Free Blacks – The UncommonWealth

“[His] claim to be free is clear & unquestionable” : Free Black Virginians at Large

We continue to process more records from the Richmond City Hustings Court as a part of our NHPRC grant for Virginia Untold. As we do…

Lydia NeurothNovember 30, 2022

Archives

“Enticing, Advising, and Aiding…a Slave…to Abscond”

In October 1842, Cora Ann Elizabeth Carter and her husband William Watt Hubbard boarded the steamboat Patrick Henry en route for New York. Earlier that…

Lydia NeurothJuly 27, 2022

Archives

19th-Century Henrico County Records Offer Clues on the Lives of Free Black Individuals

Shortly after we published our story about William Pemberton, Lisa Denton from Henrico County Recreation and Parks reached out to me to share about her…

Guest ContributorMay 25, 2022

Archives Education & Programming

Beyond “Mary Bowser”: Researching & Writing a Biography of Black Activism in 19th-Century America

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…

Lois LeveenFebruary 2, 2022

Archives

Kidnapped into Slavery: The Freedom Suit of Francis Jackson

The 2013 film 12 Years a Slave adapted the historical memoirs of Solomon Northup, a free African American from New York who was kidnapped and…

McKenzie LongApril 7, 2021

Archives Digital Projects

Early Albemarle County Judgments to be Transcribed and Placed on Virginia Untold

For those who enjoy the art and intricacy of transcribing historical documents, the Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that a selection of Albemarle…

Tracy HarterJune 24, 2020

Archives

“Manifest Danger” : Smallpox Epidemics Hit 19th-Century Chesterfield

Given the current coronavirus health crisis, processing a small collection of Chesterfield County smallpox epidemic records from the 19th century seemed to be a timely…

Tracy HarterApril 22, 2020

Archives Newspapers

Martha Ann Hobson: A Mother’s Day Story

While processing some City of Richmond court records from the Civil War era, I came across the remarkable narrative of a mother named Martha Hobson.…

Greg CrawfordMay 8, 2019

Archives

The Remarkable Hodges Family of Princess Anne County and Norfolk

During the night of 23 April 1829, six African American men made a daring escape from the Norfolk County jail. One of them was William…

Brent TarterMarch 6, 2019

Archives Digital Projects The Stacks

Library of Virginia and Virginia Museum of History & Culture Merge Databases of Records of Enslaved Virginians

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and the Library of Virginia are cooperating to provide greater access to African American history and genealogy…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 21, 2019

Archives

What a Difference a Day Makes: Serendipity in the Reading Room

The Library of Virginia employs both reference archivists and processing archivists. Reference archivists work exclusively with the public—the Library’s front line. Processing archivists work behind-the-scenes…

Callie FreedJanuary 24, 2019

Archives

Our History as Told by the Pittsylvania County Court Records

In the past few months, I have examined dozens of boxes of unprocessed Pittsylvania County court records dating back to the 1760s, searching for chancery…

Greg CrawfordSeptember 19, 2018

Archives The Stacks

"Nat’s War": The Southampton Slave Rebellion of 1831

On 23 August 1831, Governor John Floyd received a hastily written note from the Southampton County postmaster stating “that an insurrection of the slaves in…

Sonya ColemanOctober 12, 2016

Archives

Old Plats of Pocahontas

Pocahontas Island is a peninsula in the Appomattox River incorporated as part of the City of Petersburg in 1784. The small town became home to…

Louise JonesMay 25, 2016

Archives Digital Projects

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection

In 1820, Rachel Findley won freedom for herself and more than 35 of her descendants in a Powhatan County court in a law suit dating…

Greg CrawfordFebruary 3, 2016