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Commonwealth of Virginia versus Thomas J. Cluverius, 1885, contains records related to the criminal trial of Thomas J. Cluverius heard in Richmond (City) Circuit Court. Cluverius was indicted for the murder of Fannie Lillian Madison. Included in the case are Cluverius's indictment and copies of the trial testimony, along with several pieces of correspondence used as evidence in the trial. The correspondence between Madison and Cluverius exists as evidence that the couple shared an intimate relationship. Additional correspondence between Madison and their aunt Jane F. Tunstall was used to illustrate Madison's emotional state at the time of her death. Also included in the collection are the watch key and several photographs found in the possession of Madison at the time of her death.

Manchester (Va.) Board/Committee Minute Books, 1875-1900 (bulk 1900-1910), provide an excellent historical overview of how the city functioned according to the mandates of the Mayor's Office and the City Council. The first volume is the Board of Police Commissioners' Minute Book. This volume dates from 1875-1910 and numbers 157 p. The volume deals with the board's rules, regulations and resolutions regarding the city's police force. The second volume is the Board of Fire Commissioners' Minute Book. This volume dates from 1892-1910 and numbers 196 p. This volume deals with with the board's rules, regulations and resolutions regarding the city's fire department. The third volume is composed of various and specialized committees--Light/Electric Light/Water/Clear Water/Fire--comprising the city's Utility Commission. This volume dates from 1902-1910 and numbers 288 p. This volume is comprised of various committee reports and resolutions. The page numbers for the various committee minutes are noted in the front of the volume. For these three volumes, all loose documents found in the volume were filmed at the end of the volume.

Manchester (Va.) Board of Alderman Minute Book, 1902-1910, covers the adminstrative functions of this governing body. The Board of Alderman of the City of Manchester, like the City Assembly, was formed on February 15, 1901 by Virginia's General Assembly. According to the Acts of the Assembly (p. 241), "the administration and government of the city shall be vested in one principal officer, to be styled the mayor; the City Council to be composed of the Board of Alderman, consisting of two members from each ward, and the City Assembly, consisting of three members from each ward." Furthermore, "each board composing the city council shall have one regular meeting during each month and as many special or called meetings as the interests of the city shall require. A majority of the members elected to each board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No ordinances or resolutions shall become a law of the city until adopted by a majority of each board present and voting." Unlike the City Assembly, however, the Board of Alderman was not officially organized until July 2, 1902. The volume deals primarily with building permits, committees and ordinances. The volume has an internal index (A-W) organized alphabetically by subject according to the order in which it appears in the volume.

Manchester (Va.) Board of Trustees Minute Books, 1811-1875, are comprised of three separate volumes dealing with the business of the town of Manchester's Board of Trustees through the creation of the city of Manchester's City Council. When the town was established in 1769, directors and trustees were appointed to govern the town. The first volume dates from 1811-1850 and numbers 308 pages. The volume opens with surviving trustee, John Murchie, calling for a meeting of the town's freeholders to elect the proper persons to supply vacancies on the Board of Trustees. The town sheriff, in charge of the elections, appoints seven new trustees to the board. These trustees are then entrusted with running the town--dealing with bonds for town officials, passing town ordinances--relating to both free men and slaves--in order to create a code of law for the town, forming committees to deal with various issues, surveying land and lots, collecting subscriptions for studies and improvements to the town's infrastructure, noting assessments of taxable property, including Treasurer's accounts as well as various reports and claims for town services.

Manchester (Va.) Finance Committee Minute Books, 1878-1910, provide a comprehensive overview of the city's financial condition. The first volume dates from 1878-1902 and numbers 209 pages. The second volume dates from 1902-1910 and numbers 370 pages and the last volume dates from 1910 and numbers 19 pages. Taken as a whole, the volumes include the reports of the City's Treasurer, Auditor and Commissioner of Revenue as well as the City Collector of Delinquent Taxes; recommendations made to City Council; bills approved to pay for city services--fire, police, alms house, etc. and fines collected in the Mayor's Court. A series of loose documents, 1902-1910, were filmed at the beginning of each volume.

Manchester (Va.) Journals of the City Assembly, 1901-1910, cover the administrative functions of one of the city's two governing bodies. The City Assembly, part of the City of Manchester's City Council, was formed on February 15, 1901 by Virginia's General Assembly. According to the Acts of the Assembly (p. 241), "the administration and government of the city shall be vested in one principal officer, to be styled the mayor; the City Council to be composed of the Board of Alderman, consisting of two members from each ward, and the City Assembly, consisting of three members from each ward." Furthermore, "each board composing the city council shall have one regular meeting during each month and as many special or called meetings as the interests of the city shall require. A majority of the members elected to each board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No ordinances or resolutions shall become a law of the city until adopted by a majority of each board present and voting." The first volume, 1901-1909, deals with city ordinances, reports of various committees and minutes from monthly meetings. This volume has an internal index (A-W) organized alphabetically by subject according to the order in which it appears in the volume. The second volume is 36 pages and covers only the year 1910 up until the City of Manchester's annexation with the City of Richmond. This volume deals with budgets, reports and resolutions. It also has an internal index arranged in a similar manner to the first volume.

Manchester (Va.) Land Record Book, 1867-1909, is described within the volume itself as follows: "wherein all deeds, conveyances, leases, contracts, etc. relating to or setting forth the action of the Board of Trustees of said Town with regard to the real estate, streets or other property of said Town to be preserved for the convenience and information of said Board of Trustees." The volume primarily notes identures and deeds of lease between individuals and companies. There are a couple of loose papers found at the end of the volume dating from 1884 and 1899. A partial index is found at the beginning of the volume.

Manchester (Va.) Maury Cemetery Committee Minute Book, 1907-1910, was a volume kept and used to record the dealings of the Cemetery Committee as part of the City Council. On page eight, section 16, of the city charter, is found the following: "to provide in or near the said city, lands to be appropriated, improved and kept in order as places for the burial of the dead." As historian Benjamin Weisiger III indicates in his book, there were a number of small private cemeteries in town before the opening of Maury Cemetery in 1874. "In February 1872, the town trustees started looking into purchasing land outside of the town for a Cemetery. In April 1872, an ordinance was passed forbidding burial within the town limits. By 1877, all burials were moved outside the city and a suitable are in Maury was set aside for those previously buried in the center of town."

Manchester (Va.) Ordinances consist of two volumes dealing with regulations concerning all aspects of city government. On March 20, 1874, the General Assembly granted Manchester a charter. Manchester had achieved independent city status. The first volume, 1874-1900, records the passage of ordinances related to this specific development. The volume begins with "an ordinance prescribing rules for the government of the Council"--one of the city's two governing bodies. The second volume, 1902-1910, contains an internal index (A-W) organized alphabetically by subject according to the order in which it appears in the volume. This volume begins with "an ordinance adopting a set of rules for both branches of the City Council of the City of Manchester." Further ordinances deal with issues of the city such as the revenue of the city, city debt, city property, health, departmental organizations, nuisances and offences. No ordinances were recorded for the year 1901.

Police Record, 1866-1878, records the date, name, color, charge, by whom arrested, and remarks. The remarks column generally records the disposition of the case including fines, discharge, orders to leave town, confiscation of illegal goods, whippings, and referral on to a higher court. This volume is arranged chronologically and there is no index. Following each year is occasionally a yearly report of the chief of police giving the amount of fines collected, the number of dog and goat medals sold, the amount collected for the sale of dog and goat medals, and the number and amount of tools on hand. The last several pages in the volume record the number of dog and goat medals sold including the date, to whom sold, the medal number, and financial information related to the medal sales.