Author Archives: cvgaboard

Volunteer Has Come Forward To Fill Position of CVGA President

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GREAT NEWS! WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT! Susan Lindsay has volunteered to serve as CVGA president. Thank you, Susan!

In my previous message in the Fall 2019 issue of Central Virginia Heritage, I announced that I will be leaving the position of president at the end of 2019. In that message I also made a plea to the membership for someone to step up and volunteer to serve as the next president. As I write this message in November 2019, no one has yet come forth. Since the office of president must be filled for the association to continue operating, I have agreed to serve as acting president through February 2020, giving us two more months to find a candidate. If no candidate comes forward, CVGA will be faced with the prospect of dissolution. Our bylaws state that the term of office is one year. Please consider serving a one-year term as president of CVGA.

— Acting President Patricia Lukas

December 7, 2019: Ancestor Show and Tell

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This month we are having an “Ancestor Show and Tell”. Bring something that has a special meaning to you as a family historian and if you like, tell us about it: who it belonged to, what it means to you and where it came from. It could be a handmade item, such as a quilt or a doily, a dish or a doll with a special significance, a family scrapbook or family bible, or even an exciting, unexpected document that you have found.

NOTE: We will treat your special items as museum pieces and ask that no one touches anything without your permission.

NOTE: THE TIME OF THIS MEETING IS 10am to 12 noon.
The meeting will take place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The address of the Church is 1275 Timberwood Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. It is located on the corner of Airport Road and Timberwood. Coming from U.S. 29, the entrance is on the right (north) side of Airport Road immediately before you reach the church. Drive to the back of the building where you will see the entrance to the Family History Center.

Central Virginia Heritage v.35 no.4 (Winter 2019) Now Available!

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In this issue, we have articles by Jean L. Cooper, Diane Inman, Karen Lucas Williams, Samuel Hayes III, and Charles C. Crenshaw.

Hayes’ “A Forty-Two-Year Family Search in the Age of DNA,” begins:

“As many did in 1977, I eagerly anticipated watching the series Roots. It was the first time that a miniseries covered the history of an African-American family from its inception in Africa to its patriarch being brought to America in chains through subsequent travails and triumphs to freedom at the end of the Civil War. I was enthralled and began to wonder about the history of my own family.

“At that point all I really knew about my family was back to some of my great-grandparents. Like many African-Americans born in Virginia, I knew I had a mixed heritage but did not know who they were. A careful view of my paternal grandfather Samuel Hayes, Sr. bore out his mixed heritage, but when I would ask him about his family his response was always, “You do not want to know about those people.” This response always left me perplexed and wondering what they had done or what they were like.

“My grandfather would periodically drop information about his family. He had three half siblings; he saw Halley’s Comet in 1910 on the shoulder of his cousin; he went to work at the age of ten because he got tired of starving; and a good Christmas for him would be an orange or a cap for a cap gun…”

For the rest of this article, and several others, CVGA members should go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

For those who are not members of CVGA, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Winter 2019 issue is available from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1708972358 for $6.50. Click on the Amazon.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on Amazon.com.

Contents of the Winter 2019 issue:

  • The Robert Watkins Files, Campbell County, Virginia / Jean L. Cooper
  • Susan J. (Diuguid) Spiller / Karen Lucas Williams
  • Marriage Announcements in the Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA) January 1895 / Diane Inman
  • A Forty-Two-Year Family Search in the Age of DNA / Samuel Hayes III
  • Obituary – Wilda Lara Dickerson Crenshaw Mann / Charles Conway Crenshaw
  • Botetourt County Genealogy Fair, 2020
  • Books: The Blackest Sheep — Echoes From My Heart — Hidden Wills
  • Sheriffs of Amelia County, VA / Jean L. Cooper
  • President’s Column / Patricia Lukas

If you have any articles you’d like to share with CVGA members, please send an email to the editor, cvgaboard@gmail.com — The Editor.

Revised Bylaws Approved

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At our November meeting, a revision of the bylaws was approved, replacing the last version, dated 14 September 2002. Some of the changes reflected in the revision are the transition to digital publication of Central Virginia Heritage, acknowledging the association’s website, updated responsibilities of the officers, and disposition of the group’s assets in the case of dissolution.

Read the revised bylaws here.

 

Can you help a fellow CVGA member?

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CVGA member Pat Wilczek would like to know if anyone can help her out.  She has a 1777 will written in German and is looking for someone who could translate it.

If you know someone with this ability, please email her at pat.wilczek@comcast.net.

 

November 9, 2019: Evernote for Cemetery Research

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Evernote is a web-based note taking app which you can use to find the graves of your ancestors. At the November 9, 2019 meeting of the CVGA, Patricia Lukas will share with us how to use this handy app to make the most of a cemetery visit.

NOTE: THE TIME OF THIS MEETING IS 10am to 12 noon.
The meeting will take place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The address of the Church is 1275 Timberwood Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. It is located on the corner of Airport Road and Timberwood. Coming from U.S. 29, the entrance is on the right (north) side of Airport Road immediately before you reach the church. Drive to the back of the building where you will see the entrance to the Family History Center.

October 12, 2019: Sons of the American Revolution

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Mark Stephen Chapman, Registrar of the Thomas Jefferson Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, will present a program at our October 12 meeting.

He will tell us about the role of the lineage society both nationally and locally and share information about applying for membership and the genealogical research required for acceptance into the society.
Mr. Chapman will not charge a fee to speak about the SAR but he has this announcement: He has a team in the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimers – Charlottesville which takes place October 26. If anyone wishes to contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association for his team, it would be most appreciated.
NOTE: THIS TIME OF THIS MEETING IS 10am to 12 noon.
The meeting will take place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The address of the Church is 1275 Timberwood Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. It is located on the corner of Airport Road and Timberwood. Coming from U.S. 29, the entrance is on the right (north) side of Airport Road immediately before you reach the church. Drive to the back of the building where you will see the entrance to the Family History Center.

September 14, 2019: Genealogy Video

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At the September 14 meeting, we will view a video of genealogical interest and discuss the topic. Check back here for an update on the actual subject.

REMINDER: Starting in October, our meeting time will change. We will meet from 10am-12noon.

The meeting will take place from 1:30 pm-3:30 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The address of the Church is 1275 Timberwood Blvd., Charlottesville, VA. It is located on the corner of Airport Road and Timberwood. Coming from U.S. 29, the entrance is on the right (north) side of Airport Road immediately before you reach the church. Drive to the back of the building where you will see the entrance to the Family History Center.

Central Virginia Heritage Fall 2019 Now Available

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 In this issue, we have articles by Charles C. Crenshaw, Joanne L. Yeck, and Karen Lucas Williams, among several others!

Crenshaw’s article on Chestnut Grove Baptist Church of Earlysville begins:

“The Chestnut Grove Baptist Church in Earlysville, Virginia, was established on May
9, 1773, as Albemarle Baptist Church. Forty-six white and two black members met at the Lewis’s meeting house on Staunton Road, which we now know as Ivy Road and Route 250 West. The meeting house was located where people now enjoy playing on the Birdwood Golf Course. It was the first Baptist Church in Albemarle County. Andrew Tribble was ordained the first minister in June 1777. William “Billy” Woods, pastor of the church for many years after 1780, sent a petition to Virginia General Assembly Delegate Thomas Jefferson, requesting the Anglican Church be disestablished, to put every denomination on an equal footing.” …

For the rest of this article, and several others, CVGA members should go to “Members Only” on the menu bar above, and choose “Central Virginia Heritage — Current Issue.” (Note: You have to be logged in to this website in order to see “Members Only.”)

If you have trouble logging in to the site to download your copy, please contact me at the webmaster link at the bottom of this page.

For those who are not members of CVGA, we offer the opportunity to purchase a printed copy of each issue. The Fall 2019 issue is available from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1690639504 for $6.50. Click on the Amazon.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on Amazon.com.

Contents of the Fall 2019 issue:

  • Chestnut Grove Baptist Church History, by Charles Conway Crenshaw
  • One Man’s Black Sheep … is Another Man’s Local Hero: Discovering Gene Harris and Chicago’s Club Alabam, by Joanne L. Yeck
  • The Spiller Family of Buckingham County, Virginia, by Karen Lucas Williams
  • Will of Mary “Polly” (Spears) Spiller, Buckingham County, Virginia (circa 1848)
  • Documents from the Case of James M. Spiller, etc. vs. Reuben Sorrell, Hanover County, Virginia, including the Will of James Spears (1833)
  • Henry Spiller & Wife vs. Mary Calvert, Culpeper County, VA, including the Will of Ralls Calvert, Culpeper County, VA
  • Marriage Announcements in the Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), August-December, 1894, by Diane Inman
  • Gathering to Share African American History and Genealogy in Central VA, by Andi Cumbo-Floyd
  • The Tale of a Black Sheep: Stephen Price Maury, compiled and annotated by Richard L. Nicholas
  • Fluvanna Historical Society Preserves Court Records, by Tricia Johnson
  • Fluvanna County Circuit Court Awarded Grant to Preserve Local Records
  • President’s Column, by Patricia Lukas
  • August 2019 CVGA Field Trip

If you have any articles you’d like to share with CVGA members, please send an email to the editor, eleanordew@gmail.com. — The Editor.

CVGA News

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CVGA needs your help to keep our association running smoothly. Please read on for the three items we would like to bring to your attention.

First of all, we are announcing that our president, Patricia Lukas, will resign from her post at the end of this year. This means that it is necessary for members to come forward and place their names in the hat as candidates for this office. An election will take place at our November meeting so please step up, contact Linda Gore at lggore46@gmail.com and let her know that you are interested in this position.

The next item is the update of our bylaws. The last time they were amended was in 2002 and it is time to put in place a revised document that reflects our current organization. WHAT YOU CAN DO is to read a draft version of the bylaws and give us any feedback. We need two members to help us with this. If you have experience with non-profits that might be helpful but a careful, critical eye is most important. Please let us know if you can help out and we will send you the files of the current and draft bylaws.

The final request is for help auditing our financial records. Our treasurer has done an excellent job of keeping our books. However, our bylaws state that the Audit Committee shall “…audit the financial records of the Treasurer and present a report at the December meeting.” The CVGA financial records are quite simple so someone with a background in accounting or bookkeeping would find that this task is not very time consuming. WHAT YOU CAN DO is contact us and our treasurer will send a file of our financial records. If multiple volunteers come forward, we will form a committee and see that you are in touch with one another.

Thank you for reading this and please step up and help your CVGA!