Emancipation – Page 2 – The UncommonWealth

Sometimes You DO Find a Needle in a Haystack: The Augusta Co. Cohabitation Register

Cohabitation registers are among the most important genealogical resources for African-Americans attempting to connect their family lines back through the murky past to their enslaved…

Sarah NerneyJuly 29, 2015

Archives Education & Programming

"There is yet enough left of the old barbarism of slavery": Violence in Post-Emancipation Virginia

This is the first in a series of four blog posts concerning post-Civil War Virginia and the lives of freedpeople after Emancipation. The posts precede…

Gregg KimballJune 10, 2015

The Long Wait for Freedom: A Montgomery County Freedom Suit

This is part two of a two part post on a fascinating freedom suit discovered during the Montgomery County Circuit Court Records Project. Part one of the…

Regan SheltonApril 29, 2015

Education & Programming

Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom

With its roots in 19th-century Texas, Juneteenth has grown into a popular event across the country to commemorate emancipation from slavery and celebrate African American…

John DealJune 19, 2014