Cleveland, Ohio, Board of Elections Registration Records, 1907-1908 (MS 3475)
MS 3475 Cleveland, Ohio, Board of Elections Registration Records, 1907-1908, contains duplicate sets of voter registration records for each precinct of Cleveland’s twenty-six wards for the years listed. Unlike today, annual voter registration in cities over 100,000 was required by Ohio law. All voters were male; women did not receive the vote until 1920. The 1907 mayoral election was a significant race, pitting Theodore E. Burton against the incumbent, Tom L. Johnson, with Johnson winning. Nearly 100,000 voters registered in October and November 1907 for this election, giving a mid-decade view of the male population and capturing citizens who might not appear in either the 1900 or 1910 census. The collection is a valuable resource for genealogists as well as political and social historians. A limited number of registrants for the special registration in 1908 are also included.
About the 1907 Voter Registration Index
The books in the original manuscript collection include:
- Registration Date*
- Ward Number*
- Precinct*
- Registrant Number*
- Full Name*
- Residence*
- Age
- Length of Residence in the state, the county, and the precinct
- Nativity (country of birth)
- Naturalization – date and court
- Marital Status
- Signature
- Remarks – generally papers shown indicating that the registrant provided his naturalization papers
*indicates indexed fields
This index to the collection was created from one set of the duplicate registration books, allowing the researcher to search by name rather than ward and precinct. With the information from the index, the registrant can easily be located in the manuscript collection located in the WRHS Library and additional valuable information obtained. As with all indices created from old, often difficult to read handwritten records, the researcher should try many variants of the surname.
A valuable supplement to this collection may be found in the WRHS Map Collection: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Western Reserve (1786-1996). This collection is available on microfilm, with Map #202, Mohr’s Map of the City of Cleveland and Suburbs, 1907, providing a source of the twenty-six ward boundaries.