I was gearing-up for writing another post about another Southern Unionist… ummm, or so he said he was… this morning, but became distracted by something about which I became aware, a few days ago.
Thanks to a grant from The Harpers Ferry Historical Association, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has digitized several early 19th century newspaper from that neck of the woods. Now, one might think I’d be quick to jump-in on the Civil War years, but, well, there’s just not that much available, considering publications were severely hampered after 1861. So, with my fascination with the years leading up in that area… well before the storm… I took a different sort of virtual stroll in time. Yes, I have “family interests” in that part of the Shenandoah Valley from that time, but it’s also an interest in the culture of the place.
I first dived into the editions of the Virginia Free Press for 1832… looking for a marriage announcement for my fourth great grandparents, Robert McKinney and Catharine Baker. I found it, but… sigh… it happens to be in a crease.
I still need to browse a bit for additional entries that might pertain to them.
As for cultural fascination, I enjoyed (as I always do) the advertisements, such as these, from June 17, 1847…
… and some unique pieces such as this, from August, 1839:
Ah, and poetry, how can I not recognize the passion they held in the 19th century for poetry? This piece is also from the front page of the issue of June 17, 1847:
But, while I was “fishing” for interesting material… how could I not look to see what was being said within days (this snip from October 20, 1859) of the John Brown Raid?!
For virtual time travel on your own, visit the West Virginia GeoExplorer Project home page… and enjoy…
Cenantua's Blog 
Janet
July 14, 2012
My ancestor’s Augusta County marriage announcement is in the Virginia Free Press in Charles Town for 1835, indexed on the Library of Virginia site, compiled by Bernard J. Henley from Virginia newspapers on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. You might check out the Library of VA. catalogue for more information.
Robert Moore
July 14, 2012
The index aspect is nice, but that takes away the fun of browsing and finding little gems (as in the case of most of what I included in this post) without necessarily looking for a name or subject. I’m thrilled that the Harpers Ferry folks have the digitized images online.
Janet
July 14, 2012
In John Wayland’s online book, The History of Rockingham County, beginning on page 419, he describes “Boating on the Shenandoah River.” The Shenandoah River used to be the great commercial highway of the Valley and its mouth was at Harper’s Ferry. The farmers and merchants would make trips up north in the spring and fall to buy and sell things.
Siram Henkel wrote letters in the spring and fall of 1836 while on one of these trips to Baltimore and Philadelphia, which is published in the “Henkel-Renalds Connection” by Wittig. The research required to understand the status of the transportation routes he described was a maze. It is well worth skimming over the wikipedia articles on the history of the B & O Railroad, the Winchester and Potomac RR, and related transportation routes and methods such as canals and steamboats to Baltimore and Philadelphia.
It will be exciting to compile the RR and related information from the Harper’s Ferry newspapers for that year, to embellish those letters. I would encourage anyone in the Valley to find the dates of their ancestors’ weddings and check out the transportation systems in existence at that time. When you realize how international everybody was in the 1840’s and 50’s, and then compare it to the blockades, burned bridges, and blown-up railroads of the Civil War, it makes you cringe at how insane the situation was. A few weeks after Virginia’s seceded, in May 1861 young Luther Henkel was evidently detained on one of his numerous trips to Alexandria to sell livestock transported on the train – – at the same time that Alexandria was being permanently occupied by Federals, much to the anxiety of his father who kept writing day after day: “Luther still in Alexandria.”
Robert Moore
July 15, 2012
When it comes to flat-boating on the Shenandoah, I’m particularly drawn to the pre-Civil War days. See here for one piece that I wrote about it.