Governor - Executive Dept. - Reconstruction Registration Oath Books
Scope and Contents
The Federal Act of March 2, 1867, divided the southern states into five military districts for the partial purpose of holding a constitutional convention in each state as part of the process of being readmitted to the Union. The officials of the Federal Army in Georgia, who then constituted the government, appointed registrars to register voters who would then elect delegates to the state's constitutional convention. Georgia was then divided into forty-four districts of three counties each based on the State Senatorial Districts. To qualify to register, a voter had to take the oath of allegiance to the United States government and to swear he had never supported the Confederate States of America. These registrars then registered over 95,000 white and over 93,000 African-American voters.
The oath books include the names of the persons who registered, the dates of registration, their county of residence, and their signed oaths of allegiance to the United States. Some entries indicate the race of the voter, but many of the volumes have only a few African-Americans so designated. Researchers interested in the racial composition of the registered voters should consult RGSGSERIES 1-1-108, Returns of Qualified Voters. Occasionally, the town or community in which the persons taking the oath resided will be noted. Most of the entries include the number of the election precinct in which the registrants lived.
Dates
- Created: 1867-1867
Creator
- Governor (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted
Extent
115.00 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
The oath books are arranged numerically by districts. Please see the separate listing for the alphabetical index of the counties and their corresponding numbered district.
Physical Access Requirements
Available online on Ancestry.com and on microfilm in repository.
General
Oath books have not survived for the following counties: Chattahoochee, Crawford, Houston, Marion, Muscogee (excluding City of Columbus), and Taylor.
- Title
- Governor - Executive Dept. - Reconstruction Registration Oath Books
- Author
- Georgia Archives
- Description rules
- Local
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Georgia Archives Repository
5800 Jonesboro Rd
Morrow GA 30260 United States