InfoGuides: US History Sources 1820s-1880s: Access Specialized Archival Collections

Collected Primary Sources By Topic

Virginia Legislative Petitions
Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, manumission of slaves, division of counties, incorporation of towns, religious freedom, and taxation were just some of the concerns expressed in these petitions. The petitions often contain hundreds of signatures and are a useful tool in genealogical research. Frequently, the petitions contain supplementary support documents useful in research, including maps, wills, naturalizations, deeds, resolutions, affidavits, judgments, and other items. For more information see Library of Virginia's "Research Notes No. 18."
Library of Virginia Local Records Microfilm Lists
Microfilmed holdings of Library of Virginia arranged by locality and then into the 23 broad categories.
Virginia Chancery Cases
The Chancery Records Index (CRI) is a result of archival processing and indexing projects overseen by the Library of Virginia (LVA) and funded, in part, by the Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program (CCRP). Each of Virginia's circuit courts created chancery records that contain considerable historical and genealogical information. Because the records rely so heavily on testimony from witnesses, they offer a unique glimpse into the lives of Virginians from the early 18th century through the First World War.
Virginia Untold
The Library of Virginia’s collections are rich with records documenting the lives of African Americans in Virginia. However, access to those materials dating from before the American Civil War is limited at best. These limitations are the result of period perspectives on the identities of enslaved and disenfranchised populations, as well as sheer volume. Due to this, the individual stories form a narrative of a people that has not been fully told.
Unknown No Longer
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture launched Unknown No Longer in 2011 to make accessible biographical details of enslaved Virginians from unpublished historical records in its collections. The site provided researchers with the ability to discover information on ancestors not found in other sources.

Beginning in 2019 the unique content of Unknown No Longer is available through the Library of Virginia's Virginia Untold: African American Narrative, providing users with access to an expanded collection of resources for researching African American history in Virginia. View the archived version of Unknown No Longer's Message Board.
Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County.
The AAHA is a local history resource which offers research source to those researching their own family history or the history of the region with specific attention to the history of Fauquier County’s Black residents.

ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantation Records, Part 2 This link opens in a new window
In the second set of Plantation Records in History Vault, the records presented in this module come from the University of Virginia and Duke University. Major collections from the holdings of the University of Virginia include the Tayloe Family Papers, Ambler Family Papers, Cocke Family Papers, Gilliam Family Papers, Barbour Family Papers, and Randolph Family Papers. Major collections from the Duke University holdings document plantation life in the Alabama, as well as South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.

Papers of Andrew Jackson Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Fully annotated and searchable XML-based archive of Jackson’s papers; currently contains volumes 1-10, 1770-1832; remaining volumes (11-17) to be added as each volume is completed.
Papers of Dolley Madison Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Complete collection of letters through 1845, plus documents pertaining to the sale of Montpelier. Access through a chronological list of documents named using date, author and recipient, or search to locate letters by text, names, dates, topics, and places.
Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry This link opens in a new window
Presents correspondence and other items spanning 1739-1840, including letters, diaries, travel journals, and recipes documenting the lives of two founding-era women in one of South Carolina's leading families.
Papers of James Madison Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Contains all of the content of the print edition. Search on full text and by date, author, or recipient across all volumes and series.
Papers of John Adams Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Comprises John Adams’ complete diaries, selected legal papers, and the ongoing series of family correspondence and state papers.
Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Brings together 47 volumes covering Thomas Jefferson's public and private life into one searchable online resource. Includes all illustrations and biographical content of the print edition.

Founders Online
Freely available access to the Papers of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
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The National Archives, through its National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), has entered into a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia Press to create this site and make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.
Through this website, you will be able to read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.
For the past 50 years, the NHPRC has invested in these detailed collections of all of the documents authored and received by, or related to, individual leaders of the period. Scholars have collected—from archives across the country and around the world—copies of the original 18th- and 19th-century documents, transcribed them, provided annotations, and produced hundreds of books. You can see a complete list of titles of these printed volumes along with links to the documents.

Founders Online also includes transcriptions of thousands of documents that have not yet appeared in the published volumes, provided via the Early Access program.

History Commons This link opens in a new window
Formerly Accessible Archives. Full text, searchable collections of American 18th and 19th century primary sources with bibliographic citations. Access eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements and genealogical records.
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
Database provides online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This collection features papers from more than 35 states, including many rare and historically significant 19th century titles.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 This link opens in a new window
Resource features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans published in 26 states. Include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations' bulletins, annual reports and other genres.
Black Economic Empowerment: The National Negro Business League This link opens in a new window
Comprises the National Negro Business League files in Part III of the Booker T. Washington Papers in the possession of the Library of Congress.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. Includes the Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, the historical backfiles of the Chicago Defender newspaper, and full-text coverage of core Black Studies journals. Also includes the International Index to Black Periodicals and the Black Literature Index.
Black Thought & Culture This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text documents of major black leaders in North America from the 19th & 20th centuries to 1975. Currently includes approximately 100,000 pages of primary source materials.

Library of Congress: Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA). At the conclusion of the Slave Narrative project, a set of edited transcripts was assembled and microfilmed in 1941 as the seventeen-volume Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. In 2000-2001, with major support from the Citigroup Foundation, the Library digitized the narratives from the microfilm edition and scanned from the originals 500 photographs, including more than 200 that had never been microfilmed or made publicly available. This online collection is a joint presentation of the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs divisions of the Library of Congress.

ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775–1915, Plantations Records, Part 1 This link opens in a new window
Documents the far-reaching impact of plantations on both the American South and the nation. As business owners, the commodities produced by plantation owners—rice, cotton, sugar, tobacco, hemp, and others— accounted for more than half of the nation’s exports. The plantation, therefore, played a key role in the development of a nationwide market economy. Plantation records also document the personal lives of plantation owners and their families.
ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantation Records, Part 2 This link opens in a new window
In the second set of Plantation Records in History Vault, the records presented in this module come from the University of Virginia and Duke University. Major collections from the holdings of the University of Virginia include the Tayloe Family Papers, Ambler Family Papers, Cocke Family Papers, Gilliam Family Papers, Barbour Family Papers, and Randolph Family Papers. Major collections from the Duke University holdings document plantation life in the Alabama, as well as South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
ProQuest History Vault: Slavery and the Law This link opens in a new window
Slavery and the Law features petitions on race, slavery, and free blacks that were submitted to state legislatures and county courthouses between 1775 and 1867. These petitions were collected by Loren Schweninger over a four year period from hundreds of courthouses and historical societies in 10states and the District of Columbia. The petitions document the realities of slavery at the most immediate local level and with amazing candor. Slavery and the Law also includes theimportant State Slavery Statutes collection, a comprehensive record of the laws governing American slavery from 1789-1865.
ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775–1915, Plantations Records, Part 1 This link opens in a new window
Documents the far-reaching impact of plantations on both the American South and the nation. As business owners, the commodities produced by plantation owners—rice, cotton, sugar, tobacco, hemp, and others— accounted for more than half of the nation’s exports. The plantation, therefore, played a key role in the development of a nationwide market economy. Plantation records also document the personal lives of plantation owners and their families.
Slavery, Abolition & Social Justice This link opens in a new window
Designed as a portal for slavery and abolition studies, this resource provides access to documents and collections covering 1490-2007, from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world. Close attention is given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social-justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today. Coverage: 1940 – 2007.

History Commons This link opens in a new window
Formerly Accessible Archives. Full text, searchable collections of American 18th and 19th century primary sources with bibliographic citations. Access eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements and genealogical records.
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text North American women's diaries and letters from the Colonial period to 1990s; includes biographies and an annotated bibliography of database sources.
Women & Social Movements in the U.S. This link opens in a new window
Includes primary documents, images, scholarly essays, and bibliographies documenting women's reform efforts in the United States between 1600 and 2000.

American West This link opens in a new window
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centers and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.
Early Encounters in North America This link opens in a new window
Documents the relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850. The collection focuses on personal accounts and provides unique perspectives from all of the protagonists, including traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, native peoples, and officials, both men and women. The project brings coherence to a wide range of published and unpublished accounts, including narratives, diaries, journals, and letters.
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window
Supports the study of American Indian history from the early colonial period to the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. Features a wide range of materials including manuscripts, artwork, American Indian newspapers covering the 1960s to 1990s, rare printed books, photographs, and maps.
Indian Trade in the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Papers of Panton, Leslie & Company This link opens in a new window
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Focuses on the ethnographic study of the American Indians of the Southeast through the papers of the Panton, Leslie & Co., a trading firm. More than 8,000 legal, political and diplomatic documents recording the company’s operations for over half a century have been selected and organized for this collection.
War Department and Indian Affairs This link opens in a new window
Collects letters to and from the War Department during the period 1800-1824, including many sent to the superintendent of Indian trade, Treasury Department officials, and persons having commercial dealings with the War Department. Some letters were signed by department clerks or by the president.
ProQuest Indian Claims Insight This link opens in a new window
U.S. Indian claims from 1789-present. Trace by Indian Nation and/or geographic location. For legal, U.S. history, Native American Studies and more.

History Commons This link opens in a new window
Formerly Accessible Archives. Full text, searchable collections of American 18th and 19th century primary sources with bibliographic citations. Access eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements and genealogical records.
Civil War in Words and Deeds This link opens in a new window
Comprised of the Primary Source Media microfilm collection entitled Travels in the Confederate States. In addition, a small number of selected titles were included from the microfilm collection entitled Travels in the New South I, 1865-1900.
Civil War Service Reports of Union Army Generals This link opens in a new window
These generals’ reports of service represent an attempt by the Adjutant General’s Office (AGO) to obtain more complete records of the service of the various Union generals serving in the Civil War. In 1864, the Adjutant General requested that each such general submit "…a succinct account of your military history…since March 4th, 1861." In 1872, and in later years, similar requests were made for statements of service for the remaining period of the war.
Confederate Newspapers: A Collection from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama This link opens in a new window
Collects a mixture of issues and papers from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and Alabama ranging from 1861-1865. These newspapers "recorded the real and true history of public opinion during the war. In their columns is to be found the only really correct and indicative 'map of busy life, its fluctuations and its vast concerns? in the South, during her days of darkness and of trial."

Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window
Supports the study of American Indian history from the early colonial period to the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. Features a wide range of materials including manuscripts, artwork, American Indian newspapers covering the 1960s to 1990s, rare printed books, photographs, and maps.
American West This link opens in a new window
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centers and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.
China, America and the Pacific This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China during the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally covers China's economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
Provides variety of original source material detailing China's interaction with the West, beginning with Macartney's first Embassy to China in 1793, and relating to the activities and observations of British and American diplomats, missionaries, business people and tourists in China between 1793 and 1980, together with rare periodicals, color paintings, maps, photographs and drawings.
Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia This link opens in a new window
Consists of the diaries, journals, and narratives of explorers, emigrants, military men, Native Americans, and travelers; as well as accounts on the development of farming and mining communities, family histories, and folklore. Covers the social, political, economic, scientific, religious and agricultural characteristics of the region between Lexington, Kentucky and Winchester, Virginia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Birmingham, Alabama, from 1700-1950.
Overland Journeys: Travels in the West, 1800-1880 This link opens in a new window
Comprised of selections from the microfilm collections Travels in the West and Southwest and the Plains & Rockies, this digital collection provides a unique window on Western History.

Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. It focuses on the history of 15 major commodities, and examines the ways that they have changed the world. In addition to historical documents, collection provides users with visual resources, such as thematic galleries, data and maps, and a searchable chronology.
Trade Catalogues and the American Home This link opens in a new window
Collection explores domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends and provide a valuable visual record for a breadth of interdisciplinary study.
World's Fairs: A Global History of Expositions This link opens in a new window
Online resource offers insight into over 200 world’s fairs and international expositions. The database provides digital access to primary source material collated from thirteen archives in North America, the U.K., and France. Material includes pamphlets, guide books, official catalogues, periodicals, minutes, and correspondence. There is also a selection of visual material including maps, photographs, postcards, and illustrations.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
Provides variety of original source material detailing China's interaction with the West, beginning with Macartney's first Embassy to China in 1793, and relating to the activities and observations of British and American diplomats, missionaries, business people and tourists in China between 1793 and 1980, together with rare periodicals, color paintings, maps, photographs and drawings.
China, America and the Pacific This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China during the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally covers China's economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.