Birth of a Record Group: The Inauguration of Patrick Henry

Needless to say, there was a lot going on in Virginia during the summer of 1776. The fifth and, ultimately, final Virginia Revolutionary Convention met in Williamsburg from May 5 through July 6 of that year. That final gathering produced a great deal of noteworthy action including directing its Continental Congress delegates to vote for separation from England, passing the Virginia Declaration of Rights, adopting a constitution for the newly created Commonwealth that later influenced the national document, and creating the official state seal. One of the committee’s last acts concerned the election of a governor under the Commonwealth. Thus began Record Group #3, Office of the Governor, at the Library of Virginia.

Fearing an overly powerful executive branch after the abuses of the King and his Royal Governors, the committee wrote a constitution that minimized the governor’s role and maximized the powers of the General Assembly. The legislative branch would make the laws and choose the governor, his advising committee, and the attorney general, as well as all the judges and other state officials. Take that, Dunmore!

The urgency of the moment in July of ’76 precluded any real campaign. There was no time for slogan pitches, yard signs, or focus groups! After adopting the state constitution on June 29, the Convention members next moved to elect Patrick Henry as governor. Henry took the oath of office on July 6 and would serve two more one-year terms as governor (today a single term is four years). After a return to the legislature, Henry was elected as governor for another two terms from 1784 to 1786.

Eventually, the records from Patrick Henry’s time as governor would be transferred to the state archives and organized under Record Group 3, the oldest continually accruing state government record group held by the Library of Virginia. Every Virginia governor is represented in this record group. Governor Youngkin’s records were transferred this past January.

We even have two sets of governor’s records for the years 1861-1865, the Confederate Virginia governor’s papers and the pro-Union Restored Virginia governor’s papers.

You can learn about the types of materials found in the records of the Office of the Governor and how to view digitized records or finding aids to collections through our Governors’ Records Research Guide. Governors’ papers are a rich resource for a diverse variety of subjects, from serious topics such as policy choices impacting students with disabilities or public sentiment regarding desegregation, to lighter research fodder such as Richmond breweries or the public toilets on Capitol Square.