Archives – Page 39 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Georgia on my Mind

One day in 1898, A.M. Scales definitely did not have Georgia on his mind. While processing the Patrick County chancery records, I discovered a divorce case, Georgia L.…

Sherri BagleySeptember 25, 2013

Archives Newspapers

Mug Shot Monday: Walter E. Stiars, No. 5833

This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. Walter E. Stiars, the subject of…

Roger ChristmanSeptember 23, 2013

Archives

Anatomy of a Marriage

Divorces reveal much about the inner-workings of a family, usually much more than outsiders should ever discover. While processing the Arlington County chancery causes, I…

Bari HelmsSeptember 18, 2013

Archives

Buying and Selling Servants

Two types of immigrants came to America without paying their own passage—indentured servants and redemptioners. Indentured servants would sign a contract, called an indenture, before…

Louise JonesSeptember 11, 2013

Archives

The Surry County Chancery Causes, 1785-1922 (bulk 1806-1917), contain valuable biographical, genealogical, and historical information and document a broad spectrum of citizens of Surry County—rich and…

Bari HelmsSeptember 6, 2013

Archives

"What Did You Learn in School Today?" – The Records of the Virginia Pupil Placement Board

As public schools across Virginia open this week, Out of the Box would like to spotlight the records of the Virginia Pupil Placement Board, a state agency created…

Erin FaisonSeptember 4, 2013

Archives

Love hurts, love scars

The romantic landscape may seem ambiguous in 2013, but courtship in 19th-century Virginia was no different. Think those text messages are hard to decipher? Try…

Bari HelmsAugust 28, 2013

Archives

Slavery at Hampden-Sydney

Once a neglected subject, the role that African American slaves played in Southern colleges has become the focus of new research. Virginia being no exception,…

Laura CrouchAugust 14, 2013

Archives

Arsenic, Lies, and Bigamy

Cornbread and cabbage turned lethal for one Petersburg woman, but it was another woman’s need for some chicken feed that exposed the death as something…

Mary Dean CarterAugust 7, 2013

Archives Digital Projects

Middlesex Co. Chancery Goes Digital!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for the Middlesex County Chancery Causes, 1754-1912, are now available online through the Chancery Records Index on…

Bari HelmsAugust 2, 2013

Archives

The Lure

When creating a who’s who list of the early days of film, the list is dominated by men – Cecil B. De Mille, D. W.…

Joanne PorterJuly 31, 2013

Archives

"How Dry I Am!" – The Virginia Prohibition Commission Records

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in The Delimiter, the Library’s in-house on-line newsletter. It has been shortened and edited slightly. This week Out of the Box would like…

Laura Drake DavisJuly 24, 2013

Archives

Impressed by a British Man of War

Isaac D. Simkins, born on 13 January 1775, left Northampton County at age 21 to go to sea. Like many people leaving home on a…

Louise JonesJuly 17, 2013

Archives

Independence didn’t come cheap

The fledgling United States of America found that a considerable public debt had been generated by the struggle for independence against Great Britain. Such was…

Sarah NerneyJuly 3, 2013

Archives

Where did I put that?

Has this ever happened to you? You sit down to watch TV but cannot find the remote control, you need to go somewhere but cannot…

Greg CrawfordJune 26, 2013