Slavery – Page 6 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

The Petition of Araminta Frances

In court documents from Lunenburg County Chancery Cause 1856-042, the petition of Araminta Frances reveals an interesting and life-changing request. On 10 March 1856 Araminta…

Joanne PorterJune 19, 2013

Archives Digital Projects

Washington and Scott Co. Cohabitation Registers Now Online

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the addition of Scott County and Washington County to the cohabitation register digitization project. This project, via the Virginia…

Sarah NerneyJune 7, 2013

Archives

Wills, Slavery, and Freedom in Augusta Co.

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

Archives

Commonwealth of Virginia versus Abolitionism

During the 1820s and 1830s, northern antislavery groups that demanded the immediate abolition of slavery began to emerge. Led by abolitionists such as William Lloyd…

Greg CrawfordJanuary 30, 2013

Digital Projects

Following a Northern Star: Exploring Abolitionist Materials with Mapping Technologies

Here in Virginia, there are some pretty strong views on history. It isn’t merely in the past, it is occurring in the present as well. …

Sonya ColemanJanuary 22, 2013

Digital Projects

Mapping John Brown: How one man’s failed rebellion expanded the abolitionist cause

In some cases, failing extravagantly can work in favor of your cause. Go big or go home, as it were. John Brown was an American abolitionist who…

Sonya ColemanJanuary 15, 2013

Digital Projects

LVA Partners with American Experience to Populate the Abolitionist Map of America: Interactive Map Explores the Legacy of the Anti-Slavery Movement

How did views on slavery evolve in the decades leading up to the Civil War? What different concerns did Quakers, soldiers, and revolutionaries express about…

Sonya ColemanJanuary 8, 2013

Archives

The Correct Answer Is, "I Do"

At first glance the story of George Kiner and Diana Bumgardner is one of love triumphing over the tragedies of slavery and war. But documents…

Bari HelmsDecember 5, 2012

Newspapers

Newspaper Accounts on the Death of Lincoln

With the renewed interest in President Abraham Lincoln due to Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at…

Silver PersingerNovember 19, 2012

Archives

You Have No Right: Jane Webb’s Story

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

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 Education & Programming

"hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:" Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia

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

Archives Digital Projects

Surry Co. Cohabitation Register Goes Digital!

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the addition of Surry County to the cohabitation register digitization project. This project, via the Virginia Memory website, aims to…

Sarah NerneyJuly 18, 2012

Archives Digital Projects

Augusta Co. Chancery Reveals Pioneer Stories of Western Virginia

These words were written by a young lawyer who was researching court records filed in the Augusta County courthouse in the early 1830’s. He was…

Greg CrawfordJune 18, 2012

Archives

Freedmen’s Bureau in the Local Courts

In the years following the Civil War, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (commonly referred to as simply the Freedmen’s Bureau) provided assistance…

Bari HelmsMay 30, 2012