Collections : [Library of Virginia]

Alexandria Canal Company Survey Book, 1831-1834, contains surveys of lands taken along the Potomac for the Alexandria Canal Company as it began its plans for canal construction. Included in the volume are surveys for land acquisitions for temporary and permanent use and levels taken of the Alexandria and Washington Turnpike Road. The surveys were conducted by Wilson M. C. Fairfax, an assistant engineer with the Alexandria Canal Company. Also included in the volume are land maps and drawings of canal structures.

Alexandria (Va.) Business Records, 1804-1942, are comprised of various records created by individuals in pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Alexandria (Va.) Represented records consist of bound volumes such an account book, a subscription list and registers.

Alexandria (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1859-1925, consists of cases concerning issues of equity brought largely by residents of the county and filed in the circuit court. These cases often involve the following actions: divisions of estates or land, disputes over wills, disputes regarding contracts, debt, divorce, and business disputes. Other less prevalent issues include freedom suits, permissions to sell property, and disputes concerning trespass. Predominant documents found in these chancery causes include bills (documents the plaintiff's complaint), answers (defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint), decrees (court's decision), depositions, affidavits, correspondence, lists of heirs, deeds, plats, wills, records involving enslaved individuals, business records or vital statistics.

Alexandria (Va.) Convict Register, 1870-1924, is a "descriptive list of persons convicted of a felony, or other infamous offences, in the Corporation Court of Alexandria, Virginia, since November 2nd, 1870." Based on a set form, the listings of each conviction include the individual's name in full and any aliases, the present and last known residence of the accused, the color or race of the individual (including white, black, mulatto, dark, bright, colored, negro, light brown or dark brown), the individual's height, eye color, hair color and any identifying marks, the apparent or known age of the accused, his or her occupation, the offence, the court in which convicted, the date of conviction and page of record and whether the judgment was reversed or pardon granted and date thereof. The volume has 98 leaves but there are numerous blank pages between entries. The entries for leaves 1-6 include the convict's full name and are arranged by date of conviction. Leaves 7-98 contain entries arranged by the convict's surname (A-Y) according, for the most part, to the date of his conviction for the offense listed. Five, undated, loose entries are found at the front of the volume. Instead of a court conviction, sometimes an individual was convicted by a Justice of the Peace.

Alexandria (Va.) Judgments, 1841-1937 contain civil cases in which justice was administered on the strictly formulated rules of common law. The majority of these cases in this record series relate to matters of debt.

Alexandria (Va.) Petitions to Remain in the Commonwealth, 1834, 1853, consist of several documents related to the petitions of two individuals. These petitions are applications that formerly enslaved individuals submitted to state and local courts for permission to remain in Virginia with their free status. The petitions often include the formerly enslaved individual's name, their method of emancipation, name of their former enslaver, and whether the application/petition was successful or not. Petitions may also include affidavits signed mainly by white residents or witness statements again provided by white residents. Additional names of enslaved or free Black and Multiracial individuals can be found in these records.