Halifax County – The UncommonWealth

Public Library Spotlight: Rock ‘N’ Read

This is a post in our new series highlighting the people and programs of the public libraries of Virginia. To view more posts about our…

Guest ContributorMarch 9, 2020

Archives

It’s A Virginia Thing: Helping One Native Colleague at a Time

Back in 2010 when I was processing the Nelson County chancery suits, I found a remarkable genealogical chart of the prominent Carter family. From that…

Callie FreedFebruary 8, 2017

Archives

It’s A Virginia Thing: Helping One Native Colleague at a Time

Back in 2010 when I was processing the Nelson County chancery suits, I found a remarkable genealogical chart of the prominent Carter family. From that…

Callie FreedSeptember 21, 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

Archives as art

Discovered in a box of election records from the Secretary of the Commonwealth by a member of the Library of Virginia’s State Records staff, this…

Jim GreveOctober 9, 2013

Newspapers Public Libraries

Big Thanks to the Halifax Public Library

Recently, while visiting the Halifax County Public Library as part of a cooperative digitizing effort, Carl Childs, Local Records Services Director at LVA, was given…

Kelley EwingNovember 9, 2012

Archives

Halifax Tax Ledger Turned Child’s Scrapbook

During a recent cataloging project, what at first seemed like a standard exercise revealed a nice surprise. From its exterior, the Halifax County (Va.) Capitation and…

Sarah NerneyOctober 10, 2012

Archives Conservation

We Are Not Hoarders!

In the early 1980s, Mary Helen Gravitt went looking for a coffin. Gravitt, then a secretary at Virgilina Elementary School, was looking for a Halloween…

Bari HelmsJune 1, 2012

Newspapers

Donated to LVA-The Star-A High School Paper That Gets High Marks

While the Library of Virginia’s historical newspaper collection is extensive and varied, it has a genre of newspaper that may be surprising to some: twentieth…

Kelley EwingMay 11, 2012