Well, it’s getting to look a lot like Christmas around our house. We decided to have an additional tree this year – a Virginia history book tree! The idea came from a friend (thanks Annette) who is a fellow book lover and a regular A Son of Virginia reader who recently posted about a book tree. I also saw a chance to clean and reorganize my home office, which I am in the middle of now. I am using the LibraryThing app and entering all of my books. Fortunately, the app has a barcode scanner. Unfortunately, less than half of my books have one because they are old. So, those I am entering manually. I estimate I have at least 350 books on various aspects of Virginia history. They range from general Virginia histories – importantly written at different times – to more narrowly focused books on the history of Virginia’s economics, social life, legal development and plantation life. My library includes numerous biographies, Virginia family studies and dozens of Virginia county histories. Books of old maps, old Virginia roads, waterways and mineral springs are also included. I even have one on the history of pirates in Virginia! I’m not even counting the 100+ abstracts of marriages, deeds and order books I regularly use in my research. While more genealogical information becomes available online every day, I still love my books and find that they provide all sorts of information helpful in understanding our ancestors’ lives.

My mother Suzanne (Eisenbeis) Craig (1943-2009) painted all of the Santas above. She did not start painting until she retired at age 55 and as was often the case with anything she tried, she went from student to teacher very quickly. While she occasionally painted other things, Santa’s were her specialty. I wonder what sort of artist she might have become has she lived longer?

Year in Review

Twenty-four posts were published during 2023, which is on target with my goal of two posts per month. We visited Jamestown as well as the counties of Albemarle, Amelia, Brunswick, Chesterfield, Essex, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, Louisa, Nottoway, Prince George and Surry. We learned about Bacon’s Rebellion in Surry County, a witchcraft trial at Jamestown, Virginia Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, old 4th of July traditions, and an old water gristmill. We met the Vaughans of Charles City and Prince George Counties, the Websters of Henrico and Amelia Counties, the Gills of Louisa and Amelia Counties, the Williams and Price families of Surry County, the Atkinsons of Essex, Amelia and Nottoway Counties and the Truly family of Amelia and Nottoway Counties. In a six-part series we met the Hollands of Hanover, Louisa and Prince Edward Counties, which ended up being as much about the people they enslaved such as Patt and Hannah and their descendants as well as Dinah who became free in Missouri at the end of the Civil War.

Looking Forward

Several posts are already in the works for 2024. Some of these are about my French Huguenot ancestors (Remy, DuPuy and LeVillain families) that settled at Manakintown in 1700, the lost will of Charles Hudson of Hanover County (I found it!), A History of Creekland Farm in Amelia County (Vaughan and Morris families), A Call to Arms: The Rowell Brothers and the Civil War, the Edwards and Holt Families of Surry County and my Cumberland County, Virginia ancestors (Blanton, Walker and Dupuy) and more. We’ll also cover a couple of brick wall ancestor mysteries and, of course, we’ll take a few field trips. We may even cover some of my Pennsylvania (paternal grandfather) and Kentucky (maternal grandfather) roots. Yes- even a Son of Virginia has roots outside of Virginia! I hope that you will come along on the journey with me.

Thank You and Happy Holidays

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to take this blog when I first began, but just felt I had to start writing about all of the stuff in my head. You have helped me shape it though your comments, questions, constructive criticism and constant encouragement. I really appreciate that. I have loved history and family history for all of my life and am grateful to have the opportunity to share my research and the wonderful stories I find in those records. I’ll leave you with one last treat for 2023 since you’ve all been so good this year. The following article about Santa Claus appeared in the 1 January 1830 issue of the Alexandria Gazette:

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

• Amelia County Connections
• Surry County Connections