Source Information

Ancestry.com. Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Original data:

Georgia, Office of the Governor. Returns of qualified voters under the Reconstruction Act, 1867. Georgia State Archives, Morrow, Georgia.

Georgia, Office of the Governor. Reconstruction registration oath books, 1867, Georgia State Archives, Morrow, Georgia.

About Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869

This database contains records related to voter registrations in Georgia in 1867 and 1868 that met requirements of the Reconstruction Acts.

Historical Background

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, draft new state constitutions, and register voters, both black and white. In order to vote, men had to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States, and some were disqualified for their participation in Confederate government posts. This database contains books recording those oaths of allegiance and returns listing qualified voters registered in Georgia in 1867. It includes both black and white citizens.

What You Can Find in the Records

The oath books list

  • name
  • date
  • county of residence
  • sometimes race

The returns provide similar details, listing

  • date of registration
  • name
  • number and page number of the county’s registration oath book with the voter’s oath of allegiance
  • race
  • time of residence in state, county, and precinct within a year
  • nativity by state or county
  • remarks

The returns have a second page that may have naturalization information, though these columns were typically left blank. You can access this page by using the arrow keys to move to the next image once you have found an ancestor.