On this date 12 men were becoming naturalized citizens of the United States. they came from Hungary (2), Germany (6), Ireland (2), Russia (1), and England (1). You might ask, why were there no women? There could be several reasons why women were not on this list. First, married women who were married to aliens could not apply for citizenship, their national status automatically followed that of their husband. Second, there were fees associated with this process and single women may have seen this as a barrier to naturalization. The road to naturalization was not a sure shot. Of the twelve men listed here, only eight were successful. Peter Zutre, a Hungarian failed because he could not speak English. Others rejected for unspecified reasons were John Kopka, Joshua Weinstock (Russian) and Joseph Berger (Hungarian).
Christian Frederick Scharfenburg was born in Germany in 1858 and immigrated to the U S as a young man. He farmed in Danvers for several years, married Louise and then moved to Bloomington. He worked as a truckman for the railroad and lived at 1310 W Forest Street. With his naturalization, his wife also became a citizen. Christian died in his garden in May of 1917 after returning home from work. He had a lovely vegetable and flower garden that he cultivated. Christian and Louise had six children, some of whom settled in Danvers. Almon Scharfenburg of Danvers worked for the railroad and served as a soldier in WWI. Charles Scharfenburg of Bloomington worked for the railroad.
Ernest Otto Jarke (1884 - 1972) was another immigrant from Germany/Poland who declared himself a citizen of the U S. He worked as a blacksmith for the railroad. The census records sometimes show different countries of origin due to moving country boundaries in Europe. He married Elfriech after coming to Bloomington, who was also a German. They had four children. At least two of their children received high school educations, and his son Ernest attended IWU before WWII. In 1940 his son Ernest was a tree planter and his daughter was a candy packer in Bloomington. Ernest junior was in the navy during WWII and narrowly escaped death when a navy blimp crashed in California during his training. After the war Ernest Junior lived with his parents and was a salesman. His brother Frank was a loader at the railroad.
David Gmahle, another German transplant, was a bachelor in Lexington. At the time of registration for WWI, David was a butcher, but by 1930 he had managed to acquire a farm and was farming near Lexington.
John Kopka was yet another German immigrant (1865 - 1919). (Photo of family above) He was a coal miner and father of 11 children. After immigration in 1886 he lived in Wisconsin and Bloomington Illinois, moving between the two places a few times. When John Kopka died of pneumonia at his home on Hinshaw street in 1919, only four of his eleven children were still alive. Of all his sons, only John Kopka lived to adulthood. His oldest son, Martin, worked as a telephone boy in 1900 at the age of 14. John Junior completed high school in Bloomington and was a clerk for the GM & O railroad. In turn, his son John worked as a clerk with the GM & O Railroad as well.
Bernard Strongman was an immigrant from Cornwall, England in 1910 or so. His brother Melville had moved to Bloomington before him and was settled with a wife. Bernard was a cornetist and his employment was always as a musician. He did not come to prominence in Bloomington until 1920, when he became the leader of the American Legion "Bluedevils." In 1921 they won a state contest and competed in New Orleans in the national legion bands competition. He continued working in the McLean County area leading the Leroy High School band, the Farmer City Band and the Bloomington Municipal band. He also was active in directing music at local churches. He served during WWI, fighting at the front in France. He married in 1919 to Carrie McClellan, but unfortunately she died following an operation in 1920. She was a paperhanger with the Rogers Wallpaper Co. Bernard moved to Jacksonville, IL in 1925 to lead bands there. He married again, but never had children.