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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In the fall of 1805, John Alcock, a Fredericksburg, Virginia, cabinetmaker, relocated to Richmond and opened a cabinetmaking shop. By 1807 he had expanded his…
Chris KolbeApril 11, 2012
Three Highland County Commonwealth Causes (Barcode 0007281802) reveal a tangled web of conspiracy, murder, and secret affairs. The cast of players includes Elizabeth Sheridan, wife of the…
Joanne PorterMarch 21, 2012
Editor’s note: The finding aid for these records can be found here. The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that Nelson County Chancery Causes,…
Callie FreedJanuary 20, 2012
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the addition of records from Fluvanna, Goochland, and Montgomery Counties to the cohabitation register digitization project. This project,…
Sarah NerneyDecember 9, 2011
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
