Vince Brooks – The UncommonWealth

Banditti of Brothers: Irregulars and Plunderers During the Revolution

During armed conflicts, there are some participants who recognize the opportunities for ill-gotten gains. In the upheaval of the American Revolution, combatants from both sides…

Vince BrooksAugust 6, 2025

The Stacks

Copy That!: Reproducing Documents in the Pre-Digital Age

One of the little things that anyone born in the last 60 years has come to take for granted is the ease and convenience of…

Vince BrooksJuly 9, 2025

Archives

All Preparations for a Colony: The Saxon Colonization Project

So, a Bavarian immigrant, a Prussian nobleman, and a Revolutionary-War-hero-turned-debtor walk into a bar…. At least that’s probably the way this would start if it…

Vince BrooksMarch 10, 2025

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Ride the Waves! Fight Pirates! In the Oyster Navy!

Virginia’s Tidewater region has long been associated with the U.S. Navy, but did you know that the Commonwealth also had an Oyster Navy? Better yet,…

Vince BrooksAugust 5, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Clarke County Chancery Causes Now Online

The Clarke County chancery causes, 1838-1912, have now been indexed, conserved, and digitized. They are freely accessible to researchers via the Chancery Records Index (CRI).Clarke…

Vince BrooksJune 24, 2024

Archives Digital Projects

Lost Records Localities Digital Collection Gets a New Look

Regular readers of The UncommonWealth, as well as seasoned local records researchers, are likely familiar with the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection. We have covered…

Vince BrooksFebruary 14, 2024

Archives

A Long, Violent History: A Reconsideration of the Nat Turner Lock

When you reach a certain age, you begin to look back at events and see them in a new light or with new perspective. This…

Vince BrooksNovember 29, 2023

Archives

Build a Better Mousetrap, They Say: A Patent Drawing Sparks Curiosity

Many times, in the course of our work processing local government records, we run across something interesting that sends us down the proverbial rabbit hole.…

Vince BrooksMarch 6, 2023

The Stacks

“This is the only way that we get a sense of who they were”: 7 Questions with Eddie Woodward

This blog entry is part of a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in reading more like…

Vince BrooksNovember 21, 2022

The Stacks

“Because that’s important and might score them points on Jeopardy one day” : 7 Questions with Madison Roberts

This blog entry is part of a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in reading more like…

Vince BrooksSeptember 19, 2022

Digital Projects The Stacks

Seeing Negatives Come to Life: 7 Questions with Victoria Garnett

This is a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes entries…

Vince BrooksAugust 15, 2022

The Stacks

“They thought I hunted down library patrons to collect unpaid fines” : 7 Questions with Deanna Chavez

This blog entry is part of a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in reading more like…

Vince BrooksJuly 18, 2022

Archives

Libertà, Uguaglianza, Fraternità!: Court Records Shed Light on Immigrant Beneficial Societies

Angelo J. Farnocchia came to the United States from Pedona, Italy, in December of 1909. By 1911, he was clerking for Richmond confectioner Achille Cipriani.…

Vince BrooksJune 22, 2022

The Stacks

Telegraph Logic in a TikTok World: 7 Questions with Chad Owen

This is the first blog entry in a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in what goes…

Vince BrooksJune 20, 2022

The Stacks

“It’s Never Boring and Always Challenging” : 7 Questions with Vanessa Anderson

This blog entry is part of a series introducing LVA employees and exploring what they do day-to-day. If you are interested in what goes on…

Vince BrooksMay 16, 2022