Spinster ladies. I grew up next door to three. Miss Anne, Miss Emma and Miss Ida [names changed to protect the innocent]. Very nice ladies, they'd give us three kids special treats, I have no idea if they were related. Their house was dripping with antiques, tho. Even at my young age it made me drool. Is this a southern thing, or a late- Victorian holdover? Single gentlemen and spinster ladies were quite common back then. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Nov 15, 2008, at 7:45 PM, Craig Kilby wrote: > Eliz > > Glad you enjoyed it. I sure did. > > I never met the old ladies. I didn't put this in the story, but when > driving their yard I asked Lucia just who these "old ladies" were. > She said they were four old ladies, now down to three. I asked, "Are > they sisters?" She said, "Oh, no." I asked, "What do you mean?" > She said, "I never asked, and they never told. If you get my drift." > > HA HA HA > > Craig > > On Nov 15, 2008, at 7:21 PM, Eliz Hanebury wrote: > >> What a wonderful tale, I sure wish I had been there to see it <G> and >> to see what the old ladies thought of the convoy <G> >> >> >> >> Eliz >> >> On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 6:57 PM, Craig Kilby >> <persisto@earthlink.net> wrote: >>> Dear Listers: >>> >>> In the many years I have been doing genealogical research, today >>> must >>> rank among one of the most memorable ever. Not all things have >>> to do >>> with court houses. They sometimes have to do with cemeteries, >>> and on >>> very special occasions, they have to do with ceremonies for soldiers >>> past. Since getting there is half the fun, please allow me to >>> share >>> a most enjoyable day. >>> >>> It all started over a year ago, when Mike Lyman, a fellow SAR >>> compatriot of the Richard Henry Lee Chapter in Lancaster County, >>> Virginia, and past President of the Virginia Society War of 1812 >>> Virginia, came into the Mary Ball Museum & Library to donate his >>> latest work, "Location of War of 1812 Veteran Graves in Virginia" I >>> told him I knew of a grave I bet he didn't. He was all ears. I >>> told >>> him about the Kilby family grave yard at Slate Mills in Rappahannock >>> County, where lies Private Leroy Kilby (1785-1859). >>> >>> Fast forward to today. I drove up yesterday (Friday) to do some >>> research for a client at the Culpeper Court House. (If anybody >>> knows >>> where the MISSING "Foushee vs. Foushee's Executor" chancery suit, >>> settled in 1845, has gone to, please let me know. It contains the >>> will of one Thornton Foushee whose will was recorded in MISSING Will >>> Book "M".) >>> >>> I had not been to Culpeper for any length of time in at last ten >>> years. I must say, the downtown is quite a hopping little place for >>> night life. I had a wonderful mug of "Crab Swiss Fondue" soup at >>> "The Pub" on East Davis, which is in a basement off of an alley, and >>> is the site of the old Culpeper County jail, where my poor old >>> great- >>> great uncle Joseph Kilby died while there in 1845. He was >>> incarcerated for bad debts relating to questionable horse >>> dealing. I >>> toasted him in front of the roaring wood burning fireplace. I'm >>> sure >>> it was all just a minor misunderstanding. (When I relayed this >>> story >>> to the staff, I was informed the place is very much haunted.) >>> >>> But the thrust of this trip was all about today. >>> >>> Today began with intermitment rains, and did not bode well for any >>> outdoor activities. To start the day, however, was an in-door >>> meeting of the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter of the SAR here at the >>> Best >>> Western Hotel where I am staying and from which I write this >>> account. >>> >>> My local SAR chapter apparently does nothing by the rule book. We >>> are simply a social organization that meets for cocktails at 11:30 >>> a.m., have a nice lunch and a good speaker, and go home. Always a >>> good crowd, and that is all I thought it was supposed to be. >>> >>> Let me tell, when I walked in I saw half of the people there in >>> period costume, including Mike Lyman, who had told me in advance >>> that >>> I would learn what a "real" SAR meeting is all about, I knew I >>> was in >>> for something quite different. I'll skip all the formalities here. >>> As people introduced themselves, I learned that our featured speaker >>> today was none other than Marc Wheat, President of the Germanna >>> Memorial Foundation. Now this came as quite a shock as just this >>> very morning I had been exchanging emails with John Blankenbaker >>> about the origins of the First Colony. >>> >>> A huge pang of guilt also hit me, as I had not renewed my membership >>> to Germanna in some years. I rectified that immediately! I had >>> never met Marc in person, and I knew nothing of his professional >>> background (very impressive), and I was quite eager to hear his >>> presentation. Unfortunately, most of it was drowned out by a live >>> band at a birthday party in the next room, and an Evangelical choir >>> group across the hall. Bad planning on the part of the Best >>> Western. Marc did a good job of going with the flow, even >>> dancing to >>> the music at one point. >>> >>> These "real" SAR meetings really drag on. Everybody gets an award >>> for something. >>> >>> But, dear reader, if you have stayed with me this far, we get to the >>> really good part of the day. >>> >>> The Society for the War of 1812, under Mike Lyman diligent >>> pursuit of >>> making this happen, was scheduled for 3:00 at the Kilby Family >>> Cemetery at Slate Mills. I must here mention my dear cousin Lucia >>> Kilby of Sperryville who coordinated this with Mike Lyman. >>> >>> Now, as I said at the beginning, getting there is half the fun. >>> Today, it was nearly all of the fun. Remember, it had been raining >>> most of the day, and most of the previous two days before. >>> >>> The Kilby cemetery is not exactly anywhere anyone would ever find >>> it. In fact, it is no where anyone would ever find it. Knowing >>> this, Lucia Kilby had arranged for us all to meet at the Slate Mills >>> Baptist Church. Finding even that is not an easy task, but we all >>> had good directions. >>> >>> Driving from Culpeper to Slate Mills in a driving rain, not even >>> knowing if Lucia would show up or not (the dear lady is in her 80s), >>> I arrived ahead of most of the group (nearly all from the local SAR >>> chapter, but some from as far away as Fairfax County), and there >>> were >>> a few already assembled. To my surprise and delight, this group >>> included Dr. Walter B. Kilby, a direct descendant of Leroy Kilby, >>> and >>> Lucia's nephew. (Lucia's own children could care less about these >>> things, it being deer season.) >>> >>> The only person who knew how to get to the grave site was Lucia >>> Kilby. It's a good thing I have a jeep. >>> >>> She explained that this grave yard was on private property, and that >>> we had to go through several gates and up a hill which has no >>> road to >>> get to it. That was an understatement. >>> >>> Thankfully, it had quit raining. >>> >>> Since we were still waiting for others, It was decided to take an >>> advance convoy of three vehicles, including Mike Lyman's van with >>> all >>> of the appurtenances for the ceremoney, and come back for the others >>> later. >>> >>> With Craig and Lucia in the lead, in my jeep, we wound our way >>> through some back roads, arrived at the farm in question, and >>> proceeded along. At this point, Lucia's memory got a little >>> foggy on >>> just where the grave yard was. Not where it was, but how to get to >>> it. She hadn't been there in years. (She, in fact, is the one who >>> discovered it umpteen years ago.) >>> >>> So, not seeing any viable way to get up that hill, she said we >>> should >>> just drive through the ladies' yard and go around it, and then up >>> the >>> hill. Which, after another gate, we did. >>> >>> Definitely time to put the jeep in 4-wheel drive mode. >>> >>> To my surprise, Mike Lyman's van actually made it up that mud, >>> slippery hill. But there was one more hill to go, and poor Mike's >>> van just didn't make it that far. Lucia and I proceeded and finally >>> spotted the serene, hill top, iron fenced graveyard. >>> >>> There, we were first greet by two donkeys, followed very shortly >>> afterwards by about 20 wet and very curious horses, ponies and >>> colts. Did we bring food? >>> >>> The third vehicle in the caravan, also a jeep, came up a bit later, >>> informing us that the old ladies who lived there did NOT appreciate >>> our driving through their yard. Didn't we see the gate we had >>> passed >>> to be used for that purpose? (Obviously, we did not.) >>> >>> Alright, after much shuttling back and forth, about 20 people and 20 >>> equines gathered around the grave of Leroy Kilby for a very >>> elaborate >>> ceremony to mark the grave of Private Leroy Kilby, who spent all of >>> six weeks at Camp Selden. (We are not sure where that was, but it >>> was probably on the Potomac River to guard against British man-o- >>> wars >>> coming upstream to burn down Washington and Baltimore. As we all >>> know, that was not a success.) >>> >>> And, I must add, just as the ceremony began, the sun came out in >>> brilliant display. Dr. Kilby unveiled the marker, taps was played, >>> prayers were said, and, well, it was just a most remarkable day for >>> one and all. >>> >>> So, here ends my brief story of one day in the Piedmont of Virginia. >>> >>> Who says genealogy is dull? >>> >>> Yours in History, >>> Craig Kilby >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VACULPEP- >>> request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >>> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >>> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VACULPEP- >> request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes >> in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to VACULPEP- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message