Slavery at Conjurer’s Neck and Old Brick House
Slavery has it roots in the earliest days of the colonial history of Virginia. Slavery was first introduced into the colony in 1619, when a captured slave ship arrived at Jamestown that “brought not...
Author: Todd Long
My unknown enslaved ancestor: An introspective look at my family’s connection to slavery and how I reconciled that legacy
It was Spring of 2003, my senior year in high school. For my English class that year, we had to do a family history type of project. So, I went to my dad to...
Reverend Henry Skyren
Henry Skyren was born about 1729 in Whitehaven, England. Not much is known about his upbringing, home, or family life. It is likely that he grew up in a strongly religious household as he...
Unknown to Known: How Cicero Gained His Identity
In the colonial era, documents mentioning enslaved persons are hard to come by, and even rarer are documents with details about the slaves themselves. Newspaper advertisements for runaway enslaved persons would often mention slaves...
The Will of Richard Kennon of Conjurer’s Neck
On 6 August 1694, Richard Kennon of Conjurer’s Neck (what was then Henrico County, in present-day Colonial Heights, Virginia), either wrote or dictated to another his will. Around this time, the bridge between the...
Anne Catherine Spotswood: A woman ahead of her time
Colonial Virginia history has many women who hold a place in this Commonwealth, some well-known, but many who are not. One such woman who holds an important place among Virginia’s colonial history was Anne...
Dating Colonial Pipes and Pipestems
Tobacco is one of the main reasons that the colony of Virginia became successful and survived past its turbulent early years at Jamestown. Since its founding in 1607, the Jamestown colony had sought to...
Benjamin Temple: Virginia’s Forgotten Patriot and Statesman
The Year was 1676. There was much unrest in the colony as supporters of Governor Berkeley, those of Bacon, and natives were going around killing one another. Much of the hubbub was the result...
Anthony Arnold’s Treason
The year 1676 saw the colony of Virginia in a state of Rebellion. The unrest that would come to be known as Bacon’s Rebellion, began at a time of discord in the colony over...
David Kendlehart: A Gettysburg Civilian’s Account, July 6, 1863
“and evry [sic] Loyal person was engaged assisting in some way I was at Hoke’s warehouse when news came that our men where [sic] falling back I hurried down but coudent [sic] get my...
