Giles County Historical Society 2012 lecture series kicks off with “Mystery at Mountain Lake” (revisited)

Giles County Historical Society 2012 lecture series kicks off with “Mystery at Mountain Lake” (revisited)

The Historical Society’s 2012 lecture series gets underway with a talk by Giles County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Mark Skidmore, at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 1st at the Pearisburg Town Hall. Last October Investigator Skidmore gave a talk at Mountain Lake Hotel about the mysterious remains found in Mountain Lake in 2008. The presentation was so popular that he’s been invited back for an encore! The event is free and open to the public.

Using photographs from the scene, Skidmore will describe the discovery, excavation and identification of the human remains and artifacts found at the bottom of the dried lakebed. After the talk, visitors will be able to view the artifacts, including clothing, an elegant monogrammed cigarette case, coins, a pocket watch and a college ring. The exhibit will then move to the
Historical Society museum, where it will remain on display until April 22.

Save the date for future lectures in the series, which will be held at the Historical Society Museum at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted:

· March 27 – A talk and book signing by Sharyn McCrumb, award-winning Southern writer best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels. 7 pm, Palisades Restaurant, Eggleston.

· May 12 - “The Negro Spiritual: History and Performance” featuring Dr. Paula Seniors, Va. Tech. Dept. of Sociology and Africana Studies. Performance by the Spirits of Joy. 3:00 pm at the First Baptist Church, Virginia Heights, Pearisburg.

· June 7 - “The Battle of Giles Court House,” presentation and book signing by George A.
McLean Jr.

· July 19 – “Is There an Appalachian English?” Presentation and book signing by Dr. Anita
Puckett, Director of Appalachian Studies, Va. Tech.

· August 2 - “19th Century Regional Brick Architecture,” presentation and book signing by Mike Pulice, Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources

· September 6 – “Treasures in the Courthouse: How to Research County Records”

· October 4 – “Appalachian Storytelling and Ballads,” Ricky Cox, folklorist and instructor, Radford University.

· October 19 – “Ghosts of the Civil War,” tales told around a campfire by Dr. Richard Straw, Dept. of History at Radford, and Charles Lytton.


· November 1 – “When Being Appalachian was a Disease: Eugenical Sterilization During the Great Depression” Patricia Jacobs, Executive Director, Giles County Historical Society

The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich historical and cultural heritage. It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation of endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records. The Giles County Historical Society and Museum (540-921-1050) are open Wed-Fri from 12-5 PM and Sat-Sun from 2-5 PM. Admission is free. The Research Office is open on Thursday from 12–5 PM. For more information, visit www.gilescountyhistorical.org.

A woman’s courage remembered during Black History Month

A woman’s courage remembered
during Black History Month

In May of 1863 five Union prisoners of war escaped from prison in Danville, Va., and began to make their way north to Federal lines. As they passed through Giles County, they stopped early one evening at the cabin of Bertha Johnston, a slave on the plantation of Capt. William Eggleston.

They asked to be taken across the New River, but Bertha told them it was too dangerous because people were searching for them. At great risk to her life, she hid them in the rafters of her house, feeding them on cornbread, buttermilk and a little meat. Before dawn on the third day she
ferried them across the river.

They offered her the only thing they had, a bone ring –probably fashioned during their time in prison. She refused payment because, as she said later, “I wanted no pay for my
trouble.” They insisted, and she finally agreed to take it as a remembrance of their meeting. Nearly fifty years later the ring was presented by a “Mr. Johnston” to a Union veterans organization in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Mr. Johnston was a resident of Carnegie at that time. The ring has since been lost.

The rest of Bertha’s story is unknown. An 1865 census of freed slaves in Giles County lists a “B. Johnson,” female, aged between 21-30, living on Eggleston’s plantation. Is this Bertha? If it is, she disappears from Giles County records after that date. Was Mr. Johnston her husband, and if so, when did they move to Pennsylvania? Her name does not appear on later census records in the Carnegie area. A brief account of the story was filed away in 1909 in the archives of the Carnegie library, the only testament to one woman’s courage against all odds.

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The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich historical and cultural heritage. It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation
of endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records. The Giles County Historical Society and
Museum (540-921-1050) are closed during the month of February and will re-open
March 1. Regular hours are Wed-Fri from 12-5 PM and Sat-Sun from 2-5 PM. Admission is free. The Research Office is open on Thursday from 12–5 PM. For more information, visit www.gilescountyhistorical.org.

Historical Society lecture series: “Mystery at Mountain Lake” revisited

Our 2012 lecture series will kick off with a talk by Giles County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Mark Skidmore, at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 1st at the Pearisburg Town Hall. Last October Investigator Skidmore gave a talk at Mountain Lake Hotel about the mysterious remains found in Mountain Lake in 2008. The presentation was so popular that we’ve decided to bring him back for an encore! The event is free and open to the public.

Using photographs from the scene, Skidmore will describe the discovery, excavation and identification of the human remains and artifacts found at the bottom of the dried lakebed. After the talk, visitors will be able to view the artifacts, including clothing, an elegant monogrammed cigarette case, coins, a pocket watch and a college ring. The exhibit will then move to the Historical Society museum, where it will remain on display until April 22.

Black History Month:Giles County’s African American Community in the 19th Century

Tracing the history of the African American community in Giles County is proving to be a formidable challenge for researchers at the Giles County Historical Society. Last year we
began a research project to draw a picture of life in the 19th century for Giles County’s black residents. Records are sketchy, especially for slaves, whose names were usually not recorded in official documents.

What kinds of documents have provided us with information? From the county’s first decade we have in the 1810 federal census a list of slaveholders, who owned a total of 240 slaves. Slave names, age and sex are not given.

During the first half of the century, names of slaves were rarely noted, except in the personal papers of slaveholders. A few names, however, can be gleaned from probate and other records in the Giles County courthouse. For instance, an estate inventory from 1813 lists “1 old milk cow, 1 copper still, 1 rifle, an old saddle, 1 tomahawk, glass bottles, a Bible, a big coat, three hats, black girl Jinny, black woman Silvy, black man Jack.”

The “Giles County Register of Free Negroes” for the years 1816, 1817, 1818, and 1825 provide us with surnames. The most frequent are Holland, Viney or Vinia, Lewis, and Hendrick or Hendricks. The numbers of free blacks range from around 20 to 40 in a given year.

In 1850 and 1860 the U.S. Government published comprehensive “Slave Schedules”, listing every slaveholder in Giles County and the age, sex, and “color” (black or mulatto) of each slave they possessed. The Federal Censuses for those years also lists individual names of Giles County’s free blacks. By this time the Holland, Lewis and Hendrick names have mostly disappeared, and few Vineys remain.

In these same records new names become prominent, including the families of Samuel Callender, blacksmith; William Scott, shoemaker; Francis Harman, farmer; Daniel Moss, blacksmith; as well as the Collins, the Shavers, and Thomas Beasley, a Staffordsville farmer whose property was worth the considerable sum (at the time) of nearly $2000. Up to the time of the Civil War, the population of African Americans, both enslaved and free, came to nearly 12% of the county’s total population. Today’s figure is a little over 2%.

Last year Historical Society researchers unearth a gold mine of information at the National Archives in Washington, DC. – the Freedmen’s Bureau Census. The Freedmen’s Bureau was
created by the government in 1865 to assist freed slaves with housing, medical care, education, and legal and security threats. In 1865 they conducted a census of freed slaves in the South, and the Giles County list has fortunately survived. For the first time we have the first and last names of former slaves, their ages and the names of their former masters.

We are now looking at the 1870 and 1880 Federal Census records and have noted a rapid drop in the county’s black population. Court records from the time of the Civil War mention large numbers of runaway slaves fleeing the county in the wake of two Union invasions. Enlistment records of the U.S. Colored Troops indicate that several Giles County men joined the Union
Army, and their families may have followed them North during or after the war.

We are still in the preliminary stages of piecing together a picture early Giles’ African American community. The records are now being gathered, transcribed and analyzed, and will eventually be published on our website. But we need help – we are few and the records are many! Perhaps a retired teacher or history buff with spare time would like to help? Contact Kate Delaney at 921-3999, or 921-1050.

Share Your Historic Photographs

TOP- Car show and race track near the present location of the Pearisburg Community Center. The former Linda Lorraine Bed & Breakfast house can be seen at the upper left.

BOTTOM- A 1946 view of Pearisburg High School (now the Pearisburg Community Center) before the development of Fort Branch

Share Your Historic Photographs

“A picture is worth a thousand words” means that many complex thoughts and ideas can be conveyed by a single still image. This old adage is especially true at the Giles County Historical
Society.

Each year, approximately 2000 people visit the museum complex. While all are aware of our collection of artifacts and archives, few are aware of our photographic collection spanning the history of Giles County.

Old photographs capture more than a moment in time chronicling the past. For adults, old photos trigger forgotten memories . . . which lead to interesting stories . . . which leads to research . . . resulting in new discoveries about Giles County!

Old photographs not only teach children about the past, but help them develop important skills for the future. When showing photos to children, encourage them to think about how people lived during that time. By taking on the perspective of others, children develop understanding, compassion, and empathy for others.

The Giles County Historical Society encourages the public to share their old photographs for its collection. For those who do not want to part with their cherished mementos, photographs can be scanned by the Historical Society with the originals safely returned to their owner. We are currently in the process of making our photographic images available on line. So, if a picture is worth a thousand words, just consider what your photographs could add to Giles County history!

The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich historical and cultural heritage. It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation
of endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records. The Giles County Historical Society, Museum and Gift Shop (921-1050) are closed during February and will reopen on March 1. For more information, visit www.gilescountyhistorical.org.

Farewell To A Great Lady

Giles County Historical Society Loses Charter Member



When the Historical Society board of directors met on February 2nd there was an empty seat at the table. Estelle Woodbury, charter member and ardent supporter, passed away on January 25, 2012. She was a unique lady who did not just recognize a need or a problem, she had the focus to envision the solution and the strength of personality to persuade others to join her and turn the vision into reality. She shared this talent with the Pearisburg Women’s Club, the Garden Club, Redeemer Lutheran Church and the Historical Society. She was a working member of each one and whatever the current project, Estelle was right there – arranging for fried apple pies for a fundraiser, arriving at the Andrew Johnston House with a car full of her lovely flower arrangements to decorate for an event – always encouraging, always looking for ways to make things better.

Estelle loved Giles County history and enjoyed sharing her memories of local places and people. She would talk about her childhood in Eggleston and her admiration and pride in her mother who, as a young widow during the Great Depression, raised and educated four children. You
have to wonder if Estelle realized that same strength and dedication to others in herself, because it was surely there.

All of us at the Historical Society offer our heartfelt condolences to Estelle’s family and to her beloved Harold. She was a great friend and we miss her.