Archives – Page 31 – The UncommonWealth

First Freedom: The Great Sabbath Debate, Part 1

The passage of the Statute for Religious Freedom by the General Assembly in 1786 guaranteed religious freedom to people of all faiths. However, Quakers, Mennonites,…

Greg CrawfordApril 20, 2016

Archives Conservation

First Freedom: Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom

The official enrolled parchment of 16 January 1786, An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, is one of the most important archival records preserved in the…

Brent TarterApril 13, 2016

Archives Education & Programming

“Let Jews, Mehometans, and Christians of every Denomination Enjoy Religious Liberty”

Religious liberty is a hot button issue during this year’s presidential campaign. Should a religious test be applied for the purpose of denying Muslims entrance…

Greg CrawfordMarch 30, 2016

Archives

A Modern Day Soap Opera in the 19th Century

Some things in life never change. Seasons, hunger, sleep, and calamity are constants which prove that the world repeats itself. Relationships are no different. For…

Sherri BagleyMarch 16, 2016

Archives

A Collection Within A Collection: Bounty Warrants Found In Chancery Causes

Military bounty land warrants, given by individual states or the Federal Government to reward military service or encourage enlistment, have long been a useful resource…

Callie FreedMarch 9, 2016

Archives Digital Projects Education & Programming

Forsaken: The Digital Bibliography

In his debut novel, Forsaken, Ross Howell Jr. tells the story of an uneducated African American servant, Virginia Christian, who was tried for killing her white employer…

Roger ChristmanMarch 3, 2016

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

A Few of Our Favorite Things: More Letterhead in the Archive

As promised in a previous post, here’s another look at some of the plethora of letterheads and stationery found in our archives. The original text by…

Vince BrooksFebruary 24, 2016

Archives

Studies of Economy and Efficiency in Government Are Not New

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in The Library of Virginia Official Newsletter, May/June 2001. It has been edited slightly. Efficiency in government. Responsible spending. Eliminate…

Laura Drake DavisFebruary 17, 2016

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection

In 1820, Rachel Findley won freedom for herself and more than 35 of her descendants in a Powhatan County court in a law suit dating…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 3, 2016

Archives

Virginia Untold: Deeds of Emancipation and Manumission

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Ed JordanJanuary 27, 2016

Archives

Virginia Untold: Requisitions for Public Use

This is the third in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 20, 2016

Archives

Virginia Untold: Certificates of Importation

This is the second in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 13, 2016

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: Freedom Suits

This is the first in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The…

Chris SmithJanuary 6, 2016

Archives

A Knight Unlike Any Other: John Mitchell Jr. & The Knights of Pythias

While processing Nottoway County chancery causes several years ago, Local Records Archivist Louise Jones came across a most unusual item fastening several papers together: a…

Sarah NerneyDecember 16, 2015

Archives

Modern Love: Two Wrights and a Wrong

Many a modern day love rat has been outed by a spouse’s discovery of telling photos posted to Facebook or illicit text messages. But what…

Vince BrooksDecember 9, 2015