Rose Hill (Armstrong Place)

 

Rose Hill (AKA Armstrong Place) was built circa 1800 by Dr. Rose in Culpeper Co, Virginia.  John Spilman Armstrong, my 3x great grandfather, purchased this home prior to the civil war. It is said that he purchased this with money he earned by helping to construct the Rappahannock River Canal.  Here is where Armstrong operated the first circular saw in the county.[i]

The large rectangular house has hand-hewn sills, 12 x 12. The plates, sills and slotted rafters are all heart pine; wooden pegs hold the rafters in place.[i]

It is said that the original owners Dr. and Mrs. Rose are buried on this property in unmarked graves. 

This is the home where Sallie Alice Armstrong wrote her diary during the civil war. She married her husband, John Roberts Turner, here as shown below in the Turner Family Bible.

 

 

This house stayed in the Armstrong family for over 100 years. It was first owned by John Spilman Armstrong (1811-1884).  His son John Edward Armstrong (1847-1938) owned it for a number of years and then his son Edward Brent Armstrong, Sr. owned it (1882-1963). [ii]   

It is currently owned by Nancy Weik. She and her husband purchased the farm prior to 1980.  They raised their children there. Nancy and her daughter Lili run it. It is now called Overlook Manor Farm. They breed sheep and horses.  

They were very kind to open up their home to about 30 Armstrong descendants and friends visiting their farm for Armstrong Day. Many of the Armstrong cousins remembered playing there as children and visiting for various family events.  It was really nice to see their faces light up as they remembered the places they played and rooms they slept in as children.

 

 

 

Original firebox in dining room

Old Ice House now used for storage.

Armstrong Descendants visiting Rose Hill June 2013

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[i] Historic Culpeper, Culpeper Historical Society, Bicentennial Edition, 2002. Page 57

[ii] Culpeper Star-Exponent, Monday July 1, 1963.

Armstrong Day = Amazing!

This Sunday our Armstrong Family Tree truly came to life. Kathy Ellis created  Armstrong Day - a cousin caravan through Fauquier and Culpeper Counties in Virginia. Kathy really thought of every last detail to make the day perfect.

 Kathy, we are grateful for all of your hard work!  You are the best! Thank you!

More to come on this amazing day in a future post!

Serendipity

Last summer I had the privilege of meeting several of my 2nd cousins. I wrote about it in a previous post.  Barbra Harris Smith shared hundreds of wonderful photos with us.  Among them was one of Frank Boston Turner. Frank was the son of Judge Edward Spilman Turner and Mela Boston.

He is 9 months old here.

My last stop on the trip before we head out was to visit John Roberts and Sallie A. Armstrong's graves in Warrenton Cemetery.

Here is John Turner's grave with both wives at his side.

The row in front of them are John's brother and sister-in-law.

Edward Spilman Turner and his wife Mela Boston Turner's marker. They are the parents of little Frank Boston Turner (pictured above).  In front of their grave was a marker for Frank Boston Turner who died at age 18 months.

Our Turner DNA Journey is About to Begin

This week, my brother Tim was very cooperative providing me with a DNA sample. This will help in the search for our Turner origins.  It would be nice to be able to connect with distant cousins that are doing the same. 

This may also prove once and for all that Tim is actually human.  Just kidding! Tim is a great sport.

I'm sure this will take some time before the results are in. 

Stay tuned!

Could this be Lucy Pollard Roberts?

This is one of the four photos in frames from the home of Hugh Davisson Turner (mentioned in a previous post). It has obviously been touched up, colorized and reproduced to fit in this frame. This is the original portrait that was taken By Homier & Clark in Richmond, Virginia.

“Roberts” written on the matting. This is the back of the original photo.

My guess is it could either be John R. Turner’s grandmother, Lucy Ann (Pollard) Roberts (1791-1863) or possibly his mother, Lucy.  The back of the photo does indicate that this was for John R. Turner from his cousin.  Speaking with an expert, I was told the photo is circa 1860.  The hat she is wearing is circa 1850. She also pointed out that she has no teeth.

Below is a painting of Ellen Hackley (Pollard) Lewis (1776-1859). She is the sister of Lucy. This painting hangs in Kenmore Fielding and Betty's house in Fredericksburg VA as she married their son Howell Lewis.

Here is the tree that relates to the photos listed above.

 

Update: 3/9/2013

After receiving a scan of the back of the original photo, thank you Barbara, it is much easier to read that it starts "Grandma Roberts" to cousin John R. Turner (Awesome).  I am not sure which cousin sent this to him, but I am thrilled to have this confirmed!

The Four Matching Picture Frames - UPDATED March 2013

In the home of Hugh & Willetta Turner’s daughters, Alice Cosby, Elizabeth Bell and Helen Turner, there were four photos in identical frames.

The first one is their father Hugh Davisson Turner (1867-1938).

 

 

The second is their grandfather, John Roberts Turner (1838-1918).  This photo appeared in a The Warreton Review a Warrenton, Virginia Newspaper.

The third photo has no writing on it. I believe this to be Sallie Armstrong Turner (1844-1888). I had once thought this to be Willetta Montague Turner, but have since changed my mind.

  

This is an earlier photo confirmed to be her.

 

 

The fourth one is Lucy Ann (Pollard) Roberts (1791-1863). This photo has been obviously retouched.  the original is below.