Marriage – The UncommonWealth

Why Not a Public Wedding at the Library?

I didn’t need much convincing when Julia Berg, head of programs, partnerships and outreach for Arlington Public Library, first came to me with the idea…

Your Local Public LibrarianNovember 10, 2025

Archives

An “Express Intention:” Marriage and Divorce Before the Loving Decision

Looking up at the justices of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals sitting behind their dark paneled bench, Richard and Mildred Loving heard the words…

Library of VirginiaMarch 3, 2025

Archives

The Case of James D. Wise

Working as a reference archivist, we sometimes get that one phone call that really piques our interest. And once you get on the case, you…

Courtney ThompsonOctober 18, 2023

Archives

Syphilis, Steamboats, and Scientific Evidence: A Lancaster County Divorce Suit

When you hear about a case that hinges on “medical evidence,” what is the first image that pops into your head? It’s probably something serious…

McKenzie LongAugust 3, 2022

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Peter Francisco: The Man, the Myth, the Prenup?

Peter Francisco was a revered Revolutionary War soldier with mysterious origins. It is believed that his American story began in 1765, after being discovered abandoned…

Dawn TinnellJune 6, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

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

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Westmoreland County Cohabitation Registers Now Online

Last summer, the Westmoreland County Circuit Court Clerk Gwynne Chatham contacted the Library of Virginia concerning old marriage records that staff discovered in her office.…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 4, 2017

Archives

A Modern Day Soap Opera in the 19th Century

Some things in life never change. Seasons, hunger, sleep, and calamity are constants which prove that the world repeats itself. Relationships are no different. For…

Sherri BagleyMarch 16, 2016

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

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 Digital Projects

Sometimes You DO Find a Needle in a Haystack: The Augusta Co. Cohabitation Register

Cohabitation registers are among the most important genealogical resources for African-Americans attempting to connect their family lines back through the murky past to their enslaved…

Sarah NerneyJuly 29, 2015

Archives

A Wedding, a Death, and a Pension: Charles and Sarah Butler’s Story

Portsmouth, Virginia, occupied by the Union army, was the scene of a wedding in November 1863. The happy couple was Charles “Charley” Butler, a private…

Bill BynumJune 3, 2015

Archives Conservation Digital Projects

Henry County Cohabitation Register Update

The conservation of the original pages of the Henry County Cohabitation Register has recently been completed. Previously, only a poorly and confusingly microfilmed version of this…

Sarah NerneyFebruary 25, 2015

Archives Digital Projects

Henry Co. Cohabitation Register and African-American Naming Practices

The Library of Virginia has completed the digitization and transcription of the last of the cohabitation registers in its possession, the Henry County Cohabitation Register, 1866.…

Sonya ColemanFebruary 26, 2014

Archives

The Correct Answer Is, "I Do"

At first glance the story of George Kiner and Diana Bumgardner is one of love triumphing over the tragedies of slavery and war. But documents…

Bari HelmsDecember 5, 2012