Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Department of Commerce and Labor, Division of Naturalization, Record of Declaration of Intention, 1909, is only available on microfilm as a copy stored at the Virginia State Records Center on reel barcode 70032, SRC box 2274. Security microforms (i.e. microfilm and microfiche) stored through this program are not used for reference purposes and access restrictions apply. Contact the State Records Center with questions regarding these materials.

Use Restrictions

Department of Commerce and Labor, Division of Naturalization, Record of Declaration of Intention, 1909, is only available on microfilm as a copy stored at the Virginia State Records Center on reel barcode 70032, SRC box 2274. Security microforms (i.e. microfilm and microfiche) stored through this program are not used for reference purposes and access restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

Montgomery County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1909. Local government records collection, Montgomery County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

Microfilm images made from the original standardized volume of naturalization records issued by the federal government that are housed in the Montgomery County clerk's office.

Original volumes retained in the locality. Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court for access.

Processing Information

The standardized volume of naturalization records issued by the federal government was microfilmed by the Library of Virginia’s Imaging Services Division.

Encoded by M. Long: April 2025.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: Following the passage of the Naturalization Act of 1906, the federal government standardized the naturalization process by issuing bound volumes containing standard naturalization forms. These bound volumes were kept by the various courts of record in which a person could make a declaration of intent to become a U.S. citizen, and copies of the records were sent on to the federal government.

Locality History: Montgomery County was formed from Fincastle County in 1776, and the county court first met on 7 January 1777. Part of Botetourt County was added in 1790. Part of Pulaski County was added in 1842. The county was named for Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the American assault on Quebec late in 1775.

Fincastle County was created from Botetourt County in 1772, and the county court first met on 5 January 1773. Fincastle County became extinct on 31 December 1776 when it was divided to form Montgomery, Washington and Kentucky Counties. The county was named probably for George, Viscount Fincastle, Lord Dunmore's son; for John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, Viscount Fincastle; or for the town of Fincastle, Virginia, which was established in 1772 and named for George, Viscount Fincastle.

Scope and Content

Montgomery County (Va.) Naturalization Records, 1909, consists of Department of Commerce and Labor, Division of Naturalization, Record of Declaration of Intention, 1909, a standardized volume of naturalization records issued by the federal government. There were two primary types of naturalization volumes issued by the federal government: Declaration of Intention volumes and Petition volumes. Oftentimes, applicants were documented in both of these volume types within a locality, but that is not always the case. An applicant may have entered their declaration of intention in one locality before moving and completing their naturalization petition elsewhere.

Declaration of Intention volumes record declarations of intent to become United States citizens. Information on the declaration of intent includes a person's name, age, occupation, color, complexion, height in feet and inches, weight, color of hair, color of eyes, other visible distinctive marks, place and date of birth, current residence, place from where emigrated to the United States, vessel arrived on, last foreign residence, a renunciation of allegiance and fidelity to the state of which the person is currently a citizen, and the date the intention was sworn.

Petition volumes, often called Petition and Record, record the petitions for naturalization, oaths of allegiance, and orders of court admitting petitioner to United States citizenship. Not all parts may be completed as all stages of the citizenship process could be completed in different courts and in different locations in the United States.

A petition for naturalization contains the petitioner's name, address, occupation, birthdate and place, place where emigrated from and date and port of arrival in the U.S., name of ship on which emigrated, where declared intention to become a citizen, spouse's name, place of birth and address, and number of children with their names, birth dates and places of birth. Additional recorded information includes a renunciation of allegiance and fidelity to the state of which the person is currently a citizen or subject, a statement that the petitioner can speak English, and the date since the petitioner has resided constantly in the U.S. An affidavit of witness to these facts is signed by two persons.

For many petitions, a declaration of intent and occasionally other correspondence or related documentation is inserted into the volume facing the naturalization petition. Also sometimes included is an order of the court admitting the petitioner to United States citizenship that includes date of citizenship and certificate of naturalization number.

Inserted into the volumes at various points were correspondence and regulations from the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Naturalization.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Related Material

Additional Montgomery County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data