Contributed by Pittsfield Historical Society
Description
Members of the Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) #6, Auxiliary to the Stephen Davis GAR Post #11 of Pittsfield, used this ballot box to vote for candidates for membership in their organization. The WRC and GAR were social groups created after the Civil War to support veterans and their families. This ballot box has the initials "W.R.C." inscribed on the base.
Each member cast either a white or black ball for the applying member to indicate acceptance or rejection of the candidate. The vote was secret as the lid blocked the cast of the ball. The balls were counted and a candidate would be rejected or "blackballed" if one or two black balls were in the mix, or accepted if all the cast balls were white.
The WRC #6 was one of the first of seven corps in the Maine Department of National Woman's Relief Corps, organized June 17, 1884. This Corps gave support to the local Davis GAR Post and helped with the funding for the installations of the Soldiers' Monuments: one on the grounds of the Pittsfield Public Library and the other at the Village Cemetery.
About This Item
- Title: Woman's Relief Corps ballot box, Pittsfield, ca. 1884
- Creator: Woman's Relief Corps
- Creation Date: circa 1884
- Subject Date: circa 1884
- Location: Pittsfield, Somerset County, ME
- Media: Wood, marble
- Dimensions: 9.3 cm x 12.3 cm x 20.5 cm
- Object Type: Physical Object
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Ballot boxes
- Ballots
- Maine--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- Grand Army of the Republic
- Veterans--Civil War
- Pittsfield (Me.)--History
- Military service--1860-1870
- Vote counting--Maine--Pittsfield
- Woman's Relief Corps (U.S.)
- Woman's Relief Corps (U.S.). Department of Maine
Other Keywords
- ballot box
- blackballing
- GAR
- Pittsfield
- Soldiers' Monuments
- Stephen Davis GAR Post #11
- Woman's Relief Corps
- WRC
For more information about this item, contact:
Pittsfield Historical Society114 Central Street, Pittsfield, ME 04967
(207) 487-4926
Website
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