What does it mean to be free? Some might define freedom as having no obligations to a particular thing or person. A free person cannot…
Sherri BagleyDecember 2, 2015
While watching the February 2012 episode of NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? featuring actor and Petersburg native Blair Underwood investigating his family history, Library of…
Sarah NerneyMarch 27, 2013
In November of 1860, executor William F. Smith was in a pickle. Charged with settling the estate of Elizabeth P. Via of Augusta County, he…
Sarah NerneyFebruary 20, 2013
The colonial era Northampton County court records tell a fascinating story of a woman named Jane Webb. Born of a white mother, she was a…
Greg CrawfordNovember 14, 2012
A small slip of paper on display in the Library of Virginia’s latest exhibition You Have No Right: Law and Justice in Virginia, running 24 September 2012-18…
Brent TarterSeptember 26, 2012
