The men and women who maintain Henry County’s archives have spent the last several years fighting back against the universal enemy of recordkeeping both public and private: time.
From damp basements to dust-ridden offices with minimal climate control, important documents are relegated to less-than-optimal spaces for storage and become susceptible to a litany of dangers.
In Henry County, a pair of rooms in the clerk’s suite of offices hide a trove of county history that is in danger of crumbling.
Jennifer Ashworth, the county’s clerk of court, is among those trying to do something about it.
“I think it’s my responsibility to do everything I can to protect the records for future generations,” Ashworth said.
Ashworth joined the office in 2016. In 2023, she and her staff took on the task of preserving records after discovering old documents her predecessor, Vickie Helmstutler, had set aside.
“These documents were rediscovered, it’s not like I found them for the first time,” Ashworth said. “The previous clerk had them in a box secured and safe in a vault. As we were cleaning the vault out, I came across this box with all this stuff. Instead of putting them back in there, I got a grant to have them preserved and protected.”
The award was the Library of Virginia’s Circuit Court Records Preservation Grant, which totaled $18,869.
Those documents — one of which was signed by Thomas Jefferson — kicked off the office’s preservation efforts.
“It’s very technical and precise,” Ashworth said, describing some of the preservation processes used by North Carolina-based HF Group and other third-party companies she makes use of.
“They deacidify it,” Ashworth said. “Sometimes over the years people try and put tape on them to hold them together. Apparently that’s a bad thing to do but nobody knew it back then. They strip the paper and apply some other preservation substance.”
Document lamination, cleaning, and copying are some of the methods used to preserve some of the oldest documents.
For Ashworth and her staff, preservation entails more than just the physical.
“The goal was to … possibly put in protective sleeves and put in new binders and books,” Ashworth said. “Also have them digitized so they would be available to different entities online.”
The advent of computers and digital recordkeeping has revolutionized the very old science of record preservation. Creating digital records not only backs up old documents, it allows for staff and residents alike to easily find them.
“We had spoken with some people from VDOT and they mentioned how helpful it would be to them when they are on the road,” Ashworth said, specifically about documents detailing the county’s streets. “You know people from VDOT, if they were busy on a job they would be able to see it on their phone instead of physically having to come here to the courthouse.”
Ashworth said she wants to digitize the complete archives and make documents available for all to see.
“That is my goal, that is my goal to work with the county,” Ashworth said, comparing the effort to making GIS maps publicly available.
So far, deed books dating back to the 1700s have been preserved in this manner. Some of the work they have completed can be found via the state’s Secure Remote Access portal.
’Til death do us part
Archives can be a treasure trove of peculiar laws, either no longer on the books or no longer enforceable in good faith — like one describing how weddings used to be handled in Henry County.
Documents detail how couples made use of marriage bonds to ensure the governor that a marriage was going to take place. If, for whatever reason, a marriage did not occur, that money was forfeited to the state along with an additional penalty.
“This is interesting to me, in 1841, the father of the bride would have to give permission,” Ashworth said.
Historical finds
And then there’s the land grant signed by Jefferson — “not something you see on a regular basis,” she said.
“We have documents where the king had given the land [to establish] Henry County,” Ashworth said.
According to the document, the initial land grant consisted of 343 acres in Pittsylvania County and was awarded to George Taylor. Henry County would eventually emerge from these 343 acres, Ashworth said. Later, another land grant from Jefferson would add 254 acres to the county.
Ashworth wants to make these and other historically important documents available to the public. She said those who visit the clerk’s office can have copies made at the same cost as printing a paper — 50 cents a page.
“The originals are kept in the vault but I want to have copies made for displays so the public would be able to view them,” Ashworth said.
Among this collection are documents that provide a snapshot of the beginnings of Henry County.
The Register of Colored Persons Cohabitating Together as Husband and Wife is one such document. While the originals of these books are kept at the Library of Virginia, Henry County has a pair of copies.
“It has the name of the husband, the age, where they were born, where they live now, their occupation, who their last owner was, where that person lived and the name of their wife,” Ashworth said about the books dated 1866. “This is an important book; it has tons of history here.”
Ashworth said finding these kinds of historically significant pieces is part of what makes the job interesting. While this kind of preservation work isn’t necessarily part of her job, she believes she has a responsibility to the past and the future.
“I just take great pride and responsibility to do what I can to protect the records,” Ashworth said.