Augusta Co. Circuit Court receives early 20th century African American voting registers

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - With the help of a grant from the Augusta County Genealogical Society, the Augusta County Clerk of Circuit Court, Steve Landes received 14 restored early 20th century African American voter registers.

“When they actually decided they wanted to register to vote in Augusta County we got the individual’s names and a lot of times we have the actual voter registration card. We’ve also got records where anytime somebody wanted to change their registration if they were transferring from one magisterial district to another we’ve even got that information so it is complete African American voting registration,” Augusta County Circuit Court Clerk Steve Landes explained.

The Augusta County Genealogical Society donated more than $3,400 to complete the project. Some records date back to 1904.

“Which is significant because for families that are doing research, a lot of times the first identifiable records are right after the civil war. It is interesting that even with the challenges related to voter registration for African Americans after the Civil War we’ve got a number of individuals that were able to register. We’ve got their records here from Augusta County,” Landes added.

You can view the records from the court’s online archive by clicking here.