Studies of genealogy and history are seldom "finished."  There are new
discoveries waiting to be made if only the person who needs the material can
learn about its existence and find a copy.  

My family had been looking, for at least three decades, for any court
documents or letters revealing the final action of a lawsuit a family member
undertook in 1790s against his original employer for the balance of the
funds he believed owed to him.  We had some initial documents describing the
suit, but the last known reference was a letter noting that the "suit has
not yet come to trial."  We had searched the local courthouse records
several times with no luck. 

But thanks to the Library of Virginia's acquisition efforts, the diligence
of county court personnel who kept these papers (though we couldn't find
them when looking there before the transfer), and the professionalism of
Library staff who have recently written a very accurate summary with all
pertinent names and posted it in the Library's online archives catalog, we
now have a copy of the court's case file!  

It was better than we even hoped.  It gives the history of the dispute and
arbitration, reveals the names of the attorneys and witnesses, and (because
it was key to the dispute) contains my ancestor's original 1773 indenture
written in Italian!!!  

My compliments go to the LVA professional Archivists who prepared the file
and summary and preserved/treated the most fragile document (the indenture),
and also to the very professional staff in the Archives room who helped me
with the file and copies on Saturday.  As other resources are revealed
through the Library's enhanced online finding aids, who knows what
discoveries might await?

Rosanna Bencoach
Richmond

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