I’ve revisited my “when could they vote chart” which I’ve mentioned here before. It really is not a bad activity as it gets one thinking about a variety of things. For me, the following things had to be 
considered:
- naturalization law
- age at which one could vote
- passage of 19th amendment
- chronology
I’ve only listed my deceased ancestors on this chart. I’m the only one who was eligible to vote on my 18th birthday. I need to complete the chart. It is complete through my great-great-grandparents, but there are only four of my 3rd great-grandfathers listed. Although I do have two 3rd great-grandmothers who lived to see the 19th amendment.
This is one of those activities that I feel serves a bigger purpose and can get you to thinking. Thinking is usually good.
And remember that there were people who voted even though they weren’t naturalized.
[post your blog post in the comments if you’ve taken the “Ancestral Voter Challenge.”]
| Name | Year of Birth | Year they Could Vote | Comments–reason |
| Connie (Ufkes) Neill | 1942 | 1963 | reached age 21 |
| Cecil Neill | 1903 | 1924 | reached age 21 |
| Ida (Trautvetter) Neill | 1910 | 1931 | reached age 21 |
| John Ufkes | 1917 | 1938 | reached age 21 |
| Dorothy (Habben) Ufkes | 1924 | 1945 | reached age 21 |
| Charles Neill | 1875 | 1896 | reached age 21 |
| Fannie (Rampley) Neill | 1883 | 1920 | 19th amendment |
| George Trautvetter | 1869 | 1890 | reached age 21 |
| Ida (Sargent) Trautvetter | 1874 | 1920 | 19th amendment |
| Mimka Habben | 1881 | 1902 | reached age 21 |
| Tjode (Goldenstein) Habben | 1882 | 1920 | 19th amendment |
| Fred Ufkes | 1893 | 1914 | reached age 21 |
| Tena (Janssen) Ufkes | 1895 | 1920 | 19th amendment |
| Samuel Neill | 1830s-Ireland | (have to check) | naturalization |
| Anne (Murphy) Neill | 1830s | never | died in 1895 |
| John Michael Trautvetter | 1838–Germany | — | not certain if he was actually naturalized |
| Franciska (Bieger) Trautvetter | 1851 | never | died in 1888 |
| Ira Sargent | about 1843 | probably 1864 | reached age 21 |
| Ellen (Butler) Sargent | about 1857 | who knows | lost track of her after 1880–if she lived to vote I don’t know about it |
| John Ufkes | 1838-Ostfriesland, Germany | naturalization | |
| Noentje (Grass) Ufkes | died before women’s suffrage | ||
| Jans Janssen | 1856-Ostfriesland, Germany | naturalization | |
| Reka (Sartorius) Janssen | 1865-Illinois | died before women’s suffrage | |
| John Habben | 185-Ostfriesland, Germany | naturalization | |
| Anke (Fecht) Habben | 1860-Ostfriesland, Germany | 1920 | 19th amendment-naturalized when her father naturalized |
| Foche Goldenstein | 1857-Ostfriesland, Germany | naturalization | |
| Anna (Dirks) Goldenstein | 1861-Illinois | 1920 | 19th amendment |
| George Trautvetter | 1798-Germany | never | did not naturalize |
| James Rampley | 1803-Maryland | 1824–in Ohio | reached age 21 |
| William Newman | 1818-Kentucky | 1839–in Indiana | reached age 21 |
| Clark Sargent | Vermont- 1805 | 1826 | reached age 21 |
Kat says:
Among the papers I inherited from my family,a poll tax receipt for my grandmother was included. I didn’t realize the significance at first, but this was the first time she was able to vote after the passage of the 19th amendment!
mjnrootdig says:
That was a really neat discovery. Good that you realized exactly what is was. Sometimes we don’t realize the importance of seemingly innocent things until it is too late.
Patty says:
I know tha! I love learning new things and on my quest for finding families, I ‘ ve learned so much. I also know I still have a lot to learn.