The Latest News for You!

Volume 14, Issue 1

January 2023

Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

Newsletter

A place that loses its history loses its soul.

Message From The Chairperson

As we've passed through the holiday season, there are so many traditions in our communities and families. Maybe you think of where those came from, or who started them. Have they evolved? Maybe some things are irregular, others can't be missed. As I made Eggnog this year, I reflected, as always, on the life of my 2nd Great-Grandmother, whose recipe I still use. I'm thrilled to have it, although it's a copy I wrote, not HER original. (Also thrilled that it's so tasty!) But I always wish I knew more. Where did she get it from? Was it from her family in Delaware & Pennsylvania? She married in 1858 and a few years later came to Spotsylvania, did it come with her? Or was it from a friend in this area? Or maybe a magazine? Also, she lived until 1900, so maybe it's more recent?

As with so many things I wonder, it led me down a Rabbit Hole, thinking of the work required for eggnog before the electric mixer! Some of the first hand mixers were invented when Jane would have been a young woman, but they likely weren't standard in home kitchens for many years later. It's so understandable that this would be a seasonal delicacy, because the work would have been extraordinary! And although they lived in Philadelphia in 1860, by mid-1861 they were in Spotsylvania and very likely held enslaved people, so perhaps that work fell to someone who didn't even get to enjoy the result.

It seems there's always more to learn, more information to search for. For now, an Eggnog Toast to the New Year, and for the discoveries that will be made. The Heritage Center is here to help you with discoveries. Maybe we hold the answer, or maybe we provide more questions!

Cheers!

Florence Barnick

Chairperson

Get to Know Us

Board Member - Wallace Morton

I am the fifth generation to have lived on our family farm near Post Oak in Spotsylvania County. I now live in King George, but still raise angus cattle on the farm.

My grandmother was Maria Herndon and the farm was established by her grandfather, Alexander Herndon, in 1821. My interest began in the 1950s when an aunt gave me a giant family tree where she had researched our ancestry back to the time of Sir William Wallace in Scotland. My grandmother was born in 1889 and grew up on Civil War stories by those who lived them. She relayed stories to me, such as “take the horses into the woods, the Yankees are coming”.

My great grandfather, Jeremiah Morton, moved from Culpeper to a nearby farm in 1885. He had served as a hospital steward in Lynchburg during the Civil War and left behind numerous letters and poems he had written. I have studied these and numerous letters written to and from my grandmother in the early 1900s, along with her diary. About 30 years ago I started recording my family history in “Reunion” using my Mac computer.

When the Heritage Center was still in a warehouse I went in search of information on “Penny’s Tavern” which was located on the corner of our farm in the 1800s. The VA State Highway Department was preparing to widen and straighten the highway that would cut off the corner of my field. I was greeted by the Heritage Center founder, Tony Kent, who located some related information.

In 2010 I was asked to serve on the BOD to replace a member from King George who had resigned. I decided that I should volunteer at the Center so that I would know something about the operation and served as an active volunteer until COVID hit. I did document processing, data entry, and other odd jobs and have served on the BOD a number of times.

I graduated from UVA in 1959 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a Navy commission as Ensign. I served three years active duty on the carrier Oriskany on the West Coast, then 18 years in the Navy Reserve and retired as a Commander. After several years in California and Ohio I returned to a civil service job at NSWC, Dahlgren where I retired after 30 years. I worked in ship missile defense with tasks in warhead and explosive test and development.

From the Archives

The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of infants. This practice carried over into the Colonies, and became a part of our legal system.

The collections at the Center contain a wide variety of court records. Among these are the Chancery Court records for Caroline County. In many instances following the death of an individual no agreed settlement could be reached among the heirs. In other instances, due to default of payment, the court would order a sale of property. These actions such as the one below still occur. These records give us glimpse into the past.

MANY THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS

2022 HERITAGE CENTER SPONSORS & CORPORATE MEMBERS

Deborah Baker

Barbara Hicks Cecil

Jim and Betsy Greene

Mary Katherine Greenlaw

Lucy Harman

Donations for Center Operations

Donald H. and Beverly Newlin

The Josiah P. Rowe III Family Legacy Fund

The Forbush Family Trust

The Hon. J. M. H.Willis

It's that time! Please become a 2023 sponsor! Corporate and private contributions are welcomed! Help us continue to save our history!

To become a Heritage Center Sponsor, please visit our website. If you have any questions, please contact The Heritage Center at (540) 373-3704.

Collections Update

A jigsaw puzzle contains many pieces. To highlight this, recently we noticed an archival record that appeared to need some "fleshing out" in the database. There was scant information as to who, what, or where. We pulled the document, which was a 1934 blueprint involving road improvements on the highway then known as Rt. 1.

Being skeptical at first as to the excitement level of such a document, I tried to move on but another staffer persisted and noticed recorded information such as "Historical Marker", " gas station", and an "old road".

Convinced, I assisted her in uncovering as much as we could about the location of the proposed road work and other pieces of the puzzle that lay in various archival records.

The location was uncovered by noticing on the print an area where the "Ny" River crossed the highway. The next easy step was to go online and look at the area in relative real time. It showed nothing but woods. Even the historical marker was nonexsistent. All traces of the areas past had been eliminated.

We thought to examine the 1937 aerial photographs of Spotsylvania County and from these could see multiple buildings in that location.

By happenstance, we dug up a photograph that was referencing the Flood of '42. Surprisingly, one of the photographs showed the flooded Ni River at that same location with the orientation being north. Clearly shown was the historical marker and an Esso Gas Station. This is why we stress the importance of all records, because the unintended information they may contain is sometimes equal to or greater than the intended focus of that record.

We then pulled the two reference books from the library listing historic markers in the state, and after a few minutes of searching located the marker. (Burnside crossed the Ny).

Next, we will check the directories, as they often provide names, locations, and occupations, especially the older volumes. That may yield some names, providing a stronger link to our collective past.

We will never drive by that area again and not think back to another time. A place that loses its history...

Please remember that we are always accepting collections. Contact me at jreifenberg@crhcarchives.org for more information. Your contributions are important!

Thank you for your interest in the Center's collections.

John Reifenberg

Collections Manager

The Heritage Center gladly provides research services. Please contact The Center for research requests and rates at contact@crhcarchives.org

Hours

Open by Appointment.

Location

900 Barton Street #111

Fredericksburg, VA

22401

(540) 373-3704