Join us in Affiliate Port of Smithfield VA for the VA Sail 250 event.
Visit the Isle of Wight County Museum on Main Street Smithfield to learn about the 1781 Battle of Mackie’s Mill
Synopsis
In September 1886, Geronimo, seventeen warriors, fourteen women, and six children surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona. Geronimo and his band had been chased for five months across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico by 5,000 American soldiers, 3,000 Mexican soldiers, and hundreds of civilians. Not a single member of the band had been killed or captured when Geronimo surrendered. At the time of his surrender, Geronimo was the most feared and hated Indian in the United States. After Geronimo’s surrender, the army moved the entire Chiricahua tribe, nearly seven hundred men women and children, to Florida for two years and then to Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama, for seven years. During their time in captivity at Mount Vernon, Hampton Roads nearly became the site for a reservation for Geronimo and the Chiricahua People. Throughout their years in captivity, a number of Chiricahua children were educated at the Hampton Institute. Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood, who with two Apache scouts, an interpreter, and a mule packer risked his life to track down the Geronimo band in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico to talk Geronimo into accepting surrender terms from General Miles. When the band accepted the terms, Gatewood helped shepherd the band past hostile Mexicans and Americans to surrender to General Miles. The army never recognized Gatewood for his phenomenal courage and work in bringing in Geronimo, giving the credit for “capturing” Geronimo to officers who had chased him for five months without success. Gatewood died at Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia, ten years after Geronimo surrendered. Hampton Roads has been a lot closer to the once wild and free Chiricahua Apaches than many realize.
About the Author
W. Michael Farmer combines over fifteen years of research into nineteenth-century Apache history and culture with Southwest-living experience to fill his stories with a genuine sense of time and place. A retired Ph.D. physicist, his scientific research included measurement of atmospheric aerosols with laser-based instruments. He published a two-volume reference book on atmospheric effects on remote sensing and award-winning short fiction in magazines and anthologies and nonfiction essays. His novels have won numerous awards including three Will Rogers Gold and five Silver Medallions, New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Adventure, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, a Non-Fiction New Mexico Book of the Year, and a Spur Finalist Award for Best First Novel. His book series includes The Life and Times of Yellow Boy, Mescalero Apache and Legends of the Desert, and seven books on the life and times of Geronimo.
Annual Member Meeting with a presentation on Captain John Sinclair by guest speaker Tom Wiatt, 4x Great Grandson of Captain Sinclair.
We will also tour the 1820s Clerk’s Office at the which is located next door to the Supervisor’s Board Room, at the modern day Isle of Wight County VA Courthouse Complex, .
Image credit: Boat US
Throughout his 52-year career, Rear Adm. John Lorimer Worden was always the right officer for the job. The epitome of an innovative commander who helped move the U.S. Navy out of the Age of Sail and into the era of steam/ironclad technology. Worden’s contributions extended far beyond his command of USS Monitor the Battle of Hampton Roads and influenced naval leadership for decades to follow.
The book, written by John V. Quarstein and Robert Worden, offers forth insightful details about the admiral’s career and his impact upon the Civil War’s ironclad revolution. Worden was much more than a combat leader as he served the navy as a scientific officer, executive officer, fleet commander, and educator with an innovative spirit and dedication to service which prompted many to say: “Let Worden Do It!”
Presented by John V. Quarstein is an award-winning Author, Historian, Educator, Preservationist, Speaker, and Director Emeritus of the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. John has received numerous awards for teaching, historic preservation, museum development and writing. John's deep interest in all things related to the Civil War stems from his youth living on Fort Monroe, walking where heroes like Abraham Lincoln and R. E. Lee once stood.
John will bring books to autograph and sell, an amazing opportunity to chat with the author.
Valerie Schmidt-Wilson became the Archivist and Conservator of Isle of Wight County historic court documents in the wake of the Family Search digitization efforts in 2012. Disturbed by the state that our documents were left in, Valerie began the ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY RECORDS PROJECT. It was her mission to repair, preserve, organize and also learn about the old records our ancestors wrote, in a time forgotten.
When the local held loose paper was conserved and archived, County Clerk Sharon Jones reclaimed thousands of original documents from the Library of Virginia where they were held in a warehouse, completely inaccessible, and waiting to dissolve into dust. Thanks to Valerie’s design and implementation of the RECORDS PROJECT, those hidden papers are nearly all conserved, images of those amazing original documents are also now available to the public, and the original papers can be viewed by appointment.
Early in the RECORDS PROJECT, Valerie recognized the amazing information contained in many of those long-forgotten documents that were penned by our ancestors from the mid-1700s through the Civil War. The information, therein, tells a much fuller story about the early history of the county, and sheds very significant light on Valerie’s most passionate research project—the history of IOW County as it relates to the Tynes family, the house that Robert Tynes built in 1750, and the 1802 emancipation of 81 of Timothy Tynes’ slaves.
On Sunday June 22 at 2:00 pm Valerie will share some of the amazing things she has learned about the Tynes, the Old Brick House which she and her husband now own, the local population, and the famous emancipation of 81 Slaves in the 1802 WILL of Timothy Tynes. She will also talk about her growing, specifically documented database designed to help the descendants of the Black Tynes family in their quest to find their roots.
Something must have been unique about the Southampton County community during the first half of the 19th Century. Four men of African descent, born just a few miles and years apart, took different paths to find freedom. The best known event, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, took the violent approach resulting in about 100 killed. The insurrection made the world recognize the harsh realities of enslavement; yet, brought stricter slave codes. Anthony Gardiner was able to ship passage to Liberia as part of the American Colonization Society. He prospered and later became president of Liberia. John Brown was sold away from his family into the Deep South. His enslaver’s cruelties prompted him to run away via the Underground Railroad. Once he reached safety in England, he published a boo about his experiences. This book was one of many that helped to spread the truth about the inequalities of slavery. Dred Scott was born in Southampton County about 1799. He moved west with his enslavers and eventually filed a suit for his freedom which resulted in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott Decision. Each of these stories are profound reflections by four men of African descent from Southampton County. They were all freedom fighters who helped guide the march toward emancipation.
Presented by John V. Quarstein is an award-winning Author, Historian, Educator, Preservationist, Speaker, and Director Emeritus of the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. John has received numerous awards for teaching, historic preservation, museum development and writing. John's deep interest in all things related to the Civil War stems from his youth living on Fort Monroe, walking where heroes like Abraham Lincoln and R. E. Lee once stood.
Bring your historic photos and documents to the Smithfield Library to be scanned, archived and cataloged for future research and publication.
Annual Meeting,
Tour of 1820s Clerk’s Office
Tour of Orbit Country Store, Orbit, VA
The Isle of Wight County and Surry County Historical Societies present "John Rolfe", portrayed by Richard A Cheatham, a 14th generation descendant. Richard is the founder and director of Living History Associates, a graduate of VMI, a school teacher, museum educator and TV reporter. John Rolfe was the pivotal early American who became the husband of Pocahontas. Their marriage at Jamestown brought an end to seven years of fighting between the native Powhatan people and the English. Rolfe was an entrepreneur who developed successful trade in tobacco, native plants blended with sweeter Spanish West Indies plants, that prevented the abandonment of the failing Virginia colony.
Thompson Mayes will be on location speaking on “Why Old Places Matter.” Meet and greet. His book will be available as well for autographing.
Come out to the historic Isle of Wight County courthouse complex on Saturday at 10 a.m. for a guided tour. The tour is free and begins at Boykin's Tavern museum at 10 a.m.
