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Use microfilm copy, Newport News/Warwick Co. (Va.) Reel 20.
Newport News (Va.) Voters' Register, 1902-1903. Local government records collection, Newport News (City)/Warwick County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from the city of Newport News.
Newport News was located in Warwick County, which is now extinct. The origin of the name is uncertain but the phrase "Newportes News" appeared in documents as early as 1619 and probably commemorated Christopher Newport, who made five voyages to Virginia between 1607 and 1619. Newport News was a small settlement until late in the nineteenth century, when it became the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. It was established in 1880 and incorporated as a city by act of the General Assembly in 1896 without ever having been incorporated as a town. Newport News was enlarged by consolidation with the city of Warwick in 1858.
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.
Newport News (Va.) Voters' Register, 1902-1903, records the roll of registered voters in Newport News. The volumes are divided by wards, first through seventh, and within each ward on the basis of color. Information found in the volumes 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.