You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Chesterfield County, created in 1749 and located in the central region of the state, was part of one of the original shires of Virginia. Bordered on the east by the James River and on the south by the Appomattox, the land and its riches drew the Jamestown colonists to travel here to establish a second English colony. Chesterfield played an important role in the Revolutionary War as a training ground for soldiers as well as providing its sons to serve. During the Civil War, the residents again volunteered, and from them emerged four prominent generals of the Confederate army. In the late 1800s, the area known as Bon Air served as a summer retreat from the heat of nearby Richmond with summer cottages and hunting lodges. Since then, the county has grown and prospered with new manufacturing facilities moving in, residents establishing new neighborhoods, and the local government building roads and schools to bring the same freedoms that attracted the original colonists to the area.
For generations, African Americans have enriched South Carolina's history, and the black families of Chesterfield County are no different. During slavery, many African Americans in Chesterfield County were forced to provide domestic services and labor to build the towns in which they were never considered citizens. Many slaves mastered their crafts and used those skills to start a new life for their families after the Civil War. The images in African Americans of Chesterfield County are a testament to the contributions of black families who lived in the county from the 1800s to the mid-1900s, including entrepreneurs, educators, entertainers, farmers, ministers, and other individuals who assisted in making their county a better place to live. Most of the photographs were provided by private collections and archives in hope of preserving the black history of Chesterfield County.
Information was transcribed or abstracted from many counties in Virginia. Some information is included for North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
"In this reprint edition the contents [of the original 34 volumes] have been rearranged, re-typed, and consolidated in three hardcover volumes, each with its own master index."--Title page verso.
Owing to the total destruction of the county courthouse in 1869, few records of Buckingham County, Virginia survive. From documents in the Virginia State Library and the University of Virginia's Alderman Library, and from materials still in private hands, the compiler of this book has amassed a genealogical record of the county--not continuous and complete, since that would be impossible, but a rich selection of the kind of materials that would have been in the old courthouse. Highlighting the work is a collection of family sketches.