Correspondence – The UncommonWealth

Manuscripts & Special Collections The Stacks

Newly Available Archival Accessions, October 1-December 31, 2023

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 13, 2024

Virginia Authors

New Books – September 2020

The Library of Virginia is now open by appointment only. During this initial reopening phase, researchers will be able to use the collections by appointment…

Donna PletcherSeptember 28, 2020

Archives

I’m A Sap: The WWI Letters of David J. Castleman

My name is Chloe Staples, and I am from Richmond, Virginia. I am a rising senior at Lynchburg College with a major in United States…

Chloe StaplesAugust 1, 2017

Archives

Modern Love: Two Wrights and a Wrong

Many a modern day love rat has been outed by a spouse’s discovery of telling photos posted to Facebook or illicit text messages. But what…

Vince BrooksDecember 9, 2015

Archives

A Monument of Debt

The Washington Monument is finally reopening on 12 May 2014 after undergoing restoration for damage caused by an earthquake in August 2011. I was curious what the…

Bari HelmsMay 12, 2014

Archives

Bad Romance

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bring a bit of romance to Out of the Box, but when one spends her day working…

Bari HelmsFebruary 12, 2014

Archives

The Women of Smithfield

Processing of the Montgomery County chancery began in August 2013, and one of the early finds was Chancery Cause 1848-016, Letitia Floyd vs. Executors of Elizabeth…

Regan SheltonJanuary 23, 2014

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

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

“My Dearest Miss Lura:” Lunenburg Letters Illuminate a Long and Unlikely Love Affair

Lura Royall was a Lunenburg County girl. Her relatives remember her as a pretty woman who never married—a retired school teacher full of life well…

Dale DulaneyFebruary 13, 2013

Archives

All I Want For Christmas Is…

On 16 December 1895, 12-year-old Mamie M. Yates wrote a letter to Santa Claus. It read: Dear Santa Claus, I will write to you to…

Greg CrawfordDecember 19, 2012

Archives

#election1860

On 13 November 1860, J.S. Moore of Indiana wrote a letter to his Virginia relative Doctor Thomas Moore. Much of the letter has to do…

Greg CrawfordNovember 7, 2012

Archives

Dear Uncle…

Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. (Image used courtesy of the United States National Park Service) This year marks the 200th anniversary of the War…

Greg CrawfordApril 18, 2012

Archives

"Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!"

The wool of Merino sheep was highly prized and for centuries the flocks were not allowed to be exported from their home in Spain. One…

Chris KolbeDecember 7, 2011

Archives

More Augusta County Images Are Here!

The latest images from the Augusta County Chancery Causes are now available on the Chancery Records Index. With this addition, one hundred boxes of Augusta County…

Greg CrawfordAugust 16, 2011