A Guide to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Administrative papers, 1897-1906
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 24960
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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/
© 2002 By the Library of Virginia.
Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Laura Drake
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth, Administrative papers, 1897-1906. Accession 24960, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Transferred from the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth on May 18, 1959.
Biographical/Historical Information
The Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth has evolved from early colonial times when there existed a Secretary of the Colony. Thomas Nelson held the position of the first Secretary of Virginia in 1776. Early Secretaries were elected by the public. An Act of the General Assembly in 1920 changed the election to a joint vote of the General Assembly. In a 1930 Act the duties of the Secretary were redefined with the Secretary of the Commonwealth serving as the ex officio secretary of the Governor, as custodian of many official State records, and as keeper of the Greater and Lesser Seals of the Commonwealth. The office of the Secretary has gradually acquired other functions, such as: service of out-of-state civil process; appointment and regulation of notaries public; and registration and oversight of lobbyists. The Office became a gubernational appointment subsequent to a 1958 Act of the Assembly. The Secretary of the Commonwealth is under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office.
The Secretary is appointed by the Governor for a term of four years. The Secretary has an Executive assistant and an Assistant who is in charge of prison mail and research duties. The Chief Clerk is responsible for the Governor's Journal and extraditions and acts as general office manager. Major activities are: serving as ex officio Secretary to the Governor; serving as the keeper of the seals of the Commonwealth; compiling and publishing the annual Blue Book; commissioning and regulating notary publics, including the publication of a Notary Handbook and conduct of disciplinary hearings; promulgating the lobbying disclosure requirements, registration of lobbyst, and recording of lobbying reports; servicing the civil process of out-of-state defendants and other parties; and authenticating and certifying the records of the courts and of any state agency.
Scope and Content Information
These records contain the general administrative papers from the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Included is general correspondence, gubernatorial proclamations, one pardon, and other materials. This collection has only a portion of the correspondence, as evidenced by much of the alphabet in the correspondents. The location of the other correspondence is unknown.
Arrangement
ArrangementEach series is arranged alphabetically.
OrganizationOrganized into three series: Series I. General correspondence, 1900-1903; Series II. Gubenatorial Proclamations, 1903-1904; Series III. Other materials, 1897-1906.
Contents List
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
- Box 1 Folder 1
General correspondence: Bla, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder 2
General correspondence: Ble-Blo, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder 3
General correspondence: Blu-Bog, 1901-1903
- Box 1 Folder 4
General correspondence: Boh-Bol, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder 5
General correspondence: Bom-Bor, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder 6
General correspondence: Bos-Boz, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder 7
General correspondence: Bra, 1901-1903
- Box 1 Folder 8
General correspondence: Bre, 1900-1902
- Box 1 Folder 9
General correspondence: Bri, 1901-1903
- Box 1 Folder
10
General correspondence: Bro, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
11
General correspondence: Brown, 1900-1902
- Box 1 Folder
12
General correspondence: Bru-Bry, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
13
General correspondence: Bua-Buc, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
14
General correspondence: Bud-Bul, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
15
General correspondence: Bum-Bur, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
16
General correspondence: Bus-Buz, 1900-1902
- Box 1 Folder
17
General correspondence: By, 1902-1903
- Box 1 Folder
18
General correspondence: Caa-Cam, 1900-1901
- Box 1 Folder
19
General correspondence: Can-Car, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
20
General correspondence: Cas-Caz, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
21
General correspondence: Cea-Cez, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
22
General correspondence: Ch, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
23
General correspondence: Ci-Cl, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
24
General correspondence: Clark, Clarke, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
25
General correspondence: Coa-Cok, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
26
General correspondence: Col-Com, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
27
General correspondence: Con, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
28
General correspondence: Coo, 1901-1903
- Box 1 Folder
29
General correspondence: Cop-Cor, 1900-1903
- Box 1 Folder
30
General correspondence: Cos-Coz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 1
General correspondence: Cro, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 2
General correspondence: Cua-Cum, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 3
General correspondence: Cun-Cz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 4
General correspondence: Sm, 1901-1903
- Box 2 Folder 5
General correspondence: Smith, A-Smith, D, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 6
General correspondence: Smith, E-Smith, I, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 7
General correspondence: Smith, J-Smith, N, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder 8
General correspondence: Smith, O-Smith, S, 1901-1903
- Box 2 Folder 9
General correspondence: Smith, T-Smith, Z, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
10
General correspondence: Sn, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
11
General correspondence: So, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
12
General correspondence: Sp, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
13
General correspondence: St (Saint), 1900-1902
- Box 2 Folder
14
General correspondence: Sta, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
15
General correspondence: Ste, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
16
General correspondence: Stevens-Stewart, 1900-1902
- Box 2 Folder
17
General correspondence: Sti-Sto, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
18
General correspondence: Str, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
19
General correspondence: Stu-Sty, 1900-1902
- Box 2 Folder
20
General correspondence: Su, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
21
General correspondence: Sw-Sz, 1901-1903
- Box 2 Folder
22
General correspondence: Taa-Tal, 1900-1902
- Box 2 Folder
23
General correspondence: Tam-Tax, 1901-1903
- Box 2 Folder
24
General correspondence: Tay, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
25
General correspondence: Te, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
26
General correspondence: Tho, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
27
General correspondence: Tia-Til, 1902-1903
- Box 2 Folder
28
General correspondence: Tim-Tiz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
29
General correspondence: Toa-Tol, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
30
General correspondence: Tom-Toz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
31
General correspondence: Tra-Tri, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
32
General correspondence: Tro-Tup, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
33
General correspondence: Tur-Tuz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
34
General correspondence: Tw-Ty, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
35
General correspondence: Ua-Uz, 1900-1903
- Box 2 Folder
36
General correspondence: Va-Vy, 1900-1903
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
- Box 4 Folder 1
Quarantine Proclamation (Cattle), 1904 February 1
- Box 2 Folder
37
Quarantine Proclamation (Cattle), Correspondence, 1904
- Box 2 Folder
38
Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1903 November 11
- Box 4 Folder 2
Woodward back to SC, n.d.
Arranged alphabetically by folder title.
- Box 3 Folder 1
Bond notices for notary publics, by jurisdiction, 1900-1904
- Box 3 Folder 2
Bond notices for state government employees, 1898-1906
- Box 2 Folder
39
Correspondence with state libraries regarding Virginia State Documents, 1904
- Box 3 Folder 3
Pardons: William Kemp, 1897