"Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States"
by Christina K. Schaefer; Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN#0-8063-1532-6
"Tompkins County - Tompkins County Courts. Naturalization Records, 1818-1969 (film 1008767 ff.)
------------------- - Tompkins County Supreme Court. Naturalizations records, 1906-1976 (film 1008766 ff.)
The original records of both of the above are at the Tompkins County Courthouse in Ithaca.
The earliest naturalizations in New York were the colonial oaths of allegiance taken in 1664, 1673, 1687, and 1776. Letters of denization were also granted by the King and by colonial governors until 1700.
After the 1790 naturalizations records in New York can be found in county courts, including the county supreme courts, circuit courts, courts of common pleas and the courts of *oyer and *terminer. City courts, mayor's courts, marine courts and U.S. circuit and district courts also performed naturalization. Listings in this section for individual counties indicate where records are kept and if they have been filmed.
Alternate sources of citizenship information are state cnsus records. Decennial censuses taken from 1855 to 1875 include information on age, place of birth, and years of residency. The 1892 census includes country of birth and if a U.S. citizen. The 1905 census also includes if naturalized and when. The 1925 census is the same as the 1915 and also indicates where naturalized. Most of the surviving records have been filmed and can be found in the Family History Library Catalog under individual counties in New York State. The original records are at the State Library in Albany."
* According to American Heritage Dictionary -- "oyer and terminer" 1) a hearing or trial; 2) a high criminal court in some states of the United States.