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May 2019 Issue
In this issue:
  • Lecture May 19: Eugene Scheel presents new American Indian map
  • Book Talk & Signing May 11: "1777 - Danbury on Fire!"
  • Upcoming LHS lectures and events
  • 1938 WPA Historical Inventory: St. James Reformed Church
  • History Mystery: "Stone Jail Street" in Lovettsville?
  • Nearby Events of Interest
  • Archive of Back Issues

Next in the Lovettsville Historical Society's
2019 Lecture Series:

“American Indian Map of Loudoun County” 
to be presented by Eugene Scheel  

Sunday, May 19, at 2:00 p.m.
 St. James United Church of Christ
10 East Broad Way, Lovettsville
 


Photo courtesy Linda McClark

Eugene Scheel has taught American Indian History to Loudoun County teachers for many decades, and he has now published his research as an “American Indian Map of Loudoun County,” which will be presented to the public for the first time on May 19 to the Lovettsville Historical Society.

The new map covers the settlements, travel ways, fish traps, and sites – both visible and now gone – of the seven Indian nations that once lived here: Algonkian, Sioux, Tuscarora, Piscataway, Conoy, Susquehannock, and Iroquois. Printed in color and measuring 13 by 19 inches on sturdy stock, this map is the first in Virginia to detail the presence of the first peoples here. Drawings after John White decorate the map’s borders.

Gene will talk about the comings of these first settlers, the theories of how they got to Loudoun, and will continue the First Americans’ history through their final demise, ca. 1723. He will also detail the reasons and commentaries of the first four explorers in Loudoun as their journeys concerned Indian matters.

The map details the routes of the first four expeditions between 1692 and 1712. A facsimile of a 1707 map showing the route of the first exploration into the Lovettsville area will be given to the audience for reference.

The new American Indian Map will sell for $20.00, and Mr. Scheel will donate half of the proceeds of the sale of this map to the Lovettsville Historical Society. He will also have copies of other area maps, Short Hill and Civil War, for $20, and the now-rare Potomac River Map, for $30. All may be autographed by Mr. Scheel if desired.

The presentation will be held at St. James United Church of Christ, at 10 East Broad Way in Lovettsville. Admission is free, but donations and are welcome to defray expenses of the program and to support the activities of the Lovettsville Historical Society.

 
GoogleMap the Lecture Venue


 Book Talk & Signing:

 
  1777 - Danbury on Fire!
 
Presented by
M. H. B. Hughes


At the Lovettsville Museum

Saturday, May 11

3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Hamilton resident and author M.H.B. Hughes says that her new book 1777 - Danbury on Fire! (Gatekeeper Press Nov. 2018)  is for "children, 'tweens and historians," but writers and amateur genealogists may find equal inspiration. Although marketed for young folk, Hughes says that 80% of the books purchased through her are for older adults.

The protagonist, 13-year-old Joe Hamilton, tries to decipher which part of his family is crazy -- his pacifist parents or every single other family member, all small-town Patriot movers and shakers. Soon enough Joe discovers that the British are indeed coming, on a short and shocking mission against the Patriot commissary. The British that Joe encounters all act willing to give a boy a break ... except one, who is a little too familiar. Swirling smoke suffices to let all comers commit crimes. 

1777 gives a clear view of the neighbor-against-neighbor grassroots world of the 1700s, where most of the population dread shattering America's new prosperity. Young readers follow Joe's peregrinations through a besieged town, while adults see the family implications and how extortion, lies, and moral suasion prove more effective than firearms when utilized to divide and conquer. 

Snips seeded throughout the text are outtakes from old letters and documents, proving the truth of the plot's odd twists. Included are a bibliography and what happened to the characters after the war.

"All adults in the book are real people," says Hughes, "mostly related to me."  

As a former defense contractor,  Hughes felt impressed by the difference between her ancestors' war and the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles that formed her work focus. Even her father's military career revolved around the horse in WWI. (For the horse-lover, plenty of equines gallop through the book.)

Hughes will intersperse reading with discussion about research and the author life. It took seven years for Hughes to complete her book, doing much of the planning while commuting 3-4 hours per day. She states that she "never felt disturbed by the length of time.”

She invites you to join her for wine and cheese after the presentation.
 
Upcoming LHS Lectures
and Events
 
May 11,  at 3-5 pm -- Author book signing:  "1777 -- Danbury on Fire!"  A novel of the American Revolution for young folk and historians, by M. B.  H.  Hughes.  (At the Lovettsville Museum)

June 9 – "A Conversation with Walter Fleming."  Lifetime resident Walter Fleming will discuss growing up on a farm near Lovettsville during the Great Depression, what farm work was like in the 1930s and ‘40s, going to school in a one-room school house, walking to Brunswick and playing in the railroad yard, and many things that kids -- and adults -- here today could never imagine.

July 14 -- “Making Something Out of Nothing: Geniuses of the Frontier - James Rumsey and John H. Hall.” Jim Surkamp will discuss how the frontier tradition of making do and being resourceful, gave the world the seed of modern steam technology and the American Factory system, with a focus on Shepherdstown steamboat inventor James Rumsey, and on John M. Hall, who developed mass-production of rifles at the Harper's Ferry Arsenal.
 
August 11 --  “Daniel Morgan: American Rifleman Commander,” a profile of one of General Washington’s most successful commanders of the Revolutionary War, presented by Randall Flood, an instructor at the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown, and CEO and Co-Founder of the American Revolution Institute for Civic Education. 
 
Sept. 8 -- "The Shenandoah Valley's German Heritage" presented by Karen Good Cooper, president of the Shenandoah Germanic Heritage Museum in Shenandoah County, Va.  Mrs. Cooper will describe how the German settlers in the Valley (and in the Lovettsville German Settlement), brought their ideas, methods, and customs to this area, and how the “Shenandoah Deutch” affected so much of how we behave and work today.

Oct. 13 – “Germanna 101: the Story of Virginia’s First German Settlement.” Ashley Abruzzo, Germanna Foundation Membership Development Manager and Germanna descendant, presents an overview of of the Germanna Colony's history starting in 1714, how the Germanna Foundation was created, and its present-day mission to preserve, protect, and educate on Virginia's early German heritage.
 
Explore Our Website
From the Virginia Works Progress Administration's Historical Inventory Project:

St. James Reformed Church, Lovettsville  

The following description, dated March 15, 1938, was prepared for the WPA  Historical Inventory Project, part of the WPA Writer's Project....
Read More

Lovettsville History Mystery:

   "Stone Jail Street" --

     What's that all about?



In the new Keena development behind the 1836 Taproom, the plans show a number of new streets.  One of the new streets, running from the cul-de-sac on Frye Court to Locust Street (shown here under construction), is called "Stone Jail Street"?  Do you know why?  
Answer: 

Heather Treadwell of South Loudoun Street correctly identified the Old Stone Jail, with the help of a neighbor. She points to the stone structure at the north end of the house at the intersection of South Loudoun Street and South Locust Street, as pictured above.

Old timers in the Lovettsville community remember hearing stories about the local jail -- such as the one found on page 47 of Lovettsville: The German Settlement. (This writer heard a version of that same story from an old-time resident about 25 years ago.)

The story in The German Settlement book was told by lifetime resident Ray Anderson, the son of a former slave, whose recollections were published in the Loudoun Times Mirror in 1956. Mr. Anderson’s story went as follows:

“Once, a colored fellow up by the mountain got into somebody’s chickens, got caught, and was put in jail. Mr. Will Cooper was constable then and Mr. Ritchey was the jailer.
“The next morning before daylight when Mr. Ritchey brought coffee, he couldn’t find his prisoner. The big lock was still shut tight, but there was a hole in the roof which some white boys had cut there and let the prisoner out.”

So as you can see, Lovettsville didn't just have a jail; it also had a local constable. The constable “Will Cooper” to whom Ray Anderson refers, was probably the same as “W. W. Cooper” who was elected constable for Lovettsville in 1895, 1897, and 1899, according to Wynne Saffer’s book Loudoun Votes, 1867-1966.

The position of constable dated back to colonial times, and lasted up until the use of the automobile allowed sheriff's deputies to reach remote parts of the county, and to more easily transport prisoners to the county jail in Leesburg. It appears that the last constable to be elected in the Lovettsville Magisterial District was T. C. Orrison, in 1911.

At various times up into the 20th century, Lovettsville also had locally-elected Justices of the Peace and Magistrates – who could hear and try criminal cases and impose a sentence, subject to appeal to the Circuit Court which met in Leesburg.

The Lovettsville District had three Justices of the Peace in the latter decades of the 19th century. The last to be elected, in the 1899 election, were Robert Abel, R. G. Johnson, and J. C. Rust.

In the early 20th century, the Lovettsville District had three elected Magistrates. The last Lovettsville Magistrates were elected in the 1927 election; they were C. J. McKimmey, S. L. Fry, and J. G. Able.

However, we have been unable to locate any records concerning the old Lovettsville jail.

The Historic Records Division of the County Clerk's office has no records pertaining to local jails such as existed in Lovettsville or Waterford. Historic Records Clerk Sarah Markel says that it's possible that local jails would have been used to hold prisoners until they could be transported to Leesburg for trial or incarceration.

It’s not surprising that there are no records from the local jail or local officials at the County Court. Markel, who has been studying old criminal case files, says that normally, the only time an order from a local Justice of the Peace would end up in the County Clerk's files, is if a ruling by local Justice were appealed to a County Court judge. Markel says that she has seen records where a ruling by a trial justice or Justice of the Peace was appealed, and a Circuit judge could alter the sentence, making it longer or shorter.

So, lacking any records of the old jail, we’ll just have to rely on stories handed down from old-timers. If you have one, we’d  love to hear it.
                                                                                                        – Ed Spannaus
 
Nearby Events of Interest
May 1 through May 31 – Balch Library Exhibit: Money, Money, Money – Cash Notes and Debts in Loudoun County, presented by Loudoun County Clerk’s Office. Margaret Mercer Room, Thomas Balch Library, 208 W. Market Street, Leesburg, VA. 703-737-7195.
 
Friday, May 3, at 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. - First Friday Exhibit: “Sign on the Dotted Line, Famous Signatures in Loudoun County.” The Loudoun and Fairfax County Clerks’ Offices and the Thomas Balch Library display famous signatures from three centuries of records and documents in their collections. The centerpieces of this event are the wills of George and Martha Washington, a 1774 deed signed by Washington, and documents with signatures from presidents James Madison, James Monroe and John Tyler.  Other records will include a FBI forensic report signed by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and a court document signed by the famous civil rights attorney Charles Houston.  In addition, a recently-found record with the signature of Robert Pleasants, a Quaker abolitionist who founded the Virginia Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, will be on exhibit.  Old Courthouse, King & Market Streets, Leesburg.
 
Sat., May 4, at 12 p.m.— Meet the Authors: "Battles of a Border State, Maryland's Constitutional Crisis."  Monocacy National Battlefield, in partnership with the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation and Eastern National, bring you a unique opportunity to meet authors and experts who will discuss the passage of the 1864 Maryland State Constitution, which abolished slavery in the state. Keynote speaker is Dr. Turkiya Lowe, Chief Historian of the National Park Service. Books will be available for purchase and autograph. Best Farm (tour stop 1), Monocacy National Battlefield, 5106 Urbana Pike, Frederick, MD 21704. 301-662-3515.
 
 Sat., May 4, at 3 p.m.— “Divided Loyalties” Downtown Frederick Walking Tour. Join NMCWM historian John Lustrea as he explores the divided loyalties of the citizens and soldiers of Frederick throughout the Civil War. Frederick was a border town during the Civil War, and as such, its loyalties were divided. At different points of the war Union and Confederate sympathizers turned out in the streets to show their support for each cause. Church congregations in particular mirrored the divisions of the Frederick community with pastors being run out of town for not agreeing politically with their congregations. This will be a pay-what-you-please program. Register ahead of time to hold your spot, as space is limited. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD. 301-695-1864.
 
Sun., May 5, at 1:00 p.m.-- I Corps and Iron Brigade Battlefield Hike, Antietam Battlefield. Join a ranger for this program that will explore the morning fighting in the Cornfield. Meet the ranger at the visitor center, 1 PM for this two-mile hike on the northern end of the field. Participants should dress for the weather and we will hike, rain or shine. Hike is free, park admission is $15 per vehicle. Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center, 5831 Dunker Church Rd. (Visitor Center), Sharpsburg, MD 21782. 301-432-5124.
 
Wed., May 8 at 7:30 p.m. – Harpers Ferry Civil War Roundtable: “Camp Chase: Union Training Facility and Confederate Prison.”  Camp Chase was an American Civil War training and prison camp established in May 1861. It was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers, a parole camp, a muster outpost, and later a prisoner-of-war camp. The nearby Camp Thomas served as a similar base for the Regular Army. As many as 150,000 Union soldiers and 25,000 Confederate prisoners passed through its gates from 1861–1865. By February 1865, over 9,400 men were held at the prison. More than 2,200 Confederates are buried in the Camp Chase Cemetery. A family-style meal will be served at 6:30 PM prior to the program. The cost of the meal is $15.00 per person. Reservations for the meal must be made no later than Sunday, May 5 with Christopher Craig ccraig@laurellodge.com  or call at 304-433-1260.  Camp Hill Methodist Church, 601 W. Washington St., Harpers Ferry, WV.
 
Sat., May 11 at 2:30 p.m. -- Florence Nightingale’s Influence on Medicine & Nursing in the United States. Professor William T. Campbell explores the Florence Nightingale’s influence on medicine in the United States. While Florence Nightingale is often called the Mother of Nursing, the reality is she did not ever journey to the United States to serve in any care-giving role. For having such a lofty title, one must wonder how extensive her influence was over nursing in the United States if she never visited. Professor Campbell will uncover how that was possible. The program will investigate these questions both during the Civil War period and for the following decade. We will look at her role in both healthcare and in nursing, how she influenced both from abroad, what that influence was, and how it shaped healthcare and nursing in the coming decade (and well beyond). We will also examine one of the foundations of the nursing profession – the Lady with the Lamp. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD. 301-695-1864.
 
Tues., May 14, at 2:00 p.m. -- Loudoun County Clerk’s Office Tour of Historic Records. Eric S. Larson, Historic Records Manager for the Clerk of the Circuit Court, will lead a tour of the Clerk’s Office and the Historic Court building. He will discuss the extent of Loudoun County’s records holdings, where to look for records of births, deaths, marriages, and deeds, and how to use these records in research. You will need to pass through security so the group will leave the library promptly at 1:45 PM.  Location: Meet at parking lot of Thomas Balch Library (208 W Market St Leesburg, by 1:45 PM.  Please contact the Thomas Balch Library to sign up for the tour: 703-737-7195.
 
Tues., May 14, at 7:30 p.m.  – Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable:  “Mapping Gettysburg: How do we know what we know?”  Presented by Chris Army. Thomas Balch Library, 208 W. Market Street, Leesburg, VA. 703-737-7195.
 
Thurs., May 16 at 6:45 p.m. -- Frederick County Civil War Roundtable Meeting: Walking Tour of Frederick’s Historic Mount Olivet Cemetery.  Emmy-award winning documentarian and Mount Olivet historian Chris Haugh will be giving a tour of the cemetery with emphasis on Civil War sites of note. Along the way, he will explain how the cemetery came into being and preservation efforts currently under way. Mount Olivet Cemetery, 515 South Market Street, Frederick, MD
 
Sat., May 18, at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. --  Fort Loudoun Day Living History Event -- The annual commemoration of the beginning of construction in May 1756 of Fort Loudoun. Captain George Mercer's Company of the 1st Virginia Regiment, Colonel James Wood, General Edward Braddock and others will be in attendance. Activities will include tours of the Fort Loudoun grounds, a flag-raising at noon, a musketry demonstration as well as other activities. Free.  French and Indian War Foundation, 419 North Loudoun Street, Winchester, VA
 
Wed., May 22, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Thomas Balch Library Spring Seminar: German Genealogy. James Beidler, professional genealogist and instructor from Berks County, Pa., will present a four-session seminar on German immigrants and how to research them. Pre-registration is $20 for Friends of Thomas Balch Library, $25 for non-members, and $35 at the door. Seating is limited. For more information see https://www.leesburgva.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/28324/5632

Thurs., May 23, at 7 p.m. – Fort Loudoun Day Lecture:  "Dunmore's War: The Last Conflict of America's Colonial Era," by Dr. Glenn F. Williams, Senior Historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History.  Dr. Williams will discuss the causes and conduct of the last Indian War before the American War for Independence.  Many historians pay little attention or misinterpret the historical significance of this event.  John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, led the colony's soldiers in a defensive war that culminated in a successful offensive military expedition before the deepening colonial crisis spun out of control.  Although Lord Dunmore returned to Williamsburg in triumph and at the height of his popularity in December 1774, before another year ended he would flee his capital and be vilified by Virginians. Stimpson Auditorium, Halpin-Harrison Hall, Shenandoah University, 600 Millwood Avenue, Winchester, VA.

Thurs., May 23 at 7:30 p.m. -- “McClellan's Greatest Gift to Lincoln.” The Hagerstown Civil War Round Table will be featuring a talk by the former Chief Historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Dennis Frye entitled “McClellan's Greatest Gift to Lincoln.” Anyone who has heard Dennis speak, knows he often gives contrarian viewpoints. This is sure to be good talk. The event is at Homewood Suites, 1650 Pullman Lane Hagerstown, MD. Dinner at 6:30 pm, open to non-members as well as members, is $22 (reservations required) and the talk at 7:30 pm is $5 for non-members, both payable at the meeting. For more information visit https://sites.google.com/view/hagerstowncwrt/home, search for: Hagerstown Civil War Round Table, email hagerstowncwrt@gmail.com, or call Dennis Graham at 301 766 9516.
About Us
In 2019, the Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum continues its mission of preserving and promoting the heritage of Lovettsville, and also our surrounding area formerly known as “The German Settlement."  The success of our mission relies heavily upon on our membership, which provides the needed resources and also committed volunteers to share our local history. Please encourage your friends, family, and others to join the Lovettsville Historical Society (LHS), or renew their annual membership, to ensure our continued success in preserving and promoting our local heritage.

There are many opportunities for members and others to participate in supporting the Lovettsville Historical Society and also meet others who share in our passion for preserving and promoting our local history. This includes volunteering to help with the museum, fundraising, organizing events, website and social media, and publicizing our activities.  We enjoy hosting special presentations for groups such as Scouts, school classes and tourists. Lastly, the donations of local historical artifacts such as family documents and pictures (or digital scans thereof), ensure that the we can continue our efforts to expand our presentation of local genealogical information.

*The Lovettsville Historical Society, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Code.  Contributions and membership dues are tax deductible under Internal Revenue Code Section 170.
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Lovettsville: The German Settlement is available for sale at the Lovettsville Museum.
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