Mary Dean Carter – The UncommonWealth

Archives

The Cost of Freedom: A Campbell County Story

The Campbell County court ordered the sale of Louisa Alexander and her daughter, Eliza, because as enslaved persons, Virginia law considered them part of Louisa’s…

Mary Dean CarterFebruary 6, 2019

Archives

Adultery and Murder: A Bedford County Coroner’s Inquisition

On an August night in 1882, Adam Wilkerson returned to his Bedford County home to an unpleasant surprise. When he pushed the door open, he…

Mary Dean CarterJuly 25, 2018

Education & Programming

New Displays for June

If you have visited the Library of Virginia in recent months, you may have noticed several new exhibit cases on the building’s second floor. These…

Mary Dean CarterJune 8, 2018

Archives

Love Letters in the Archives

While working on a project involving the Middlesex County Chancery Causes, I noticed a case that was filled with scandal and intrigue. Middlesex Chancery Cause,…

Mary Dean CarterSeptember 30, 2015

Archives

Love Hurts, Ooooooooo, Oooooo, Love Hurts.

While working on a project involving the Middlesex County Chancery Causes, I noticed a case that was filled with scandal and intrigue. The case is…

Mary Dean CarterFebruary 11, 2015

Archives

The Jury’s Gut Feeling: Bedford County Coroner’s Inquisitions

A recent episode of BackStory With the American History Guys entitled “On The Take” addressed the topic of corruption in American politics and government. Host Brian Balogh interviewed…

Mary Dean CarterSeptember 3, 2014

Archives

Magic Lantern After-Show Turns Deadly

Sometimes what starts out in fun can turn into a deadly accident. That’s exactly what happened on 5 September 1894, in Bedford County, Virginia, when…

Mary Dean CarterMarch 26, 2014

Archives

Death by Eggnog

During the holiday season we are warned to avoid overindulgence. There are many temptations around this time of year—turkey and stuffing, grandma’s pecan pie, and,…

Mary Dean CarterDecember 20, 2013

Archives

Arsenic, Lies, and Bigamy

Cornbread and cabbage turned lethal for one Petersburg woman, but it was another woman’s need for some chicken feed that exposed the death as something…

Mary Dean CarterAugust 7, 2013

Archives

Murder Most Fowl

On 17 April 1875, Anna Williams of 313 Canal Street in Richmond heard a noise and went outside to investigate only to discover a plank…

Mary Dean CarterApril 3, 2013

Archives

Shoe Salesman Puts Foot in Mouth

In 1879, Charles C. Curtis was working at the retail store of Wingo, Ellett, and Crump at 1000 Main Street in Richmond. A customer, a…

Mary Dean CarterFebruary 27, 2013

Archives

Fortune Teller Comes to Unpredictable End

On 15 May 1883, a seemingly intoxicated man approached Richard Stevens and his group of friends as they were standing together at 513 N. 17th Street…

Mary Dean CarterSeptember 12, 2012

Archives

Man Caught by Husband with Drawers Down, Killing Ruled “Eminently Proper”

On the night of 4 August 1882, James M. Duesbury heard pistol shots coming from the nearby home of Christopher Goode and ran to see…

Mary Dean CarterAugust 1, 2012

Archives

"Lord Have Mercy! There is a ‘Reefer Man’ in Here!"

In the early morning hours of 31 May 1936, Margaret Jacobs was awakened by a “lumbering in the kitchen.” She awoke to find the lights…

Mary Dean CarterJanuary 25, 2012