Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Staunton (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1906-1910 Local government records collection, Staunton (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Staunton (Va.)

Historical Information

The City of Staunton, in Augusta County, was named, according to tradition, for Rebecca Staunton, wife of Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Staunton was laid out in 1748 at the site of the Augusta County courthouse and was established as a town in 1761. It was incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1871.

Scope and Content

Staunton (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1906-1910 includes reports for naturalization, declarations of intent to become United States citizens and notices of application for admission of citizenship. The reports are narrative accounts made by applicants summarizing their journey to the United States. 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 reports and delarations. They were given by individuals who knew the applicant and could vouch for their loyalty to the United States. The notices for applications are lists of individuals who have petitioned the court for naturalization. Information included in the lists are name of petitioner, place of birth, residence of witnesses.

Arrangement

This collection is unprocessed.

Related Material

Additional Staunton court records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Staunton (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Public Records-- Virginia--Staunton.
• Staunton (Va.)--History

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--Staunton (Va.)

Adjunct Descriptive Data