Randolph County WV Genealogy – Access Genealogy

West Virginia Naturalization Records

Naturalization to become a U.S. citizen was a two-part process: the Declaration of Intent to Naturalize, or First Papers, and the Naturalization Record (including the Naturalization Petition), or Final Papers. The First Papers were normally filed five years before the Final Papers because of the five-year residency requirement to become a citizen. No centralized files existed before 1906. In 1906 federal forms replaced the various formats that had been used by the various courts. Copies were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), creating a central file for naturalization papers. The INS is now known as the U.S. Citizenship … Read more

Biography of George L. Banks

George L. Banks. A sterling pioneer and citizen who is now living virtually retired in the City of Independence, Mr. Banks is specially entitled to recognition in this history. He was one of the early settlers of Montgomery County and has contributed his full quota to its civic and industrial development and progress, and he was long one of the prominent and influential exponents of agricultural industry in this section of the state. High honors also are his for the valiant service which he gave as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Mr. Banks was born in … Read more

The Wilson Family of West Virginia

This brief history has been gleaned from old family records, correspondence with other members, and histories of Ritchie, Barbour, Harrison and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. The first known ancestor was David Wilson, who was born in Scotland about 1650; he had a son David, born about 1685, who was forced to flee from Scotland to Ireland owing to his being on the losing side in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715. His son William (b. Nov. 19, 1722; d. June 12, 1801) came to America about 1736; married Elizabeth Blackburn, also of Scotch-Irish descent, about 1746, and settled on Trout Run near Moorefield, Hardy County, W. Va. The Land Office at Richmond shows that he and his sons patented many tracts of land in what is now Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties. Nothing further is known of him as to where he lived and died.