Next meeting of Central Virginia History Researchers: Thursday, Sep. 9, 4 PM, at the Jefferson Library
Nota bene: The September meeting is the second Thursday in the month. And there is no August meeting.
Topic: TBA, but something related to our project, African-American Families Database: Community Formation in Albemarle County 1850-1880. We hope to have a demo of how the sample database for the project is working out.
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Most of the meeting will be devoted to talking about ways to incorporate mapping and locations into the website for our NEH grant-funded pilot project, the African-American Families Database: Community Formation in Albemarle County, Virginia, 1850-1880. Bill Ferster of SHANTI (UVA's Sciences, Humanities & Arts Network of Technological Initiatives) and Bob Vernon will take the lead in discussing the possibilities.
We also want to keep forging ahead with non-technical aspects of the website. Should we do some oral history? How can we include biographical narratives and other qualitative information? Other thoughts?
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Topic: Part Two: Commonwealth vs. Judy (slave), 1859
Alice Cannon will reveal what she has learned since her presentation in March 2009. She then told us about Judy, aged eight, who was tried and convicted of attempting to murder her mistress, Margaret Rogers Terrell of Glen Echo. Judy was condemned to hang, pardoned by Governor Wise, and sent to the State Penitentiary in Richmond. The document indicating Judy had been delivered to the prison was the last known trace of her.
In the past year Alice researched Judy’s family, the Woodfolks, following them through Emancipation and afterward. In the process she has learned of Judy’s return to Albemarle County and her family.
Next meeting of Central Virginia History Researchers: Thursday, June 3, 4 PM, at the Jefferson Library
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Next meeting of Central Virginia History Researchers: Thursday, May 6, 4 PM, at the Jefferson Library*
It’s official. NEH announced on March 30 that it had awarded eighteen Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants and ours is one of them!! Kudos and many thanks to Lynn Rainville for doing the lion’s share of the grant proposal work and shepherding it to success. And to all of you who contributed your time and ideas.
The announcement is at http://www.neh.gov/ODH/. Click on Awards for Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants and find our project listed under Sweet Briar College.
Topic: Onward ….
With our NEH grant-funded pilot project, the African-American Families Database: Community Formation in Albemarle County, Virginia, 1850-1880. Lynn Rainville will tell us more about the grant and what it will cover. And we welcome everyone’s participation in discussing the best ways to proceed.
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This talk is being held at Monticello during our regularly scheduled CVHR meeting so instead of holding a separate meeting, please join us at this public talk. Below is the description from Monticello. Please note they are asking folks to RSVP for the talk (see the link below). Also note that a pre-talk reception begins at 3:30.
Cassandra Pybus, professor of history at the University of Sydney, will give a talk, entitled “Calling Himself William Lee”: The Meanings of Slave Surnames in Jefferson’s Virginia, on the reluctance of slave owners such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to acknowledge or record the surnames of enslaved workers. The stance of these “enlightened” owners implies there was something novel about enslaved people having surnames. Pybus argues that the use of surnames was widespread among the enslaved of Virginia by the second half of the 18th century. By interrogating the unique dataset available for about 1,000 enslaved people from Virginia listed with surnames in the Book of Negroes in 1783, it is possible to tease out the importance of surnames; the ways in which surnames were chosen; how surnames were deployed; and why slave masters would choose to ignore them. Reception at 3:30. The talk begins at 4 p.m. at Monticello’s Jefferson Library. The talk—offered as part of the ICJS Distinguished Lecture Series—is free, but space is limited. Please e-mail to register.
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Ok, the title is an April Fool’s joke. Because of a Monticello talk that overlaps with our normal meeting time we will join forces and attend the public talk in lieu of our formal meeting. We can always stick around afterwards and catch up briefly. Please see the next post about the April 1 talk at Monticello.
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Topic: Albemarle County Schools after the Civil War
Time to begin exploring aspects of community formation in depth, and to look at them in relation to our two study sites. First, education. Lynn Rainville, Gayle Schulman, and Dede Smith will update us on the Rosenwald schools project, records dealing with county schools, teachers, and attendance, and Hydraulic-area schools. Contributions from others are welcomed.
Note: the meeting is canceled if Monticello is closed because of inclement weather. For information, go to or call 434-984-9822, press 1, then press 4 for a recorded announcement
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When: Thursday, Feb. 4, 4 PM
Where: Jefferson Library (at Monticello). Meeting is canceled if Monticello is closed because of inclement weather. For information, go to www.monticello.org.
Topic: A learning and sharing meeting. A chance to share information and research methodology. Our northern Virginia members Marie and Jane are coming (weather permitting!), as are three new members who have undertaken a project to study the laborers (mostly Irish as well as enslaved African Americans) on the Blue Ridge railroad tunnels (1849-1859).
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The Charlottesville Family History Center of the local LDS Church and the Central Virginia Genealogical Association (CVGA) will again sponsor the Charlottesville Family History Conference on Saturday, March 27th from 8:30am until 4:00pm. The location is at the LDS Church Building and Family History Center located on Airport Road north of Charlottesville. The conference is free.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Your Life Story Is Your Legacy”. The goal is to encourage attendees to document their own lives in addition to researching their ancestors. Five of the planned twenty-five classes will concern journaling, digital photography, personal publishing, and preservation. Other topics will include how to get started in genealogy, internet research, technology advances, military research, African-American research, and a wide variety of other topics.
Additional information may be found on the Family History Center website .
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The Central Virginia Genealogical Association invites you to their January program. Sam Towler, editor of the Central Virginia Heritage, will talk about his new book, The Court Doth Order: Extracts From Albemarle County & Charlottesville, VA Order, Law Order, & Minute Books: 1800-1900.
Mr Towler compiled over 12,000 entries about Albemarle County and Charlottesville residents from 1800 to 1900.
WHEN: Saturday, 9th January 2010 at 1:30 p. m.
WHERE: The Family History Center, located at the rear entrance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, on Airport Road.
ALSO: The CVGA Computer Interest Group will meet Saturday, 23 January 2010, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., at the Northside Library.
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