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Dr. James Edgar Chancellor
James Edgar Chancellor (UVA Library Special Collections) He was the youngest child born to George and Ann Chancellor of Chancellorsville, arriving on January 26, 1826. He received every benefit a...
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Three Who Rode to War
Vespasian Chancellor (National Park Service, with thanks to Tom Myers) Over a span of 21 years, Reverend Melzi Chancellor and his wife, Lucy, had 10 children together. Of their five sons,...
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Chancellor & Rawlings
M. S. Chancellor, "The Farmer's Store," 1927 (Library of Congress) Two young men, each born in Spotsylvania County in the mid-nineteenth century, came to Fredericksburg, where they made their mark...
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The Funeral of Fannie Kent Row
Fannie Kent. Richmond, Virginia, early 1900s My grandmother died just shy of her 99th birthday in October 1982. Her death, and the effect her funeral had on me, moved me to write of my impressions...
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Goshen School
Here are several photographs of the old Goshen School taken between 1895 and 1919. The school was located on the corner of Gordon and Brock Roads, opposite Goshen Church. You can see that the...
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William George White and the Funeral of Robert E. Lee
William George White My great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Houston (the subject of numerous posts on this blog), was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia in 1854 to George Washington Houston...
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Little Falls School
Little Falls School, 1959 (Stafford County Museum) During the spring and early summer of 1917, a new two-room school house was built in Stafford County on River Road (modern Route 3), a few miles...
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Book Signing Event Scheduled for June 29
I will be attending a book signing next week in Orange County, Virginia. This event will be held on June 29, 2016 at 2 p.m. at the Lake of the Woods Clubhouse, 205 Lakeview Parkway. I encourage...
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To Be a Slave
The Virginia Herald, June 10, 1829 Today I write my 160th article for Spotsylvania Memory. By now, those of you who have followed my blog over the past five years, as well as those who have read my...
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"Bullets flew about me like hailstones"
Cecil Amander Burleigh (cecilsletters.com) During the past two years, I have been part of a team of volunteers who transcribe documents from the archives of the Library of Virginia. This...
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"To hear the shout of victory, before I die"
Letter of John Winn Moseley to his mother, July 4, 1863 (Library of Virginia) In the course of transcribing documents for the Library of Virginia, I am fortunate to come across a number of writings...
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Book signing event December 10
The National Park Service has announced that I will be appearing at joint book signing event with author John Cummings at the visitors center's book store in Fredericksburg, Virginia on Saturday,...
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Dr. John Duerson Pulliam
Newlyweds: John and Lucy Pulliam, 1861 (CH) Every so often I am privileged to come across a collection of photographs relating to one of Spotsylvania's historic families. Such a stroke of good...
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"They would have him dead or alive"
Beechwood today (Vickie Neely) One of the facets of Spotsylvania's history that does not always receive the attention it merits is the story of those who remained loyal to the United States during...
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"During the war, the girls saw sights"
Hawkins sisters, 1866 (American Antiquarian Society) On May 2, 1863, the Hawkins family had front row seats to the opening act of one of the greatest military successes of the Civil War. The...
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The Chancellors Revealed
Melzi Chancellor and family, 1866 (American Antiquarian Society) Last week, I discovered two photographs in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society that I believe show Reverend Melzi...
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The Story Behind the Portrait
A mother with Lucy Matilda Trigg and Susan "Sudie" Stephens (American Antiquarian Society)Label on the reverse of the photo above (American Antiquarian Society) In April 1866, Dr. Reed Bontecou...
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"Since the war, I have been fighting them politically"
This is the second in a series about the experience of two families, the Armstrongs and the Colemans, who left their homes and settled in Spotsylvania County before the Civil War. For those of you who...
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Dr. John Samuel Apperson
Dr. John Samuel Apperson (Virginia Tech Imagebase) "February 2, 1859. This morning was one of uncommon interest to me. I arose early and prepared myself to leave, for where, I hardly know" [1]. So...
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The Adventists Come to Screamersville
Arrival of Adventists at Screamersville, early 1900s (Vickie Neely) This is the final installment of a three-part series that details the singular and epic experience of the Armstrongs and...
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