Genealogy Hints in Poll Tax & Voter Registration Docs

Don't Pass Over Poll Taxes and Voting Registration RecordsFew researchers claim poll tax records and voter registration docs as their favorite set of records. But why not? These records can really move along your family research in USA and Europe. Here are just a few ways I've used these records to solve mysteries.

Learn More About the Poll Tax Here
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Are Your Ancestor On Voter Lists?

Voting rights have historically been reserved for citizens, but privileges comes with a plethora of law changes. Knowing the laws will help ferret out information on your ancestor. Let's take Poll Tax Laws as an example. 

California Voter Register 

In the USA poll taxes were used slightly different than Europe. In Europe poll taxes were traditionally used as a revenue source for the government rather than as a means to restrict voting. This practice dates back to the medieval period. In the U.S., poll taxes were widely imposed in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in Southern states. Adopted as a way to prevent African Americans and low-income individuals from voting, poll taxes was a tool used for voter suppression. Of course prior to the Civil War tax records were not available for disenfranchised persons. This practice continued up to 1964, with the passage of the 24th Amendment which abolished poll taxes in federal elections. Two years later, the Supreme Court extended this to state elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, ruling that poll taxes were unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.

While these taxes often served as a barrier to voting, they also produced detailed records that listed individuals by name, residence, and often occupation or age. 

Why Use Poll Taxes?

For genealogists poll taxes often provide a glimpse into the social and land financial standing of our ancestors. Researchers may find gaps in ancestors' information, due to racial or economic barriers, however, even these gaps provide clues. If an ancestor appears on one poll tax record and not another, it might indicate a move, a change in financial status, or other life events worth exploring. 

Researchers often use Poll Tax Records as a substitue for incomplete or missing Census Records. Poll tax records were typically assessed yearly or biennial. 

Don't Forget Other Voter Registration Records

Again researchers must be familiar with the laws for their time frame.

• For example in 1867 ex-slaves were added to voter registrations. In 1920 women were extended the privilege to vote thanks to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
• If you are researching in Europe, you will find that typically only land-owners were added to voter rolls.
• Another note of importance -  not all registered to vote, often because they were not naturalized. Many of our immigrant ancestors never became naturalized citizens, but their country-born children were eligible to vote. 

Here are some Uses of Voter Registration Records

“North Carolina, Voter Registration Records, 1868-1898,” FamilySearch

Separate Common Named Ancestors

When researching common named ancestors, family historians can not afford to overlook voter registration records (when available).  Identifying ancestors by age, nativity and occupation, I use voter registers to create a preliminary snap shot of an ancestor's residence. You must pair your ancestor's name with other distinctions: age, occupation, country of nativity (may simply state the country of Kentucky) to separate common named ancestors (especially if the name is repeated within families). Some voter registrations list physical descriptions: height, unique marks, etc.

Voter Registers and Land Claims

What good is a land deed, if you don't know which Moses owned it?  Sometimes, the deed itself will note Sr. or Jr. or a wife's name to assist the researcher, but what if these distinctions are omitted? My Moses was born in 1804, his youngest son 1848 and a grandson, a descendant of an older son, born in 1855, was also named Moses. It did not help that generations of this family died intestate (without a will). Using voter registrations coupled with the census records, tax records, deeds and probates, this active migratory family was traced making it easier to determine the owner of various land plats based on dates and county of residence.

Where Was Your Ancestor Naturalized?

It's not enough to know that your ancestor was naturalized. To obtain records, you may need to identify the specific court  (not all were naturalized in Federal Courts even after 1906).  You may find the court of naturalization listed on the voter register. 

Where to Find Poll Tax and  Voter Register Records?

Scott County, KY

After an online state and county search, turn to the State Archives or State Historical Society to retrieve any salvaged records like that at the Colorado State Archives. Of course these records may be found at a local level.

For More Information

• Family History Library has a healthy catalog of voter registration records also.
• Ancestry.com offers various Chicago Voter Registrations between 1888-1892, and California Voter Registers, 1866-1898 and 1900-1968. 
•  Be sure to reference Cyndi's Lists: Voters, PollBooks, Electoral Records: Locality Specific.

(Adopted from Should Genealogists Care About Voter Registers?; posted 6 Sep 2011)

Kathleen Brandt, a3Genealogy