Hanover County, Virginia was erected from New Kent in 1720, which itself had been formed from York County in 1654. (In 1742 Hanover lost that portion now embraced by Louisa County.) Most of the records of the Hanover County Court were destroyed at the end of the Civil War, which is why those that did survive, the subject of this book, are of the utmost importance. Confining itself to Chancery Wills and Notes, this work consists of copies or abstracts of bills and petitions, wills and deeds, powers of attorney, administrators' accounts, depositions, receipts, and letters, bearing reference, in total, to some 7,000 persons. In the treatment and presentation of the Notes the object was to extract every detail of genealogical, biographical, and historical significance, and to arrange such matter alphabetically and chronologically in relation to families. In the treatment of the wills the aim was to provide either a comprehensive abridgement or an authentic verbatim copy. Possessing a complete name index, this is the starting point for genealogical research in Hanover County.

In this very scarce two-volume work, Mr. and Mrs. Glazebrook succeeded in extracting those documents pertaining to Hanover County that survived the burning of Richmond in April 1865 and that were not published in William Ronald Cocke's "Hanover County Chancery Wills and Notes." The surviving materials consist of a great many deeds, wills, inventories, accounts, letters, depositions, etc., pertaining to Hanover County for the colonial and early Federal periods.

Dr. Malcolm Harris' two-volume history and genealogy of "Old" New Kent County (the three present-day counties in the aggregate) is one of the great achievements of Virginia local history of the last century. Clearfield Company is honored to have been selected by the Harris family to produce this hardcover edition of "Old New Kent County." Privately published and out of print for many years, this work takes on even greater importance in light of the loss of county records in New Kent and in King & Queen counties and the survival of mere fragments for King William County prior to 1865.

Prison Pens presents the memoir of a captured Confederate soldier in northern Virginia and the letters he exchanged with his fiancée during the Civil War. Wash Nelson and Mollie Scollay’s letters, as well as Nelson’s own manuscript memoir, provide rare insight into a world of intimacy, despair, loss, and reunion in the Civil War South. The tender voices in the letters combined with Nelson’s account of his time as a prisoner of war provide a story that is personal and political, revealing the daily life of those living in the Confederacy and the harsh realities of being an imprisoned soldier. Ultimately, through the juxtaposition of the letters and memoir, Prison Pens provides an opportunity for students and scholars to consider the role of memory and incarceration in retelling the Confederate past and incubating Lost Cause mythology. This book will be accompanied by a digital component: a website that allows students and scholars to interact with the volume’s content and sources via an interactive map, digitized letters, and special lesson plans.

George Bigbie was living in North Farnham, Richmond County, Virginia as early as the 1730s. He was married twice and was the father of four children. Two of his children were Archibald Bigbie (b. 1734) who married Lydia Calvert (1748-1819) and was the father three children, and George Bigbie (1736-1778) who married Catherine and was the father of five children. Their descendants live in Virginia and other parts of the United States.

For the first two months covered by this volume, Thomas Jefferson is residing at Monticello, avoiding the "rather sickly" season in the nation's capital. His mountaintop house finally has a roof and both daughters and their families come to stay with him. Using cowpox vaccine received from Benjamin Waterhouse, he undertakes what he calls "my experiment," the systematic inoculation of family members and slaves against the smallpox. In Washington, the construction of buildings for the nation's capital moves forward. The walls of the chamber of the House of Representatives now extend "up to the window heads," with only three feet more to go. Jefferson considers the erection of this chamber as well as completion of a "good gravel road" along Rock Creek as crucial for "ensuring the destinies of the city." The interior decoration of the President's House also progresses, with draperies, girandoles, and a chandelier furnishing the circular room. His carriage is ready to be shipped from Philadelphia. As the city takes shape, so too do the operating principles of Jefferson's administration. He dispatches a letter to his heads of department outlining "the mode & degrees of communication" for conducting their business. In mid-November, he enters a period of intense activity in the preparation of his first annual message to Congress, soliciting suggestions but personally drafting the document that he will submit in writing in early December.