Henrico Rec & Parks | (804) 501-PARK
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Table of Contents:
- A Letter from Our History Manager
- Henrico's Register of Free Blacks Part 2
- Duntreath Neighborhood
- From the Collection
- History Investigators
- Down on the Farm
- 250th Commemoration
- Rec & Parks App
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A Letter from Our History Manager |
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Greetings!
History is all around us! Sometimes it is obvious with physical landmarks or historic signage. Many times, however, our history hides in plain sight. As public historians, it is incumbent on our staff to uncover and share insights about our complete history. History Investigators is not only a fun family program we provide to our participants but a fundamental approach to all history programs.
For instance, if we examine or investigate the picture of the Varina Basketball Team accompanying the article in the current newsletter we see a group of young men on a high school sports team. We assume they are doing something they enjoy and have a certain athletic ability or skill set. On a deeper dive into when and where this picture was taken, we uncover a much more nuanced and pivotal story. The team in the picture is racially integrated, which is something we are used to seeing in school yearbooks today. However, in 1967, when this picture was taken Henrico schools were not fully integrated. The African American students in this picture would have been among the first Black students to attend Varina High School. The story of the “Varina Eleven” is told in the Henrico Public Relations and Media Services production entitled “Desegregation: Integration of Henrico Public Schools.” The producers of this 2017 video spoke to alumni and education staff who witnessed firsthand the difficulties and challenges faced by these courageous students.
For the article “Free on Paper” staff was able to trace information about a free Black woman named Amanda through the medical records of John Mosby Sheppard at Meadow Farm. These medical accounts have typically been studied to determine various treatments and medical practices of the era. On a more thorough examination of these volumes, history staff can learn about the community Dr. Sheppard served, which included free Blacks prior to the Civil War. So often when it comes to history less documented, like that of the enslaved population, revisiting sources and digging deeper will help to uncover a hidden history.
Discovering the hidden histories all around us only enhances our understanding of the community in which we live. So next time you are driving, biking, or walking in your neighborhood ask yourself “What is the significance of this street name?” How and why was it chosen? What does it tell us about the people who resided here years ago? Like the citizens of the Duntreath neighborhood, you may discover a connection to an ancient Scottish castle. Regardless of where you travel or settle down, remember there were others who came before you and left an impression and only those with investigating minds can reveal those hidden stories of our past.
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Sincerely,
Kim Sicola
Recreation Manager, History Programs
Henrico Recreation and Parks
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Free on Paper
Henrico's Register of Free Blacks Part 2
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By Lisa Denton
Recreation Coordinator II, History Programs
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*Author’s Note: See the end of the article for further explanation.
In our previous newsletter edition, we offered an introduction to free Blacks in Henrico and documents known as the Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes that provided unique information about the non-enslaved African American residents before 1865. In part 2, the story continues with an in-depth look at some individual stories using information gleaned from the register. When combined with other primary sources this information can provide examples of a richer and more complete story of the experience of a few free Black individuals and families in Henrico County.
Cornett’s Story
Edward Cornett had a rather unique status explaining how he was free. He was recorded as having a white mother. In total, Henrico’s register noted 14 free Black individuals whose status was “born of a white woman,” one of whom was Cornett, who registered twice in the 1850s while in his twenties. The 1850 federal census of Henrico County listed Cornett as belonging to a household in which a white woman, Elizabeth Lucas, was recorded as the head. Also in the household were three teenagers – Elizabeth (17), Amanda (12), and Edward (18) Lucas – all indicated with the race “mulatto.”
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In this 1850 census entry, Elizabeth Lucas is listed as head of household, and the four other occupants carry her surname -- except for Edward Cornett. |
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1854 Henrico County “Register of Free Negroes” entry listing Edward Cornett as “born free of a white woman.” |
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1859 Henrico County “Register of Free Negroes” entry listing Edward Cornett as “born free of a white woman.” |
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Another layer of information about this family is contained in the Meadow Farm Sheppard papers (1770-1980) in our Henrico County archives. Dr. John M. Sheppard lived and practiced medicine in the Glen Allen community of Henrico during the antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras. His financial medical account books for twenty-nine years of his practice (1845-1874) survive and have been the subject of a more recent, ongoing research project. Alone, these books are a good source of information on a 19th-century country doctor’s practice; but when reexamined through the lens of local history and genealogy, they become a vital source of information about the enslaved community. A few free Black individuals appeared in Dr. Sheppard’s account books, including an account holder by the name of Ned Cornet in 1846. “Ned,” as many might know, is a common nickname for Edward. Ned paid Dr. Sheppard to treat a child named Amanda. Amanda Cornet appears later in the account books as an adult patient receiving treatment from Dr. Sheppard in 1864. |
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Ned Cornet paid for the services of Dr. Sheppard to treat two children: Amanda and Ned. |
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Over twenty years later, Amanda Cornet, now an adult, paid for the services of Dr. Sheppard.
Dr. Sheppard Medical Account Books, 1845-1874, Henrico County Meadow Farm Museum Collection
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Henrico’s register included one entry for Amanda Lucas in 1863. The clerk recorded her age as 26 years old, which matches the estimated birth year for the Amanda Lucas in the 1850 census. The register described her as “a bright mulatto woman.” The clerk only recorded, however, that she was born free and did not identify her as having a white mother. There is evidence that Edward Cornett Sr. fathered at least one child, Edward Jr., and possibly the two girls, Amanda and Elizabeth, with Elizabeth Lucas.
The Brown Family’s Journey
The registers also provided insight into individuals who were in the process of being emancipated. I accidentally discovered the story of Caroline Brown through a Facebook post featuring an antebellum house for sale in Columbus, Ohio. It mentioned that Ms. Brown had been born into slavery in Henrico and had been freed. Immediately intrigued, I decided to see what further information I could find. When John D. Brown died in early 1848, he specifically mentioned a Caroline in his will as “his woman,” leaving her a curtained bedstead. He also specified that Caroline and her two children, Edward and Constantia, were to be freed and the money generated from the estate sale be used to relocate them to Ohio. While Brown does not specifically claim the two children as his own, the fact that he mentioned them in his will could indicate that they were his children. By the time of his death, Brown owned twenty-seven other enslaved people belonging to three family groups, according to the will inventory made by his executors. He did not free any of these other enslaved individuals in his will. In fact, he permitted them to be auctioned for the estate sale, which ironically contributed to the funding used to send Caroline and her children to a non-slaveholding state.
During this process, it was unclear to us what documents might mention the Browns. Would they be documented in the “Register of Free Negroes”? A search of the transcription provided a quick answer – YES! In November 1851, Caroline, Edward, and Constantia still resided in Virginia. Exactly why they remained in the Commonwealth remains a mystery since Brown’s will specifically mentions that freedom would be granted upon Constantia’s 18th birthday. If Constantia’s birth year of 1830 is correct, then she would have turned 18 in 1848 – the year Brown died. Yet, they did not register in the years 1848-1850. Why? They did register in 1851 and Constantia was recorded as 21 years old. In addition, Virginia law required a formerly enslaved person who had been emancipated to petition the General Assembly for permission to remain in the state with their free status. Did they slip through some legal loophole due to a delay? Did it take longer for the estate sale proceeds to be paid? Brown’s executors did extend some credit, six to eighteen months, to buyers of the estate property. Was proof of debts paid required and paperwork submitted to the courts before Caroline, Edward, and Constantia would be granted freedom officially? Or was the delay due to executors working to finalize details for land and housing in Ohio?
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Several enslaved people, one of whom is a woman named Caroline, are listed in John D. Brown’s inventory of estate taken after his death.
Henrico County Will Book 12, p. 28. Local Government Records Collection, Henrico County Court Records. The Library of Virginia.
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The register described Caroline Brown as “a woman of a light brown complexion,” but Edward and Constantia were even lighter in skin color. This lends support to the argument that their father may have been a white man.
Henrico County (Va.) Registers of Free Negroes, 1831-1865. Local government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
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While this emancipation story appears to be straightforward when compiling all the documents – from census, will, and estate papers, to entries in the register – the evidence indicates it was anything but simple. One can only imagine the frustration and anxiety the Browns felt knowing they were free, but not fully free while stuck in Virginia. Perhaps they endured mixed emotions of leaving the familiar, while also feeling eager to welcome a fresh start as fully free individuals and as a family unit.
The Project Continues…
Even though the transcription is complete, the project is far from finished and there is so much more to learn. One of the more time-consuming aspects will be to match registers of individuals who appeared more than once. We plan to continue to research individuals to learn more about the lives of free Black people in Henrico. Another aspect of the project will include data analysis of various categories ranging from average height, oldest and youngest individuals, and tracking trends in when and how many registered. We will also collect data on aspects such as the movement of individuals in and out of the county and the vocabulary used to describe hair or skin color. These categories could prove useful to compare these registers with other localities to provide a more complete interpretation of the lives of free Black individuals in Virginia.
*Author’s Note: Portions of this article originally appeared as a post for the Library of Virginia Uncommonwealth blog. Since the blog article was part of an ongoing series on the top, it lacked context and explanation which would help readers understand more about this type of document, which only in recent years become more well-known among historians, genealogists, and researchers.
The author and staff at the Library of Virginia (LVA) have initiated a partnership to allow for future collaboration among staff to share information and establish a network of researchers across the state who are the leading local experts on the registers. One important aspect is to help those interested in these types of resources contribute to our knowledge even faster by providing transcription tutorial workshops, transcribe-a-thons, and encouraging the public to participate in the crowd-sourced transcription of free registers and related documents at their platform which can be found at: https://fromthepage.com/lva/#
After these crowd-sourced transcriptions are completed by the public, they are reviewed by LVA archivists, then the documents are transferred to a searchable database that anyone can use at Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative
For upcoming transcription workshops at LVA please visit their online calendar.
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Summer 2023 - Transcription Workshop
Henrico Recreation & Parks plans to host a transcription workshop with our colleagues at Henrico Public Library, so stay tuned!
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By Mary Ann Soldano, County Planner I |
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As the citizens of Richmond continued to move west into Henrico County, suburban development began as families subdivided property that had formerly been working farms or large estates. In 1911, the Regester family established The Duntreath Corporation. Samuel Register (1857-1940), a Richmond lawyer and prominent businessman acquired this property and additional land from 1902-1904, amassing 72 acres. He was an alumni of the University of Maryland and Richmond College and began to practice law in Richmond in 1895. Samuel Register is buried in Hollywood Cemetery.
Regester began building his residence in 1905 and named it Duntreath Farm. The name “Duntreath” comes from Samuel Regester’s wife Ada Edmonstone Regester’s ancestry, where the Edmonstone family ancestral home in Scotland is called Duntreath Castle. Additional roads in the subdivision, Edmonstone Road, and Regester Parkway also reflect the family connection.
It was advertised as “The Duntreath Plateau” in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 1919 and again in 1923, and described to have a view “of unusual breadth and beauty”. Today, this neighborhood’s boundaries are generally viewed as Horsepen Road, Three Chopt, Glenside Drive, Patterson Avenue, and Stillwell Road. Monument Avenue bisects the neighborhood.
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By 1915, the Board of Directors for the Corporation filed a recorded plat in the Clerk’s office for Duntreath subdivision “A” and in 1916, filed the recorded plat for subdivision “B.” The Corporation transferred 37 lots in the plan of Duntreath to S. Parke Regester, Samuel Regester's son. This same year, the Henrico Board of Supervisors abolished the road name “Horsepen” and changed the name to “Duntreath Road”. By 1933, the name of the road was changed back to Horsepen as seen on a plat of the area. |
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The home of Samuel Regester was within the subdivision on block 11 in Subdivision B. Joseph Dunn purchased the property in 1920 from the Duntreath Corporation. The property changed hands from 1945-1951 when it was purchased by the East Hanover Presbytery. The Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church began meeting for services in 1952, in the former home built by Samuel Regester. A new sanctuary, known as Wilson Hall, was erected in 1953. The church has undergone additional expansions from 1956-1994. The Regester home was demolished ca. 1977. |
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Regester home (built 1906) Sunday service |
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Congregation meeting in Regester home |
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The community clubs through the 1940s and 50s included the Duntreath Garden Club and the Duntreath Community Association. The view from the plateau no longer exists, however, the present-day Duntreath subdivision is a well-established neighborhood that features mostly midsize homes in a conveniently located area of Richmond. |
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By Bryce Stanley
Senior Historic Preservation Specialist
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When considering donations to our museum collection, one of our top priorities is that the items have direct ties to Henrico County. This Varina High School varsity jacket exemplifies everything that we could look for in a donation.
When Mr. Charles Foldesi retired in 2020, after 45 years of service working for Henrico County, he decided that his years of civil service weren’t enough. Mr. Foldesi continued his spirit of giving by donating his Varina property and childhood home to the county, suggesting that the property be used for affordable housing.
This jacket was found amongst Mr. Foldesi’s belongings in his former home. Both Charles and his brother, Leslie, graduated from Varina, ’70 and ’68, respectively, and they were both involved in managing several sports teams.
While only a small part of the Foldesi legacy, we are honored to accept this donation and look forward to using it to help us preserve and tell the ongoing story of Henrico County.
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By Bob Lehr
Recreation Coordinator, History Programs
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If you ask the average 8 to 12-year-old if they want to go to a small history museum or take a tour of a historic house, what do you think their answer would be? Some kids may think it is a fate worse than school. Imagine a group of children in a somber procession through a historic house with items they think don’t have any connection to them or to modern times. Not exactly inspiring, is it?
We decided to see if we could come up with a program that would make a visit to a historic house a little bit more fun and still a little bit educational, although we don’t make that part obvious. Really, what kid wants to learn something during the weekend?
Our goal was to figure out a way to incorporate a few things children love to do while they visit one of our historic sites. This age group still loves to play pretend, hide and seek, and go on treasure hunts.
These ideas led to the creation of the History Investigators, a program for youth where history is discovered in a fun way. We have ten locations across the county where our investigators meet throughout the year. The locations span the county from the Deep Run Schoolhouse in the west to the Dorey Recreation Center in the east.
Each participant that is enrolled in a History Investigators program becomes a detective. Detectives on their first assignment receive their detective badge. When we meet at one of our locations, each detective receives a dossier with their objectives for the day. In the dossier are 12-15 pictures and a set of directions.
The first objective is to find pictures of objects or architectural features at the historic site. The goal is not only to find the item but also to identify what it is or how it is used. Sometimes it is obvious, but we try to find things that children may not be able to immediately identify.
A key feature of this program is that an adult must participate with the child. Most of the time it is the parent, but we have had grandparents, other relatives, or even caretakers participate. Each detective unit (child and adult) goes at their own pace and direction looking for the objects. We encourage the adults to not tell the child where the objects are but give them clues if they cannot find an object. Occasionally, we will overhear a conversation between a child and an adult discussing what an object is once they find it. Sometimes the parents will mention that they or their parents had that item when they were growing up, which creates for the child a connection to the objects. They also begin to realize that items in the historic homes are not really that different from what we have today, mainly due to technological advances.
When the team is stumped, we ask the detective to look at the picture - identify colors, textures, materials, and even the background to help them to think about what the object could be and where it may be. Sometimes the group gets a good laugh when they realize they passed by the object several times. There have also been a few times when even the adults are not familiar with an item, so it becomes an educational opportunity for the entire group.
The second objective is to find four to five small boxes that are temporarily hidden around the property. In the folder is a set of directions to find those boxes. Sometimes the directions are easy to follow, sometimes they may be a little tricky to follow or figure out. One short and tricky clue starts at the front door of the Deep Run Schoolhouse. The clue is simply ‘Where can you run home?’ Once you figure it out, you can go to that location to find the box. Once they find each box, they are able to take out a sticker of a picture related to the site.
The benefits of the program are numerous. We get families out to our historic sites to spend some time together and have some fun. The discussions that occur between the staff and families and between the parents and children are entertaining and enlightening. While the kids may not get a full history lesson, they always leave with memories of fun and learning about our past.
To find out more information about the History Investigators and other recreation programs, visit our website and click on Program Guide or Program Registration.
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Welcome BAAAAAACK to the farm, everybody! It’s me again, Tuckahoe. You can just call me “Tuck” though, most people do. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write down my thoughts on paper. I usually just say everything out loud, but it’s nice to every now and then write things out. My family and I have been very busy on the farm. It’s springtime, so you know what that means…it’s time to cut the grass!! We’re spending most days shifting from pasture to pasture to pasture performing some regular lawn trimming. It also means days are getting warmer, so it’s time for us to put away our winter coats. By the time you read this, our Animal Care friends will have already trimmed “a little off the top,” and we’ll be sporting our summer beach bods! Just in time for our first-ever Farm Field Day celebration on May 6 at Meadow Farm! From 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., there’s going to be all kinds of stuff going on! I’ve been told there will be local craftsmen and vendors showing off their work, a fun zone for little humans, a food truck (I wonder if they will have hay…), and even music!! Oh boy, it sounds like so much fun…I hope they let me go!
My sister Varina and I have been watching the staff at the farm really close lately…they’ve been up to some really weird stuff… One day I saw two of my animal keepers walking around with a bunch of rocks. I’m not really sure what they were going to do with them. But then they put them on a table and little human kids kept coming up to the table. I tried to yell over to them, “You can’t eat rocks,” but they just couldn’t understand! The kids would come up, work on the rocks for a while, then walk away. I heard someone say, “We’re rocking the flock,” but I’m not exactly sure what that means. It’s just a rock with paint on it.
Then another day, I saw the history people out there with a wooden wheel that just kept spinning! There was a ball of wool from my haircut and next thing I know, it was in a long string! Then there was another ball of wool from my sister’s haircut that they put in a big pot. It sat in there for a while, but when they took it out, it was a different color…I was baaaaaffled! Do humans do that with their hair after they get a haircut? Sometimes I just think humans are a strange breed.
Speaking of breeds, did you know my flock and I are members of what’s considered a Heritage Breed? We are Gulf Coast Native Sheep. That means we are directly related to the flocks of Spanish sheep brought to North America in the 1500s! Isn’t that cool?!? That brings a whole new meaning to Spanish American Heritage Month for us! I just thought that was a cool fact to know and I wanted to share it with you.
Oh, and we’ve been helping out a lot with the school programs on the farm, you could even say we are great baaaackups for the programs! The kids try to talk to us, but not many know how to speak sheep with a Spanish accent, because you know, English is really our second language. But I see kids from all over Henrico County coming every week. I think the staff told me that for some of them, it’s their very first field trip!
Keep a lookout for programs happening at the farm…but before I forget! The July 4th celebration is happening at Meadow Farm again this year! I’ve been told that there are going to be a few surprises at the event this year, someone said there will even be people in costume. I’m not exactly sure what that means but I’m ready to find out!!
-Tuck, the Sheep
Translated by Julian Charity, Division Director
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THE BRITISH ARE COMING!
Can you say Semiquincentennial? If not, start practicing!
The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and the establishment of our nation is approaching. National, state, and local groups are already underway to brainstorm, discuss, and plan ways to acknowledge these anniversaries. Our history staff is working diligently to lay the groundwork for Henrico County’s commemorative activities. We will be partnering with libraries, schools, public history sites, experts, and community organizations to develop an inclusive and diverse story of the county’s role during this important landmark in our history.
While each state and locality will have its time frame of events to emphasize, Henrico aims to begin programming in 2024 and continue through 2031. Our programs and events will focus on the people, places, and events from that time period in both Henrico and Virginia that contributed to the efforts to break away from Great Britain.
We would like to hear from you about what you envision our 250th commemorative efforts to include. Please consider completing a short survey (only 5 questions) to help us plan activities during these important years which will help us recognize our ancestors’ achievements and inspire us to strive to be a nation with liberty and justice for all.
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From parks and facilities to events and programs, this is your on-the-go guide to fun. The app also includes our historic sites, markers, and programs!
Features:
- Discover parks and facilities across Henrico County
- View amenities by map overlay or list
- Find playgrounds, shelters, trails, and more
- Filter and search by what’s important to you
- Learn about (and even register for) programs and events
- Earn badges as you take on exciting challenges
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Henrico Rec & Parks | (804) 501-PARK
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