In 1904, the Appomattox and Buckingham Times ran a lengthy and fascinating story of “true romance.” It was an unusual article for the newspaper to run. Thankfully, it has been preserved at the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Chronicle. The story begins:
A TRUE ROMANCE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
BY A BUCKINGHAMITE.
A short time after the Civil War there came to Virginia to live from one of the most northern states a family by the name of Girty. These names are substituted, for the real ones are withheld; but the facts in this story are true. The family bought the old homestead of the Morgans, in the county of – – –. Mrs. Morgan, who was a widow with four children, bought a smaller place near the village of M – – –, several miles from her old home. Mrs. Morgan’s husband, Captain Morgan was killed in a fight near Petersburg, Va., at the battle of the Crater, while gallantly leading his men. The Morgan home was burned by the Yankees after it had been pillaged of everything they could carry away. The family were driven out of their home early one morning and not allowed to take even their wearing apparel except what they had on, and were subjected to the greatest [illegible] and her oldest daughter, a pretty girl of twelve years, was struck in the mouth and several teeth were knocked out by one of the ruffians, leaving an ugly scar, while trying to save a box of jewelry which one of the soldiers had ruthlessly torn from her hands.
Captain Morgan was killed soon after his house was robbed and burned. His body was left on the battlefield over night, and when found on the following morning by his men everything of value had been taken from his person. Among the things was a gold watch and metal with his name on it.
The Girty family consisted of five persons. The three children were all grown. Walter, the oldest son, was thirty-two years old, a widower with two children, his wife having died about a year before moving to Virginia. She was the daughter of a grain speculator of one of the western cities, whose wealth went up into the millions. The Girtys having ample means, made their home in one of the prettiest places in that section. They were ultra radical and northern in their views – just the opposite of the Morgans, who were southern. Going back a short time before the death of Captain Morgan, when he was at his home for the last time, he called his family around him and told them of the dangers of a soldier’s life; that he might not be spared to live through the struggle, but he might be killed at any time. He told his children to love their mother and obey her in all things to be true to their state and the southern cause, and if he should be called away and should never see them again, to trust in God, and if they were spared to grow up, to marry only those of southern sentiments—they would be happier and not bring a [illegible] on themselves or the cause for which he fought; and if this should be the last time they would be gathered together here on earth, he would watch over them from a home beyond the skies until they met him there and an unbroken family for ever more. He had told his wife that he had a presentment that he would be killed, and this was the last time he ever saw them.
To be continued…
Buckingham County Postal Routes, 1896.
In 1896, the Appomattox and Buckingham Times ran a short article about a mysterious death in Buckingham County, Virginia.
An Unknown Young White Man Found Dead.
Mark P. O., Buckingham, Co., Va.,
July 14th, 1896.
Near Mark Postoffice this morning a young man unknown was found dead having nothing in his pocket or about him with any name on except a little memorandum book of which had the name written in it N. S. Lewis supposed to be his name. Age about 25, weight 150 or 170, neatly dressed, neatly shaved and light complexion. The writer would be glad to have this published so his friends may know this fact. The body will be kept for a few days,
W. J. Bailey.
Can a Slate River Ramblings reader expand on this mystery? Does anyone know the location of Buckingham County’s Mark P.O.?
Slate River Mills. Courtesy Historic Buckingham.
In August of 1908, the Appomattox and Buckingham Times reported the disastrous burning of Slate River Mills.
Slate River Mills with about 7000 bushels of wheat was destroyed by fire Sunday night. Origin of fire not known – – fire discovered about ten o’clock Sunday night, too late to save any thing. Mail and everything in the post office destroyed. There was no insurance. The loss of the mill falls heavy on the owners and the loss of the wheat heavily on the farmers who had stored it there and it seems as if most every one had some wheat there. The owners of the property speak hopefully of rebuilding but the historic old mill is a thing of the past.
In October of 1908, the newspaper followed with this update:
The owners of the mill property set to work to rebuild Slate River Mills. The building is to be erected further from the river than the burnt building and is to be constructed with the view of having machinery of much more capacity than was the old mill.
It is curious that the owners of Slate River Mills were not named by the newspaper. According to a notice in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Dowdy family sold the mill to James L. Anderson in 1903, for $4,100.
For more about the history of Slate River Mills, search Slate River Ramblings.
In July of 1896, in an era in which obituaries for women were rarely published, the Appomattox and Buckingham Times printed a rather lengthy one remembering Mrs. Martlia E. Cobb.
In Memoriam.
Departed this life at Slate River Mills, Buckingham county, Va., June 9th, 1896, Mrs. Martlia E. Cobb in her 85 year, the widow of the late Watson B. Cobb. She was a Miss Lockett born and raised in Prince Edward county, and was a fair and ornamental sample of one of the oldest and best families in Virginia. A woman of strong mind blended with every necessary grace. For years she had lived with her son-in-law W. S. Kyle, where she was greatly beloved and highly appreciated. Her end was peace, she repeated her favorite hymns, among them was “How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,” and seemed ready for the glorious transition in her last hours. For years she had been gloomy about her spiritual welfare, but as the Grim Monster approached it was disarmed of its terrors. She was quietly laid to rest at her old home on a picturesque spot overlooking the rippling waters of Slate River, and covered with beautiful Flowers by loving hands.
She leaves 3 children, Mr. Howell E. Cobb, of Manchester, Mrs. W. S. Kyle, and Mrs. Wm. W. Pryor, Buckingham and numerous grandchildren and great-grand-children to mourn her loss. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”
A dear one from us is gone
The voice we loved is still,
The chair is vacant in our home
Which never can be filled.
A FRIEND.
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One wonders precisely what qualities made the former Miss Lockett a perfect “ornamental sample” of Virginia. Mrs. Cobb’s son-in-law, Washington Swoope Kyle, was the father of Annie Julia Kyle, who married my ancestor’s nephew, George Randolph Holman. It is nice to know she had such an admirable grandmother.
Note: While the newspaper recorded Martlia’s name as “Cobb,” it was likely Cobbs.
When Miss Lulie Patteson wrote her article about Fallsburg Mills for the Daily Progress, she did not name any individuals or families living there. Who made up this combination of industrious manufacturers and store keepers who, rumor had it, encouraged degeneracy? [See Fallsburg Mills: Part III & Part IV]
We do know that . . . in 1831, Col. Thomas M. Bondurant purchased the mills from trustees for a man named George Woodson and, three years later, Bondurant purchased the tan yard (mentioned by Miss Patteson) from Thomas Miller. Beginning in 1846, Bondurant offered the property for sale, however, in 1859, William Lewis and Thomas M. Bondurant still owned the mills when they approached the Virginia General Assembly for rights to build a dam across the northern arm of the James River at Goolsby’s Falls.
Following the Civil War, on January 29, 1874, Richmond’s Daily Dispatch made a brief mention of iron deposits on the land of a man named William A. Wilkerson, who lived at Fallsburg Mills, near Warren. It is currently unknown if any mining was done at the spot.
Indeed, the 1870 census identifies William A. Wilkerson, age 45, as a miller and farmer, whose real estate was valued at $10,000. A handsome sum to survive the war years.
Living near him were several individuals who likely conducted business at Fallsburg Mills.
Davis Chusman [?], age 55, huckster
George W. Patteson, age 27, merchant
Adam Kent, age 56, blacksmith
Joseph Scruggs, age 39, merchant
Tarleton Kidd, age 50, ferryman
Of course, 1870 was long before Lulie Patteson’s day. Was her interest concerning Fallsburg Mills piqued because a kinsman had lived there long ago? Did the Patteson family continue to have an involvement in or around the village? Most importantly, were George W. Patteson and Joseph Scruggs the competing merchants of Lulie Patteson’s recollections?
If any Slate River Ramblings readers know of individuals who might have worked at Fallsburg Mills or owned the notorious grocery stores, please comment below.
For much more about Lulie Patteson’s love of local history see: “Miss Lulie Patteson: Early Buckingham Historian,” in “At a Place Called Buckingham.”
Many thanks to Phil James for unearthing Lulie Patteson’s memories of Fallsburg Mills. Her article added greatly to our knowledge of this once thriving industrial complex.
In 1958, Buckingham County historian Lulie Patteson wrote an article for Charlottesville’s Daily Progress, recalling the village at Fallsburg Mills, located in Buckingham County about a mile above Warren, as it had existed decades before:
Then there was what were called the upper grocery and the lower grocery. These two stores catered to the scattered little village and the outlying neighborhood. Catered not only in coffee, sugar and such staples, but in the whiskey that lured men to alcoholism then, as today. Both the stores were not only bar rooms, but as most stores and taverns of that day, were gambling houses as well.
THOSE INCLINED to woo the goddess of chance often, it is said, would gather at the lower grocery in the morning then drink, gamble and gossip until afternoon. Then the gang would move to the upper grocery and the program was repeated.
Situated here, too, was a large tannery where hides from the adjacent county were tanned. Many of them were shipped to Richmond and Lynchburg, although much shoe-making was done at home in those days. Some have claimed there was a shoe-maker’s shop in connection with the tannery, but this was not proved.
Such a large flouring mill in those days would have called for many barrels, for flour was largely measured in barrels than. So we find that there was a cooperage here which is said to have done flouring business. These businesses, with a few private homes, made up of village well known then up and down the James, but now almost a forgotten memory.
Coming next: William A. Wilkerson of Fallsburg Mills
Miss Lulie Patteson
Courtesy Gordon G. Ragland, Jr., Maxey/Patteson Family Collection
In February of 2016, Slate River Ramblings readers were introduced to the thriving industrial complex that was once located at Fallsburg Mills. Click on the links below to catch up.
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A recently discovered article written by Buckingham County historian Lulie Patteson for Charlottesville’s Daily Progress, contains more details about what was once a bustling “town.” Written in Miss Patteson’s unmistakable nostalgic style and published in 1958, her article begins:
RANSONS–about one mile west of Warren, on the south side of the James River, one can view some ruins which are growing less visible over the years.
The ruins are all that is left of the once-flourishing town of Fallsburg.
There now remains only the faint outlines of some of the brick buildings where long ago there was a great flour mill, five stories high, which manufactured and shipped large quantities of that commodity on the bateaux that plied up and down the James River and later on the Kanawha Canal.
THE MILL RACE which led the waters of the James some distance to the millwheel was walled with stone. The workmanship would have adorned any pretentious mansion.
Years ago, the writer stood in this immense walled ditch (it no longer carried the swirling waters through it) and tried in vain to get a picture of the stone work. Lately, the millrace has been clogged with debris almost removing the traces.
Coming next: Fallsburg Mills: Part IV
Following its opening in 1892, Meta Logan’s Axtell Academy was a great success. Eventually, however, Buckingham County school officials were approached to take over the appointment of teachers and the payment of salaries. According to Buckingham County historian Lulie Patteson, the county’s support was “half-hearted” and, as a result, the school closed.
Axtell Academy had set an extremely high standard and, doubtless, was too expensive for the county or for the Logan family to support indefinitely. Not only was the school excellent but according to Patteson in an article for The Daily Progress (1960), “superior housing and equipment and trained teachers gave the Academy’s pupils an advantage over schoolchildren and the rest of the county.”
Professor and Mrs. Sale went on to teach elsewhere. Later, one of the professor’s pupils offered a short list of her classmates when she attended the Academy. They included Bertha and Elsie Camden; Lula Jones; Holly, Daisy and Luther Stinton; Millard, Dabney and John Patteson; McGuire and Angus Hartsook and Walter Gilmer.
For Lulie Patteson’s description of the school, click here: Buckingham Schools: Axtell Academy
For much more about life at Algoma, try searching Logan, Axtell Academy, and Algoma at Slate River Ramblings.
Many thanks to Phil James, author of Secrets of the Blue Ridge, for discovering more about Axtell Academy.
In 1960, historian Lulie Patteson wrote a lengthy article for Charlottesville’s Daily Progress about Axtell Academy, which she called “the epitome of public education in Buckingham County.”
At that time, the building which once housed the school still stood, though, records about the Academy were scarce. Founded by one of Gen. Logan’s daughters, Miss Margaret “Meta“ Logan persuaded her father to build and equip the school out of his own funds. Located at what was once a small village called Jonesboro, the building was finished in the summer of 1892. Miss Patteson wrote:
Teachers were Prof. Irving Sale, a graduate of the University of Virginia. He taught English, Latin and French in high school and also taught elementary grades. His wife, an accomplished musician, taught vocal and instrumental music and dramatics, in addition to grade school subjects.
The school had two large rooms in front and a large room in the rear. The library must have been unusually complete for the time because one of the students recalls that the library was supposed to have contained more than 3,000 books.
In addition to music and drama, Mrs. Sale taught primary pupils in a separate building across the road from the Academy. An enrollment averaged 75. There was a playground for physical education.
The first commencement was held June 3, 1893 at 6 p.m. The entire neighborhood must have turned out because 100 or more persons were said to have attended . . . Quite a crowd in pre-automobile days.
Charles Bolling gave the commencement address. Meta Logan awarded three metals—one for scholarship to Miss Lillian Stinson, one for attendance to Miss Nowell, and one for improvement to Walker Gilmer.
Miss Emma Barksdale of Richmond played the banjo, accompanied by a glee club from Algoma. Cake, candy and lemonade were served to the pupils.
Coming next: Axtell Academy Closes
Baber’s Mill, Rock Island Creek, Buckingham County, Virginia.
In 1960, Mrs. Eric Snoddy wrote an article for The Daily Progress, about a mysterious spot in Buckingham County known as “Slaughter’s Den.” Tradition held that it had been the hiding place of a Civil War deserter named Slaughter.
Located about four miles from the Warren Ferry, the den was actually a cave, about 500 feet from Rock Island Creek, situated on land once owned by the Turner and the Baber families. Harry Turner provided the story about Mr. Slaughter.
Even in 1960, the cave entrance was isolated and inaccessible. Mrs. Snoddy wrote:
To get there today you would almost have to travel by helicopter. The den is surrounded by bushes, briars, and wildflowers. It is about 10 feet high from the ground and has a number of other huge rocks adjoining it which would cover about a quarter of a mile.
The cave had a small access that Mrs. Snoddy believed had been cut by hand and narrow path led to an entrance. Local spelunkers, the Charlton brothers of Dillwyn, planned to explore it.
But what of the Civil War-era deserter? In 1860, there was a free black man named Alfred Slaughter (age 47), living adjacent Robert Baber and his mill. Slaughter appears to be living alone. Ten years later, there was a “Albert” Slaughter (age 55) living adjacent Baber. Albert was married to Lockey (age 40) and living with them were two girls, Susan (age 15) and Elizabeth (age 11).
Are Alfred and Albert the same man? Probably. Did he hide out to escape conscription? Or did he join the Confederate forces and, later, desert? Given his age, he was a bit old to serve in the war. In 1880, he was once again enumerated as Albert Slaughter, living with Lockey and adjacent what are probably his married daughters.
If a Slate River Ramblings reader knows more about Slaughter’s Den, please comment below.
For more about Robert Baber and his mill, put “Baber’s Mill” in the search box to the left and enjoy the results.
Thanks, again, to Phil James for sharing this Buckingham County mystery.
slate river ramblings . . . . 