Author Archives: cvgaboard

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!

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!