Archives – Page 22 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Glimpses of History: Henrico County Court Order Books

As we have often seen in this blog, even the driest local records can lead to the most interesting stories. Such is the case with…

Tracy HarterJune 19, 2019

Archives

The Man Who Killed Richard Whichello: A Henrico County Legend

At the end of the 1962 John Ford classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a reporter remarks, “When the legend becomes fact, print the…

Vince BrooksMay 22, 2019

Archives The Stacks

Vestiges of Vietnam: Gathering Stories of the Refugee Experience

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s collections.…

Kim O'ConnellMay 20, 2019

Archives

Big Top or Crops?

Traveling circuses, with their daring performers and ferocious animals, drew considerable crowds in the 19th century. The incredible feats of courage exhilarated the minds of…

Sherri BagleyMay 15, 2019

Archives Newspapers

Martha Ann Hobson: A Mother’s Day Story

While processing some City of Richmond court records from the Civil War era, I came across the remarkable narrative of a mother named Martha Hobson.…

Greg CrawfordMay 8, 2019

Archives

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Letterhead in the Archive

Happy World Stationery Day! As promised in a previous posts, here’s another look at some of the plethora of letterheads and stationery found in our…

Vince BrooksApril 25, 2019

Archives

“Irrespective of Race or Color”: African Americans and the Making of a New Virginia Constitution

On 17 April 1868, exactly seven years after a Virginia convention had voted to secede from the United States, another Virginia convention voted to approve…

John DealApril 17, 2019

Elwood Street (standing second from left) at a camera club meeting in Bridgeport, Connecticut, undated. Photograph courtesy of Greg Street.

Archives The Stacks

Virginia Courthouses: Wellsprings of Democracy

Editors’ note: This article originally appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of the CCRP Newsletter. A long history of collaboration exists between the Library of Virginia…

Eddie WoodwardApril 10, 2019

Archives

“We Were Residents of Loudoun County”

Editors’ Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2019 Loudoun County Office of the Circuit Court Clerk Historic Records Newsletter, “Little Gems.” We are…

Guest ContributorMarch 20, 2019

Archives

The Remarkable Hodges Family of Princess Anne County and Norfolk

During the night of 23 April 1829, six African American men made a daring escape from the Norfolk County jail. One of them was William…

Brent TarterMarch 6, 2019

Archives Digital Projects The Stacks

Library of Virginia and Virginia Museum of History & Culture Merge Databases of Records of Enslaved Virginians

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and the Library of Virginia are cooperating to provide greater access to African American history and genealogy…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 21, 2019

Archives

From Lancaster to Lunenburg: Betty Chapman’s Story in Virginia Untold

In 1788, the Virginia General Assembly reformed the state judicial courts in order alleviate congestion in the General Court, which had caused unreasonable delays in…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 11, 2019

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 Digital Projects

Library Makes New Batch of Emails from Governor Timothy M. Kaine Administration Available Online

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the release of 100,343 emails from the administration of Governor Timothy M. Kaine (2006-2010). This latest batch…

Roger ChristmanJanuary 30, 2019

Archives

What a Difference a Day Makes: Serendipity in the Reading Room

The Library of Virginia employs both reference archivists and processing archivists. Reference archivists work exclusively with the public—the Library’s front line. Processing archivists work behind-the-scenes…

Callie FreedJanuary 24, 2019