Collection OM 35

List of Persons in Loudoun County, Virginia Who Have Paid State Capitation Taxes, 1957

Table of Contents

User Information Historical Sketch Scope and Content Note Container List

Processed by Gabrielle Patterson and Laura Christiansen December 2018

Thomas Balch Library 208 W. Market Street Leesburg, VA 20176 USER INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 item

COLLECTION DATES: 1957

PROVENANCE: Bronwen Souders, Waterford, Virginia

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection open for research

USE RESTRICTIONS: No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from Thomas Balch Library.

CITE AS: List of Persons in Loudoun County, Virginia Who Have Paid State Capitation Taxes, 1957 (OM 35), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

ALTERNATE FORMATS: None

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: None

RELATED HOLDINGS: Register of White Voters at Purcellville Precinct, Mt. Gilead District, Loudoun County, Virginia, 1902-1921(OM 0031) Register of White Voters at Purcellville Precinct, Jefferson District, Loudoun County, Virginia Collection, 1888-1962 (SC 0107); Register of Colored Voters at Purcellville Precinct, Jefferson District, Loudoun County, Virginia, 1888-1901 (OM 006); Poll Book, Guilford Precinct, Broad Run Magisterial District of Loudoun County, VA, 1877 (SC 0078); Loudoun County Voter Registrations and Oaths 1867-1964 (M 079)

ACCESSION NUMBERS: 2017.0073

2

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Capitation tax is a tax of a fixed amount per person levied on adults and often linked to the right to vote. At times capitation taxes have been used to disenfranchise certain portions of the population from voting - namely African Americans, women, and poor whites. In 1902 Virginia passed legislation enacting capitation laws, along with a requirement for voters to prove that they could explain parts of Virginia’s constitution.

5 November 1957 was the date of a Virginia gubernatorial election in which incumbent Governor Thomas B. Stanley (16July 1890-10 July 1970), a Democrat, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits. State Senator Dalton (3 June 1901-30 October 1989) was once again nominated by the Republican Party to run against former Democratic Attorney General of Virginia James Lindsay Almond, Jr. (15 June 1898-15 April 1986). Dalton advocated racial integration of the public schools pursuant to court orders. Almond countered with segregationist rhetoric and won the election with 63.15% of the vote.

SOURCES

Heinemann, Ronald L. 1996. Harry Byrd of Virginia. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia.

List of Persons in Loudoun County, Virginia Who Have Paid State Capitation Taxes, 1957 (OM 35), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Virginia Museum of History and Culture, “Voting Rights,” https://www.virginiahistory.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history- explorer/civil-rights-movement-virginia/voting-rights, Accessed online, 26 November 2018.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of a 27 page compilation of lists of residents from the Broad Run, Jefferson, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Mercer, and Mt. Gilead districts who have paid state capitation taxes six months prior to 5 November 1957. The lists of residents for each district are alphabetized, and further broken down by race. The lists certifying payment of the tax by African Americans residents of each district are much shorter than the lists certifying payment of the tax by white residents of each district. Both men and women are listed, with records by each name that list their history of payment of the capitation tax for the previous three years (1954, 1955, and 1956). On the final page, the document is certified by S. Reed Gallaher, Treasurer of Loudoun County, Virginia, and notarized by J.T. Martz, Clerk of the Circuit Court, dated 4 June 1957.

3

CONTAINER LIST OM 35

Folder 1 A List of Persons in Loudoun County, Virginia Who Have Paid State Capitation Taxes Six Months Prior to November 5, 1957

4