marks (of Marks & Spencer) and author Henry James all have their naturalisation records listed.
Thomas Stearns Eliot, born in 1888, was an essayist, publisher, playwright and one of the renowned poets of the 20th Century. Born in St Louis, Missouri in 1888, he emigrated to England in 1914 and became a naturalised British citizen.
Thomas Stearns Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot, born in 1888, was an essayist, publisher, playwright and one of the renowned poets of the 20th Century. Born in St Louis, Missouri in 1888, he emigrated to England in 1914 and became a naturalised British citizen.…
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William Waldorf Astor
William Waldorf Astor was a wealthy American attorney, politician, businessman and newspaper publisher. Born in 1848, he moved with his family to England in 1891 and became a British citizen in 1899 as can be seen on TheGenealogist.…
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Lester Henry Sinclair
A number of people, particularly those from Eastern Europe, decided to anglicise their names when becoming a British citizen.…
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For those researchers who knew their ancestors originated from abroad, or if it's a brand-new surprising discovery, the new set of records provide more information on those previously hard to find records. All Naturalisation and Denization records are available with a Diamond subscription.