Robert E. Lee on Leadership – H.W. Crocker III Interview

Published on by Robert Van Ness3 Comments

Arguably, the War Between the States might have ended much sooner than it did had men like Robert E. Lee not fought for the Confederacy.

For at least a century Lee’s position in the Pantheon of great American leaders went unchallenged, but that position has been increasingly questioned in more contemporary times. Historians, most notably Douglas Southall Freeman, did much to document Lee’s character and managerial style. But some have begun arguing that Freeman went too far to memorialize the Army of Northern Virginia general.

H.W. Crocker III is not one of those who worships the great leader as an untouchable figure, but he does argue that Lee’s leadership and personal discipline are worthy of study and emulation. As such, Mr. Crocker penned a fascinating work using Lee’s history in an effort to highlight leadership principles that may be used by anyone in any business. At it’s heart, the book is not so much a history book, though it uses historical events to illustrate key points. It’s more of a business/management work in that it uses history to offer insight to organization and team-building. For that reason, this book stands out among other business/management works, because the history is so captivating the reader wants to know and learn from each successive example.

After listening to this episode, get the book for the history, and enjoy the leadership education Mr. Crocker articulates from the life of one of America’s most interesting figures. You won’t be disappointed.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

H.W. Crocker III Books:



All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and Selections from the “The Planets: Op. 32 – Mars: The Bringer of War” by Gustav Holst, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis.

First Families of Virginia – The Carters, Part 3

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

The Carter legacy is second to none. Because they were involved in so many ventures, economic, political, and religious alike, their influence remains to be seen today.

John Carter’s descendants became titans of Virginia’s colonial and early American history. They inhabited, funded, and built major businesses that served to drive Virginia’s progression from a struggling outpost into a wealthy colony. Ironically, one Robert Carter used slave labor to build his wealth, while another Robert Carter used his wealth to free his slaves, such is the Carter complexity.

Because of that complexity, the Carter’s are a fascinating study for anyone. They were staunch Crown supporters, until the Crown appeared to harm them. They were slavers, until religious convictions haunted some. They were leading statesmen, until the new Country seemed to pass them by. But because they were so wealthy, and so familialy connected, the Carters would never vanish. The Commonwealth and indeed United States was built largely upon Carter thought and wealth, and as such earned their place at the top of Virginia’s First Family list.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

SOURCES:

  1. Billings, Warren M.; Selby, John E.; and Tate, Thad W. Colonial Virginia: A History. White Plains, NY: KTO Press. 1986.
  2. Billings, Warren M. Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2004.
  3. Billings, Warren. A Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century. Richmond, VA: Library of Virginia, 2004.
  4. Brown, Katherine L. Robert “King” Carter: Builder of Christ Church. Irvington, VA: Historic Christ Church Heritage Books, 2001.
  5. Bruce, Phillip Alexander. Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Higher Planting Class. New York: JP Bell Company, 1927.
  6. Carter, Robert III. A Man Named Robert: Lessons from the Life of America’s First Great Emancipator. Austin, TX: Cartier and Beaufort Press, 2022.
  7. Currer-Briggs, Noel. The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry. Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex, England: Phillimore, 1979.
  8. Dabney, Virginius. Virginia: The New Dominion, A History from 1607 to the Present. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1971.
  9. Dowdey, Clifford. The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of “King” Carter and the Golden Age. New York: Bonanza Books, 1969.
  10. Dowdey, Clifford. The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, 1732-1775. New York: Little Brown, 1970.
  11. Evans, Emory G. A “Topping People”: The Rise and Decline of Virginia’s Old Political Elite, 1680-1790. Charlottesville, VA: UVA Press, 2009.
  12. Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  13. Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography. New York: Charles Scribners, 1957. (Specifically Volume 1).
  14. Horn, James. Adapting to A New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
  15. Isaac, Rhys. Landon Carter’s Uneasy Kingdom: Revolution and Rebellion on a Virginia Plantation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  16. Isaac, Rhys. The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press, 1999.
  17. Levy, Andrew. The First Emancipator: The Forgotten Story of Robert Carter, the Founding Father Who Freed His Slaves. New York: Random House, 2005.
  18. Mapp, Alfred J. Virginia Experiment: The Old Dominion’s Role in the Making of America, 1607-1781. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2006.
  19. McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: A Biographical Dictionary, 1607-1635. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.
  20. Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. in Two Volumes. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1891.
  21. Neill, Edward D. Virginia Carolorum: The Colony under the Rule of Charles The First and Second, A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s and Sons, 1886.
  22. Pecquet du Bellet, Louise. Some Prominent Virginia Families, 4 Volumes. Lynchburg, VA:  J.P. Bell Company, 1907.
  23. Rothbard, Murray N. Conceived in Liberty. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 1999.
  24. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and the James River. Richmond, VA: The Hermitage Press, 1906.
  25. Wallace, George Selden. The Carters of Blenheim: A Genealogy of Edward and Sarah Champe Carter of “Blenheim” Albemarle County, Virgnia. Richmond, VA: Garrett and Massie, Inc., 1955.
  26. Walsh, Lorena S. Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607-1763. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
  27. Washburn, Wilcomb E. Virginia Under Charles I and Cromwell 1625-1660. Kindle Edition.
  28. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. Virginia Under the Stuarts: 1607-1688. New York: Russell and Russell, 1959.
  29. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. The Planters of Colonial Virginia. Kindle Edition.
  30. “Captain Thomas Carter and His Descendants: By One of Them, Dr. Joseph Lyon Miller, Thomas, West Virginia.” The William and Mary Quarterly 17, no. 4 (1909): 275–85.
  31. “Carter Ancestry.” The William and Mary Quarterly 9, no. 1 (1900): 34–37.
  32. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1909): 47–58.
  33. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 2 (1909): 89–103.
  34. Jos. Lyon Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 4 (1910): 235–43.
  35. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 2 (1910): 116–37.
  36. Miller, Joseph L. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 3 (1911): 184–94.
  37. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 20, no. 1 (1911): 38–51.
  38. The Fairfax Grant – http://www.vaplaces.org
  39. The Proprietors of the Northern Neck: Leeds Castle – http://www.culpepperconnections.com

SPECIAL LINKS:

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of the Carter Family Crest. The gallery from top left to bottom right – 1. Robert Carter III Gravestone at Nomini Hall 2. Carter Family Marker at Nomini Hall 3. Nomini Hall Marker 4. Historic Marker at Heathsville commemorating Carter’s Deed of Gift 5. Robert Carter III Portrait at Oatlands 6. Carter’s Deed of Gift 7. Carter’s Grove Plantation 8. Robert Carter III House at Colonial Williamsburg 9. George and Elizabeth Carter Portraits at Oatlands 10. Nomini Hall Sketch 11. Historic Oatlands Plantation 12. Carter Family Fold 13. President Jimmy Carter 14. Blenheim Vineyards 15. Nanzatico 16. Sabine Hall 17. Carter Mountain 18. Shirley Plantation





Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and “Keep on the Sunny Side” by The Carter Family, also available on Apple Music.

The Jeffersonians – Dr. Kevin Gutzman Interview

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

Few eras, if any, were more influential in American History than the period between 1800 and 1824. Dr. Kevin Gutzman focuses upon this period in his newest book, The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe.

Most writers separate this period at least into two sections, 1800-1815, and then 1815-1824. Even more historians chop the era into 3 separate chunks based upon each presidential administration. In so doing, those works focus largely upon the man occupying the Presidential office, but Dr. Gutzman has a different focus in his work.

The Jeffersonians were more than just the three Presidents dominating this era. They were followers of a visionary ideal set forth from a list of principles largely derived from Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address. Those principles governed domestic, foreign, economic, and judicial policies during the only era in which three men from the same party were elected to two successive terms each.

Such was the Jeffersonian dominance that the main political opposition, the Federalist Party, ceased to exist before the era ended. But the Jeffersonian era wasn’t without controversy. Most opposition to the Jeffersonian vision came from judicial review. Madison’s administration, however, added economic and foreign policy debacles that should have at the very least undone his tenure. Still, opinion remained rather favorable even when opposition arose from the Hartford Convention that formed in order to address Madison’s mismanagement.

Favor turned into the Era of Good Feelings as Monroe’s administration was called. The young United States grew, people were genuinely happy with Monroe’s leadership, and his political appointments executed their respective jobs with aplomb. Yet, when Monroe’s time ended, so too did the Jeffersonian era. Perhaps that is not correct, given that successive generations still viewed the Jeffersonian vision admirably, but with Monroe’s retirement, an era most definitely ended.

Soon, some of the old Federalists morphed into new political parties, chief of whom were the Whigs, and many from the Jeffersonian camp were supplanted by Jackson’s newer vision. All of the movers involved in this post-Jeffersonian Era, however, found their beginning during the 24 year period dominated by the close-knit Virginian Presidents. As such, they all had been influenced by the Jeffersonians. For this reason and so many others the Jeffersonian Era is vitally important to American understanding, and Dr. Gutzman’s work illustrates the period with prescient skill, making his book a must read for scholars and enthusiasts alike.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

Dr. Gutzman’s Books:

Special Links:




All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of The Jeffersonians.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and Selections from the “Appalachian Spring Suite” by Aaron Copeland, performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

First Families of Virginia – The Carters, Part 2

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

No one dominated Virginia between Governor Berkeley and the American War for Independence more completely than Robert “King” Carter. His presence could be felt in every facet.

Carter reigned supreme economically in that he purchased and sold more land than anyone else. He used that land not only for tobacco, but also many other ventures including agriculture, mining, and other schemes. These projects were so successful that after Carter’s death, his proprietor, Lord Fairfax, decided that he had to move to Virginia himself and take over the family business.

Politically, few rivaled Carter, and none save perhaps James Blair, reigned supreme for so long. Carter won most of his battles, and in the end even served to write and rewrite many of Virginia’s laws. Those who dared to oppose him often lost in spectacular ways, such as when Governor ran afoul of many leading colonists. Carter’s heavy influence certainly helped sway the Crown’s decision in removing the erstwhile Nicholson.

As dominant as Carter was both economically and politically, he left a far more enduring legacy with his large family. Robert married twice, fathered 15 children, and more than 60 grandchildren. Carter made sure that this vast progeny married well and received desirable bequests from his more than 60 page will. Those bequests set his descendants in high positions of influence for many generations, even influencing the United States still today. Such was the vast shadow that Carter cast that in some instances it can still be felt, both good and bad, today.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

SOURCES:

  1. Billings, Warren M.; Selby, John E.; and Tate, Thad W. Colonial Virginia: A History. White Plains, NY: KTO Press. 1986.
  2. Billings, Warren M. Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2004.
  3. Billings, Warren. A Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century. Richmond, VA: Library of Virginia, 2004.
  4. Brown, Katherine L. Robert “King” Carter: Builder of Christ Church. Irvington, VA: Historic Christ Church Heritage Books, 2001.
  5. Bruce, Phillip Alexander. Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Higher Planting Class. New York: JP Bell Company, 1927.
  6. Currer-Briggs, Noel. The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry. Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex, England: Phillimore, 1979.
  7. Dabney, Virginius. Virginia: The New Dominion, A History from 1607 to the Present. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1971.
  8. Dowdey, Clifford. The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of “King” Carter and the Golden Age. New York: Bonanza Books, 1969.
  9. Dowdey, Clifford. The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, 1732-1775. New York: Little Brown, 1970.
  10. Evans, Emory G. A “Topping People”: The Rise and Decline of Virginia’s Old Political Elite, 1680-1790. Charlottesville, VA: UVA Press, 2009.
  11. Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  12. Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography. New York: Charles Scribners, 1957. (Specifically Volume 1).
  13. Horn, James. Adapting to A New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
  14. Mapp, Alfred J. Virginia Experiment: The Old Dominion’s Role in the Making of America, 1607-1781. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2006.
  15. McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: A Biographical Dictionary, 1607-1635. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.
  16. Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. in Two Volumes. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1891.
  17. Neill, Edward D. Virginia Carolorum: The Colony under the Rule of Charles The First and Second, A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s and Sons, 1886.
  18. Pecquet du Bellet, Louise. Some Prominent Virginia Families, 4 Volumes. Lynchburg, VA:  J.P. Bell Company, 1907.
  19. Rothbard, Murray N. Conceived in Liberty. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 1999.
  20. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and the James River. Richmond, VA: The Hermitage Press, 1906.
  21. Walsh, Lorena S. Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607-1763. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
  22. Washburn, Wilcomb E. Virginia Under Charles I and Cromwell 1625-1660. Kindle Edition.
  23. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. Virginia Under the Stuarts: 1607-1688. New York: Russell and Russell, 1959.
  24. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. The Planters of Colonial Virginia. Kindle Edition.
  25. “Captain Thomas Carter and His Descendants: By One of Them, Dr. Joseph Lyon Miller, Thomas, West Virginia.” The William and Mary Quarterly 17, no. 4 (1909): 275–85.
  26. “Carter Ancestry.” The William and Mary Quarterly 9, no. 1 (1900): 34–37.
  27. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1909): 47–58.
  28. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 2 (1909): 89–103.
  29. Jos. Lyon Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 4 (1910): 235–43.
  30. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 2 (1910): 116–37.
  31. Miller, Joseph L. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 3 (1911): 184–94.
  32. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 20, no. 1 (1911): 38–51.
  33. The Fairfax Grant – http://www.vaplaces.org
  34. The Proprietors of the Northern Neck: Leeds Castle – http://www.culpepperconnections.com

SPECIAL LINKS:

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of the Carter Family Crest.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and “The Storms Are on the Ocean” by The Carter Family, also available on Apple Music.

First Families of Virginia – The Carters, Part 1

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

Arguably all families on the list could have had more than a single episode dedicated to them. The Custises did. The Carters, however, must have more than one, which is what I’ve done with this family. The sheer size and importance of just the John of Corotoman line requires, even summarily, more time. As such, this episode briefly looks at the Carter’s American founding up to the emergence of family scion Robert “King” Carter.

The Carters were quite common in England. They were not nobility, but did acquire enough land and importance by the late 16th Century to earn the right to a coat of arms. They acknowledged their commonality on that family crest, as you can see above, by affixing wheels to their shield as a nod to their family past. Carting goods, though common, however, allowed the Carters of all branches to learn something of the merchanting trade. That knowledge put them in prime position when the time came for New World trade to begin.

Many Carters appear to have sailed to Virginia in the early 17th Century, but only a few remained to establish roots. This episode, and any hereafter, will focus mainly upon the chiefest branch of that Carter lineage that of John Carter of Corotoman. I will set aside some space in the future to discuss two other branches, but that’s only to show just how pervasive the Carter name truly was. Still, no matter which branch one focuses upon, it’s undoubted just how important the Carters were. They intermarried with all the great families, built the most spectacular plantations, and dominated Virginia’s Colonial Golden Age. Such an influence commands respect while demands attention.

SOURCES:

  1. Billings, Warren M.; Selby, John E.; and Tate, Thad W. Colonial Virginia: A History. White Plains, NY: KTO Press. 1986.
  2. Billings, Warren M. Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2004.
  3. Billings, Warren. A Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century. Richmond, VA: Library of Virginia, 2004.
  4. Brown, Katherine L. Robert “King” Carter: Builder of Christ Church. Irvington, VA: Historic Christ Church Heritage Books, 2001.
  5. Bruce, Phillip Alexander. Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Higher Planting Class. New York: JP Bell Company, 1927.
  6. Currer-Briggs, Noel. The Carters of Virginia: Their English Ancestry. Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex, England: Phillimore, 1979.
  7. Dabney, Virginius. Virginia: The New Dominion, A History from 1607 to the Present. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1971.
  8. Dowdey, Clifford. The Virginia Dynasties: The Emergence of “King” Carter and the Golden Age. New York: Bonanza Books, 1969.
  9. Dowdey, Clifford. The Golden Age: A Climate for Greatness, 1732-1775. New York: Little Brown, 1970.
  10. Evans, Emory G. A “Topping People”: The Rise and Decline of Virginia’s Old Political Elite, 1680-1790. Charlottesville, VA: UVA Press, 2009.
  11. Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  12. Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography. New York: Charles Scribners, 1957. (Specifically Volume 1).
  13. Horn, James. Adapting to A New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
  14. Mapp, Alfred J. Virginia Experiment: The Old Dominion’s Role in the Making of America, 1607-1781. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2006.
  15. McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: A Biographical Dictionary, 1607-1635. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.
  16. Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. in Two Volumes. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1891.
  17. Neill, Edward D. Virginia Carolorum: The Colony under the Rule of Charles The First and Second, A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s and Sons, 1886.
  18. Pecquet du Bellet, Louise. Some Prominent Virginia Families, 4 Volumes. Lynchburg, VA:  J.P. Bell Company, 1907.
  19. Rothbard, Murray N. Conceived in Liberty. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 1999.
  20. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and the James River. Richmond, VA: The Hermitage Press, 1906.
  21. Walsh, Lorena S. Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607-1763. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
  22. Washburn, Wilcomb E. Virginia Under Charles I and Cromwell 1625-1660. Kindle Edition.
  23. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. Virginia Under the Stuarts: 1607-1688. New York: Russell and Russell, 1959.
  24. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. The Planters of Colonial Virginia. Kindle Edition.
  25. “Captain Thomas Carter and His Descendants: By One of Them, Dr. Joseph Lyon Miller, Thomas, West Virginia.” The William and Mary Quarterly 17, no. 4 (1909): 275–85.
  26. “Carter Ancestry.” The William and Mary Quarterly 9, no. 1 (1900): 34–37.
  27. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1909): 47–58.
  28. Miller, Lyon. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 2 (1909): 89–103.
  29. Jos. Lyon Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 18, no. 4 (1910): 235–43.
  30. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 2 (1910): 116–37.
  31. Miller, Joseph L. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 19, no. 3 (1911): 184–94.
  32. Jos. L. Miller. “Carter Genealogy.” The William and Mary Quarterly 20, no. 1 (1911): 38–51.

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of the Carter Family Crest. Picture Gallery from Top to Bottom and Left to Right – 1. Corotoman Foundations. 2. Part of the Cedar Lined road leading from Corotoman to Christ Church. 3. Carter’s Creek into the Rappahannock from Corotoman 4. Corotoman 5. Patriarch John Carter and Wives Gravestone at Historic Christ Church 6. Recreated cedar lined road leading to Christ Church.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and “The Storms Are on the Ocean” by The Carter Family, also available on Apple Music.

Virginia’s Important Ghost Stories – Dr. Alena Pirok Interview

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

Halloween brings out a series of ghost tours throughout Virginia from Colonial Williamsburg to Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Portsmouth, and so on. But such tours have only become popular recently. They’re popular, and draw large crowds to Virginia’s many famous sites, but why were such tours frowned upon for so long?

Dr. Alena Pirok joins me to discuss Ghost Stories and their importance to Colonial Williamsburg as well as Virginia. She details how Ghost Stories influenced Colonial Williamsburg’s founding, as well as how Virginian’s have viewed ghosts historically. Her new book reveals just how important those stories were and still are to the Commonwealth. Without them, Virginia’s tourist industry would never be the same. In fact, those frowned upon stories paved the way for the largest history museum in the world’s creation. They might even ensure that such places continue to endure well into the future.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

LINKS TO DR. PIROK’S WORK:

VISIT CW:




All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The featured image is Dr. Pirok’s new book.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on iTunes, and Kevin MacLeod “Vanished” found on Soundcloud.

Abingdon’s Barter Theatre – Katy Brown Interview

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

Virginia’s earliest history saw the colony grow unlike other British and European colonies. The setup was quite sparse with no cities and at best a few small towns along major river outlets. In time, settlers began pushing westward into the Piedmont and mountainous regions. With such moves came new opportunities and ways of life. Through it all, Virginians continued to build smaller town centers along new roads. One such town was Abingdon, which slowly sprang into life along the Great Wagon Road extending southward into Tennessee.

During the mid to late 18th Century men like Daniel Boone and William Byrd III explored the region, before settlers under Thomas Walker began building homes along the Road. Because of unrest between settlers and the nearby Cherokee tribe the English built Black’s Fort, which saw some action during Lord Dunmore’s War, as well as the American War for Independence. After the latter war the settlement around Black’s Fort became known as Abingdon – so named perhaps due to a connection to Martha Washington’s home town Abingdon-on-Thames.

The Settlement continued to grow around a strong community of Scots-Irish immigrants, who built a marked local identity in their adopted Appalachian homeland. Though small population growth steadily increased during the 19th and 20th Centuries, Abingdon never lost her identity. One of the surest ways to witness Abingdon’s charm is visiting her historic district, which, in a nod to the Martha Washington tradition, includes places like the Martha Washington Inn – the former Martha Washington College.

Across the street from the college-turned-inn is the locally and internationally renowned Barter Theatre, or as it is officially known, State Theatre of Virginia. The Theatre moved into an old Presbyterian church during the Great Depression’s darkest days. Work was hard to find for anyone, which meant that little money could be spared for actors trying to ply their trade.

It was during this time that 5th generation Scottish descendant Robert Porterfield from nearby Wythe County embarked upon an acting career and returned to Southwestern Virginia. He worked hard to discover a way to help struggling actors, and founded the Barter Theatre in the process.

Since Porterfield’s original founding of the Theatre, only 3 others have served as the Producing Artistic Director, with Katy Brown being the current office holder. She’s the first woman to hold the position and the perfect person to discuss the Theatre’s history. She joins me to illustrate the Barter as well as offer a glimpse into Abingdon’s charming community.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

BARTER THEATRE LINKS:

The Barter Theatre Logo
Katy Brown
The Moonlight Theatre
Robert Porterfield (Right) Bartering for Tickets





All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. All images for this episode are used with permission from the Barter Theatre, and can be found on their Facebook Page.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and selections from “The Appalachian Spring Suite” by Aaron Copeland, performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein also available on Apple Music.

Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy – Jeremy Moss Interview

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

Piracy became quite a serious issue for Colonial Virginia during the late 17th Century. Many leading figures were split regarding how to handle the situation. Some didn’t want to handle it at all, as they saw piracy as useful outlet circumventing the hated Navigation Acts.

Governor Francis Nicholson chose to fight. His choice affected the colony in profound ways, as our guest for this episode argues in his newest book Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy: The Governor and the Buccaneer. Jeremy illustrates a battle that took place between the Virginia Capes, at the inlet of the Lynnhaven Bay.

Nicholson, the oft-beleaguered governor, won the day. His victory helped future governors in their fight against piracy, most famously Alexander Spottswood’s involvement with Blackbeard. It also aided in bolstering rule of law in such a way that later influenced the American War for Independence.

Tune in to this episode to learn more about Nicholson’s fight with Louis Guittar, and then click the links below to purchase Mr. Moss’s books, as well as follow his work.

Capture of Pirate Blackbeard, 1718 (Wikipedia)

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

JEREMY R. MOSS LINKS:

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is Mr. Moss’s newest book – Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy: The Governor and the Buccaneer, from The History Press.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and “Sailor’s Waltz” by Josh Garrels, also available on Apple Music.

The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals – Dr. Samuel Mitcham, Jr. Interview

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

History is messy. It has many differing viewpoints, some of which infuriate. But one can’t do history properly without looking at differing viewpoints.

Contrary to popular opinion, good history is not unbiased. Every historian has a worldview from which they produce their craft. Good historians state that bias upfront in order for the listener or reader the opportunity to know what they’re consuming up front. The various interviews I’ve conducted on this podcast all show a fairly wide array of bias, and I’m ok with that. I think it reveals a more complete look at messy topics.

With that caveat in mind the historian I interviewed for this episode does not pull from the “3×5 Card of Acceptable Opinion” as Tom Woods calls it. Dr. Samuel Mitcham served in US Army, where he was a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. He then graduated from the US Army’s Command and General Staff College. In addition, Dr. Mitcham studied journalism at Northeast Louisiana University, Science at North Carolina State, and earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Mitcham embarked upon a 20 year teaching career serving on the faculties of Henderson State, Georgia Southern, and University of Louisiana at Monroe. He also taught as a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Mitcham has written many articles, more than 40 books, and has been consulted by many outlets including The History Channel, CBS, NPR, and The BBC. His earlier historical work centered mostly upon World War Two, with a special emphasis on the Nazis, which is best illustrated in his books Rommel’s Desert War, Why Hitler?, and The Genesis of the Third Reich among many others.

Dr. Mitcham then turned his attention to what is most widely known as the American Civil War, though that is not a term Dr. Mitcham personally uses. Arguably, his most well-known work from the genre is It Wasn’t About Slavery: Exposing the Great Lie of the Civil War, though he’s covered more Confederate history, notably his newest book – The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals. This podcast episode focuses upon this newest volume, though we do touch upon a few thoughts from his previous work.

Perhaps the listener might not agree with Dr. Mitcham’s positions, but I encourage everyone to grapple with his ideas. Doing so will offer another viewpoint that might more fully illustrate how “The War” is discussed in contemporary America.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

SAMUEL MITCHAM LINKS:



All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is Dr. Mitcham’s newest book – The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals from Regnery Publishing.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and Water Music, Suite No. 1 in F Major HWV 348: I. Overture: Largo-Allegro by George Frideric Handel, Academy of Ancient Music and Christopher Hogwood, also available on Apple Music.

First Families of Virginia – The Wormeleys

Published on by Robert Van NessLeave a comment

SOURCES:

  1. Billings, Warren M.; Selby, John E.; and Tate, Thad W. Colonial Virginia: A History. White Plains, NY: KTO Press. 1986.
  2. Billings, Warren M. Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press, 2004.
  3. Billings, Warren. A Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century. Richmond, VA: Library of Virginia, 2004.
  4. Bruce, Phillip Alexander. Social Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Higher Planting Class. New York: JP Bell Company, 1927.
  5. Dabney, Virginius. Virginia: The New Dominion, A History from 1607 to the Present. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 1971.
  6. Evans, Emory G. A “Topping People”: The Rise and Decline of Virginia’s Old Political Elite, 1680-1790. Charlottesville, VA: UVA Press, 2009.
  7. Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a cultural history). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
  8. Freeman, Douglas Southall. George Washington: A Biography. New York: Charles Scribners, 1957. (Specifically Volume 1).
  9. Graves, Donet D. “An Early Black Family’s Life in Lafayette Park.” White House Historical Association, June 5, 2020.
  10. Horn, James. Adapting to A New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
  11. Mapp, Alfred J. Virginia Experiment: The Old Dominion’s Role in the Making of America, 1607-1781. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2006.
  12. McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: A Biographical Dictionary, 1607-1635. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.
  13. Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. in Two Volumes. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1891.
  14. Neill, Edward D. Virginia Carolorum: The Colony under the Rule of Charles The First and Second, A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell’s and Sons, 1886.
  15. Pecquet du Bellet, Louise. Some Prominent Virginia Families, 4 Volumes. Lynchburg, VA:  J.P. Bell Company, 1907.
  16. Poston, Jonathan H. Ralph Wormeley V of Rosegill: A Deposed Virginia Aristocrat, 1774-1781. Master’s Thesis. Williamsburg, VA: College of William and Mary, 1979.
  17. Rothbard, Murray N. Conceived in Liberty. Auburn, AL: Ludwig Von Mises Institute, 1999.
  18. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and the James River. Richmond, VA: The Hermitage Press, 1906.
  19. Walsh, Lorena S. Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit: Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607-1763. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
  20. Washburn, Wilcomb E. Virginia Under Charles I and Cromwell 1625-1660. Kindle Edition.
  21. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. Virginia Under the Stuarts: 1607-1688. New York: Russell and Russell, 1959.
  22. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson. The Planters of Colonial Virginia. Kindle Edition.
  23. Wormley, Nick and Wormley, Kevin. Wormley Family History. Online Book and Database.
  24. “The Wormeley Family.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 35, no. 4 (1927): 455–56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4244177.
  25. “The Wormeley Family (Continued).” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 36, no. 1 (1928): 98–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4244188.
  26. “The Wormeley Family (Continued).” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 36, no. 3 (1928): 283–93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4244221.
  27. “The Wormeley Family (Continued).” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 36, no. 4 (1928): 385–88. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4244233.
  28. “The Wormeley Family (Concluded).” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 37, no. 1 (1929): 82–86. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4244250.
  29. Wormley Family. Papers, 1773-1991 (bulk 1880-1960). Accession 42649. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA 23219.

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of the Wormeley Family Crest.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and “Shadow of a Man” by Neulore, also available on Apple Music.