Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Secretary of Commonwealth. Records, 1847-1894. Accession 36143, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transfer information unavailable.

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 gubernatorial 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. Currently the Secretary of the Commonwealth is responsible for gubernatorial appointments, clemency and restoration of civil rights requests and extraditions. Additional activities include: serving as ex officio Secretary to the Governor; serving as 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 lobbyists, 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

Records, 1847-1894, including certificates, correspondence, and petitions of the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth. The bulk of the collection are applications for military exemptions from justices of the peace and other office holders, 1864, sent to Governor William Smith and the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Also included are various letters requesting copies of Virginia law books and an opinion of the attorney general, 1847-1894.

Applications for military exemptions, 1864, include letters to Governor William Smith (1864-1865) requesting exemption and stating the reasons why, often including health and ages of the applicants. The letters also often include replies from Governor Smith exempting the person or rejecting the application. Also included are election certifications, petitions from citizens supporting the exemption requests, and letters of support for exemption. Most of the exemptions were requested by justices of the peace, but also included were requests from attorneys, directors of the Overseers of the Poor, doctors, sheriffs, alderman, bank workers, inspectors of tobacco, commissioners of revenue, and court clerks, among others.

The collection also includes miscellaneous folders of information of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Includes correspondence, 1847-1894, requesting copies of Virginia election laws and forms by local clerk's offices; miscellaneous statistics; and several notes and statements regarding slavery and the Civil War. Also included is an opinion from John Randolph Tucker, Attorney General of Virginia, 5 December 1857, regarding the contract between Virginia and Thomas Crawford, sculptor of the Washington Monument in Richmond, Virginia. At issue was a disagreement about who owed the brig Walborg money for the unlading of the monument.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.