Author Archives: cvgaboard

Honors for Jean Cooper, Editor of Central Virginia Heritage

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The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards are given to books published within the last 5 years that cover the topic of American Slavery. The awards are sponsored by the Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, “a lineage society dedicated to the memory of our freed and enslaved ancestors and to the education and historic preservation of the artifacts and landmarks of slavery in the United States of America and its economic, psychological, and cultural impact on today’s society.”

Two of the 5 books honored with a 2019 Phillis Wheatley Award were published by the Shortwood Press, which is the publishing house of Jean Cooper, our very own editor of the Central Virginia Heritage! The books are Tracing Their Steps, by Bernice A. Bennett, and Freedmen of the Frontier, vol. 1, by Angela Walton-Raji.

Congratulations, Jean!

August 10, 2019: Field Trip to Nelson County

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For our August activity we are going to tour the Oakland Museum, home of the Nelson County Historical Society. We will learn about the history of the county from its early settlement, through the founding of the county in 1808 and also about the devastation of Hurricane Camille in August 1969.

NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO MEETING AT THE CHURCH THIS MONTH.

We will meet at the museum at 10 am on Saturday, August 10. The museum is located at 5365 Thomas Nelson Highway (Rt 29 South), approximately 4 miles south of Lovingston. From Charlottesville, take 29 South. It is about an hour’s drive from Charlottesville.

For handicapped parking, enter the driveway to the left of the museum (not the main parking lot). Only the first floor of the museum is wheelchair accessible.

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July 13, 2019 – “Gravestone 101”

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The July 13, 2019 meeting will feature speaker Amanda Kutch. In her presentation, “Gravestone 101”, she will give us pointers on the care of grave markers. Among the topics she will cover is choosing the right materials to use to safely clean stone markers.

Amanda is a local historian who has been researching her family history since she was young.  She has co-taught classes on cemeteries for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and for several years, gave themed tours in our local cemeteries to school groups and the public.  Amanda has been trained by Jonathan Appell, renowned monument conservator in the art of gravestone cleaning and repair. She is a member of the Association for Gravestone Studies.

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.

Summer 2019 Issue of Central Virginia Heritage Available Online

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In this issue, we have a fascinating article by Karen Lucas Williams, presenting research and analysis of “a letter written by Margaret Donald of Aberdeen, Scotland, to her cousin Patrick Henry in Virginia, dated 13 April 1790. The original letter is housed in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C., in the personal correspondence of Patrick Henry.

“The letter is important to the descendants of Col. John Henry of Virginia, father of the famous orator, lawyer, and first post-colonial governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, and also to the descendants of William Diuguid of Buckingham Co., Virginia. It allows us a glimpse into the family relationships of the Henry, Diuguid, and Donald lines in Virginia and helps us to find traces of their elusive common Henry ancestors and relatives in Scotland. It is my hope that other researchers will build upon these findings and share any new findings in the spirit of kinship with which I have presented this article. …”

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 Summer 2019 issue is available from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1099658888/ for $6.50. Click on the Amazon.com link above or search for “Central Virginia Heritage” on Amazon.com.

Contents of the Summer 2019 issue:

  • Margaret’s Letter by Karen Lucas Williams
  • Diuguid Funeral Home Database, Lynchburg, VA
  • Dogwood Vietnam Memorial, by Charles C. Crenshaw
  • Armed Forces Medical Examiner System: The DNA Identification Laboratory, by Diane Inman
  • The Story of Bleak House, by Alice Cannon
  • President’s Column, by Patricia Lukas.

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.

June 8, 2019 – Making the Most of a Cemetery Visit

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For our June meeting we will discuss visiting the cemeteries where our ancestors are interred and taking care of their gravestones. We will hear from Amy Johnson Crow in her Ancestry Academy video, Written in Stone and talk about cleaning tombstones and markers. One question we hope to answer is: What’s best for cleaning a stone marker – a special cleaner or just plain water?

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.

Our May 11 Riverview Cemetery Event

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Our Maplewood Cemetery event was very nice. The rain kindly waited until afternoon.
Visiting the cemetery of an ancestor is a privilege. Although none of us has any relations buried here, it was a great reminder to search a cemetery thoroughly. There might be other names you are interested in or even the name of someone whose signature is on a legal document associated with an ancestor.
Thanks, ladies, for coming out for the cemetery scavenger hunt!

May 11, 2019: UPDATE #2 – Cemetery Scavenger Hunt

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NOTE: No interment at the cemetery tomorrow, so we will be there. Let’s hope for good weather, but we will be there with our umbrellas if it’s raining.

This month we are going on a scavenger hunt. We will be visiting Riverview Cemetery  where we will scour the aisles looking for the answers to a set of clues we will provide for you. We suggest bringing a pencil and a clipboard to make the quest a little easier.

This event will take place at 10:00 AM on Saturday, May 11. We will gather near sections A & D, (near the flagpole) following the map below.

Whoever finds the most answers will receive a prize – a gift certificate from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies for a FREE course of your choice, provided by the Virginia Genealogical Society. Check out the website at www.genealogicalstudies.com to see the many courses offered. The value of the gift certificate is approximately $89.00.