Letter, Walter A. Plecker, Richmond, to A.T. Shields, Lexington.
In a letter to A.T. Shields, Walter Plecker asserted that Judge Holt's decision to categorize Atha Sorrells as white despite her Indian heritage had "emboldened" the Rockbridge tribe. Nonetheless, he advised against appealing the Sorrells case to the Supreme Court because the court might rule in her favor.
Rockbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Correspondence [Walter A. Plecker to A.T. Shields], 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 10-0477-003.
9 May 1925
Mimeographed sheet
Letter, Walter A. Plecker, Richmond, to Turner McDowell, Fincastle
In a letter to Turner McDowell, clerk of the Circuit Court in Botetourt County, Walter Plecker probed the legality of the marriage between Grace Mohler and Samuel Christian Branham. The court ruled that Branham was a "Negro" and ordered him "never again to live with" his wife. That Branham considered himself "white" made no difference to Plecker or the court.
Rokcbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Correspondence [Walter A. Plecker to A.T. Shields], 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 12-1245-008/009.
27 September 1937
Carbon typescript
Petition for mandamus, <em>Atha Sorrells v. A.T. Shields, Clerk</em>
A.T. Shields, clerk of the Circuit Court of Rockbridge County, denied Atha Sorrells and Robert Painter a marriage license because of Sorrells' Indian heritage. Sorrells and Painter brought action against Shields, and Judge Holt ruled in their favor, arguing that there was not "an appreciable amount of foreign blood" because Sorrells's Indian ancestor had lived almost 130 years ago.
Rockbridge County (Va.) Atha Sorrells by her next friend William Sorrells vs A. T. Shields, Clerk of Circuit Court, 1925. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records, The Library of Virginia. 12-1246-001/002/003.
Letter, W.A. Plecker, Richmond, to A.T. Shields, Lexington, October 23, 1929
In a letter to A.T. Shields, Walter Plecker inquired into the problem of the "free issue" people of Rockbridge and alluded to the "unfortunate mistake made by Judge Holt in deciding that one of those families is of Indian blood and should be allowed to be considered as white."
Rockbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Corresponence [Walter A. Plecker to A.T. Shields], 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 12-1245-001.
23 October 1929
Mimeographed sheet
Application for Marriage License
In an application for a marriage license, one had to indicate not only that he or she was not "a habitual criminal, idiot, imbecile, hereditary epileptic or insane person," but but also whether he or she was "white, colored, or mixed."
Rockbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Correspondence, 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 12-1245-002.
Ca. 1924
Printed form
Wright Divorce Petition Transcription
Racial Integrity Act Documents
Wright Divorce Petition