Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Election Records, 1829-1861 that were transferred in accession 53810 under the title “Greensville County Dead Papers” and in adjacent boxes have undergone minimal processing. The remaining election records from this locality are still unprocessed and need review prior to use by researchers. All records remain tri-folded or in original bundles and may be fragile. Contact Archives Research services for availability.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Greensville County (Va.) Election Records, 1829-1900 circa. Local government records collection, Greensville County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 23219.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a 2023 transfer of court papers from Greensville County under accession number 53810.

Processing Information

Encoded by M. Long: September 2023.

Election Records, 1829-1861 that were transferred in accession 53810 under the title “Greensville County Dead Papers” and in adjacent boxes were processed using minimal processing standards: Locality records were organized by broad record category (election records, fiduciary records, etc.) with minimal other arrangement. These records have not been flattened, foldered, mended, or separated by individual record type (like summons, appraisements, etc.).

The remaining election records are still unprocessed.

Historical Information

Context for Record Type: During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, voting eligibility in Virginia was tied to land ownership. According to Virginia law, an eligible voter had to be an adult white man and had to own a specific amount of real property, an amount that differed for town and country residents. In 1850, the passage of a new state constitution moved away from property ownership in favor of place of residency as a qualification for enfranchisement. The secret ballot and supervisory Electoral boards were instituted following the Civil War. In 1902, another new state constitution was passed with the purpose of maintaining white suffrage while eliminating African-American voters by means of literacy tests as well as property and poll tax requirements. This constitution and its discriminatory election policies officially remained in effect until 1971.

Ballots indicate either the candidates running for office or is a formal record of a person's vote. Polls are lists of persons who voted in each election in each precinct. Polls are also heads of household, usually free white males, responsible for payment of taxes, or eligible to vote.

Because states had jurisdiction over maintaining their election returns, votes were often recorded in deed books or poll books, which listed the name of the voter as well as the candidate for whom they voted.

Abstracts of votes are certified by the circuit court clerk and document the summary by the Electoral Board of the official results. Includes total number of voters, write-in certification, and total votes for each candidate/issue.

Locality History: Greensville County was named either for Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, commanding general of the Continental army in the South during part of the Revolutionary War, or for Sir Richard Grenville, leader of the Roanoke Island settlement of 1585. The county was formed from Brunswick County on 28 November 1780.

Scope and Content

Greensville County (Va.) Election Records, 1829-1900 circa, consists of records documenting voting returns, election results, qualified voters, and the official processes involved in conducting elections at the locality level. A portion of the election records, 1829-1861, have undergone minimal processing. This has allowed for the documentation of specific record types and various trends found in this set of records. The remaining election records are completely unprocessed.

Election Records, 1829-1861 that have undergone minimal processing consist of the following:

Significant materials include an 1861 return of votes on the "ordinance of secession."

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Related Material

Additional Greensville County Court Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data