...when research interests merge...

 

My book project provisionally entitled Women Writers Buried in Virginia Cemeteries was accepted for publication by the editorial board for The History Press/ Arcadia Publishing. I wrote about that prior. Last week, I submitted 125 photos for review, which is the maximum number I can have in the book. I know that some are not the best quality and that I will have to make changes. I didn't know what I didn't know not so much about taking photos but about saving them. This has been such an amazing learning process. 

My hard deadline isn’t until late June but I am having fun (yeah, this is fun to me) and there is much to do before I have to submit everything. I did submit a complete manuscript with my proposal but as any writer knows, there are always edits and revisions. I just didn’t think I would be adding to the list. I had 40 women writers buried in Virginia cemeteries and now I have 44 women writers.

The grave of author Margaret Prescott Montague

Here is how my week has gone-- my friends at Friends of Shockoe Hill pointed out another woman writer (who is pretty amazing, by the way) and while I'm digging through the society pages, which is one of the biggest pleasures in my research life right now-- you might think it only includes teas and trips to Europe but it is an excellent way to find connections, especially for women. Anyway, Margaret P. Montague's name came up and suddenly more local women writers were discovered-thankfully they're buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond so it was a quick trip for me to locate everyone. 

Margaret Prescott Montague's name seems so familiar ONLY BECAUSE SHE WAS IN MY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH! As some of you know, I’m a professor of English. I teach at Gallaudet University, the world’s only university that is designed for Deaf and hard of hearing students. My doctoral dissertation is on Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature and I still keep up with that research and the blog when I have time. That's the thing about researching, there's never enough time.  Yesterday, my research interests connected. The woman author is buried in a Virginia cemetery. She is also an author of a children's story with deaf characters.

Bernard Guella

Montague was hard of hearing (in one account she writes that she simply cannot hear and she is annoyed with a doctor speaking to a hearing friend “On the Fringe of Silence; a Plea for the Hard of Hearing,” The Des Moines Register, Oct 6, 1934, 4.) and she had tunnel vision. Her brother was the superintendent of the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. She interacted with the students there and they inspired her to write a few stories. 

Montague's 1915 writing includes deaf characters who are the main characters. They use sign language with other deaf characters. I love Bernard Guella's description of the book. See the screenshot. 

(Bernard Guella, "Short Stories with Deaf Fictional Characters," American Annals of the Deaf, February 1983, Vol. 128, 1, p.28.)

Aside: I have now discovered 12 women writers in Hollywood, more than any other cemetery in Virginia, and I think their graves are all close-enough for me to put together a Women Writers Cemetery tour.

...an announcement- Women Writers Buried in Virginia Cemeteries...

 “If there's a book that you want to read,

but it hasn't been written yet,

then you must write it.”

- Toni Morrison

I love cemetery maps and visitor guides and I have quite a collection. They’re heavily focused on military heroes, founding fathers, political leaders, and the who’s who in that region’s history. I quickly scan guides to find the famous or infamous females who helped build a region’s history. More often than not, from the dozens of entries, there are usually only a few women mentioned rendering the majority of women invisible. Women’s history should not be limited to a specialty tour.

In 2020, I made a point to create my own guidebook. When cemetery tours were suspended for COVID-19, I started doing research and traveling to cemeteries across the state of Virginia. 

I’m super proud to share that my book project provisionally entitled Women Writers Buried in Virginia Cemeteries was accepted for publication by the editorial board for The History Press/ Arcadia Publishing. As of last Thursday, I’m officially under contract.

The book features forty women writers buried in twenty-two Virginia cemeteries. It is scheduled to be published by Women’s History Month (March 2022).

 

...mystery of the circus performer buried in Thornrose Cemetery...

 Although Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton, Virginia is a stunning cemetery to visit on its own, yesterday’s trip was focused on visiting the grave of Eva Howard Clark.

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct 3, 1906.

I first learned about this woman in the Visit Staunton on Foot: Thornrose Cemetery. When I find such articles or tourism guides, I always look for any history connected to women. Eva Clark was mentioned and as a trapeze artist with the Cole’s Brothers Circus in the early 20^th century, I was immediately hooked. According to the piece, each time a circus came to town, performers would pay Eva Clark’s gravesite a visit and decorate her grave with flowers. From 1906 until 1923, this was the only marking for her grave until “friends with Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus” erected an official grave-marker.

Yesterday’s trip to Thornrose Cemetery, which is an approximately 2 ½ hr. drive from my home, included one of our first hot summer-like days. It was gorgeous and sunny. It has trees but not necessarily the kind that offer much shade. Thornrose Cemetery was established in 1849 on 12 acres. The first burial in the cemetery was in 1853.

The News Leader, Sep 14, 1923.

Entering the cemetery, one goes through a stone arch and gatehouse that was designed by local architect T.J. Collins and built by William Larner & Company. This was added in 1896. If you continue straight through, you will also see a footbridge and tower. The cemetery includes a row of mausoleums that is often referenced as the “city of the dead.” Other than the impressive collection of mortuary art, I was also taken by how seemingly every grave faced the east. While this is a tradition in Christian burial grounds, the graves in Thornrose Cemetery add a bit of drama. I had to go to the eastern part of the cemetery if I wanted to see anything other than the backs of graves.

Before meandering, I searched for Eva Howard Clark’s grave. She is located in section 10 with a road on the left of her grave, which made it somewhat easy to find.

In 1906, when the circus was touring through Staunton, Eva Clark was found in a circus tent with a bullet in her abdomen. She lived for just a month after that. Although the circus wanted to take Eva’s body home to be buried, authorities refused suspecting that the shooting had not been accidental and the body was evidence. Witnesses said her husband, Lum Clark, and a fellow trapeze performer named James Richards were present during the shooting. Clark was known to be a jealous husband and was suspected of the shooting his wife but it was unclear if it was an intentional or an accidental shot. No charges were ever filed.

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Oct 5, 1906.

When I went looking for more information about Eva Clark, I found an article, “A very cold case: Circus performer's mysterious death in 1906 has ties to Cincinnati” in the Cincinnati Enquirer that shared that every Christmas since 1906, a wreath has been left on her grave. Her parents, who were also performers, called Cincinnati home and worked for the Clements & Russell Railroad Show in 1890.

Two women have been researching the life of Eva Howard Clark for a couple years now and note, “she was a big deal in the entertainment industry…” In the piece, Eva Howard grew up in the business and was an aerialist who could sing and dance and was known as "The Queen of the Air." Their goal is to tell the story of Clark’s life, not her death.

Novelist E. D. E. N. Southworth in Oak Hill Cemetery

Today I learned about the woman writer, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (December 26, 1819 – June 30, 1899) who...

Posted by River City Cemetarians on Thursday, April 1, 2021

...ghost stories connected to a family cemetery...

Capitol building, Williamsburg, Virginia

 I first learned of the Jones Cemetery in Colonial Williamsburg in 2016. Each time we visit Colonial Williamsburg, I make a point to visit this cemetery, which is behind a brick wall with a locked iron gate. It does not stop me from standing on my toes to peep over that wall or from looking through the gate.

I was working on other research this morning when the cemetery came to mind. I wrote a post about taking the Williamsburg Ghost Tour via the mobile tour app and in that post, I discussed how I learned about the cemetery.

The Jones Cemetery/ Secretary’s Office was the last stop on the tour, which turned out to be my favorite stop because I had been to Colonial Williamsburg since I was a kid and never knew about the cemetery.

Jones Cemetery

As I shared in my original post, there are seven family graveyards in the historic area of Colonial Williamsburg. If you’re curious about those other cemeteries, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has a Historic Area Graveyard Study that goes into more details. The research was conducted in 2005 so the graves may not match the appearance of those in the photos.

The graves in front of the Secretary's Office belong to the members of the Jones family. I have seen the cemetery referenced as Jones Cemetery or as the Secretary's Office Graveyard although, there is no church on the premises.  

Each grave consists of a marble slab and an accompanying urn. Each inscription follows the pattern including the name, the parents' names, and a short verse. The graves do not include birth or death dates.

Again, the cemetery is surrounded by a wall and has a locked gate. Visitors walk right by the brick walls without noticing the small cemetery.

The Secretary's Office building was established as a safe place to store government documents after a 1747 fire at the Capitol Building destroyed many public records. This building was made of brick with the floor being stone. Without an attic or a basement to cause moisture, the two fireplaces in the building were intended to keep all of the paper documents dry and mold free. The building was not needed after the capital moved to Richmond in 1780. Virginia's first capital was Jamestown, which was relocated to Williamsburg in 1699.

The Secretary’s Office building would later become the residence of David Rowland Jones and Mary Ann Tinsley Jones along with their children. From the ghost tours that I have taken in Colonial Williamsburg including the mobile app tour, the Secretary’s Office is included on the stop most likely because it is part of the Duke of Gloucester Street and it is right by the old capitol building.

Secretary's Office building in background

There are two associated stories as part of the ghost tours and then numerous mentions of paranormal activity. First, as legend has it the Jones were said to be reclusive and were seldom seen anywhere but church. They had seven daughters, none of whom were married. Today, I learned this was not true for a few reasons. First, I read the obituary for Mary Ann Tinsley Jones and it reads nothing but nice things about David Rowland Jones, not to mention that it does not portray the family as loners. Quite the contrary, really. For Emma’s obituary, it reads that she had “many friends.” Helen and Ida were beloved school teachers as was their sister Virginia who attended the College of William and Mary. Their daughter Mary was involved with civic and religious organizations and had been involved in educational work in schools. Second, of the seven daughters, one was married. Eudora not only married but she was the mother of two daughters and two sons.   

The ghost story with includes an apparition of a young girl being seen running toward the road concludes with one of the daughters, “Edna”, which would have had to have been a nickname since none of the girls were given this name. Edna was killed by a carriage while trying to secretly leave her home and go out to meet a guy. As with most ghost stories, I have so many questions- why did she not see the carriage when she was running toward the road? Was this at night? If at night, why were there carriages? Based on their obituaries, none of the daughters died from being run over by a carriage.

• Helen, N Jones d. 1901- had been ill for several months and had to resign from her teaching position the prior year because of her health

•  Emma A Jones d. 1902- not noted in obituary

•  Ida M Jones d. 1903- died in her “mother’s home” after a “lingering illness”

• Rosa L Jones d.1915- died in the home after a long illness

• Eudora Jones Armistead d.1940 * married

• Mary R Jones d. 1943

• Virginia W Jones d. 1964

None of the stories mention the two sons: Fitzhugh Calvin Jones d.1926 and Earnest Tinsley Jones d. 1942. And based on the inclusion of a carriage, automobiles were common by the 1920s so the ghost story would only make sense if it were before that time. Perhaps Emma was “Edna” since her obituary does not include any mention of illness but I highly doubt that since old newspapers can include the most gruesome details.

When I originally heard the story, I considered how frightening it was that all of the daughters were forced to stay at home against their will forever since they are buried just feet from the home where they lived, and how sad it would have been to have such an awful father who would not allow his family to leave home. It simply isn’t true, and Eudora is not even buried in the family plot. She’s in Cedar Grove Cemetery with her husband. 

Returning to the research today after several years, I think about how frightening it must have been for the mother, Mary A. E. Jones to have had lost her husband and figure out how to make ends meet in a society where widows were not necessarily looked upon so favorable, and then have three of her daughters ill in their family home during three consecutive years. The next time I head to Williamsburg, I may toss some flowers over that wall or at least whisper kind messages toward the graves.

excerpt from Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Virginia) 07 Jul 1906, Sat, Page 8