Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Prince George County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1850, 1860. Local government records collection, Prince George 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 Prince George County under accession number 44500.

Historical Information

Prince George County was named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne of England. It was formed from Charles City County by a statute adopted on 28 August 1702 to take effect on 23 April 1703. The county seat is Prince George.

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 by an act of 1702 to take effect on April 23, 1703. Most court records were destroyed in 1782 by British troops during the Revolutionary War and again in 1864 by Union troops during the Civil War. A few volumes that record deeds, court orders, and wills exist.

Scope and Content

Prince George County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1850, 1860, include declarations of intent and reports 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.

Arrangement

Arranged chronological.

Related Material

Prince George is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional Prince George 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:

• Prince George County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Immigrants -- Virginia -- Prince George County.
• Naturalization -- Virginia -- Prince George County.

Geographical Names:

• Prince George County (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records -- Virginia -- Prince George County.
• Naturalization records -- Virginia. -- Prince George County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data