In this pamphlet, dating to about 1943, Walter A. Plecker, the state registrar of vital statistics, lists the surnames of Virginians he suspects are trying to “pass” as Indian or white.
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Author: Walter A. Plecker
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Letter from Walter A. Plecker to Turner McDowell (September 27, 1937)
In a letter to Turner McDowell, clerk of the Circuit Court in Botetourt County, Walter A. Plecker, the state registrar of vital statistics, considers the legality of the marriage between Grace Mohler and Samuel Christian Branham. The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 prohibited marriage between whites and non-whites. A court later ruled that Branham was a “Negro” and ordered him “never again to live with” his wife.
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Letter from Walter A. Plecker to Local Registrars, et al. (December 1943)
In a letter to local registrars, clerks, and legislators, dated December 1943, Walter A. Plecker, the state registrar of vital statistics, asserts that all Virginia Indians possess some “negro blood.”
