The Library of Virginia has awarded Mathews County Circuit Court Clerk Angie Ingram a Virginia Circuit Court Records Preservation Program grant in the amount of $35,785.

The funds will be used to conserve marriage license records contained in four volumes, covering the years 1895 to 1921. They will also be digitized so they can be made available to the public through the clerk’s online records management system, said a press release.

“We’re very excited,” said Ingram in the release. “These records are the history of our county! We have an obligation to make sure that they are available for future generations.”

In her application, Ingram said that the licenses, which were once 11” by 17” but were reduced to 7” by 13” in 1912, were folded in half, folded again, and “bundled tightly in several manila pockets.” Some of the items in certain years contain splits or tears along the seams, and some have surface soiling.

“Folded items are extremely brittle,” she said. “Some items c...