Courtship and Romance – The UncommonWealth

The Freedom to Love

On her deathbed in 1848, Susan Mills called her brother Henry and her sister Nancy to her bedside. She told them that she wanted her…

Lydia NeurothFebruary 23, 2022

Newspapers

A Titanic Love Affair

And we're not talking about Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio! In advance of our soon to be released new and improved Titanic web site and…

Errol SomayFebruary 14, 2019

Newspapers

To-night is Halloween!

Happy Halloween From the VNP! In honor of the spookiest of holidays, here’s a look back at how Richmonders of the past celebrated Halloween.For young…

Olin JohnsonOctober 31, 2017

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

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

Bad Romance

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bring a bit of romance to Out of the Box, but when one spends her day working…

Bari HelmsFebruary 12, 2014

Archives

Love hurts, love scars

The romantic landscape may seem ambiguous in 2013, but courtship in 19th-century Virginia was no different. Think those text messages are hard to decipher? Try…

Bari HelmsAugust 28, 2013

Archives

“My Dearest Miss Lura:” Lunenburg Letters Illuminate a Long and Unlikely Love Affair

Lura Royall was a Lunenburg County girl. Her relatives remember her as a pretty woman who never married—a retired school teacher full of life well…

Dale DulaneyFebruary 13, 2013