Archives – Page 52 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Fowl Play.

Death records provide familial information to genealogists, statistical information for researchers, and an occasional chuckle for archivists. My morbid fascination with death registers paid off…

Kelly Gilbert SizemoreJune 22, 2011

Archives Digital Projects

FIRST AUGUSTA COUNTY IMAGES ARE HERE!

The first images from the Augusta County chancery scanning project have been posted to the Library’s Chancery Records Index (CRI). This initial posting represents the…

Carl ChildsJune 16, 2011

Archives

A River Runs Through It.

Editor's Note: The two transcribed letters below are found in the Prince Edward Chancery case Gdns. of Jacob Michaux vs. William Smith, 1788-001. The case…

Chris KolbeJune 9, 2011

Archives Digital Projects The Stacks

And They’re Off Too!

The City of Petersburg chancery records scanning project officially began on Friday June 3! The first 50 boxes of case-files were loaded for transfer to…

Carl ChildsJune 7, 2011

Archives

Peabody’s Improbable History: “Sherman, set the Wayback Machine to 2008….”

Last week President Barack Obama made minor news when he incorrectly signed the guest book at Westminster Abbey in London “24 May 2008.” Obama did not make…

Roger ChristmanJune 1, 2011

Archives

Mapping segregation in Virginia’s early public schools

Before the Civil War, Virginia did not have a comprehensive public school system. Lawmakers passed various measures to fund public schools, but these measures were…

Catherine OBrionMay 18, 2011

Archives

Library of Virginia Receives $155,071 NEH Grant to Scan Petersburg Chancery Records

The Library of Virginia has received a grant of $155,071 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the scanning of the City of Petersburg chancery…

Dale DulaneyMay 5, 2011

Archives

Tractors on Rabbit Trails.

When I found a little booklet titled “Presented with the Compliments of B.F. Avery & Sons…” in a box of oversized Smyth County Chancery Court…

Dale DulaneyMay 4, 2011

Archives Conservation

Treasure in the Attic: Accomack County Colonial Era Records

In 1996, Samuel Cooper, circuit court clerk of Accomack County, contacted the Library of Virginia about a large amount of county records he found in…

Greg CrawfordApril 27, 2011

Archives Digital Projects

Loudoun County Chancery Now Available Online!

Did you ever wonder where “Egypt” was in Loudoun County or how the Civil War affected the settlement of estates when legatees lived outside of…

Library of VirginiaApril 21, 2011

Archives

"I shall die by my hands" – The Death Row Suicide of Joseph "Cocky Joe" Robinson

Joseph Robinson, alias “Cocky Joe”, was convicted on 9 April 1951 in the Portsmouth City Hustings Court for the 1943 murder of Marc A. Terrell…

Roger ChristmanApril 20, 2011

Archives Education & Programming

Virginia Signs Off

Editor's Note: Guest contributor Mari Julienne joins us this week with some timely background information on a pivotal document in the state’s history. Virginia’s signed Ordinance…

Mari JulienneApril 13, 2011

Archives

Volumes Provide a Rare Glimpse Into the Life of Slaves at Furnaces

In July 1814, entrepreneur William Weaver made a chance investment in the Virginia iron industry along with his new partner, Thomas Mayberry. Weaver and Mayberry…

Bari HelmsApril 6, 2011

Archives

Dear Governor

Editor’s Note: Guest contributor Brent Tarter offers the following post, pointing out some interesting finds made by the creators of the Library of Virginia’s Union or Secession exhibition.…

Brent TarterMarch 30, 2011

Archives

Pre-Civil War Chancery Causes Rediscovered in Middlesex County Courthouse.

Local Records archivists recently travelled to the Middlesex County Circuit Court Clerk’s office to transfer their pre-1913 chancery causes to the Library of Virginia as…

Greg CrawfordMarch 29, 2011