Mrs. Hart Identified

I have been working on annotating the Civil War Diary of Betty Herndon Maury, and as an aid to that effort I have been compiling genealogical charts in an effort to identify various people Betty mentions. It is a difficult task, as so many names are repeated through the generations; and Betty sometimes uses the words cousin, aunt, uncle and so on in ways other than those I am familiar with.

Betty several times refers to a Mrs. Hart in Fredericksburg, and I had not been able to figure out who she was until I discovered Betty had given a clue as to her identity: Mrs. Hart was Susan Crutchfield's cousin. Using this clue and the genealogy charts I was finally able to identify Mrs. Hart as Jane Blake (Minor) Hart (1830-1900), wife of William Timothy Hart (1822-1885). Susan's father (Oscar Minor Crutchfield) and Janes mother (Malvina (Crutchfield) Minor) were brother and sister.

Susan, who later married Betty's brother Richard was staying with Jane and William Hart at the time Betty was writing her diary there.

As small a matter as is the identity of Mrs. Hart in the grand scheme of things, it has given me a great sense of satisfaction to be able to pin down her identity. I wish I knew more about her!

Civil War Graffiti

Today's posting at the Mysteries and Conundrum's blog addresses graffiti created by Civil War soldiers. I have noticed such graffiti in many locations I have visited in Virginia. The author of today's post has asked: ". . . there must be many antebellum structures in the Fredericksburg area that still retain names, messages, and drawings from soldiers who visited them so long ago. If you are aware of any surviving graffiti in the area, and would like to share it, please let us know." I, for one, will now start collecting such information to relay to the National Park Service historians.

Ashes of Glory - Richmond at War

I am reading Ashes of Glory - Richmond at War by Ernest B. Furguson. It is a fascinating view of how Richmond and her citizens fared during the American Civil War. Highly recommended.

Fredericksburg Battlefield blog

Mysteries and Conundrums, "exploring the Civil War-era landscape at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP in an unofficial sort of way."

This is a wonderful resource!

Betty's Brother Matthew

As I continue work on annotating the Civil War diary of Betty Herndon Maury, I continue to encounter wonderfully helpful people in libraries. The Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Fredericksburg VA has helped me on several occasions. And now the Cincinnati Library is helping me in my quest to learn about the death of Betty's brother, the one she refers to as Matsy in her diary, more formally known as Matthew Fontaine Maury. Some people have appended Junior to his name, as his name is the same as his father's, but I'm not sure that is correct. There have been so many of that very same name that it's hard to keep them straight.

Here's what I know about Matsy. He was born January 9, 1849. His father called him Matsy, Boy, and Brave. On December 18, 1877 Matsy married Rose Robinson (1856-1937). Matsy was a cartographer, and the Library of Congress web site displays at least one of his maps. Matsy died on December 31, 1886, just short of his 38th birthday. I found one reference which said he is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

And this is where the wonderful people at the Cincinnati Library come into the picture. They are searching to see if they can find Matsy's obituary for me. Thirty eight is young to die, and I would like to know what the cause of death was. So far I have not been able to learn anything more about his death, and it might be that no obituary was ever published. The help of the Cincinnati Library is much appreciated, whatever the outcome.

Ink in the Civil War

I went to the Virginia Historical Society library today to look at a fragmentary diary kept by Betty Herndon Maury's sister-in-law, Susan Crutchfield Maury. The library's record for this diary says it was written in 1864. By chance, I had read the following extract from Virginia Clay-Clopton's memoirs, A Belle of the Fifties, where she describes how women in the south during the American Civil War had to make their own ink. Reading that was fortuitous, for when I saw Susan's diary, the "ink" was so faded that I could not read the words. The kind reference librarians at the Virginia Historical Society copied the diary pages for me on a copy machine which darkened the letters somewhat. I am going to scan the copied pages and see if I can darken the written words even more so that I can transcribe Susan's diary. I don't know what Susan used to make the "ink" she used to write the diary. What is left of it is a light brown color.


A Belle of the Fifties
Virginia Clay-Clopton
London, Wm. Heinemann, 1905

Page 227: "We made our own writing fluids, our commonest resource being the oak ball, a parasite, which, next to the walnut burr, is the blackest thing in the vegetable world. Or, this failing us, soot was scooped from the chimney, and, after a careful sifting, was mixed with water and 'fixed' with a few drops of vinegar. Sometimes we used poke-berries, manufacturing a kind of red ink, or, made thin with water, some bit of miraculously saved shoe polish provided us with an adhesive black fluid."

Richmond - Hollywood Cemetery

The weather was not particularly cooperative today - cold and overcast (raining now). Nevertheless I decided to see if I could find Hollywood Cemetery again. It is 7.5 miles from where I live, and I got there with no difficulty. I stopped to purchase a map of the cemetery for $1. A map is absolutely necessary for this 135 acre cemetery. I've gotten lost there in the past when I did not have a map. I stopped at the iron dog to say hello. There was snow on the ground which showed dog footprints of a size to match the iron dog walking away from the grave. It was too cold to get out and walk around, but this will be a frequent destination for me once the weather warms up. I have found another place I am excited about visiting once spring arrives: Belle Isle. Both of these places will be good for walking and getting some exercise.

I had my camera with me, but the pictures were out of focus. I discovered that a button on the lens had been moved from its autofocus spot. I have now put it back in the correct place, so hopefully my return trips will yield focused photos. I wish I wish the photo of the dog footprints had turned out.