On March 18, 1856, an enslaved man named Richard was charged in the City of Richmond for the crime of aiding and advising Tazewell, his…
Lydia NeurothOctober 27, 2021
Lucy began her life in enslavement. The daughter of her enslaver, Edmund Littlepage, and enslaved mother Sophia Littlepage, Lucy lived on her father’s plantation in…
Mary Ann MasonOctober 6, 2021
Several of my colleagues have shared the personal stories of enslaved individuals over the past nine years as we work our way through processing and…
Callie FreedOctober 4, 2021
In late October 1910, thanks to the efforts of some of Richmond’s most prominent Black leaders, the “Colored State Fair” was held at the Virginia…
Kelley EwingOctober 1, 2021
Last month, I took my first road trip as project manager for Virginia Untold. I traveled to Clarke County courthouse, along with local records archivists…
Lydia NeurothSeptember 29, 2021
"I hate secession and all its hateful helpers. Cursed be the hand that raised its bloody flag to make desolate homes and wretched women,” wrote…
McKenzie LongSeptember 22, 2021
Manakin Town, in present-day Powhatan County, was a unique community made up of Huguenot (French Protestant) refugees who settled there in 1700-1701. Although free from…
Bill BynumSeptember 15, 2021
In 1823, Jacques Arago’s Voyage autour du Monde was published. After describing a line-crossing ceremony he had witnessed, he waxed philosophical, noting, “I have no…
Jessi BennettSeptember 1, 2021
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
This is an entry in our “Random Reference” series, which features interesting discoveries made and reference questions answered by our Archives & Library Reference Services…
Amanda MorrellAugust 16, 2021
To what lengths would you go to prove your identity if you had no documentation? One formerly enslaved woman was able to do so 150…
Tracy HarterAugust 11, 2021
CONTENT WARNING: Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and…
Lydia NeurothJuly 28, 2021
It is not uncommon to see immigration and migration references when processing local records collections, so it was not especially surprising to find a few…
Eddie WoodwardJuly 21, 2021
The Library of Virginia’s Buildings and Grounds Collection consists of selected images from the Public Buildings and Grounds series of local government records. These items…
Greg CrawfordJuly 7, 2021
