A Guide to the Elizabeth City County (Va.) Naturalization Records, undated,

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Elizabeth City County's loose naturalization records, undated, are digitized and available through the Naturalization Records Digital Collection on the Library of Virginia website. Please use digital images.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Naturalization Records, undated. Local government records collection, Hampton, City of/ Elizabeth City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a 2011 transfer of court papers from the city of Hampton under the accession number 45562.

Processing Information

Loose naturalization records, undated, were processed and indexed for the purpose of inclusion in the Library of Virginia's Naturalization Records digital collection by E. Jordan.

Encoded by G. Crawford: February 2019; updated by M. Long: October 2024.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: 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. Prior to the Naturalization Act of 1906, the naturalization process primarily occurred in local and state courts. 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. This document typically preceded proof of residence or a petition to become a citizen by two or more years.

Locality History: Elizabeth City County was named for Elizabeth, daughter of King James I, and was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. It became extinct on 1 July 1952 when it was incorporated into the city of Hampton, which was the county seat.

Lost Locality Note: Records were burned and/or destroyed during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Additional records were burned in Richmond on 3 April 1865, where they had been moved for safekeeping during the Civil War. A few pre–Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, and order books exist.

Scope and Content

Elizabeth City County (Va.) Naturalization Records, undated, consists of loose naturalization records filed in the local court. Loose naturalization records may include affidavits, 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. Affidavits, signed by those who knew the applicant and could vouch for their loyalty to the United States, may also be filed with the reports and declarations.