So, a Bavarian immigrant, a Prussian nobleman, and a Revolutionary-War-hero-turned-debtor walk into a bar…. At least that’s probably the way this would start if it…
Vince BrooksMarch 10, 2025
While processing Richmond City chancery causes that ended between 1879 and 1881, I stumbled across a suit involving several former members of an English opera…
Caroline CollinsJanuary 8, 2025
Like Jonathan Ramey of Scott County, Virginia, whose story we previously explored on UncommonWealth, brothers James and William Temple of Bath County joined the trek…
Callie FreedOctober 4, 2024
A common refrain in real estate is location, location, location. Sometimes however, the name is just as important, especially if the divine is involved. Such…
Sherri BagleyJuly 10, 2024
The Clarke County chancery causes, 1838-1912, have now been indexed, conserved, and digitized. They are freely accessible to researchers via the Chancery Records Index (CRI).Clarke…
Vince BrooksJune 24, 2024
The California Gold Rush of 1849 is a universal topic of study in courses surveying U.S. history, but what is commonly known about gold mining…
Caroline CollinsJune 14, 2023
The Princess Anne County chancery causes cover an extensive period (1752-1913) and a wide range of topics. To discover and learn more about these treasures,…
Callie FreedMarch 15, 2023
Many times, in the course of our work processing local government records, we run across something interesting that sends us down the proverbial rabbit hole.…
Vince BrooksMarch 6, 2023
In 1832, seventeen men were brought to the Richmond City Hustings Court with a unique charge. These men were cabinetmakers. They had united themselves illegally…
Lydia NeurothSeptember 28, 2022
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
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
This northern Shenandoah Valley county is named for John Page, Governor of Virginia from 1802-1805. Land from Rockingham and Shenandoah counties created the county in…
Callie FreedJanuary 19, 2022
From its exterior, the Leesburg United Methodist Church, Loudoun County, Virginia, appears to be like any other church building scattered across the country. However, a…
Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemNovember 17, 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 Mason, They/ThemOctober 6, 2021
