Green Mount is now for sale through Long and Foster Realtors. You are invited to see a tour of the home inside and out. Simply use this link and click the "Property Tour" tab on the bottom left. Enjoy!
http://www.hometoursbygdi.com/home/13523

SOLDIER'S JOY BY GUY CLARK 1864

First I thought a snake had got me it happened dreadful quick T’was a bullet bit my leg, right off I got sick I came to in a wagon load of ten more wounded men Five was dead by the time we reached that bloody tent Gimme some of that Soldier’s Joy, you know what I mean I don’t want to hurt no more my leg is turnin’ green The doctor came and looked at me and this is what he said Your dancin’ days are done, son, it’s a wonder you ain’t dead Then he went to work with a carvin’ knife sweat fell from his brow ‘Bout killed me tryin’ to save my life when he cut that lead ball out Give me some of that Soldier’s Joy, ain’t you got no more Hand me down my walkin’ cane I ain’t cut out for war Red blood run right through my veins run all over the floor Run right down his apron strings like a river out the door He handed me a bottle and said, son drink deep as you can He turned away then he turned right back with a hacksaw in his hand Gimme some of that Soldier’s Joy you know what I like Bear down on that fiddle boys just like Saturday night Gimme some of that Soldier’s Joy you know what I crave I’ll be hittin’ that Soldier’s Joy til I’m in my grave We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream

"Soldier's Joy" played by Marguerite Taliaferro Garrison 9/13/12

This is Marguerite Taliaferro Garrison and her mother seated beyond her at the old piano here at Green Mount yesterday, September 13th. She is playing "Soldier's Joy". This is the same piano the Evergreen Society girls played during their meetings. What a treat to hear it making music again.

Green Mount Parlor

The meetings of The Evergreen Society were held on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM and most always began in the parlor then moved to the music room. This is a picture of the parlor taken today, September 14, 2012. The dress on the form is one that belonged to Ma [Maria Louisa Wacker Fleet] about 1858. She had by that time given birth to 9 babies, 2 of which died in infancy. Her waist measured 22" and she would have been 5' tall or a little less. She managed to survive the Civil War, a widow by its end and having suffered the loss of her beloved son Benny. She not only survived, but put her remaining 6 children through college, even her three daughters, Lou, Bessie and Florence. They came back to Green Mount and were teachers for these girls at Green Mount Home School for Young Ladies. You are reading the minutes of their meetings.

Green Mount, Feb. 9, 1881

I am again reminded of the rapid flight of time by the coming of my turn to write before I know it.  Lucy played for us the grand old hymn we love so well, Rock of Ages, after which M.K. [Mattie Kate Faunt Le Roy] volunteered to read us a very interesting & instructive piece about Shetland Ponies.  It taught us a good lesson of how joyfully God adapts his creatures to do their appointed work.  Loulie played Wild Ashe deer for us very well. Sallie read us what the printer poet Benjamin F. Taylor says of the The Printer & His Types.  It is strange how little we k now of the art preservative, the achievement of the types.  I am sure after this we will try to learn more of it as we have the opportunity.  Mattie repeated "The Book of the New Year" a piece we ought to think of every new day, as well as every New Year.  Nannie read the extract from Mrs. Browning beginning "let us be content in work To do the things we can & not presume to fret because it's littlle. Lou read us of the beautiful things that will make up presently from under the snow.  Ma came in to bring us some Va. dates & stayed to hear M.K. sing "Birdie Darling."
We were very glad to welcome Mary back.  I read the sad announcement of the death of Thomas Carlyle, with an account of some of his writing.  Sister [Lou] played for us Prof. Gambel's lost "Valsi, Bon Lou (?) after wh. we adjourned to see the wonderful fr??ks the frost has played with our falls. 

Florence Fleet

What were the girls enjoying in January 1881?

Green Mount

Jan. 16th, 1881

We opened our Society by reading the 42 Psalm, and then we went into the music room. Then Lou played Old Rosin The Beau, very well indeed. Then Lucie read The Closing Year which is a lovely piece and she read it better then usual. Nannie then played Fra Davolo which she said she did not know but proved that she did. Lulie read a very amusing scrap from cousin Lou's Scrap book which we all enjoied though it was so short. Mattie Kate read If We Only Knew, which is a lovely piece, Sallie first played Drippin Fountain alias the scale of C major but afterwarde played Spinlie a very difficult piece but she managed to get throug with it very creditably. Cousin Lou and cousin Florence sang some duets for us which closed a very pleasant evening.

Mattie Ella Fleet

(all spellings are as written in the journal)

Undated Entry

Before writing out this undated entry, it's a bit odd because the one following it is dated Jan16th which is 1 week after the last one posted. I'm not sure why this entry is stuck in between the two and is undated. But, it is so I will surely post it. The roster for the 1880-1881 school year reads as follows:

Blount, Sallie Lee

Fauntleroy, Mattie Kate

Fleet, Lucy

Henley, M. Lou

Sale, Nannie F.

Starke, Loulie

The school's rosters are in the back of the second book Betsy Fleet did which is titled Green Mount After the War. There are rosters for each year the school existed which began in 1873 and ended in 1888. If you want a list of the rosters please contact me. It's something I should add to the blog and will do so at some point, but tonight I'll just do this one undated entry.

I would like to add that there was a 5.8 earthquake here in Virginia on Tuesday, August 23rd. I sure felt it. I was here in the house and had just sat down on the sofa to call my mom. She and I were talking and both realized we were experiencing an earthquake. I told her, "I'm going to the basement" and sat the phone down and called all 5 of my dogs to go with me. I got 4 of the 5 down there and the fifth one who only has 3 legs (Annie) was at the top of the stair to the basement so I sat on the top step holding her collar. Then I realized, NO! I should no be in the basement. I need to get outside! So I called all the dogs, grabbed the dog treat bag and out we all scurried. When standing on the ground the rumbling was still going on but fading. Then we had a 4.? tremor on Friday morning following it. I checked the house and chimneys for cracks and found nothing out of the ordinary. Then Saturday, August 27th we were hit by Hurricane Irene. It was a mess around here. Broken trees and limbs and debris was scattered all over the place. However, there were no damages to speak of to the house or garages or shed. We were fortunate. Power was out for 4 days and came back on this past Wednesday. I ran a generator and did fine. The weather was great and so air conditioning was not needed. My husband was in Kansas and didn't experience the hurricane, but he felt the earthquake as he was driving away on his trip that Tuesday. Ok, enough about current events...on with the undated entry!

We opened exercises, as usual, by reading a Psalm. We then went into the music room where Lucy played much to our enjoyment Hack's (?) "Home Sweet Home." I think it a beautiful copy of "Home." Sallie read a very instructive piece called "How Frank Entertains the Boys." It shows that making "snowballs" & such things does not make the real sum of what a genuine boy can learn & do. Mattie Kate played "El Fresco," which we enjoyed very much especially Nannie. Mattie read "Frankie's First Steps,"(when clicking on Frankie's First Steps, once the site comes up click to view the book and the poem is on pages 51 and 52.) a very sweet little piece. Loulie played "To the Woodland Come Away." This is one of the pieces which we learned to sing by note, & all of us joined in & sang a verse. Nannie read "Doing" very well. Lou read "Influence." Last though not least Cousin Lou read What Will We Make of It.

H.L.M.

(this is probably Lou Henley)

THE NEW YEAR BEGINS 1881

Green Mount, Jan 9th, 1881

We opened our Society as usual by reading a Psalm after which we adjourned to the Music room & after the usual duties Lou played much to our enjoyment "Pensee Celeste" then Sallie played "Voice from Heaven." Her execution of it well merited the applause she received. Mattie Kate read "Woman's Work" very well. Every woman should try to work up to this standard that she may received, this applaudit at Heaven's Gate." (not sure of some of those last words but it looks like those are how the words are spelled). "She hath done what she chould." This excellent piece was followed by another equally so by Lucy entitled Perfect Through Suffering which teaches us that every sorrow we have in this life tends to draw us up from the transient things of this world to Heaven with its joys & blessings. Loulie read very nicely a piece called The Teacher. Mattie repeated very sweetly "Kind Hearts." Nannie then sung "The Danube River," and then Miss Lou ended a pleasant evening's exercises by reading for our enjoyment "How Deacon Tubman & Darson Adams Spent the New Year."

S (probably Sallie Blount-she wrote the S very fancy)

Undated Entry(possibly just after Christmas break)

Lou is very much complaining this evening, and has just asked me to write the record for her, reminding me at the same time a friend in need is a friend in deed. I hate very much to do it, but to prove to her I am her friend I suppose I'll have to take the disagreeable task on myself. I have only five minutes to write it, so hope all mistakes will be excused. After reading a Psalm we assembled in the msuic room. Miss Lou read "Value of Time and Knowledge", Mattie Kate played "Pique Dame." Miss Florence read "Begin Well." Lou read "Childhood Trust". Nannie read "Gather up the Fragments." Sallie read "Girls as Housekeepers." Lulie attempted to play "Silvery Waves", but broke down as usual before she had gotten half way through. Lucie was not with us to add to our happiness, for which we were very sorry.

Unsigned Entry as well.

Everyone is mentioned above, so whoever wrote this is one of the students.

The Roster for the School Year 1880-1881

Blount, Sallie Lee

Fauntleroy, Mattie Kate

Fleet, Lucy

Henley, M. Lou

Sale, Nannie F.

Starke, Loulie

When referring to Miss Lou and Miss Florence, they are the Fleet sisters who are teaching the girls here at Green Mount Home School for Young Ladies.

TA-DA! QUINCE JELLY!

I decided to try and make the quince jelly instead of the cheese. It turned out pretty nice I think. It tastes sort of like peaches and sort of like honey and then I guess the different taste is that of the quince! It is very good. I think it would be real yummy on some hot, homemade biscuits or piece of thick whole wheat toast! Probably wouldn't make a bad PBJ sandwich either. The owner of Green Mount was here last weekend and he remembers eating quince jelly here as a child. He was anxious to try it again, so I guess one jar is to keep and one jar is for him! Hey, maybe next year my friend and I can enter some in the VA state fair! The judges probably wouldn't even know what it was...

VISITORS AND AN OLD RECIPE

Yesterday, Monday, October 4th, I was so thrilled to have company here at Green Mount. Jon and Kristen Ober of Mathews County stayed for a portion of the day and were the best company. They were so interested in the history of the home, the family, the artifacts, the story of the Fleet family in general. We exchanged books, I receiving as a gift, the third book written by Jon, A Game Warden's Field Notes III, (thank you again!) and they left with copies of Green Mount After the War and the Autobiography of Sallie Lee Mahood which I could only loan them, but I know we will all enjoy reading each other's books. Fine people are the Obers and I hope they will visit again.

Today, by the way, is our oldest son's 21st birthday. Alex is celebrating I suppose in a modest way. He's stationed in Afghanistan, being a member of the 173rd Airborne Unit (Army). We miss him a lot, pray he's safe and hope to see him in December when he's allowed a whole month off and will be out of Afghanistan, stationed in Italy. Then he, his Dad, his brother Tyler and I will have a big group hug and be thankful for many things.

I am not actually writing a journal entry at this time. The reason for this post is to share with you a couple of old recipes I found in a cookbook here at Green Mount. The book is titled Miss Leslie's Complete Cookery and was printed in 1841. There is a quince bush out front of the house and I've always wondered what it was. After finally learning what the name of the fruit bearing bush was, I read where Ma (Mrs. Fleet) once made quince jelly and sent it to her oldest son Fred when he was in camp in the Confederate Army. She encouraged him to share some of the other foods she sent, but to keep the quince jelly for himself. Here are a few pictures of the quince bush and the fruit and a typed out copy of the recipes in this old book. It's fun to read some of the instructions such as the part about "if you are obliged to use river water..." I guess times have changed a little. So, I've picked me some quinces and since I don't have many, I think I'll try to make the quince cheese. A good friend of mine who wins blue ribbons at the state fair every year is going to try making the jelly. She got some of the quinces I picked earlier. She won two first places this year and two other ribbons as well. I don't know if you can buy these bushes around, I suppose you can and if you'd like to try making an old-timey treat here is some information that may assist. I also found a recipe on line for the jelly, so there are people who still make this. I had never heard of it until moving here. The photo of the jelly I found on line was a pretty pinkish color. I also learned from that reading on line that the quinces have a lot of natural pectin, so none has to be added.

QUINCE JELLY

Take fine ripe yellow quinces, wash them and remove all the blemishes. Cut them in pieces, but do not pare or core them. Put them into a preserving-pan with clear spring water. If you are obliged to use river water, filter it first; allowing one pint to twelve large quinces. Boil them gently till they are all soft and broken. Then put them into a jelly-bag, and do not squeeze it till after the clear liquid has ceased running. Of this you must make the best jelly, allowing each pint a pound of loaf sugar. Having dissolved the sugar in the liquid, boil them together about twenty minutes, or till you have a thick jelly. In the mean time squeeze out all that is left in the bag. It will not be clear, but you can make a very good jelly for common purposes.

QUINCE CHEESE

Have fine ripe quinces, and pare and core them. Cut them into pieces and weigh them; and to each pound of quinces, allow half a pound of the best brown sugar. Put the cores and parings into a kettle with enough water to cover them, keeping the lid of the kettle closed. When you find that they are all boiled to pieces and quite soft, strain off the water over the sugar, and when it is entirely dissolved, put it over the fire and boil it to a thick syrup, skimming it well. When no more scum rises, put in the quinces, cover them closely, and boil them all day over a slow fire, stirring them and mashing them down with a spoon till they are a thick smooth paste. Then take it out, and put it into buttered tin pans or deep dishes. Let it set to get cold. It will then turn out so firm that you may cut it into slices like cheese. Keep it in a dry place in broad stone pots. It is intended for the tea-table.

I tasted one of the quinces uncooked and they are SOUR!

As always, thank you very much for reading. I promise to post the next journal entry very soon.

December 22nd, 1860, another Wednesday!

Since last posting I finished Helen's Babies. It was a great read and even more special since I know someone here read it 130 years ago. I have sent it to my sister-in-law, who read it and is passing it around. I highly recommend it. A simpler time with many the same dilemmas as we have today. Now on with a new post...The ink has faded drastically on this entry, some straining of the eyeballs to read, but it's worth it!

Green Mount,

Dec. 22, 1880

This is the last record for the year 1880 & the unpleasant duty of keeping it falls to my lot. The task is particularly sad to me today, for well I know that some of us at least will be absent from our accustomed places when the last record before next Christmas will be read out in our Society. I know though that we will carry away with us pleasant remembrances of the happy hours spent in our dear Society. In a few days now we will be at home & how the thoughts cheer us up for the few remaining days. After much talk about the coming Christmas we went on with the usual exercises. Nannie played "Brattleboro Waltz" which was followed by a piece called "Coming Down the Chimney" from Lulie. Lou played "Old Black Joe" (by Stephen Foster) beautifully. We were all pleased at the manner in which she played it. Truly the old saying is verified in her case viz: "Practice makes perfect." Mattie Kate read "Poor Old Aunt Crown and the Christmas She Didn't mean to Keep," which shows how happy one child is capable of making a home. Lucy read "Christmas Thoughts" (see page on left of screen) very well indeed. Miss Lou read "The Sleet" which was very appropriate as the ground was covered with snow & the trees with ice. Sallie ended the very pleasant evening with "German Triumphant March" which she played beautifully. I hope we will all come back greatly uplifted from our Christmas holiday &be ready to meet bravely the trials and temptations which must come sometimes to mar our happiness. "And though it may be hard to understand, the way through which He leads your life is not mine. May we not safely trust the gracious hand that brings to us so good a Christmas time."

M. K. Faunt Le Roy

DECEMBER 15TH, 1880

It has been almost 2 months since I last posted something. I am ashamed of myself. My only excuse is "summer." How busy the days have been since our son graduated from high school in June. We have been back and forth to the beach irregularly and life seems more topsy turvy than usual. When we are actually more busy with work there was more of a routine. But I think summers are supposed to be this way, don't you?

So tonight the house is quiet, all alone, except for the five doggies who keep me company. I've been doing necessary work all this Saturday and am indulging myself with a reward of blogging!

Since my last post I googled the book Helen's Babies from which Mattie Kate read an extract. I found it for sale, very inexpensive too, and ordered it. I'm reading it now and although it was written in the latter part of the 1800's I find so much commonality in the words of the author and life today. So, if you have an interest in this book, look it up on line and if you find it, yay! Or if not, let me know and I'll loan you my copy, when I get finished.

So, here is the next entry in the minutes of "The Evergreen Society": Of course it is Wednesday afternoon about 3 o'clock...

Dec. 15, 1880

I shall have to ask the members of our Society to excuse the way in which this record is written, as I very carelessly neglected to write it until this last hour. We opened as usual by reading a Psalm, and then we assembled in the music room. It was Lulie's time to play first, but she seemed to think she was not prepared, so we allowed her to read, as she promised to play next time. Nannie read "The Page" a very pretty piece of poetry describing a dear little boy. Mattie read a beautiful little piece called "A Moment." (this poem is not the one she read, but the title is the same and I thought it may be similar...)Lucie played "The Song of the Brook" very well indeed. I think she ought to be congratulated. Her mother told her when she first commenced music, that she wanted her to take it, and though it was harder than anything she had ever taken, she persevered and learned it. Sallie read "The Old Year and the New." Mattie Kate closed the entertainment with a beautiful piece called "The Tremolo", which we enjoyed ever so much. We were obliged to excuse Miss Florence from playing, because as we were very sorry to say Miss Fleet was sick, and she did not like to leave her so long. In my haste I have forgotten Lou who read a lovely piece called "Unrest."

Helen's Babies and more...

Dec. 8, 1880

Our Evergreen Society assembed as usual at three o'clock. Lucy read a scrap called "Too Candid by Half" (this is by John Godfrey Saxe, famous for The Blind Men and the Elephant) which made us all laugh. (See "Pages" on left side of blog to read "Too Candid by Half") Nannie then played a bright little waltz called "Fairy Wedding." Lou played "Monastery Bells" with good taste & time. Mattie Kate read some extracts from "Helen's Babies" which were so much enjoyed that the girls requested that the whole book might be read to them in reading hour. Sallie ended a very pleasant hour by playing "Nearer My God To Thee" with variations.

It's December, 1880

Dec. 1, 1880

Well you may know that I was anxious for Cousin Florence to go to the party, as I consented to keep the record for her. After the usual proceedings Lucy played (while the girls sang) "Beyond the ___?_ and the Weeping". Lucy played it very badly but, the girls sung it very sweetly. Nannie read a very sweet piece called "A Dream." Then Loulie played with much expression "Shepherd Boy." It's a very sweet piece, but the old lady became quite ?palsaic" before she got through, this however didn't destroy the beauty of the piece. Lou read "The Force of Examples." The substance of the piece is this: An old lobster gives her young daughter a scold for walking backwards whereupon she says, "Why mother it would be quite presumptuous for me to change the fashion which my "Great Grand Mammy" & even down to my Mammy. To illustrate this I will use a quotation from the first part of the book. viz: "Put yourself in the place of anyone whose work you wish to criticize and you will find that it is very much easier to say how a thing ought to be done than how to do it." Mattie repeated a piece called "Gentle Words and Loving Fondly." I wish our tongues would roll off some of these oftener as Sister Blount said the other day that her head was about to roll off & I think we had better roll out some gentle words than she should lose her "pretty" head. Cousin Lou read "Counsels for TheYoung," which if we would practice them we would be so happy and everything would be all right. Then as usual we reserved the best for the last, which was a beautiful piece called "The Music of the Sea" by Mattie Kate. She did full justice to the piece. Cousin Lou then marched us out to walk which of course ended a pleasant evening.

B

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO LEFT US...

This past Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 we said good-bye to our little friend Fred. He'd been with us since a cold snowy day in January 2001. He passed away on a warm sunny day, just the way he loved for the weather to be. Fred was around 14 years of age. He was found on the side of the road, shivering, lonely, abandoned. My husband sited him and stopped. He said, "You look like you could use a friend." We tried to find his owner, who probably did not want to be found. We were lucky to have our little buddy Fred. Sometimes we called him our small speckled pony. He never hurt a flea and followed me everywhere. He could be encouraged to howl, and when he did we said he was singing Happy Birthday! Only the past few months was he no longer trudging up the staircase behind me. But, he'd wait patiently at the bottom or bark if he wasn't sure where I was. He had been having kidney issues for which he was medicated; a small scoop of aluminum hydroxide powder with his meals worked wonders for him. The vet said he wasn't expected to live through last August. Well, he's our little rebel and he lived happily until Tuesday. His last week was rough though as his condition deteriorated rapidly. We couldn't let him suffer, and he was. We took him to our vet, Dr. Forrester who lovingly let him rest eternally. She was as heartbroken as we were. He was in my arms sleeping and we said our good-byes. We'll miss our little Fred and his grave is just out the window next to where I'm typing. I wish everyone I knew was as true a friend as he. One of our friends, Tom from New York, said, "I know dogs go to heaven, because it wouldn't be heaven without dogs." That made me feel so good. Thanks Tom and to all of you who have sent your sympathy. Fondly, Tere

Fred at the door of Green Mount and playing Santa and just hanging out in the yard here.

Fred's last nap at home and his little grave in the side yard.

This is the first pet we've had to bury here at Green Mount. Makes me wonder how many are buried here throughout the yard and gardens. As much as the Fleets loved their animals, I'm sure there are many such graves and each one special.

With all that said, I would like to add a few more pictures. The owner of Green Mount visited the other day and brought with him the family Bible.

Fleet Family Bible

Recording of deaths of Fleets from Civil War era.

Pa, Ma, Florence, Fred, Lou, Bessie, Willie and his wife Nannie. There is no record of David's death.

Benny's death, written by Pa...on the facing page.

Benjamin R. Fleet was murdered by the Yankees on Wednesday 2nd March 1864 in King Wm Co. near Mr. Anderson Scott's, whither he had gone as a Scout where he met the Advance Guard of the Enemy dressed in Confederate Uniform, and was killed by them. Aged 17 yrs. 5 months & 1 day.

A FEW MORE MINUTES...ICE SKATING TIME!

Nov. 24, 1880

It seems a very short time since the beginning of the session when I kept the record of our first meeting. Since then our days have glided by peacefully & I trust profitably, with few sorrows & many joys; among the greatest of which I must record the baptism of three of our girls, the 2nd Sunday in this month. After reading the record above, Nannie played with good time & taste "Weber's Last Waltz." Loulie read July (?), & Lou played with Sister "The Turkish Reveille." Mattie Kate read the beautiful poem called "God's Plans" or "Lo??? Time." Lucy read some good advice of Spring (?) viz: "Never stop a plough to catch a Mouse." Sallie played with good expression Gottschalk's "Last Hope," & we sang "The Rose Bush" after which we adjourned to enjoy sliding on the ice which has formed rapidly during the past unusually cold days.

M.L.F. (Lou)

There is a small spring fed pond just across the field to the right of the house. It has grown up a lot and the owner of Green Mount would love to clean it out and clear around it so it will look similar to how it was back during the 1880's. I hope we can do that. It's a beautiful little pond and it is where the Fleet's used to get their ice and go ice skating. We even have two pair of the old ice skates here at the house. If I can find them I'll add a photo. But here below you can see the view from the yard in the direction of the ice pond. Then the second photo shows where the ice pond is, just beyond those reed like weeds. You can actually see a glimpse of the water between them if you look closely. It's very swampy now. I would love to clean it up and especially think we should relic hunt the area and the mud that we dredge out of the bottom. No telling what could be in that!

FINALLY...MORE OF THE MINUTES...

Green Mount

November 17th, 1880

We opened our exercises by reading the 39 Psalm and then Lucy played "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still" which we all enjoyed. Then Nannie read "Lessons on Contentment," Loulie gave us "Gen. Smith's Grand March." Lou read for our enjoyment "Life and Death." Mattie Kate sang much to our delight "Little Emily." I wish she would sing oftener in our Society it would add so much to our enjoyment of all. Sallie read a chapter from Astronomy called "The Morning Star", the first of which ran thus "The Universe is God's name writ large." What a beautiful thought!

Mattie Ella Fleet

I took a few photos of the Fleet Family Cemetery today. I am planning to weedeat and clean it up this weekend. It sits out in the middle of the field out back. You can see the house in the bottom photo. This is where Lou, Florence, Betsy, Benny, Willie, Ma and Pa are buried. Lou was the oldest and lived to be in her 60's. But Florence and Betsy both died at 50ish, around 1903, only a couple years after their mother passed away. Willie married a Nannie Burke from North Bank and they are both buried in here too as are two of their daughters, Betsy and Mary Fleet. These two daughter never married which is true of all the sisters of Willie also, and his two daughters are the two sisters that I knew. They were so sweet. Tomorrow would have been Mary's 101st birthday I noticed when I was reading the tombstones again today.

MORE CIVIL WAR BUTTONS FOUND

I feel like I've neglected a friend by not having been on line lately. I was gone to Nags Head over Easter for 5 days and returned home needing to prepare for company. All is behind me now and went well. I will be typing more minutes later today!

Some exciting news is that when I was getting ready for my company to arrive yesterday around noon, a friend came by and wanted to relic hunt. He and his buddy found two more buttons. His buddy dug another Yankee Staff Officer's button and Scott found a VIRGINIA BUTTON! We think it probably came off Fred's coat. And the other buttons were most likely cut off Benny's uniform. I'll tell you more about that later. And I'll try and get pics. I was so busy yesterday I forgot to take photos of the two they found. Those two new finds were from the same dirt I found my 3 buttons in. Amazing! We think it has something to do with being near the old well and probably a trash barrel that was used for burning in the 1900's.

Thanks for checking...Tere

OK...adding button and small coin like piece found by Scott Alley of King and Queen County. He came over with a friend and found this button in the dirt near the house where the other buttons surfaced and the small coin or token, which we haven't a clue about was found out back between two trees in the field. This location we have been told is where some of the slave quarters were located. Great finds! Poor photos. If Scott gets these photograhed and emailed to me I'll exchange my pics with his.

UNIDENTIFIED SILVER COIN OR TOKEN ABOUT 1/3" IN DIAMETER

VIRGINIA BUTTON, EARLY NEW YORK MAKER MARK ON BACK...GREAT CONDITION!