Pennsylvania, Wayne County, Court of Common Pleas, Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains naturalization records from the Court of Common Pleas in Wayne County, Pennsylvania for years 1799-1906. This collection contains an index to naturalizations, naturalizations, declarations, naturalizations-minors, and naturalizations-adults. Microfilm of original records at the Wayne County Court House, Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Some petitions include declarations. Some documents are missing.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records


 * Name
 * Birth date
 * Birth place
 * Spouse's name
 * Children's names
 * Birth date and place of spouse
 * Birth dates and places of children


 * Port of arrival
 * Date of arrival
 * Vessel of arrival
 * Occupation
 * Physical Description
 * Marriage date


 * Age
 * Residence
 * Last foreign address
 * Marital status

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * At least one other piece of information

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Pennsylvania, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Pennsylvania Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Pennsylvania.
 * Pennsylvania Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.