Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Rockingham County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1799-1911. Local government records collection, Rockingham County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Rockingham County.

Historical Information

Rockingham County was named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, second marquis of Rockingham, who supported the colonies during the years before and during the Revolutionary War. The county was formed from Augusta County in 1778. The county seat is the city of Harrisonburg.

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.

Created in 1778. A courthouse fire in 1787 destroyed wills and estate records, primarily. In June 1864 during the Civil War, court records (mostly volumes) were removed from the courthouse and loaded on a wagon to be taken to place of safety on or beyond the Blue Ridge. The wagon was overtaken by Union troops near Port Republic and set on fire, which was put out by local citizens. Many order books, deed books, will books, and fiduciary books, however, were lost or severely damaged by the fire. The loose records that remained at the courthouse were undamaged. Pre-1865 records including deeds and wills were rerecorded following an act of assembly passed in November 1884

Scope and Content

Rockingham County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1799-1911, include declarations of intent to become United States citizens and notices of application for admission of citizenship. The declarations of intent record the person's name, place of birth, age, country of previous citizenship, renunciation of allegiance and fidelity to the nation of which the person is currently a citizen, and the date the intention was sworn. Also found in the collection are affivdavits filed with the declarations. They were given by individuals who knew the applicant and could vouch for their loyalty to the United States.

Arrangement

Arranged chronological.

Related Material

Rockingham County is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Rockingham Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localites Database found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Rockingham County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Immigrants -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
• Naturalization -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.

Geographical Names:

• Rockingham County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records -- Virginia -- Rockingham County.
• Naturalization records -- Virginia. -- Rockingham County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data