Our ancestors’ political views

By Nancy Battick

Election Day approaches. There are candidate signs everywhere, political ads, accusations hurled back and forth, truths and half-truths, outright distortions, and many people just hoping to ignore the furor until it’s all over. For a genealogist writing their family history, the question arises, what political party or parties did my ancestors favor? 

Keep in mind that politics and political parties have evolved over our nation’s history. While some party names held for a time, the beliefs of the party often changed. Today’s Republican Party would seem unfamiliar to Abraham Lincoln, and today’s Democrats equally unrecognizable. Before them there were other parties such as Federalists and Democratic Republicans. It can all get confusing quickly.

Our Founding Fathers hoped that the nation could remain united and that parties, as we know them, would never emerge. It was a fine idea, but given human nature it was doomed. We talk today about nasty campaigns, but I suggest you read about the John Adams-Thomas Jefferson rivalry in the 1800 election. Without modern technology it was still a nasty episode. 

American history is full of tales of elections where candidates treated voters to drinks at a bar or otherwise manipulated votes. Powerful blocs could ensure the election of certain people to public office who may not have been qualified but provided money or jobs.

If you know an ancestor’s political beliefs, you should note that in your genealogical software. It’s all part of the lives of our ancestors. Sometimes it’s easy to guess an ancestor’s belief through the naming of his children (note that I say “his” since women didn’t have the vote until the last 100 years). 

If someone named a son John Quincy Adams Smith or Thomas Jefferson Smith. a little historical research will tell you where your ancestor stood in terms of his political views, or at least his views at the time his child was born. 

One factor to keep in mind is that when women gained the right to vote, their views began to shift election results. 

I live in Dover-Foxcroft, a double township that joined together in 1922. The male voters of Dover and Foxcroft had been talking about joining together and received legislative approval in 1915. But the menfolk couldn’t agree and dithered. Then the story goes, the ladies got the vote — abd the women in effect said, “Enough of this nonsense,” and voted to join the two towns. Take that, guys.

Seriously, your ancestors’ political views played a huge role in both our country’s life and their own. Just think of the crucial election of 1860 when the new Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. His election triggered the Civil War, though he tried his best to stop it from happening. 

However you feel about politics, it’s a smart move to indicate an ancestor’s affiliation with a party, or neutrality if that was the case. You probably know how your parents registered to vote and your grandparents, but you may have to guess how other generations voted. 

See you on Election Day.

Columnist Nancy Battick of Dover-Foxcroft has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UM. Reader emails are welcome at nbattick@roadrunner.com.