Goochland County (Va.) Election Records, circa 1902-1965

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Goochland County (Va.) Election Records, circa 1902-1965. Local government records collection, Goochland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Goochland County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Goochland County (Va.) Election Records, circa 1902-1965. Local government records collection, Goochland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Goochland County (Va.) Election Records, circa 1902-1965, include Goochland County lists of registered voters compiled in the individual county precincts and the general voter registration book.

Goochland County lists of registered voters consist of the individual rolls of registered voters, colored and white, for the following precincts: Caledonia, Three Square, Snead's Store, Hadensville, Goochland, Watkinsville, Centerville, Manakin, Tabscott, Rocketts, Bowles Store, and Ford's Store. Rolls also include names of women who registered following passage of Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 and the names of African-Americans who registered following passage of the National Voting Rights Act of 1965. Information found in the rolls includes date of registration; number of registered voter; name of registered voter; date of birth; age; occupation; residence; length of residence in state, county, and precinct; whether exempt from poll tax; if naturalized, and if so, date of papers and by what court issued; if transferred from another precinct, and if so, when and to what precinct.

Biographical / historical:

Goochland County was named for Sir William Gooch, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. It was formed from Henrico County in 1728. The county seat is Goochland.

The 1902 voter registration books were created following the passage of the 1902 Virginia state constitution. The purpose of the 1902 state constitution was to maintain white suffrage while eliminating African-American voters by means of literacy tests as well as property and poll tax requirements.

The Nineteenth Amendment was granted the right to vote to women. It was proposed on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920.

The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. The Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Goochland County under the accession number 53376.
Arrangement:

Chronological

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
41 v.