Court Judgments – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Thomas/in Hall: Subverting the Gender Binary in Colonial Virginia

Among Virginia’s earliest records is a court case describing the first known intersex person in British North America. In 1629, a servant known as Thomas…

Rebecca SchneiderApril 17, 2023

Archives

Freedom is Never Free: The Untold Story of Reubenetta Dandridge

On 30 March 1857, Joseph Elam and two other white men broke into the house of Reubenetta Dandridge, a free Black woman living in the…

Lydia NeurothAugust 25, 2021

Archives Digital Projects

Early Albemarle County Judgments to be Transcribed and Placed on Virginia Untold

For those who enjoy the art and intricacy of transcribing historical documents, the Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that a selection of Albemarle…

Tracy HarterJune 24, 2020

Archives

The Mystic Chords of Memory: The Payne Family of Frederick County

It’s often repeated that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”1 I’m starting to think I misunderstood that quote. It seems to…

Vince BrooksOctober 28, 2015

Archives

A Monument of Debt

The Washington Monument is finally reopening on 12 May 2014 after undergoing restoration for damage caused by an earthquake in August 2011. I was curious what the…

Bari HelmsMay 12, 2014

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

I Fought the Railroad and Won, or Did I?

While examining the James City County/Williamsburg court records recently, I came across a civil suit titled Gatewood vs. Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company that contained two oversize…

Greg CrawfordApril 24, 2013

Archives

You Have No Right: Jane Webb’s Story

The colonial era Northampton County court records tell a fascinating story of a woman named Jane Webb. Born of a white mother, she was a…

Greg CrawfordNovember 14, 2012

Archives

"And the piano, it sounds like a carnival"

In May of 1883, H. W. Gray, president of the Schomacker Piano-Forte Manufacturing Company, brought suit against Bettie L. Payne in the Frederick County Circuit…

Sarah NerneyOctober 24, 2012

Archives Education & Programming

"hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:" Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia

A small slip of paper on display in the Library of Virginia’s latest exhibition You Have No Right: Law and Justice in Virginia, running 24 September 2012-18…

Brent TarterSeptember 26, 2012

Archives

A Horse in the Frederick Co. Courthouse

All eyes in the horse world may be directed towards Churchill Downs this week for this year’s Kentucky Derby, but Kentucky isn’t the only state…

Bari HelmsMay 2, 2012