Posts – Page 73 – The UncommonWealth

Archives

Montgomery County’s African American History

The varied experience of the African American residents of Montgomery County, Virginia, reveals itself in many documentary sources, but perhaps none as unexpected to some…

Sarah NerneyJuly 2, 2014

Newspapers

That’s Our Motto. . .Mottoes Revisited

Here are the answers to Tuesday's motto quiz (you can enlarge any image by clicking on it):

Kelley EwingJune 27, 2014

Newspapers

Our Motto Is. . .

Below, what looks like an elaborate ransom note is actually a list of different mottoes taken from newspapers in the Library of Virginia's collection.Mottoes were…

Kelley EwingJune 24, 2014

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

Archives Digital Projects

Digital Images of All Legislative Petitions Now Available on Virginia Memory

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that the final batch of digital images of legislative petitions to the Virginia General Assembly, 1776-1865, is now…

Greg CrawfordJune 11, 2014

Newspapers

The Mythification of Abraham Lincoln

A common feature in old newspapers was the short article. The sort of thing that was likely passed around from newspaper to newspaper in order to…

Silver PersingerJune 10, 2014

Archives

We Remember: Bedford County and the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

On 6 June 1944, soldiers of the Allied Expeditionary Force stormed the beaches of Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in history. …

Roger ChristmanJune 6, 2014

Newspapers

“Not A Hideous Dream” – Newspaper Coverage of the Johnstown Flood

On 31 May 1889, unusually heavy rainfall washed out the South Fork dam in western Pennsylvania and released twenty million tons of water from a…

Kelley EwingMay 31, 2014

Archives

Big Find Friday: A voice from the past

Here at the Library of Virginia, we love seeing patrons locate records that answer a long-held question, fill in branches of the family tree, or otherwise connect the…

Jessica Tyree BurgessMay 30, 2014

Archives

“We Are Not Saved The Land Boom & Real Estate Speculation in Montgomery County, VA

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Southwest Virginia was gripped with “boom” times as the Norfolk & Western Railroad opened up the region for…

Scott GardnerMay 28, 2014

Digital Projects

"Oh Abraham Abraham!! Why hast thou forgotten me!"

The Civil War 150 Legacy Project has been travelling around Virginia and scanning privately held Civil War-related manuscript documents for the past four years. Recently, as I…

Renee SavitsMay 21, 2014

Newspapers

The Casket and The Institute Jewel

Located in Suffolk, Virginia and chartered in 1881, the Suffolk Female Institute was run by Misses Sallie Finney in what had once been the Central…

Kelley EwingMay 20, 2014

Archives

Mug Shot Monday: Kenneth Frederick Thomas, No. 15150

This is the latest entry in a series of posts highlighting inmate photographs in the records of the Virginia Penitentiary. Kenneth Frederick Thomas, the subject of…

Roger ChristmanMay 19, 2014

The Stacks

Dwight D. Sunderlin, 1944-2014

Our valued colleague in the Imaging Services Section, Dwight Sunderlin, passed away on February 8 after a brief illness. He will be laid to rest…

Library of VirginiaMay 16, 2014

Archives Digital Projects

Kaine Email Project @ LVA – Phone Call Edition

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts spotlighting recently released email from Governor Tim Kaine’s administration. These posts are not meant to be comprehensive but…

Roger ChristmanMay 14, 2014