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(1857-1925) Catherine Harwood Waller was the daughter of Withers Waller (1825-1900) and Anne Eliza Stribling (1832-1903) of Clifton in Wide Water (Widewater). Her parents operated one of the largest seine fisheries on the east coast and Kate was one of eight daughters who reached maturity. She married Robert South Barrett (1851-1896), an Episcopal minister at…

Lt. Charles E. Morton, 2nd New York (“Harris Light”) Cavalry, described his regiment’s arrival in Falmouth in a letter to his father. His letter (full text below) was published in the Newburgh Journal and pasted in a scrapbook by his brother, an officer in the 5th New York (“Ira Harris Guard”) Cavalry. Edward W. Whitaker,…

African American History Enslaved men, women, and children labored at Ferry Farm from the 1720s until 1862.  While the farm’s written record regarding the enslaved community is sparse, research that combines archaeology and surviving documents reveals aspects of the daily lives of those who involuntarily toiled and lived at Ferry Farm. Most of the written…

84th New York Infantry (14th “Brooklyn” N.Y.S.M.) The regiment was uniformed, organized and trained as chasseurs a pied – different from, but similar looking to  the more ubiquitous Zouaves. The 84th left Brooklyn for Washington, D. C., May 18, 1861, and was mustered into United States service there on May 25th. Initially in Mansfield’s Command,…

The winter of 1917-1918 was the coldest recorded in Virginia. Snow fell some three times its normal average and the Potomac River and its tributaries froze. Additionally, the entire length of the Chesapeake Bay was frozen, with Chincoteague Bay frozen to a depth of 10 inches at its mouth. When the ice began to thaw…

Stafford’s First Telephone System In 1887, the Northern Neck Telegraph and Telephone Company was formed, providing Lancaster County and part of King George County wired communication. Not until July 1904 was a telephone company established in Stafford. Called the Toluca and Fredericksburg Telephone Company, it was founded by Robert Ambler Moncure (1864-1923), the father of…

Lt. James Nelson Decker, Company D, 2nd New York Cavalry Private  Patrick Devlin, Company M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Private John Heslin, Company L, 2nd New York Cavalry Private Josiah Kiff, Company H, 2nd New York Cavalry Private John Murphy, Company G, 2nd New York Cavalry Private Thomas Norton, Company M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Private George…

Standing on the northeast corner of the intersection of Eskimo Hill Road and U. S. Route 1 is a small brick building. Hundreds of cars and trucks pass by it daily on their way to the county landfill. There are few visible clues remaining to let passers-by know that this little building was one of…

This Union soldier from the 95th Regiment, N.Y.S.V., describes some of the people of Stafford as well as some of the terrible things he heard that North Carolina Confederate troops did while they were in the county. AQUIA CREEK, VA, May 21 [1862]. I stole away from my squad last Sunday, after working an hour,…

By the 1870s, after the Civil War, Stafford had its first two black schools with a total of 99 students; both had white teachers. By 1883, there were eight one room schools for blacks, some of which had black teachers; by 1904, all of Stafford’s black schools were taught by blacks. Some notable black educators…

At the beginning of the Civil War, Stafford was a very rural, agricultural community. The largest portion of the population of 8,633 people (1860) were farmers and the average farm was 300-400 acres. These modest farms produced food for the farmer families and produce which could be sold in nearby markets. Produce included corn, garden…

Black Outs – Rationing – Saving Stamps – War Bonds by Marion Brooks Robinson Stafford County joined the rest of the nation in responding to World War II. Citizens were enrolled in Community Civil Patrols. County citizens volunteered as War Bonds salesmen, going to homes in their neighborhood to encourage financial support. Schools began selling…