Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2012 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Library of Virginia staff
There are no restrictions.
There are no restrictions.
Madison County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1870. Local government records collection, Madison County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
This item came to the Library of Virginia in a shipment of court papers from Madison County.
Madison County was named for James Madison, a prominent Virginian and a member of Congress in 1792 when the county was formed from Culpeper County.
Prior to 1906, naturalizations could be recorded in any court — federal, state, county, or city. Declarations of intent were the record by which an applicant for U.S. citizenship declared their intent to become a citizen and renounced their allegiance to a foreign government. A declaration of intention normally preceded proof of residence or a petition to become a citizen by two or more years. Beginning in 1795, a person could declare their intent to become a citizen at any time and in any place after they arrived in the United States.
Madison County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1870, includes an affidavit, a report for naturalization, and a declaration of intent to become a United States citizen made by Gottlieb Mayer, who immigrated in 1868 from Zurich, Switzerland.