Archives – Page 12 – The UncommonWealth

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“That the Oppressed May Go Free” : A Petition to the Virginia General Assembly for Religious Freedom

During the summer of 1776, members of Virginia's last Revolutionary Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Among the principles of representative government and fundamental…

Mari JulienneSeptember 21, 2022

Archives

Reclaiming Virginia’s Lost Records

What happens when a public record goes missing? Throughout the years, records have disappeared, usually as a result of wartime raids or through the acts…

Emeline AlexanderSeptember 7, 2022

Archives

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

Rachel Findley was a mother. She was a grandmother. She was a Virginian. She was also enslaved. The law defined Rachel as property. Because Rachel…

Library of VirginiaAugust 31, 2022

Archives Digital Projects Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Transforming the Future

Summer 2022 marked the first cohort of the Transforming the Future of Libraries & Archives Internship Program. With great excitement and anticipation, we welcomed six…

Sonya ColemanAugust 22, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

Albemarle County (Va.) Chancery Causes Are Now Available Online!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for the Albemarle County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1768-1850, are now available online through the…

Library of VirginiaAugust 17, 2022

Archives Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

Elevating the Art and Culture of Freedom in Post-War Richmond

When I arrived as a Virginia Humanities Fellow at the Library of Virginia in September 2021, I did so with the intent to research the…

Guest ContributorAugust 10, 2022

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

Dear Jonnie: The Correspondence of a Gay Couple in Virginia in the Roaring 20s.

The archives of the Library of Virginia contain a noteworthy collection of letters offering a rare glimpse into the lives of LGBTQ people a century…

Kenneth ForestAugust 1, 2022

Archives

“Enticing, Advising, and Aiding…a Slave…to Abscond”

In October 1842, Cora Ann Elizabeth Carter and her husband William Watt Hubbard boarded the steamboat Patrick Henry en route for New York. Earlier that…

Lydia NeurothJuly 27, 2022

Archives

Guns, Ships, and Petitions for Payment

The partnership between the French and the Continental Army during the American Revolution has been long celebrated and venerated. A prime example is the Marquis…

Emeline AlexanderJuly 20, 2022

Archives

A Deed Undone

If only the dead could talk! This paradoxical statement proved sadly appropriate in the early 19th century. Enslaved people faced undue hardship from those who…

Sherri BagleyJuly 13, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

“Charging Hell with a Bucket of Water”: The Virginians of the 370th Infantry

In 2018, we shared a blog post detailing the World War I experience of James P. Spencer, a Black soldier in the 370th Infantry of…

Jessi BennettJuly 6, 2022

Archives

Random Reference: Fraktur Fractions

While many archival items contain interesting content, the item itself may look rather boring. That is certainly not the case with an arithmetic book from…

Ginny DunnJuly 4, 2022

Archives Digital Projects

A Case Study of Freedom: John Hopes

Nearly a week and a half ago, the country celebrated Juneteenth, which commemorates emancipation from slavery in the United States. Juneteenth refers to the historic…

Lydia NeurothJune 29, 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