Early Collecting The VFS was founded in Richmond on April 17, 1913, by Charles Alphonso Smith, the Edgar Allen Poe Professor of Literature at the University of Virginia. The purpose of the society was “to discover, collect, publish, and thus preserve the Folk-Lore of Virginia.” The society was originally structured with one president, six vice presidents, and a secretary-treasurer. Read more about: The Virginia Folklore Society| Encyclopedia Virginia
Davis, Arthur Kyle, and the Virginia Folklore Society. 1929. Traditional Ballads of Virginia. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. 578. Note: Alfreda Peel spelled the title of the ballad “Barbara Ellen” in her full transcription of the lyrics performed by Texas Gladden on page 318-319. Read more about: Barbara Allen| Encyclopedia Virginia
Alfreda Marion Peel of Salem was among the most intrepid of the roving folklorists who scoured the Appalachians on behalf of the Virginia Folklore Society in the early twentieth century, collecting old ballads from England and Scotland. In 1917, she transcribed “Barbara Allen” as sung by Texas Gladden, who would go on to regional fame as a folk singer. Read more about: The Witch in the Mill and other Appalachian Haunts| Encyclopedia Virginia
Background Virginia Constitutional Convention Before the Civil War, Virginia had no statewide system of free public schools. In the 1780s and 1810s the former governor Thomas Jefferson recommended creating a statewide school system, and the governors and made similar recommendations in the 1830s and 1840s. But the refused even to debate a proposal that the state take responsibility to educate its children. Read more about: The Establishment of the Public School System in Virginia| Encyclopedia Virginia
Background Declaration of Independence Jefferson was only thirty-six years old when he became governor, but he brought a diverse array of experience to the position. He had represented in the House of Burgesses between May 1769 and June 1775, writing a set of resolutions against the that called for a day of fasting and prayer and a boycott of all British goods. Read more about: Thomas Jefferson as Governor of Virginia| Encyclopedia Virginia
Education in Colonial America Education was limited in colonial America, where it was expensive and largely the purview of wealthy colonists. In , it was common for planters and other members of the to hire personal tutors for their children. Other Southern elites—and especially planters from the sugar islands—sent their children to college in England or to the Inns of Court. Read more about: Education in Virginia in the Revolutionary Era| Encyclopedia Virginia
The American Revolution was revolutionary in more ways than one. Beyond creating the United States and securing its independence from Britain, the Revolution inspired republican ideals that reverberated long after the guns had gone silent. Access to tax-supported, widespread public education was one such ideal, although as our new entry by Mark Boonshoft of the Virginia Military Institute on Education in Virginia in the Revolutionary Era shows, it would take some time to get there. Read mor...| Encyclopedia Virginia
The pencils are sharpened, the backpacks are stocked, and the class hamster is home—it must be back-to-school season, and Encyclopedia Virginia couldn’t be more excited! We’re reaching out during back-to-school season to ask for your continued support for this critical educational resource at a time of decreased federal funding for the humanities. Read more about: Back to School with Encyclopedia Virginia| Encyclopedia Virginia
One of the advantages of Encyclopedia Virginia being digital is that we can illustrate our entries with interactive media. We use Google technology to create tours of historic locations in Virginia so that our users can virtually step into the places we talk about in our entries. Right now, EV features 90 virtual tours, and that number is constantly growing. Read more about: Shooting the Shot Tower| Encyclopedia Virginia
For as long as there have been armies, there likely have been camp followers—the civilians, usually women, who tagged along providing goods and services to soldiers. And for just as long, camp followers have been derided as nuisances at best and prostitutes at worst—hangers-on looking to exploit the loneliness and wages of military personnel. Read more about: George Washington’s Women of the Army| Encyclopedia Virginia
“Encyclopedia Virginia’s mission is to provide a free, reliable, multimedia resource that tells the inclusive story of Virginia for students, teachers, and communities who seek to understand how the past informs the present and the future.” Encyclopedia Virginia’s mission statement was created in 2017 just after I became director of the project. Read more about: Delivering on Our Mission The post Delivering on Our Mission appeared first on Encyclopedia Virginia.| Encyclopedia Virginia
When I started to look for images to illustrate our new entry about the Fincastle Resolutions, I figured that a map was a good place to start. Where was Fincastle County? What part of Virginia did it represent? It turns out that Fincastle County, as a political entity, wasn’t just a portion of what I, or many of us, think of as “Virginia.” It sprawled into what is now the entire state of Kentucky and a big hunk of West Virginia. Read more about: What Was “Virginia” during the Revolu...| Encyclopedia Virginia
Whether it’s ferocious Santa Ana winds howling through Los Angeles or a polar vortex holding much of the country in its icy grip, it’s impossible to ignore the weather or how it affects everyday life. Human civilizations have long sought to make sense of the weather, to seek patterns that make it more predictable. Read more about: Jefferson the Weatherman The post Jefferson the Weatherman appeared first on Encyclopedia Virginia.| Encyclopedia Virginia
No one disputes that the American Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American history. But for decades historians and demographers have had difficulty pinpointing the exact number of casualties, especially on the Confederate side, due to poor record-keeping and records that were destroyed when Richmond fell at the end of the war. Read more about: How Deadly Was the Civil War in Virginia? The post How Deadly Was the Civil War in Virginia? appeared first on Encyclopedia Virginia.| Encyclopedia Virginia
Sometimes history is right under our feet and we don’t even realize it. When I lived in Old Town Alexandria, I frequented the quaint brick Kate Waller Barrett branch of the Alexandria Library. Not only was it around the corner from my house, but it contains the city’s local history and special collections reading room, where I spent many hours poring through old newspapers and documents as I worked on various projects. Read more about: History Under Our Feet| Encyclopedia Virginia
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) Early Years Fry-Jefferson Map Jefferson was born on April 2, 1743 (after the change in 1752 from the Julian, or Old Style, Calendar, the date was adjusted to April 13, which became common usage). He was the son of and Jane Randolph Jefferson and was born at Shadwell, on the in a part of that became Albemarle County in 1744. Read more about: Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)| Encyclopedia Virginia
Early Years Medallions Commemorating the Seven Years’ War Murray was born around 1730 probably at Taymount, the estate of his parents, William Murray and Catherine Nairne Murray, in Perthshire, Scotland. He served as a page to Charles Edward Stuart (often called Bonnie Prince Charlie) during the Jacobite rising of 1745–1746, in which his father also took part, but by 1750 he had nevertheless received a commission as an officer in the 3rd Foot Guards, of which his loyal uncle, the second e...| Encyclopedia Virginia
Early Committees Transatlantic legislative committees of correspondence had operated in the North American and Caribbean colonies since at least the 1690s. Colonial legislatures chose committees of correspondence from within their membership to communicate with the legislature’s agents in London. Legislatures hired these agents to represent their interests to the British government, most often in disputes with their own governor or with other colonies. Read more about: The Virginia Committe...| Encyclopedia Virginia
Call for a Convention Accomack County: All on Fire For Hancock and English and Garrison! The Progressive Era lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s and was marked by efforts to root out governmental corruption and waste, and to protect the rights of women, children, and the working-class. Not all progressive reforms were strictly democratic, however. Read more about: Constitutional Convention, Virginia (1901–1902)| Encyclopedia Virginia
Is history set in stone, like a statue, or is it fluid, more evolving process than petrified facts? At EV, we get to see history in motion, as with our entry on the Bray Schools. These schools were founded in Williamsburg and Fredericksburg, as well as in Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, Rhode Island, by the Associates of Dr. Read more about: History on the Move| Encyclopedia Virginia
