Bringing Back Sligo

Monthly Archives: February 2019

• The Mystery of the Caged Skeleton

  Posted at 10:20 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 21, 2019

  If you are an avid reader of this blog (Hi, Mom!) then you may remember a little tidbit about the petrified remains of a soldier being found in a cage on the grounds of Sligo.  The quote I used was from the 1937 Works Progress Administration (WPA) of Virginia Historical Inventory.  Obviously, 1937 was quite a few years after the Civil War and over 150 years after the Revolutionary War.  So, really, the information given had to be taken with a grain of salt if the person was indeed a soldier.

  A very kind reader (surprisingly not my mom because I could have sworn she was the only person tuning in) sent me a list of articles pertaining to Sligo which sent me back to the Virginiana Room at the local library.  I received a fantastic tutorial on how to use the microfilm machine and a whole new world opened up.  As I was searching for articles I had a great time scanning what was news for the late 1800s.  My personal favorite was what appeared to be an opinion piece lamenting the fact that women wanted to be more like men and, if that’s the case, then could they please give up all of their fancy hats with feathers because the bird population is suffering?!

  Anyway, that’s not why we’re here.  We want gore!  Not “birds being killed to make elegant hats” gore but “men being left in metal cages” gore!  So, as it turns out, in 1899 there was indeed the remains of a man found in a metal cage though not on the grounds of Sligo.  Whew!  I mean, I am sorry that a person died and was put in a metal cage but at least it wasn’t at Sligo.

  The part of the story that is really disturbing is the cage was in the shape of a human body and most likely the person in it was deemed a “lunatic.”  I question who it was that deemed the poor soul a lunatic and I question the tactics used for treatment.  Thank God, mental health wellness has come such a long way in the last 130 years because just a few short months ago someone might have been shoving me into a metal cage, citing lunacy.

  Below is the article which gives more information about the finding of the body and that a first body had been similarly found in King George (neighboring county) a few years prior.

  

  Article retrieved from the Fredericksburg Daily Star, April 14 1899.

   

  Posted in Grounds, Haunted, History | 2 Comments

• A First Person Look Inside the House

  Posted at 2:06 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 20, 2019

  For the third time this winter it has snowed.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school and Marcus is on travel.  It’s no wonder I woke-up with a headache.  It was as if my body was preparing for the day.  But, with the snow, comes a day full of nothing and gives me the chance to write.

  A few months back, quite a few months back actually, a friend took some really neat videos of Sligo using his drone.  I have been meaning to cut down the videos and possibly add music to them but it turns out my skills are strictly limited to cutting.  I think I might have learned how to add music in PowerPoint but I’m not here to give a presentation on the health benefits of not purchasing a 130 year old home so we’ll just have to do without.

  Now, the first video is shot from the ground floor up to the second floor and is pretty straightforward.  The second video is my personal favorite because if you can pretend like that’s you drunkenly stumbling from room to room you get a real sense of the layout of the house.  That is until the very end when “you” crash into the door jamb and collapse on the floor (inches away from the kitchen which is where you were probably trying to get to in order to get some coconut water to chase away that headache and induce vomiting because that stuff is nasty).

  (Thank you to Carl Lynn for bringing over his drone and helping capture Sligo in the state in which we acquired her.)

  Posted in Life, Main House, Video | 0 Comments

• Sligo Build Date

  Posted at 9:37 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 13, 2019

  As I sit here typing our youngest is in our bedroom, refusing to go to bed. In an effort not to throttle her I’m doing my best to ignore her presence and type a new post.  She is what doctor’s have referred to as “spirited.”  If any of you reading this are parents and are currently parenting or have parented one of these “spirited” children then I raise my glass to you because that is the shit that makes a person drink.

  Anyway, I got off track there.  I just needed you to know the frame of mind I’m in and I apologize for any potential profanity (the above “s” word included) or threats of violence.

  Now, how do I segue nicely into this relatively exciting development in the quest to discover the age of the house.  I guess that was it…

  Our Dovetail consultant made a really neat find about a week ago when she came across two newspaper articles detailing the fire that destroyed the original house at Sligo and the construction that followed.  Both articles were published in 1888 which confirms that the first house burnt down in 1888 and the second house began construction the same year.  The articles are below:

  

  Article retrieved online. Free Lance, 21 August 1888

  

  Article retrieved online. Fredericksburg Star, 12 September 1888

   

  How neat is this?!  First of all, it corroborates what the Ferneyhough descendants told me which is the first house burnt down in 1888 and the second house was built the same year.  It does stand to reason that the second house was not complete until the following year giving it a completion date of 1889.  Also, the fire broke out three times?  How could there have been anything left?  Second of all, there is an “ancient” brick somewhere?!  I have yet to lay eyes on said brick and honestly, there’s kind of a A LOT of brick so it’s going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack but it’s worth a shot.  Finally, we have a potential source of the name “Sligo” and that is Gen. Posey.  You probably don’t remember but I mentioned him in my very detailed and very accurate timeline of past Sligo owners.  He didn’t come across in any of my reading as someone important to the property but it may be worth another look into who he was.

  That’s all I have for now.  Miraculously, in the time it took me to write this the youngest is in her own bed and happily alive (though that’s solely because her father loves her more than I do at the moment).

   

   

  Posted in History, Main House | 6 Comments

• The Paint!

  Posted at 10:48 am by bringingbacksligo, on February 10, 2019

  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  Here in Virginia we have started what we refer to as “Second Winter.”  This usually comes after “Fake Spring” which we experienced last week with temperatures in the upper 60s.  It was a glorious few days that makes it all the more sadder that it is in the upper 30s now.

  Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk weather.  I was just sitting here recuperating from a day spent at the Kid’s Expo with our girls (which is akin to recuperating from a night out on the town only worse as I am an introvert and to spend so much time surrounded by so many people is an absolute drain on the very fiber of my being but I had promised my girlfriend I would go with her and her girls so when we got there and saw the chaos the two of us hid underneath the Bonefish Grill table, which was handing out “Bang Bang Shrimp” samples, and let the children run amok…how’s that for a sentence?) and thought I might update the readers on the paint choice we had made.  The painters were excited about the weather because, even though it is cold, it isn’t raining and they wanted to paint a particular portion of the house before the new roof went on the porch so, it was time to make our final decision.

  We decided on Benjamin Moore Wetherburn’s Blue which is the darker shade of blue out of the two we were contemplating.  It isn’t a traditional Victorian color, which would have been more earthy tones such as reds and greens, but it will be beautiful with the Benjamin Moore Capitol White trim and the Englert Mansard Brown metal roof and gutters.  I only call out the make of the colors in case you are so curious you feel the need to Google them to see exactly what I am talking about.

  So, without further ado, I give you a first glimpse at the new Sligo!

  

  I really like this picture as you can see the contrast between the old paint, the primer, and the new paint.

   

  Posted in Life, Main House | 2 Comments

• Visit

  Posted at 8:58 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 7, 2019

  Visit our Facebook page or our Instagram to see which two colors we are leaning towards for the siding of Sligo.

  Posted in Main House | 0 Comments

• The French Doors are Nevermore

  Posted at 9:48 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 5, 2019

  I know, I know.  You all (y’all where I’m from but I’ll try and make my English teachers proud) have been waiting with baited breath to hear about the architectural change we have been planning.  I would like for you to keep your expectations low, something I have come to master over my adult life, and know that I’m making a big deal out of nothing.

  There are a pair of French doors off the back parlor room of the house.  They’re narrow and have a door jamb in between each door making them awkward and pointless.  Not to mention they aren’t original to the house as indicated by the framing uncovered when Habalis removed the siding.

  So, we have decided to take the French doors out and replace them with what would have been there originally, floor to almost ceiling windows that match the windows in the front parlor.  We had to make sure that we were correct in assuming there were windows before there were French doors in order to keep the Department of Historic Resources happy and that’s OK.  In the end it will look so much nicer and more authentic.

  

  The French doors at the back of the house.  They are obviously not original as the framing above them indicates where windows once were. (Picture credit to Habalis)

  

  The French doors will be removed and returned to their original state which will mirror the two large windows to the left of the front door. (Picture retrieved from MLS listing 2 August 2018)

   

  Posted in Contractors, Main House | 0 Comments

• Recent Posts

  • The Big Move February 13, 2020
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part II January 3, 2020
  • Happy New Year, 2020! January 1, 2020
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part I December 15, 2019
  • A Progress Report December 13, 2019
  • Tour Sligo with HFFI October 31, 2019

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  @highland_and_victorian was asking for pictures of pocket doors and I realized that I have never described the enormity of ours. Just one door is 9 feet tall and 4 feet 7 inches wide. When they open the floor rumbles. What on Earth could a person need with such giant doors, I'll never know, but they're awesome. (Please excuse the mess in the red room, it's one of the last rooms to be unpacked.) #bringingbacksligo #victorian #italianate #pocketdoors #fredericksburgva #restoration #renovation

  This week's #52weeksofhome theme is "lighting." When we purchased Sligo all of the fixtures had either been vandalized or were dated (but not in an antique way). Therefore, all of our lighting is new and from various stores. #bringingbacksligo #restoration #renovation #victorian #italianate #potterybarnwarehouse #potterybarn #lampsplus #bellacour #wayfair #modernlighting #oldhouse #52weeksofhome #52weeksofhomeweek7

  This basketball shaped fuzzy beast is Lasagna, Sligo's bird watcher and occasional bug killer. She's acclamated quickly and has already claimed her favorite sunny spots (though the sun has been in hiding for the better part of the week). #bringingbacksligo #restoration #renovation #italianate #victorian #lasagnathecat #dilutetortie #birdwatching #catsofinstagram

  I just noticed this for the first time during one of my many trips up from the basement. It's an unfinished edge of the floor boards and I thought it was neat that you could see the tongue and groove (is that the correct terminology?). I also like how worn the wood is to the left of the picture. #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #restoration #renovation #finds #fredericksburgva

  What's that saying? It has to get worse before it can get better? I think we're there. (This isn't even all of the boxes. We still have the master bedroom and boxes of books to unpack 😭😭😭😭😭) #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #restoration #renovation #movingistheworst

  This week's #52weeksofhome theme is "Self portrait" and this, folks, is me from last night. I'm wearing what may or may not be pajamas and spent the entire day unpacking, sorting, organizing, moving boxes, mommying, cooking, running, driving, and shopping. I took 5 minutes before bed to use the Oasis eye mask and would have stayed there for the rest of the night but decided my bed would be much more comfortable. #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #renovation #restoration #movingistheworst #neveragain #52weeksofhome #52weeksofhomeweek6