- About me
- Cenantua – What and why?
- Cenantua’s pages (bio sketches & so on)
- Citing… this site
As a Southerner and native of the Shenandoah Valley, I offer reflections on the Civil War-era South… and sometimes a little more. But… expect the unexpected
Browsing All Posts filed under »Ancestral tidbits«
A quest to know more about my Virginia ancestor who spoke out against secession
As I mentioned yesterday, after posting a few items focused on anti-secession rhetoric in Virginia (during this time of the year, 150 years ago) this past week, I began thinking again about an ancestor of mine who also spoke out against secession at this same time. John Shuler (1815-1908) was a well-to-do farmer in Grove […]
Reflections and parallels
April 2, 2011 by Robert Moore
As I sat down to enjoy my morning coffee, I began thinking, again, of what I’ve been thinking about all week. With each anti-secession post, I can’t help but reflect on my third great-grandfather, John Shuler (who, incidentally, was the same age, in 1861, as I am now… just a casual observation… no more) who, […]
Remember the Alamo! 175 years ago today.
March 6, 2011 by Robert Moore
There was, indeed, a Robert Moore in the Alamo when it fell, 175 years ago today. I remember reading his name on the list of those lost there, when I visited that sacred ground in Texas, a few years ago. I doubt that the Alamo’s Robert B. Moore is any relation(*), but he was born […]
Southern by the grace of cornbread!
February 23, 2011 by Robert Moore
Thinking about Craig’s post from the other day, I remembered something I’ve been meaning to post about cornbread… yes, cornbread. Now cornbread has become known as something distinctly “Southron”, but appears to have origins with the Native People of what is now the southeastern U.S. (references vary, but among those suggested as originators are the […]
Were some Union soldiers fighting to preserve slavery?(!)
February 19, 2011 by Robert Moore
Yes, you read that correctly. Give me a little time, and I’ll set the stage… As many who follow this blog know, one of my favorite areas of study is western Maryland… most especially, the Clear Spring and Conococheague Districts in Washington County. Likewise, I spend a good deal of time researching the men from […]
The heritage dilemma and the Civil War
February 8, 2011 by Robert Moore
Just a quick thought, but… What is one’s personal Civil War heritage? I see it as that link to the past through ancestors. So, if heritage is a part of us… the blood of our ancestry running through us, I’m wondering… With each generation, there comes the possibility/probability that a new line of heritage is […]
An amazing family discovery
February 5, 2011 by Robert Moore
Going to divert focus here for just a bit; the reason being a recent unique find pertaining to my ancestry. Before I spill the beans, I figure I better set the stage. About 17 years ago, I started learning about another branch of my family tree… the McKinney and Quigley family lines. After growing up […]
Yes, Page County, you once had slaves…
January 16, 2011 by Robert Moore
While the audience of this blog is typically from well beyond the boundaries of my home county (and, I’m happy to say, even beyond the confines of this continent), I frequently look back to that place, as I have spent a considerable number of years writing about its history. No doubt, it’s fascinating to me […]
“All we ask is to be left alone”
January 15, 2011 by Robert Moore
I’m picking-up from where I left off in my last post… Regarding some of those who opposed secession, and continued to do so… it didn’t necessarily mean that they were ready to go to war against their neighbors and friends, in defense of their position. Instead, many preferred to be left alone. They simply didn’t […]
Those who offered resistance: Unconditional Unionists in Alabama’s secession convention
January 11, 2011 by Robert Moore
I’m tweeting some stuff about Southern Unionism in Alabama… after all, today is the 150th anniversary of Alabama’s vote to secede… but, at 61 for and 39 against, it calls for closer examination. The online Encyclopedia of Alabama has a nice piece about Alabama Unionists => here (written by Margaret M. Storey, who is also […]
How all Northerners “then” weren’t really so out of touch with “being Southern”
November 14, 2010 by Robert Moore
It’s bad enough to hear some contemporary Southerners speak of Northerners as if it was still the time of the Civil War, but it’s even worse to hear Southerners speak of the people of the North from the time of the war, as if they could not, in the least bit, identify with the culture […]
It’s 1860. Who do you vote for?
November 2, 2010 by Robert Moore
Not the exact date, but today is election day… and on election day 150 years ago, in 1860, a good deal was at stake. So, who do you vote for? Strike that… who would get your ancestors’ votes? Lincoln, Douglas, Breckinridge, or Bell… and why? Without looking, do you know their platforms? After all, a […]
An execution… a ghost’s last hymn… and a curse fulfilled(?)
October 31, 2010 by Robert Moore
As I’ve mentioned several times in my postings throughout the month, October brings to mind stories of witches and ghosts, but one ghost story captures my thinking frequently throughout the month. I suppose, one can almost say that it literally “haunts” me. The story actually developed over time, with each piece of information I uncovered […]
Plumb Grove – home of Jonathan Nesbitt, Jr.
October 11, 2010 by Robert Moore
I’ve got some photos that I took a couple of weeks back while on my road trip to Four Locks and Clear Spring, and I thought that I might as well put them on here for everyone to enjoy. I didn’t include them in the tour that weekend because there is no known tie between […]
The “fire witch”
October 9, 2010 by Robert Moore
Just 146 years ago yesterday, the episode known as “The Burning” drew to a close in the Shenandoah Valley. Gen. Phil Sheridan had cut a swathe from Augusta County, north into Rockingham, Page, and Shenandoah Counties before coming to a halt around Strasburg, Virginia. No doubt, the devastation to the “breadbasket of the Confederacy” was […]
How did the doctor “take care” of the witch?
October 8, 2010 by Robert Moore
Just thinking back to how the doctor “saw to it” that the witch that “cursed” my great-great grandmother would be “in hell by morning.” Frankly, we will probably never know his method, and will wonder about the wide range of possibilities. Still, Samuel Kercheval did mention a couple of methods by which one could “cure… […]
Why “Cenantua”?
October 6, 2010 by Robert Moore
I love this time of year. It’s a chilly day, the sky is overcast… … I have a fire in the wood stove… … and a relaxing cup of cappuccino in my manly-man Mickey Mouse coffee mug (what else??!!) is close at-hand. Feels like a good time to sit down and write… just wish I […]
More on the old-time belief in witches in the central Shenandoah Valley
October 4, 2010 by Robert Moore
Alright, picking-up from my post from Saturday, I was thinking that maybe I need a little more information supporting the claim that I made that witches were more common in 19th century Page County (and the central Shenandoah Valley) than some may realize. So… In February 1930, in his “Jacob’s Well” column, Jacob R. Seekford […]
So, finally… this Confederate vet and the witch…
October 2, 2010 by Robert Moore
One of my great-great grandfathers, Charles Robert “Tanner” Hillard, was born on October 3, 1844 (in fact, that will be 166 years ago… tomorrow), a son of Jacob (1784-1864) and Phoebe Elliott Hilliard (ca. 1822-???). As for the Civil War part goes… Charles’ younger brother, Jacob, hired himself out as a substitute (for […]
Hyperlinks woven into my live, roving blog posts from last weekend
October 2, 2010 by Robert Moore
For those who may be interested, I have added several hyperlinks to the live, roving blog posts (nine in all) that I created last weekend. Some of these hyperlinks might fill you in on some questions that you may (or may not) have had while reading originally. The tour begins here. Enjoy. Later today I’ll […]
What do a Confederate veteran and a witch have in common?
October 1, 2010 by Robert Moore
Hey! It IS October, and seriously… what I said above is a sincere question. I’ll give details later this weekend… and no sarcastic answers to my question in the interim. In the meantime, like I said, it’s October! I love this time of year, and it brings to mind two things in particular… scary stuff […]
Backtrack to Dam 5
September 26, 2010 by Robert Moore
I couldn’t resist… Dam 5 offers one of those rare opportunities to expand on Cyrus’ story, though, at best, it’s an indirect weave into the overall story. But before I start, I have to say, its incredibly cool to live blog on the move. You see, I’m sitting on the stone ledge above the roaring […]
Cenantua's Blog ©
by Robert H. Moore, II
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at www.cenantua.wordpress.com. For more information about citing this blog, please see "How to cite this site".
Recent Comments
 | Robert Moore on Deconstructing “Sto… |
| Robert Moore on Deconstructing “Sto… |
| Robert Moore on Deconstructing “Sto… |
 | Richard Williams on Deconstructing “Sto… |
 | John Rogers on Deconstructing “Sto… |
Southern Unionists Chronicles
- In the case of Mr. Nicholas Breeden, Rockingham County, Virginia February 19, 2012
Cenantua's contributions to...
Web-Tech and blogging "stuff"
April 3, 2011 by Robert Moore
12