Archives – The UncommonWealth

Archives

The Legality Around a Remarkably Painful Societal Issue

On November 21, 1910, Roxie Annie Bauers (née Bumgarner) lost her life in a tragic murder-suicide at the Lewis Hotel in Detroit (now known as…

Callie FreedJuly 30, 2025

Archives

How to Become a Lawyer in Virginia

Practicing law in Virginia has not always been a straightforward process. The Virginia Board of Bar Examiners was established by an act of the General…

Renee SavitsJuly 23, 2025

Archives

Freed From the Archives: The Life of Emanuel Jones of Surry

In January 2025, Mr. Thomas Baxter reached out to Virginia Untold Project Manager Lydia Neuroth to share about research he had conducted on an enslaved…

Guest ContributorJune 25, 2025

Archives Education & Programming Newspapers

“One of the Most Unique Papers”: Documenting Chinese American Citizenship in Virginia

On a Monday morning in May of 1903, six men waited in the Richmond federal courthouse to learn whether they would remain in Virginia or…

Jessi BennettMay 28, 2025

Archives Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

“A Very Excellent Trip” : Governor Linwood Holton’s Trade Mission to Japan and Australia

On April 12, 1972, at 11:00 a.m., Governor Linwood A. Holton and 24 representatives of Virginia’s state government and private businesses left from Richmond’s Byrd…

Cara GriggsMay 21, 2025

Archives Education & Programming

Was the First Filipino American Citizen Naturalized in Norfolk County?

While working on records in the Naturalization Records Digital Collection, I came across one that made me stop and do a double-take. It was the…

McKenzie LongMay 14, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

“It’s Gonna Be A Gosh Darn Good Affair”: The Lackey USO Club

During World War II, various USOs were established across Virginia. The United Service Organizations is a nonprofit organization that provides military service members and their…

Lauren CaravatiMay 7, 2025

Archives Education & Programming Virginia Authors

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2025

The Library of Virginia is observing Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! During the entire month of May, look for a display of books…

Cara GriggsMay 2, 2025

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

Searching for Nelly, Harriet, and Juno – Part 2

In my February blog post I promised to follow-up with a particular discovery in the case of three women who self-liberated from their enslavers in…

Lydia NeurothApril 30, 2025

Archives

“She is supposed to be his daughter”: Making Historical Connections in Albemarle County

The Library of Virginia’s collections include a document titled “Surnames, by Counties and Cities, of Mixed Negroid Virginia Families Striving to Pass as ‘Indian’ or…

Caroline CollinsApril 25, 2025

Archives Newspapers

George Green: A Self-Made Man

"He is a woman!” The voices of James McLaughlin, Jesse Barnes, and R.J Hardy rang out on March 21, 1902 in Ettrick, Virginia.1 Close friends…

Casey ClaubergApril 2, 2025

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Rounding Out the 2024 Road Trips

In her latest CCRP Records Room Road Trips blog my fellow traveling consulting archivist colleague and friend, Tracy Harter appeared to suggest that I had…

Eddie WoodwardMarch 26, 2025

Archives Digital Projects

Documenting the Pandemic

Editors Note: Yesterday, March 23rd, marked the five-year anniversary of then-Governor Northam's closure of in-person education due to Covid-19. We've chosen to take this time…

Roger ChristmanMarch 24, 2025

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Bibliography of a Map

"You will moreover as to be so good to see Mr. Patterson from August and inform him that I have not yet received the plat…

Cassandra FarrellMarch 17, 2025

Archives

Newly-Available Archival Accessions, October 1-December 31, 2024

The Library of Virginia maintains the most comprehensive collection of information about Virginia’s history, culture, and government. We hold more than 200 million manuscript items,…

Trenton HizerMarch 12, 2025