Browse Items (1533 total)

This response letter, dated September 8, 1933, was sent to Mr. W.A.C. Pettit of Fredericks Hall. While the contents of Pettit’s original letter to the Commissioner of Insurance and Banking are unknown, the response letter provides several details…

This is a bond that was sold to R.L. Gordon Jr. which gives him twenty shares of capital stock in the Louisa Investment Company. It was sold to him on June 19,1891 at ten dollars a share. Notice the sketch of the old Louisa Court House in the center…

This 1940 Schedule of Farm Income and Expenses, known as Form 1040F by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), was utilized by farmers to calculate their income. The livestock, produce, and services listed – as well as their respective amounts –…

On an unusually warm June afternoon in 1781, John “Jack” Jouett was at Cuckoo Tavern, a short distance from his father’s plantation at Walnut Hill. The Jouetts had moved to Albemarle County, but it is likely Jack was at the Walnut Hill property…

James Braxton talks about his grandfather who was half indian and half white

In rural parts of Central Virginia in the early 1800s children were home-schooled when there were few alternatives. These pages are from a home made mathematics textbook; the leather cover was home tanned, and the writing was done with a quill pen,…

The following is searchable text from the attached Excel Spreadsheet indexing the Genealogical Files of the late Janice Abercrombie. The files are held in the Sargeant Museum archives and are viewable by appointment.

Trudy Adams request for…

This silk scarf, from Japan, was given to Mary J. Jones by her brother Paul Jacoby, who served in World War II. Mr. Jacoby was one of thousands of military personnel who sent postcards, letters, and gifts home to family and friends. This silk scarf…

These images are photos of Jeff Porter and his home. Porter was born sometime in 1849. Throughout his lifetime in Louisa County, Porter lived at Trevillians Depot. We know little more about him than what these photos reveal, except that he was a…

Photograph taken sometime in the early 20th C. near Trevilian Station, Louisa County. Jeff Porter appears in other photos at the Trevilian Station Depot.

Ellen Glasgow was a prominent part of the movement for women’s suffrage and was the honorary vice-president of the Equal Suffrage League. Glasgow was born and lived most of her life in Richmond. As a young child, before she became a well-known…

Joe Tinsley and Bobby Gilliard, taken on the front porch of Westend. In February 28, 1931 issue of The Southern Churchmanis Mr. Tinsley's obituary: "Entered into eternal life, February 16, 1931, at the home of the late Mrs. Mary Watson Taylor,…

John Mercer Langston was born on December 14, 1829 to a freed slave, Lucy Langston, and a white man of “extreme old age," Ralph Quarles. At the time of Langston's birth, Virginia law specified that all children would be born into a “free or bond…

After his parent's death, Virginia law inhibited John Mercer Langston and the other children of Ralph Quarles and Lucy Langston from inheriting his father's estate. A friend, William Gooch, helped John and his brothers relocate in Ohio. As a young…

Joseph Ham’s Daybook begins in January 1856 and ends in September 1871. It lists all the transactions occurring at his Tailor’s Shop in Stanardsville. The word ‘Paid’ in the left hand margin indicates the transaction was settled. Being a…

This certificate verifies Captain Joseph N. Porter's role in the Army of the United States between October 1942 and December 1944; the certificate also notes the ribbon and medal to be awarded to Mr. Porter for his service as an Exchange Officer in…

Josephine Fleming talks about being employed as domestic help in Richmond. She remarks on one of the most visible signs of the racial boundaries as she describes how she wasn't allowed to enter or leave through her employers front door, only the…

Josephine Fleming talks about how being a maid was one of the very few jobs open to black women. She describes riding the bus into Richmond with the other maids and some of the conversations they often had on the bus returning home at the end of the…

Josephine Fleming discusses how they learned about African American issues in the nation from the Afro newspaper. They learned about events involving Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Emmett Till that sparked the Civil Rights movement. Although…