African American Genealogy – The UncommonWealth

Virginia Untold Hires Part-Time Project Archivist

Hi! I'm Elle Kim, a new part-time Project Archivist for Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative. In this blog post, I’ll formally introduce myself and…

Elle KimJune 24, 2026

Archives Digital Projects

“Inquiring of a family by the name of King”: Seeking Family after the Civil War

On June 18th, 1882, a woman from wrote from Corinth, Mississippi to the sheriff in Mecklenburg County, Virginia requesting the man’s “kined atenchen ” to…

Lydia NeurothJanuary 7, 2026

Archives

“Who is the mother of said Catherine”: Finding Families in Virginia Untold

This past summer, I was asked to present at the Lemon Project Summer Sankofa Genealogy Workshop held at William & Mary’s Swem Library. As I…

Lydia NeurothNovember 12, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

A Virginia Untold Update

In today’s blog post, I want to share some new material available in Virginia Untold, the Library’s digital project featuring records of enslaved and free…

Lydia NeurothAugust 27, 2025

Archives

Freed From the Archives: The Life of Emanuel Jones of Surry

In January 2025, Mr. Thomas Baxter reached out to Virginia Untold Project Manager Lydia Neuroth to share about research he had conducted on an enslaved…

Guest ContributorJune 25, 2025

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Searching for Nelly, Harriet, and Juno – Part 2

In my February blog post I promised to follow-up with a particular discovery in the case of three women who self-liberated from their enslavers in…

Lydia NeurothApril 30, 2025

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Records Room Road Trips: 2024 Roundup

The previous installment of Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) Road Trips pertained to my colleague Eddie Woodward’s autumn travel, so it’s fitting that this…

Tracy HarterFebruary 12, 2025

Public Libraries

Alexandria’s Black Family Reunion

The Alexandria Library Local History/Special Collections branch has a national reputation concerning Virginia history. Researchers not only use this collection when conducting genealogy and Civil…

Your Local Public LibrarianJanuary 24, 2025

Archives

Newly-Available Archival Accessions, July 1-September 30, 2024

The Library of Virginia maintains the most comprehensive collection of information about Virginia’s history, culture, and government. We hold more than 200 million manuscript items,…

Trenton HizerDecember 6, 2024

Archives

Finding Connections in African American Genealogy: The Bressie Family of Norfolk County

The Library of Virginia, like many similar institutions, has seen a large uptick in genealogical researchers interested in tracing their lines to Black families before…

Kevin ShupeJuly 15, 2024

Archives

Gilbert Hunt, Richmond Hero, Part II: Finding Judy Martin

This is part two of a two-part blog series on Gilbert Hunt and his first wife, Judy Martin. You can read the first part here.…

Jennifer TaylorMay 31, 2024

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

In Search of Family: The Story of Luversa Jones

Genealogical research always starts with a name. And questions. The Library of Virginia’s comprehensive genealogical resources – online data bases, microfiche, archival documents, and more…

Lee Ann TimreckAugust 2, 2023

Archives Conservation Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Editor's Note: Neither Virginia Untold nor Virginia Untold Project Manager Lydia Neuroth is going anywhere, but as we transition out of our two-year NHPRC grant…

Lydia NeurothJune 28, 2023

Archives Digital Projects Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Finding Family

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in Broadside, the magazine of the Library of Virginia, Issue No. 1, 2022 Writer Barbara Diggs discovered…

Guest ContributorMay 4, 2022

Virginia Authors

National Poetry Month Blog: Week 3, Kiki Petrosino

The Library of Virginia is a favorite haunt for genealogists, tracking down their ancestors with great hopes of finding a notable person in their family…

Nan CarmackApril 15, 2022