Archives – Page 23 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Give Me That Old Time Music: WRVA’s Old Dominion Barn Dance

Since its creation in 1823, the Library of Virginia has been renowned for its vast collection of books, manuscripts, and maps. A closer look at…

Dawn TinnellSeptember 12, 2018

Archives

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Legislative Petitions for Divorce

In this age of no-fault divorce, it is hard to imagine that from 1776 to 1826 the only means of divorce in Virginia was by…

Bill BynumAugust 29, 2018

Archives Conservation The Stacks

Virginia’s Circuit Court Records Preserved: Eighty-seven Grants Awarded

The Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP) Grant Review Board met on 24 July 2018 at the Library of Virginia to consider records preservation grant…

Greg CrawfordAugust 24, 2018

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

"Muzzled Doctors vs. Unmuzzled Guns": Lieutenant William Armistead Gills, M.D., versus the United States Navy

"Muzzled Doctors vs. Unmuzzled Guns" was a provocative phrase used by retired naval officer William Armistead Gills, M.D., to describe the poor condition of medical…

John DealAugust 8, 2018

Archives

A Colonial Cover-up: Lunenburg County Records Reveal New Information

Has researcher and author Cynthia Mattson uncovered a sordid, centuries-old murder conspiracy and cover-up? There’s good reason to believe she has. Reverend William Kay was…

Mike BinghamAugust 1, 2018

Archives

Adultery and Murder: A Bedford County Coroner’s Inquisition

On an August night in 1882, Adam Wilkerson returned to his Bedford County home to an unpleasant surprise. When he pushed the door open, he…

Mary Dean CarterJuly 25, 2018

Archives

A Serendipitous Discovery: The Carson Family of Warren County

One afternoon in the Archives Research Room, senior reference librarian Zach Vickery requested several of the questionnaires that the Virginia War History Commission collected to…

Cara GriggsJuly 18, 2018

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

“Will there come a time when the memories fade?”: Song, Memory, and Stonewall Country

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s…

Nicole MaurantonioJuly 11, 2018

Archives

"The Body of an Infant There and Then Laying Dead”: Infanticide in Coroner’s Inquisitions At The Library of Virginia

Editor’s Note: The Library of Virginia, in partnership with Virginia Humanities, sponsors residential fellows during the academic year to conduct in-depth research in the Library’s…

Kristen GreenJune 27, 2018

Archives

A Will without a Way: An Amherst County Freedom Suit

Sometimes a will is not worth the paper it’s written on. Too often, people go through the trouble of creating a formal last will and…

Sherri BagleyJune 20, 2018

Archives

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Letterheads in the Archive, WWI Edition

As promised in previous posts, here’s another look at some of the plethora of letterheads and stationery found in our archives. In honor of the centennial…

Vince BrooksJune 13, 2018

Archives Newspapers

Please Direct your Attention to Out of the Box and the Legacy of John Henry James

Fit to Print invites you to read yesterday's Out of the Box blog which tells the tragic story of Albemarle County native, John Henry James.…

Kelley EwingJune 7, 2018

Archives

The Legacy of John Henry James

On 12 July 1898, an Albemarle County grand jury met to hear evidence against an African American man named John Henry James accused of assaulting…

Greg CrawfordJune 6, 2018

Archives

More Than an Entry in a Register: Local Government Convict Registers

For access purposes, archivists sort local government records held by the Library of Virginia into twenty-three categories, as well as numerous sub-categories encompassing the alphabet…

Callie FreedMay 24, 2018

Archives

"Soon, the grievance will cease to exist": Chief Inspector of Vessels Reports

On 17 March 1856, the General Assembly adopted a law entitled, “An Act providing additional protection for the slave property of citizens of this commonwealth.”…

Tom CrewMay 16, 2018