The Muse: December 2006From the PresidentCemetery Recording Project--Volunteers of the Historical Society are searching and recording old family and church cemeteries. This is an ongoing and seemingly endless project. We need volunteers who like to be outside and like the hunt. We also need people to report any family cemeteries on their property. Better yet--record the names, dates, relationships and service with an exact location of the cemetery and send the information to the Amherst County Museum. The Wills Cemetery off Alhambra Road was recently recorded. There are over one hundred uninscribed stone markers in neat rows. Does anyone have knowledge of interments there? Many Cashes and Campbells were buried in this cemetery. We need a GPS to precisely locate all these cemeteries. We would welcome a donation of a GPS to the Museum for this project. The Society’s primary goal is preserving the history of Amherst County. There is a wealth of genealogical information in our cemeteries. Help us capture this data before it disappears! Charles Hamble, President * * * * * * *Christmas at the MuseumTuesday, 12 December from 4 to 6 p.m.Christmas Open HouseRefreshments, music and festivities in an atmosphere of elegant décor! Christmas Open House is Dec. 12 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to enjoy the holiday spirit at the Museum with its lovely Christmas decorations both inside and out. There will be refreshments and a performance by the Billy Hunt Singers, a favorite group from last year. A new treat this year will be a father-son duo playing holiday music and Civil War music, complete with period clothing. You certainly won’t want to miss these festivities! Lots of fun, food, and entertainment. Come and enjoy! Saturday, 2 December from 4:30 to 6 p.m.Join us for free cookies and cocoa at the Museum.Co-sponsored with the Amherst County Chamber of Commerce Last year the Museum and the Chamber of Commerce teamed up to make our front lawn a popular parade watching place! We’ll do it again this year, too. * * * * * * *What’s new in the library:
* * * * * * *ATTENTION: We need your help! We would like pictures of the old town of Amherst and stories of its people and places for including in our future publication about the town. Pictures will be returned promptly. * * * * * * *Your Tax Deductible GiftsAccording to IRS rules and regulations, any financial donations you make to the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society before the end of 2006 are tax deductible, since the ACM&HS is a non-profit organization. Your gift will help preserve historic artifacts and other items related to early days in this area for residents and visitors to enjoy now and in Amherst County’s future. Current special projects at the Museum include plans to build an annex where farm tools can be stored. When you stop by to see the decorations and exhibits during the Holiday Season, we hope you’ll play Santa with your tax deductible donation. December 31 is the last day you can use your gift as a tax deduction for this year! Thank you! * * * * * * *Did You Know?Next year, 2007, the Kearfott-Wood House will be one hundred years old. This house was built on the foundation of an earlier building - the Powell tavern. During the colonial period when the church and state had not been separated, counties and parishes would be divided as the population in western areas grew. A new county and a new parish would be established by an act of the Assembly at the same time. This was not the case with Amherst and Nelson counties. Amherst Parish was divided in 1778,with the southern portion named Lexington Parish, but Nelson County was not established until 1807. * * * * * * *The Latest ElectionWhile everyone else was voting for senators and other legislators, the Museum’s ongoing elections from our old Coolwell voting booth continues. The most recent set of results reflect favorite summertime activities. (Yes, now out of season, but it started earlier in the summer!) Camping: 78; Vacation: 75; Reading 61; Swimming: 58; Picnics: 57; Gardening 46; Riding Horses: 45; Patriotic Parades: 41; Baseball: 38; and Watermelon: 5. What will we vote for now? Turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and more are the candidates for your favorite holiday menu. Let us know what your preferences are. As always, there are no limits as to how many candidates your can vote for, or even how many times you can vote. This is a great opportunity to teach your children about elections of yesteryear! The Whitehead Gallery is now exhibiting An Old Fashioned County Fair. That prizewinning apple pie is only the beginning! These cases are adorned with blue and red prize ribbons from 1911 and 1912, a certificate from the Virginia Flock Egg Laying Contest, programs from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s for contests of showing horses, cattle and other livestock, in addition to well-child awards and yes, even prizes for good penmanship! * * * * * * *Music @ the MuseumLove and Death, a program of seventeenth century music in English and Italian, was presented at the Amherst County Museum before a full house audience. These professional musicians proved themselves to be not only extremely talented, but also very entertaining! The event included evening refreshments and opportunities to ask questions about the music and instruments. Charles Weaver provided some history of the period’s stringed instruments. Many thanks to the Amherst Glebe Arts Response (AGAR) for their support of this program!. * * * * * * *A Christmas Tale: The Great Winter Chase and Homecoming, 1863by Robert FaughtAvailable to our members. * * * * * * *Welcome to our new members
* * * * * * *Coming EventsOur winter lectures are being scheduled even as this newsletter goes to press. Be sure to keep an eye on the Amherst New Era-Progress to find out more, or look for them on the Museum’s website. The Museum’s new Children’s Activities committee is busy planning events to introduce budding historians to Amherst County’s history as well. Watch for a program about Frank Padgett in January, and a Valentine special in February. Our Annual Historic House Tour is planned for Saturday, April 21, so be sure to put that on your calendar, too!. * * * * * * *Amherst County Jamestown 2007 Committee Announces Student Essay Winners!Amherst County fifth graders have been busy learning more about the Jamestown settlement and the essay contest committee received over 300 essays. Judging these was a difficult task, as there were many excellent essays! The top three winners are Catherine Coleman (Madison Heights); Kelsey Purvis (Central); and Rachel Gries (Amherst). The top three in each school:
Congratulations to all these students for a job well done! Look forward to seeing them in the Christmas Parade! * * * * * * *For that Special Gift...you may want to consider something that you can’t get at a generic department store or standard book store. The Museum’s book store is the place to shop! Alfred Percy’s Amherst County Story is a delightful history of Amherst County, complete with the county’s original seal on the cover. This volume has photographs, index, rosters of military service and a wealth of stories! This is a perfect gift for someone new to the county, or someone who’d like to get to know it a little better. For the genealogist the book store also carries the Museum’s publication Gravestone Inscriptions of Amherst County, a treasure trove of information designed for the genealogist whose county roots are deep. This is well indexed and filled with names, birth and death dates and notes of family relationships. Complete with directions to the cemeteries. For those with an eye for décor that is uniquely Amherst, consider an Amherst Miniature. These beautifully detailed collectibles can add distinction to any mantelpiece or window ledge. Below is shown a sampling of this growing selection of collectibles.. For more ideas and possibilities, or to order by mail, check out the Museum’s page. |