*
Dear Douglas,

At first I did not pay much attention to your request, though as the various
responses came in, I began to think more about the evolution of
"citizenship" from the Revolution into the 1790s. Also, your McCaws have a
Richmond connection, and I work in Richmond history, so I became intrigued
with just how Richmonders might have treated Loyalists during and after the
Revolution.

Obviously, before the Revolution, native-born Virginians were subjects of
the British crown. The notion of citizenship, with its rights and
obligations, emerged during the Enlightenment and changed considerably from
the 1770s to the 1790s. In Virginia, the first definition of citizenship
came in May 1779, "An act declaring who shall be deemed citizens of this
commonwealth." For this see Hening's, "Statutes of Virginia," 10:129-30 <
http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol10-06.htm#page_129>, which describes citizens
as those white people who were born in Virginia or had lived there for two
years before passage of this law. Those living in Virginia for less than two
years could become naturalized citizens with a simple oath in county court.
Likewise, it was just as simple to renounce one's citizenship (presumably
with no hard feelings ;-). This same session of the General Assembly also
passed "An act concerning escheats and forfeitures from British subjects." For
this see Hening's, "Statutes of Virginia," 10:66-71 <
http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol10-03.htm>. This act says that anyone who left
Virginia was not a citizen but instead remained a British subject (pp.
70-71). This act was based on the October 1776 "Act declaring what shall be
treason." (Hening's, "Statutes of Virginia," 9:168 <
http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol09-08.htm#page_168>).

Now, your situation is complicated because the above citizenship legislation
granted childrens' citizenship through the father and only secondarily
through the mother if the father was deceased. The fact that he was a
traitor may not have helped their case. That the mother was born in Virginia
and married to a Loyalist may have mitigated her treason (since legally she
was his dependent). All of Virginia's efforts may have been superseded by
the federal Congress, which passed the Naturalization Act of 1790, requiring
a two-year residence before citizenship could be conferred. See <
http://tinyurl.com/ygyplsm>.
*
*
*
None of this gives you a simple answer, but this is a good document trail
that may help you answer your question. The trick would be to track down any
property to discover its disposition during or after the Revolution. The
1779 "Act concerning escheats and forfeitures from British subjects"
instructed county tax commissioners to confiscate and sell Loyalist property
(within certain parameters). Again, a caveat, "the estates real and personal
of such British subjects who have wives, widows, or children, residing
within this state, shall be appropriated as follows: Such estates . . .
where a wife and child, or child and no wife, the whole of the estate
belonging to such British subject shall be without the perview of this act,
" (p. 71). And this clause may not be relevant for your case, since the
widow and children did not reside in Virginia at the time.

Did they maintain contact with family in Virginia?

Good luck with your research,
Ed

================
* Edward DuBois Ragan
Staff Historian
Valentine Richmond History Center
1015 East Clay Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-1527
804.649.0711 ext. 344
804.643.3510 fax
804.787.0144 cell
[log in to unmask]
www.richmondhistorycenter.com*

*
*

> > From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of James Burnett
> > Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 4:39 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [VA-HIST] Loyalty Oath
> >
> > Good Evening All
> > I have a question wrt passports/immigration.  I have a Virginia born
> > ancestor who married a British born Doctor in Va prior to 1775.  When the
> > Revolution began the Dr was a Loyalist and he, his wife, son, and
> daughter
> > returned to England. The Dr then returned to New York in a British
> uniform
> > and died there. Subsequent to the war his wife, daughter and son, after
> he
> > graduated from Edinburgh Medical School returned to Va in 1792. On their
> > return would they have been treated as immigrants even though all were
> born
> > in Va? Would they have had to take an oath of loyalty?
> > Just to put a name on this law they were the McCaws and there were 5
> > generations of physicians in the Richmond Va area from this line.
> > Thanks in advance
> > Douglas Burnett
> > Satellite Beach
> > FL
>

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