West Virginia Naturalization Records - FamilySearch Historical Records/Known Issues

Question 1
Question 1: I am looking for Petition records before 1919. Are they available? Answer 1: There are two waypoints with these records before 1919. The titles of the record books were different for these years, so the waypoints reflect the names of the record books. The records in the waypoint Naturalization Records, 1902-1929 are actually Petitions for Naturalization Vol 1 for the years 1907-1913. The records in the waypoint Naturalization Records, 1913-1919, v. 2 are Petitions for Naturalization Vol 2, 1913-1919. They are the first in the series that is later titled Petition Records Vol 3-6 dates 1919-1927.

Question 2
Question 2: The Collection Description includes Greenbrier, Ohio, and Wood Counties, but there are no County waypoints for these counties. Where can these missing records be found? Answer 2: These counties are not included as waypoints in the collection. Several counties in Virginia seceded from the Confederate state during the American Civil War. They formed the new state of West Virginia which was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key Civil War border state. With this in mind, applicable films for the 3 counties are listed below:


 * The Greenbrier County naturalization records are found on film 1637591, Items 2-3.
 * The Ohio County naturalization records are found on the films 1871956, Items 2-5 and 1871957. You may find records of interest in Film 1872414 Item 7, Aliens declarations, 1855-1860.
 * The Wood County naturalization records are found on the film 1871228, Item 3.

There are no microfilm listings in the Catalog for naturalization records for the remaining 23 West Virginia Counties.

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