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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Ratification of Nineteenth Amendment

When the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on 18 August 1920, women in the United States gained the right to vote. The Amendment states:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote. National Archives and Records Administration

I have found the names of some of my female ancestors and collateral relatives on voter registration lists. My maternal grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe's name appears on the 1948 Los Angeles, California voter registration list, underneath the name of her husband, my grandfather John Boe. My grandparents did not state their political affiliation.

Index to Register of Voters, Los Angeles City Precinct No. 208, Los Angeles County, California, 1948. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

The name of my maternal grandfather John Boe's half-sister Lillian Ruth (Boe) Casperson appears on more than one of the 1936 San Francisco, California voter registration lists. She is listed at one address on the list dated 26 March 1936, and at another address on the list dated 24 September 1936. Her husband Elmar Casperson's name is listed next to hers on both lists (once below hers and once above hers). Apparently the Caspersons moved between 26 March 1936 and 24 September 1936. They were registered Democrats.
Index to Register, City and County of San Francisco, To and Including March 26, 1936. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

Index to Register, City and County of San Francisco, To and Including September 24, 1936. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

The name of my first cousin twice removed Laura Ingeborg (Olsen) Withrow appears on the 1950 voter registration list for Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles County, California. Her husband Frank M. Withrow's name appears on the list above hers. They were registered Republicans.

Index to Register of Voters, Palos Verdes Estates City Precinct No. 2, Los Angeles County, California, 1950. Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: State of California, United States. Great Register of Voters. Sacramento, California: California State Library.

2 comments:

  1. I do not know why but after I read the whole article I laughed a lot. She has nineteen ancestors. In this recent time, this is not even something for the imagination. I could say that she had something special which let it done in time.

    ReplyDelete