Bringing Back Sligo

Breathing new life into an Italianate home in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Bringing Back Sligo
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  • Category: Basement

    • The “Haunting” of Sligo

      Posted at 9:57 am by Lauren Tepaske, on August 4, 2021

      Since we’re still in limbo waiting for orders to move to Singapore I thought I would write about something else that is in limbo and answer a question I get asked from time-to-time: Is Sligo haunted and have we had any “experiences?” The easy answer is “yes and no.” As far as I know, Marcus hasn’t had any experiences but keep in mind he’s an engineer and Dutch which makes him doubly pragmatic and logical. Both of our daughters claim to have experienced what they thought was the cat walking in their room only to turn and see nothing. The youngest also claims that things move in her room and there’s a ghost boy named “Gary or Larry or Peter” (now I really don’t believe her). She’s also the one most likely to crawl into bed with us in the middle of the night but whether it’s an 8-year-old imagination or something really going on, I don’t know. What I can say is that her room is the same room a previous resident slept in and had many experiences though I have never told her that (I’m all about being open and honest with the kids but the last thing I need is a child in my bed every night).

      What I can tell you are my own experiences, some of which are more compelling than others. So, let’s get started. One of the first events that happened was the skeleton key to our front door went missing for a month or so. I found it eventually stuck in a mint julep cup on the mantle and while I or the children or even Marcus could have done it and forgot I’m not convinced it wasn’t the spirits. Also, please note, we don’t use our front door so missing the key for a while was not critical. In this same room where the key was eventually found is also the same room where electronics go off (always in the middle of the night which really gets the heart rate going). Now, the logical part of me thinks that this is bound to happen because the majority of the electronics are stored and charged in that room. The less logical side of me thinks “ghosts!”

      For the most part, I rarely experience anything but for a period of time in the fall I was constantly seeing shadows or movement from the corner of my eye. One particularly startling moment was seeing a full body shadow just outside of the youngest’s bedroom. I have also had the same experience as the girls thinking the cat was in the room but finding nothing. Also, sitting on the couch in the living room I have a viewpoint of the small hallway outside of the half-bath. From the couch I would constantly see movement and even at times the feeling that someone was walking from the kitchen into the hallway. I feel as if my youngest daughter’s room and the area just outside of the half-bath have more energy than other spaces in the house.

      One of the most compelling things to happen though involved the dog. As I was calling her to go out one night I was standing near the hallway to the half-bath. From the corner of my eye I saw a shadow fly across the space and at that exact moment, the dog came trotting through and looked directly at the spot where I had seen the shadow. For me, that exact moment solidified all I had thought I had been seeing and experiencing. There was also a strange moment when the cat was hissing towards the top of the stairs and behaving as if the dog had materialized and was about to pounce even though the dog was not there. She could have been on high-alert because she and the dog did not get along but it was weird nonetheless.

      A few friends with more of a sixth sense have walked through the house and determined that the energy is calm. When we had C & C Paranormal come through (which you can read about here, here, and here) they spent time in the basement releasing the energy and now, when people stay down there, they claim to have had the best sleep of their lives. Whether that is all associated or not, I don’t know? There is a lot of “I don’t knows” when it comes to the question of whether the house is haunted or not. I do think there is an energy here but I do not think it is haunted in the way we typically think of such. We don’t have “broke-neck ladies” or vengeful spirits doing harm but given the age of the property and it’s experiences (i.e. as a small-pox hospital, a slave owned property, and the Civil War) it’s foolish to think there is nothing lingering.

      Posted in Basement, Grounds, Haunted, History, Hospital, Life, Main House, Slaves and Servants, Wars | 3 Comments
    • A Progress Report

      Posted at 1:43 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on December 13, 2019

      Yikes!  Why didn’t someone tell me it has been six weeks since I last wrote a blog post…and even then it wasn’t much of a post.  I was planning on writing something about the Civil War in Fredericksburg and how it affected the Ferneyhough family at Sligo but maybe I’ll take a minute to catch everyone up on how things are progressing at the house.

      In November we had an open house tour given by the Historical Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI).  About 100 people showed up and, I think, all were delighted with the tour and the state of the house.  My mother-in-law went on the tour hoping to go “incognito” which she was for all of two seconds and then she was accosted by my girls screaming “Grammy! Grammy!”  Regardless, she was absolutely thrilled with the tour given by HFFI which included historical aspects of the home and surrounding area, the families that have lived in it, and our plans for the future of the house.  I enjoyed meeting some of the folks at the end of the tour and even learned some new information about Sligo.  For instance, the property wasn’t on city water until the early 1980s.  I was surprised at that.  I also learned that General Thomas Posey and his second wife, Mary Alexander, likely might have lived at the property as when Mary Alexander’s first husband passed away he would have left his estates to the children.

      Over these last few months the progress on the top two floors of the house has progressed rapidly.  The bathrooms are all but complete and the bedrooms have been painted and light fixtures installed.  On the first floor the kitchen still has some work until completion but that is because one cabinet was damaged in transit and one cabinet not delivered at all.  We have made decisions on just about everything else such as light fixtures for the downstairs rooms and the appliances for the kitchen.

      In the basement the apartment is starting to take shape.  The walls for the bathroom are up and the  windows are being repaired.  The brick has been repointed and where there were dirt floors is now cement.  The HVAC system, which is the same mini split system as on the top two floors, has been installed and electrical wiring is run.  The addition of insulation in the ceiling has given the basement a more cozy feeling and while its still a little dark and scary it won’t be for long.

      The grounds are in desperate need of work but until the trucks are done driving in and out it seems rather pointless to try and do anything.  Also, its cold and currently its raining and I have a sleeping pooch next to me so the last thing that sounds like fun to me right now is yard work.  Also, did I mention how many times I got poison ivy this past summer just by looking at the yard?  No less than five times and all of varying degrees of intensity.

      We are hoping to move into the house by January which we are all ready for.  I never would have guessed we would still be living with my mom nearly 1.5 years later.  She probably didn’t expect that either.  Sorry, mom.

      Posted in Basement, Contractors, Grounds, Life, Main House | 1 Comment
    • The Servant’s Stairs

      Posted at 2:06 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on January 13, 2019

      When we met at Sligo with Dovetail Cultural Group a few weeks ago it was like a light bulb went off with one of the more confusing aspects of the house.  I’ll try and describe it from the basement up to the 2nd floor of the house.

      In the basement there are obvious remains of an old stairwell.  Just above that is currently a very long and narrow half bathroom.  And, just above that, is a small room just off the master bedroom that doesn’t seem to have much purpose (it was really the most confounding of spaces).  However, it was our tour with Dovetail that helped enlighten us and it turns out all three spaces would have been the servant’s stairs, just on the other side of the main stairs.  The picture that I received of Sligo in her original state shows a door off the front porch which would also lead one to believe that this would have been the servant’s stairs.  At some point in the last 120 years that was changed to incorporate a life without servants (I’m guessing…although can I have servants?  Or at least a nanny?  Maybe a maid?  Fine, just a personal shopper.  I don’t ask for much).

      Our plans for the basement space will probably be a full bath in order to incorporate apartment living on that level.  On the 1st floor that space will remain a 1/2 bath but will also include a washer and dryer.  On the 2nd floor we plan on adding a wall, another doorway and turning that basically unusable space into a master bathroom.  It all makes sense in my head so I apologize if it reads really crazy.

      I’m including pictures to try and give an idea of what I am talking about but keep in mind it’s dark in the house because many, if not all, of the windows are boarded up.  Also, enjoy a cameo from Twila & Co.!

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      To the left, and over Johnna’s head, you can see the remnants of the basement stairs.

      downstairs bathroom

      On the 1st floor and just above the aforementioned basement area is currently where there is a half bath.  Straightaway is where the door off the front porch would have been.  It is now a transom window that is just out of the picture. (picture taken from the Zillow listing, 2 August 2018)

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      The 2nd story portion is harder to photograph.  To the right of the picture you see a door leading to the master bedroom into what is the small room. (picture taken from the Zillow listing, 2 August 2018)

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      Looking into the small room off the master bedroom you see a closet and to the right of the picture is the doorway leading to the actual bedroom itself.

       

      Posted in Basement, History, Main House | 0 Comments
    • Recent Posts

      • Preoccupied December 20, 2021
      • The “Haunting” of Sligo August 4, 2021
      • Rehabilitation Tax Credits April 27, 2021
      • Put Me in Blogger Jail April 6, 2021
      • Virginia Historic Registry and the National Landmark Registry August 6, 2020
      • My Good Boy, Axel July 14, 2020
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    Lauren Tepaske
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