Racial Integrity Act Documents
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
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
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, 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
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
Application for Marriage License (Charlie Sorrells and Sophia Jane Woods)
In his application for a marriage license, Charlie Sorrells indicated that both he and his fiancee, Sophia Jane Woods, were white. A.T. Shields, the same clerk of the court who denied Atha Sorrells' right to marry, signed the license. The Sorrells' name was later placed on a list of "mixed negroid" families living in Rockbridge, Virginia.
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. 10-0477-001/002.
24 August 1925
Printed form and manuscript
Registration of Birth and Color--Virginia
Every person living in Virginia had to register as either "white" or "colored." This designation determined whom a person could marry and where he or she could attend school, among other things.
Rockbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Correspondence, 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 10-0878-001/002.
After 1924
Printed form
Circular Letter to "Local Registrars, Clerks, Legislators, and others responsible for, and interested in, the prevention of racial intermixture," from Walter A. Plecker, State Registrar of Vital Statistics, Richmond
In a 1943 letter to local registrars, clerks, and legislators, Plecker asserted, "[T]here does not exist today a descendant of Virginia ancestors claiming to be an Indian who is unmixed with negro blood."
Rockbridge County (Va.) Clerk's Correspondence, 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection, Rockbridge County Court Records. The Library of Virginia. 10-0878-003.
December 1943
Mimeographed sheet
"The New Virginia Law to Preserve Racial Integrity"
In the Virginia Law to Preserve Racial Integrity, "white" persons were defined as those with "no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian" or "one-sixteenth or less of the blood of the American Indian." The second part of the definition was included to appease a group of prominent Virginians who claimed to be descendants of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.
<em>Virginia Health Bulletin</em>, vol. XVI, March 1924. Pamphlet. Rockbridge County Clerk's Correspondence, 1912-1943. Local Government Records Collection. The Library of Virginia.12-1245-005/006/007.
March 1924
Pamphlet