Max Zavers, 29 years old, upon receiving his United States citizenship in 1930. Courtesy of Stephen Martin
Primary Resources Archive
Immigration to Citizenship: Max Zavers' Journey Max Zaverschink. later changed to Max Zavers, immigrated to the United States from the Austrian Republic in 1921. Max eventually attained United States citizenship in 1930.
The documents in this section chronicle Max's journey from immigration to citizenship. Items include his Austrian school id's, paperwork necessary for immigration, records from his journey across the Atlantic Ocean, as well as his citizenship papers.
Many of these documents demonstrate not only what it took to gain admittance to the U.S. as an immigrant but also the importance Max and other immigrants placed on attaining citizenship. Many documents relate to Max's education in Austria and show the importance immigrants placed on proving they were educated once they arrived in the United States. Indeed, Max even kept all of his report cards - from elementary school through high school - until the end of his life and then passed them on to family members.
The fact that Max and his descendents preserved these materials also demonstrates that even after becoming an American citizen Max never forgot where he came from and hoped to pass that story on to future generations.
Materials in this section were donated by Stephen Martin - Springfield Technical Community College student and long-time area resident.
