Bringing Back Sligo

Category: History

• 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

• Virginia Historic Registry and the National Landmark Registry

  Posted at 8:15 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on August 6, 2020

  Y’all.  Why didn’t anyone tell me or remind me that I never wrote a post about Sligo being officially listed with the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)?  I mean, it’s not like our dear, intrepid Dovetail consultant, Katie, didn’t work her butt off for over a year to get us there.  It’s not like it’s kind of a big deal…

  (Just to be clear, I am sure my take on the process varies wildly from the actual process.  I was more of an outsider offering my occasional insight to the history of the house as I knew it and had been passed on to me via the Ferneyhough descendants and others.)

  Almost from the beginning (Julyish 2018) Marcus and I started considering the possiblity of getting Sligo on the respective registries.  I think it came about mostly because Marcus learned we could apply for tax credits (I mean, is anyone surprised by the fact Marcus was looking for ways to make this a more profitable endeavor?).  The scope of work required seemed totally do-able at first.  I filled out the Preliminary Information Form (PIF) to the best of my knowledge and submitted it to the Department of Historic Resources (DHR).  Surprisingly, and despite the fact I used only the Works Progress Administration (WPA) report (I wrote a post a while back but for a brief synopsis just know they aren’t entirely accurate) as a source of information, it was accepted because the house was deemed eligible for its architecture.  However, the DHR was most interested in learning the exact build date and the architect.  How hard could that be?  It’s not like in the late 19th century there wasn’t documentation and permits issued and a city department in charge of planning that would have housed all of this information (there wasn’t).

  I like to think I made a fairly decent attempt at researching the house and when exactly it was built (though to this day the architect is unknown).  My mom and I found ourselves driving between both the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania courthouses working through their respective archives (remember that Sligo was annexed from the county of Spotsylvania into the city of Fredericksburg in 1955).  To do this we had to start at the most recent owners (ourselves) and work our way back.  Eventually, it was at the Spotsylvania courthouse that we found what we had been looking for:

  Deed Book CC, Page 53, January 18, 1889 between George Ferneyhough & Lavinia and G.W. Wallace (trustee), containing 42 acres more or less, secure payment of farm bonds of even date with this deed each for the sum of $375.00 paid in 2, 3, 4, 5 years respectively…and it is covenanted and agreed between the parties aforesaid that the said Geo. T. Ferneyhough will keep the dwelling on said farm now being erected insured for not less than $1,000 in case of a sale being necessary by reason of default.  (So, basically, huzzah!  We had a build date of 1889!)

  After this exciting discovery I turned my attention to filling out the second part of the paperwork required by DHR.  Looking back, I have an email forwarded from the DHR outlining the requirements and Marcus simply stating in his message “Up to the challenge?” and the answer was “no.”  No, I was not up to the challenge.  On more than one occasion during the early days of asking around about the house I was told about Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, a woman-owned, small business in Fredericksburg whose services include “National, State, and Local Register Designations.”  Me, being a woman, and Marcus, being the progressive and supportive guy that he is, thought it would be well worth it to contact them and inquire about their services.

  And so, that was how it came to be that sometime in December 2018, Katie at Dovetail began working on Sligo’s nomination.  The nomination included details about the interior and exterior architecture using vernacular that escapes me (an example being “two over two double hung” and which describes the window and the number of panes…I think).  Along with the descriptive narrative pertaining to the architecture there is an historical narrative that requires a significant amount of research which Katie undoubtedly had much better insight for where to look and how.  Finally, there is an analysis of other similarly constructed buildings in the area (of which there are few Italianate style homes like Sligo in the city) rounding out the nomination.

  Once the nomination was submitted in June 2019 we had to wait for the DHR to meet in September to review the submission.  Once they approved the nomination in September it was then sent to the National Park Service who approved Sligo’s nomination for the NRHP in November of 2019.  And that, as they say, is history!  Ha!  Please don’t unfollow me.

  If you are interested in reading the actual nomination form follow this link which will direct you to a PDF version:  https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/111-0097/

  From what I can tell Sligo does not have any files scanned into the NRHP’s website so you can look for it but the information is minimal.  You will gain more from the DHR link above.

   

  Posted in Historic Registries, History, Life, Main House | 0 Comments

• Robert Walker Ferneyhough

  Posted at 2:47 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on May 22, 2020

  I’m not going to lie.  I can be a bit impulsive at times.  Usually this happens when out shopping and I purchase something and return it the next day because in reality, I never needed it to begin with.  But sometimes, just sometimes, my impulsivity transfers into my research and assumptions of Sligo and I’m left feeling a little silly.

  I follow a page on Facebook called “Spotsylvania Memory” which is constantly being updated with pictures and stories of the people who once lived in Spotsylvania and the surrounding areas.  It is also a blog which you can follow here:  http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/.  Anyway, one of the more recent Facebook posts included a picture I have come across many times before because it is labeled as “the Ferneyhough place.”

  From the first time I saw it (after an initial impulse to assume it was a picture of the original Sligo) I felt confident it was not “our” Ferneyhough place, past or present.  For one, the outbuilding placement didn’t match and, two (and I’m no period clothing expert) but it occurred to me that the clothing was more consistent with what people would have worn in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which would coincide with when present day Sligo was built (plus, and more importantly, this house looks nothing like Sligo).

  

  Retrieved on 21 May 2020  from http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/11/thomas-pearson-payne.html 

  Naturally, then, I wondered which Ferneyhough did this particular house belong to?  When I saw the Facebook post I took a chance and asked whether it was known which Ferneyhough owned the place.  Spotsylvania Memory answered my question indicating that as far as he knew the house had belonged to Robert Walker Ferneyhough.  I was elated to have confirmation that this wasn’t Sligo (in case there was any lingering doubt) but also to know how there was a connection.  Elation = impulsivity.

  Excitedly, I proclaimed to the world what a great find it was, reassuring my belief that it was not Sligo pictured.  I started looking more into Robert Walker because, ironically enough, I had recently been gifted something that had belonged to him (more on that in a bit).  However, the more I researched, the more I decided that it couldn’t possibly have been Robert Walker’s property because he lived most of his life in Essex.  So, I proclaimed to the world for a second time that this was not Robert Walker’s house and I took back everything I said.

  Guess what?  It is Robert Walker’s house.  I take back what I said, again…for realsy this time.

  Quick refresher course on Sligo and the Ferneyhough family.  First we had John Robert Ferneyhough Sr. and Margaret Walker who had three children:  John Robert Jr., Frances, and Margaret.  John Ferneyhough Jr. married Frances Gilbert and together they had five children:  John, Mary Ann, Thomas Gilbert, Edward, and Robert Walker.  When Frances died John Ferneyhough Jr. married Eliza Thrift and together they had George Thrift and Sallie Magruder.  If all of these same-named but different people don’t make you want to tear your hair out then maybe you’re more cut-out for this than I am.  Also, for the purpose of this post, we’re only really interested in Robert Walker but I thought I might give a little more context by including all of the family tree.

  Robert Walker was born in 1816 in Fredericksburg, presumably at Sligo.  He married Frances Polexna Cauthorn in 1842 in Essex, Virginia where they lived until 1854 when they purchased the property in Spotsylvania County from William Hall (retrieved 22 May 2020, http://fbgresearchindxes.umw.edu/SpotsyEmbIdxSch.asp?andor=AND&Grantor=&Grantee=&property=&book=OO&page=373&process=newsearch&B1=Search).  In 1860, there is a slave census for Robert Walker in Chancellor, Virginia which includes three females and one male infant.  We know from Spotsylvania Memory that the house pictured above was once situated on Catharpin Road in Spotsylvania County and it stands to reason this is the same house purchased by Robert Walker and for which the slave census was taken.

  Robert Walker and Frances had five children:  John Robert (that makes a third John Robert Ferneyhough in case anyone lost track), Mary (who married Henry Garnett Chesley), Milton, Henry, and Charles.  In 1885 Frances passes away and in 1896, the Spotsylvania property on Catharpin Road is sold to Mary Chesley and her brother, John Robert (retrieved 22 May 2020, http://fbgresearchindxes.umw.edu/SpotsyEmbIdxSch.asp?andor=AND&Grantor=&Grantee=&property=&book=AH&page=142&process=newsearch&B1=Search).  By 1906 the property is sold out of the Ferneyhough family.  Robert Walker eventually passes away in Stafford in 1907 at the home of his son, Milton.

  This is all to say that I should delve deeper in my research before making any statements.  I mean, in the end, nobody is hurt by it except for me and my pride.  Sadly, I don’t think this is the first time I’ve made proclamations only to be proven wrong (by myself) so you would think I would have learned a lesson by now.  I haven’t.

  Anyway, I also wanted to share with you a pair of 213 year old books that once belonged to Robert Walker and Eliza Ferneyhough which we received from one of the Ferneyhough descendants.  If my calculations are correct Robert Walker would have been this person’s great uncle (could totally be wrong, correct me if so!) and Eliza their great-great grandmother.

  Robert Walker’s book is particularly special because in it he doodled and it’s all quite cunning.  Eventually, the books ended up in the care of John Bowie Ferneyhough (as indicated by the sticker on the inside) who would have been the gifter’s grand uncle (is that a thing…he was the same generation as the gifter’s grandfather…or does that make him the great uncle and therefore Robert Walker a great-great uncle…oh, lort…).  From there they managed to stay in the family and now they are back where they started, at Sligo.  I have an old curio that I have been storing all of my Sligo related artifacts and it’s my hope that the books will always stay at Sligo.

  Without further ado!  The books!

  

  Both books are titled:  The Spectator, Select British Classics, volume XI and XVI respectively.

  

  

  Robert Ferneyhough’s book.

  

  Could this be Robert’s drawing of the original Sligo?

  

  What looks to me like an American Revolutionary soldier.  Or maybe a magician?

  

  I love the horses!

  

  Eliza Ferneyhough’s book had no doodles with the exception of some numbers written in the back.

   

   

   

  Posted in Artifacts, Ferneyhough, History, Life, Slaves and Servants | 1 Comment

• The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part II

  Posted at 5:02 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on January 3, 2020

  Here it is folks, how Sligo and the Ferneyhough family were affected by the Battle of Fredericksburg.  I know, I know.  You all have been waiting with baited breath for this installment.  I, too, have been waiting for it.

  So, for a refresher the Fredericksburg Campaign took place during December 1862, the Chancellorsville Campaign which took place during May 1863, and a third battle in June 1863 which was the beginning of the Battle of Fairfax.  All of these battles affected Sligo.  You can also check out Part I of this post which gives a little bit more detail (just a little).  At this point in time Sligo was occupied by Eliza Ferneyhough, widow of John R Ferneyhough Jr who had died in 1860, and their children:  Thomas Gilbert (John Ferneyhough Jr’s adult son from his first marriage to Mary Frances Gilbert), George (as in George Thrift who would later build our Sligo), Sallie, and Fannie Chesley (a granddaughter).

  Noel Harrison states that Sligo was situated “behind the Union front line during…December 1862 and May 1863 Battles of Fredericksburg and between the opposing front lines during the June 1863 engagement near Fredericksburg” (1995, Fredericksburg Civil War Sites, Vol 2, p. 102).  I like how succinctly he wrote that because I have spent literally hours looking cross-eyed at all of the documentation I have and not comprehending a word.  In the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of Virginia Historical Inventory of Sligo (Site) it is reported that the Federals used the house in 1862 as a hospital and drilled and were quartered around the property (Deaderick, 2 June 1937).  With that being said, the WPA of Sligo (Home Site) states that Confederate soldiers were quartered in the house during December 1862 (Deaderick, 14 June 1937).  So, I guess no matter which way you look at it, Sligo was in the thick of it.

  

  Sketch of the Battle of Fredericksburg, 13 December 1862 (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/109182787) which shows the Union lines in blue and Confederate lines in red. The “Ferryhough” house is depicted and I drew a red circle around it for easier detection.

  The WPA of Sligo (Home Site) gives an account of how George (remember George, the son of Eliza) listened-in on the plans of the Confederate soldiers quartered in his home and ran to tell his mother.  The family quickly gathered their belongings and left.  After the Battle of Fredericksburg they returned to discover the house ransacked and a threat from the Union soldiers that they would hang George who was a 2nd Lieutenant in the boys Military Company of Fredericksburg.  After this the Ferneyhough family moved to Richmond and did not return to Sligo until 1865.  Unfortunately, they returned to find the house in disrepair.  All but one secondary building had been burned and much of the farming equipment thrown into the well. (Deaderick, 14 June 1937)

  I was having a conversation with my girls the other day about what it might be like to have to leave everything behind because soldiers were coming and it wasn’t safe anymore.  Their eyes grew big and they had many questions including who was the good guy and who was the bad guy (good question with many implications and I explained it as best as I could at an eight and seven year old level), how many lovies could a person bring, and (most importantly) what about the farm animals and pets?  We decided that the soldiers probably used or took the farm animals and we hoped the Ferneyhoughs were able to bring their pets.

  I want to remind everyone that the WPAs weren’t exactly thoroughly researched and a lot of the information was conjecture or word-of-mouth.  We do, however, have accounts of soldiers who write of Sligo.  One particularly interesting letter written by a soldier of the 122nd New York Infantry during the June 1863 battle describes how Confederate sharpshooters used Sligo as a “den” and shot at the Union lines (Harrison, 1995, Fredericksburg Civil War Sites, Vol 2, p. 103).  I imagine anyone with a metal detector reading this right now is probably salivating; there’s surely something left in the ground.

  So, there it is.  The Civil War at Sligo.  It took me a while to sit down and write this because 1.  Every time I write about the Ferneyhough family I have to log into my Ancestry.com account and look at my previous emails between myself and our Dovetail consultant in an effort to piece together who was who (and in an effort to be as accurate as possible). and 2.  The information is in pieces and scattered about and it took a minute to organize myself.  Lucky for you the children are out for the day and it’s raining so what else did I have to do?

   

  Posted in Ferneyhough, Grounds, History, Main House, Wars | 2 Comments

• The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part I

  Posted at 9:55 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on December 15, 2019

  As we all know writing about military battles, people, etc. is not my forté.  There’s something about reading the specifics of battles that make my eyes go cross and I quickly lose interest.  This is not to say that I don’t love history because clearly I do.  I think it has to do with the abundant use of cardinal directions and military terms such as “flank” which I think means rear because that’s what it means in most other circumstances but I could be wrong.  I digress.  The point is, I’m going to make an attempt to write about the Battle(s) of Fredericksburg at Sligo and the Ferneyhough family who would have been the occupants at that time.

  The Battle of Fredericksburg took place from the 11th through the 15th of December, 1862 and I made the judicious decision to go ahead and skip to the end because you all who are Civil War history buffs will absolutely scream in rage if I try and write anything more.  So, in the end it was a decidedly Confederate victory as the Union faced problems almost from the beginning when the pontoon bridges necessary to cross the Rappahannock did not arrive in time.  One interesting tidbit related to the Battle of Fredericksburg is that it was the first battle to take place in an urban environment in the history of the United States and, despite the urban setting (and the looting by the Union), there were only four civilian deaths reported during this time.

  A few years back we lived on Sunken Road and planned a Christmas party to introduce our friends to our second newly born and to say “good bye” as we were getting ready to move to Jacksonville, North Carolina (aka, the “Armpit of America” but ask me how I really feel).  Without realizing it we had planned our party for the same day as the 150th anniversary as the Battle of Fredericksburg.  Let me tell you, you know you live in a special town when you look out your window and can witness an entire reenactment taking place as you down your wine in a red solo cup (because we keep it classy).

  

  I wasn’t sure if I should tell them I had a GPS that might help them find their way…

   

  I digress, again.  You guys need to help me stay on track.  Anyway, it turns out, December 1862 was not the first, or last, time Fredericksburg would be witness to the horrors of war.  In the spring of 1863, the Chancellorsville Campaign began (“campaign” meaning something different from “battle” and which I have yet to figure out)  and which encompassed a second battle at Fredericksburg.  Considering the location of Sligo (just south of the city and directly on the Rappahannock) it should come as no surprise that the Ferneyhoughs were in the thick of the fighting from the first battle of Fredericksburg and on…

  Posted in Ferneyhough, History, Life, Wars | 1 Comment

• Tour Sligo with HFFI

  Posted at 5:07 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on October 31, 2019

  If you’re local (or not) and read the blog you may be interested in an event the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI) is hosting at Sligo on November 16th.  A few months ago I was approached by a member of the foundation to see if we would be interested in allowing folks to see Sligo during the renovation process.  As it is, most will only ever see an old home after it has been renovated and this is a rare opportunity to get a “behind-the-scenes” look.

  I try to be forthcoming with information on this blog about the trials and tribulations we have faced with restoring Sligo and the tour will give even more insight into those trials and tribulations as well as the history of the house.  Maybe, if you’re currently pondering an attempt at restoring an old home, this tour will help make or break that decision!  If you are thinking about restoring an old home I have one I’d be willing to sell…it’s on Dixon Street.  You may know it…

  Anyway, here is the link to the event:  https://hffi.org/product/bringing-back-sligo/

  We hope to see you there!

  Posted in History, Life, Main House | 0 Comments

• General Thomas Posey

  Posted at 7:22 am by Lauren Tepaske, on October 26, 2019

  Alright, here’s a post I started writing at least three months ago but it got away from me.  Lately I have been waking up at 5:00 in the morning and I blame getting older on that.  Apparently as we age we need less sleep?  Is that a thing?  Why is that a thing?  Can it not be a thing?  I really like to sleep.  It also doesn’t help that afternoon crash I inevitably succumb to every day.  I digress.  Because I have been waking up at 5:00 in the morning I now find myself with a little bit more free time to write.  Yay for you!  Unless otherwise noted, all of my information was retrieved from Wikipedia (again, totally aware that is not a reliable source of information but I was just looking for a succinct description of Posey).

  So, General Thomas Posey in a nutshell:  He was born near Mt. Vernon in Fairfax, Virginia.  As a result, he was a patron of George Washington (some even claimed he was the illegitimate son of George Washington though historians doubt that) and would eventually benefit from that patronage as the Revolutionary War approached.  Prior to the war, however, he moved to Staunton, Virginia and married though his wife died while giving birth to their third child.  Only one child survived into adulthood.

  While living in Staunton he was part of a reprisal against the Native Americans who continually led raids against the settlers.  I only mention this because Posey’s experience with Native Americans becomes an asset for him later in life in 1816 when he became an “Indian agent” in Illinois.  I know the word “Indian” is not correct anymore but that’s what they called it.

  Alright, rewinding a bit to 1775 and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  Posey rises through the ranks, leads battles, and is eventually promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army.  He leaves the Continental Army but then later joins the United States Army as a Brigadier General and serves in the Northwest Indian War which to be honest, I had never heard of.  I think by this point it is painfully obvious that I am not a war history buff and am quite terrible writing about it.  I love history but the minute I start reading about wars and battles and how one regiment lined up here and charged forward over there while the other guys were over yonder and they fell back and…my eyes glaze over and I kind of stop remembering how to read and comprehend at the same time.

  Okay, so the point I’m getting at here is that Thomas Posey was an impressive guy, militarily speaking.  It’s what happens between the Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War that we want to know about because that is when he moves to Fredericksburg and marries Mary Alexander Thornton, the wealthy widow of George Thornton.  In my earlier days of research on Sligo it was stated that Thomas Posey owned and lived at Sligo.  There was even a newspaper clipping our wonderful Dovetail consultant found that stated a brick with his name and dated “1752” had been discovered when Sligo burnt down in 1888.  However, I do not believe Thomas Posey lived at Sligo nor do I believe he built the first house in 1752 and here’s why:

  First of all, Thomas Posey didn’t marry Mary Thornton until 1784 which is when he moved from Fincastle to Fredericksburg (Posey, p. 109).  Right off the bat, the dates don’t line up even remotely.  The couple settled on her estate called The Wilderness which is near Wilderness Run.

  Secondly, Posey (a descendant of Thomas Posey…I realize that could be confusing) writes:

  During their nineteen years at Greenwood, the Poseys engaged in some limited purchases and sales of real property in Spotsylvania County.  From James Frazier  and John Minor they acquired an improved five-acre plot just outside Fredericksburg, a segment of a larger estate called “Sligo,” which had been a hospital during the war, partially burned, and later restored.  Later they sold the property to John Lewis, kinsman to George Washington, for 1250 (pounds) on 5 September 1794.  (1992, p. 113, General Thomas Posey:  Son of the American Revolution, Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan.)

  What I’m trying to prove here is that Sligo was merely an investment property for Thomas Posey and his wife.  My uneducated guess as to how his name became so prominently affixed to Sligo is because he was a Revolutionary War hero and someone, somewhere along the line attributed him to the property in order to garner more interest.  Also, it’s kind of like 267 years of the game “telephone” and information is going to get skewed over time.

  To end Thomas Posey’s story he eventually moves to Kentucky because he was awarded 7,000 acres for his military service.  In Kentucky he starts a new career in politics eventually becoming Lieutenant Governor.  He then moves to Louisiana and is a United States Senator for one year.  In 1813, President James Madison appoints Thomas Posey as Governor of the Indiana Territory though he loses the re-election in 1816.  After that loss he moves to Illinois in 1816 and becomes an Indian agent.  Thomas Posey eventually passes from typhus in 1818 and is buried in Shawneetown, Illinois.

  

  John Bayless Hill, American, 1849-1874
  oil on canvas, 30 1/8 x 26 3/16 (76.5 x 65.6)

  Posted in History, Wars | 2 Comments

• Dead Ladies

  Posted at 6:54 am by Lauren Tepaske, on October 25, 2019

  In the spirit of Halloween I thought I might post something a little macabre.  Quite a few months ago I was researching people who might have died in the house, specifically women.  As we all now know the original house was a small pox hospital at least twice, there were slaves on the property, and the Civil War played out to some extent on the property so there are some unknown factors when it comes to all of the deaths at the house.  However, for the families that owned Sligo, their deaths were documented and it turns out (not surprisingly) that a number of women and a few children died at Sligo…and may still be there *oooOOOOooooo* (those are ghostly “Os.”)

  All of the information below I retrieved from Ancestry.com.  I’m beginning to know a lot more about Sligo’s families than I do my own at this point.  One day I’ll start a family tree for myself.  Anyway, the following women or children died at Sligo, in order from most recent to the oldest recorded death.  I have yet to go beyond the beginning of the 19th century because that is when the history of the house starts to get really muddled.

  • Nora Fitzpatrick Shannon died age 63 at Sligo in 1937.  She was the second wife of Price L Shannon.
  • Lavinia Harrison Word Ferneyhough died age 43 at Sligo in 1889.  She was the wife of George T Ferneyhough.
  • Mary Ferneyhough (possibly died 1880, the initials “M. V.” are listed in the 1880 census) and Lillie Lancaster Ferneyhough both died in infancy at Sligo.  They would have been the children of Lavinia and George.
  • Frances Ferneyhough was 73 when she died in 1861.  However, she was married to an Adams and it is possible she did not die at Sligo.  She was the daughter of John R Ferneyhough, Sr. and Margaret Walker.
  • Mary Ann Ferneyhough Chesley was born 1814 and died around 1853 (age 35) because by 1860 her daughter Fannie (born circa 1852) was in the custody of Mary Ann’s father, John Ferneyhough, Jr.  Whether she died at Sligo or not is a mystery but she was married so it is possible she died elsewhere.
  • Mary Francis Gilbert died in 1830 at age 40.  Fun fact, she was John Ferneyhough Jr.’s cousin and first wife.
  • Margaret Ferneyhough was born in 1801 and died in 1827 at Sligo.  She was the daughter of John R Ferneyhough, Sr. and Margaret Walker.

  I wonder if any of these ladies are still spending time at the house?  If they are I hope they are prepared for the chaos that we will bring once we move in…they may want to consider moving on…

   

  Posted in Haunted, History, Life, Main House | 2 Comments

• Another Fun Read!

  Posted at 5:35 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on September 25, 2019

  I have a surprise for you!  Shortly after I posted the information about Mrs. Scott-Johnson I was contacted by a great granddaughter of P.L. Shannon!  I had been secretly hoping someone from the Shannon family would reach out to me without me having to turn full stalker and see who I could find and for that I am truly grateful.

  So, without further ado, I will share with you what she wrote and it is all very interesting (if you’re as interested in Sligo’s history as I am, anyway).  We even get the answers to a few questions such as why Sligo ceased operating as a farm and who built the cottage (gah!!!).

  Note:  I have joined two emails into one so as to streamline the information.  Also, because I am a nerd who likes to make life harder than it should be.

  I wish I had more memories for you but I was pretty young at the time. Here’s  what I remember:

  I am the oldest of Price’s 3 biological great-granddaughters. I raised at least one steer for 4-H on the property and was encouraged to be a “farm girl.” My sisters are probably too young to have spent much time on the property and additionally were encouraged to join other in-town activities, such as Girl Scouts, instead of building memories on the farm. I was born in 1951, and my sisters were born in 1954 (after Price died) and 1958. I am probably your best resource from my family and glad to help if I can.

  Price’s 3rd wife Mollie had the daughter who lived near Baltimore. I have kept in touch with Mollie’s grandchildren, most of whom live in California. After Price’s death, Mollie lived at Kenmore Lodge on Princess Anne St. for years until she moved to her daughter’s. The farm house was then used as the farm manager’s residence. The manager I remember was Jimmy Linton. I do not remember the interior of the house, possibly because I was so little/because of its use as the manager’s residence.

  The long term employee’s name I believe was Tunston (spelling?) Scott. I remember vaguely seeing him still working when I was little. I remember he was very well thought of…A valued person who helped at the farm for many years (part of the farm “family”). Mrs. Scott-Johnson’s part of the blog was fascinating and her memories excellent!

  The rectangle building across from the main house was built by my father as his farm office. The cattle buildings were at the back of the lane behind the main house and office. When I was little, the farm was an active Angus breeding operation. Some of the cattle were shown as far away as Chicago. Others were raised for their beef. My parents were part of the Virginia Angus Association and community. I remember Angus auctions being held at the farm. The cattle auctions on the property were an “event.” Cattlemen from all over the state would come to make bids. I remember the auctioneer with his “auctioneer-style” language (nonstop fast bidding technique)…it was fascinating to listen to.

  As I remember, the office was white painted wood siding with shutters (possibly dark green) (Note from Lauren:  It would have matched the paint color of Sligo at the time). As I remember, my father’s office was a room in the back (straight back from the door) (Another note from Lauren:  Now it is a kitchen). The front room housed a farm secretary’s desk and file cabinets. The location of the office was across from the farm house…maybe set a little farther down the lane…but near the house. There was also a chicken coop behind the main house. It was definitely a fully operating farm property.

  Price was good friends with Henry Warden in West Virginia, where Price originally lived. Price and Henry both moved to Fredericksburg around 1900. Henry Warden owned the adjacent farm Hazel Hill. Price and Henry continued to be good friends after their move to Fredericksburg. Price lost his leg in a farming accident and had a prosthesis.

  Apparently Sligo was originally purchased around 1900 by my other great-grandfather Henry Warden as part of a group of land parcels. As I said…Henry lived at Hazel Hill, an adjacent farm, and my guess is that both properties were operated together with Price’s help. Price’s son Sidney Sr. married Henry’s daughter Grace. Grace died when my father Sidney Jr. was born, and Sligo became part of her estate. I do not know when the property was officially transferred to Price, but regardless of the name on the title, Price was its “owner” and resident from the early 1900’s. I do know my father dearly loved Price, who helped raise my father, after Grace’s death.

  My father…moved back to town about 1949 to help Price run the farm. Sometime around 1960 (as I remember) the farm was annexed into the city, which made it unfeasible to continue to be operated as a farm. The Angus operation was moved to other property owned by my father and the Sligo property was eventually sold. The name of the cattle operation, at least when my father was involved, was Lee Hill Farm (separate from your Sligo house designation). The Hazel Hill and Sligo farm properties extended from where the Hazel Hill Apartments now stand all the way to Sylvania Plant as fields and pastures and probably as far back as the river…i.e. that entire side of the road.

  I wish you had seen the farm with its cattle.  It was a beautiful setting.  One memory:  One of the Angus bulls at the farm often grazed in the front field next to the road (across from the main house and in front of the office). He would sit on his haunches like a dog…very unusual for a bull…and he was nicknamed “Sitting Bull!”

  Posted in Cottage, Grounds, History, Main House, Shannon | 0 Comments

• Mrs. Scott-Johnson

  Posted at 8:24 pm by Lauren Tepaske, on August 29, 2019

  A few weeks after connecting with the various grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Scott I had the pleasure of actually meeting Mrs. Annette Scott-Johnson who had fond memories of Sligo as a little girl. She, her husband, and their daughter came to Sligo, curious to see it all of these many years later. I was met with such warmth I immediately felt at ease, as if meeting up with my own family and I was absolutely thrilled to take them through the house.

  As we toured Sligo Mrs. Scott-Johnson would describe what she remembered about various parts of the house and the Shannon family who employed her family for many, many years.  Below is a transcript of my telephone conversation with Mrs. Scott-Johnson on July 26th and posted with her permission. The sentences in parenthesis are my own interjections and explanations.

  “Grandfather worked for the Shannon’s as a handyman for 52 years. (I was later told that their grandfather would receive a new truck from the Shannon’s every year because he was constantly driving to their many farms which were located at Sligo, where Central Park is today, and on Landsdowne Road.) At that time I was around five or six years old when I can remember and I, used to being the oldest grandchild, I lived next door to him so I was at that farmhouse at least four days a week. My grandmother worked there as a cook. So he would go in the mornings and there were a couple of cows he would milk and he would come home and have breakfast and pick-up my grandmother and take her over.

  The side porch where you come into the farm we always came in on the side porch and that’s where Mr. Shannon always sat and I would sit out there and talk with him waiting for my grandmother to finish work. (Mrs. Scott-Johnson remembers as a child wishing she had a bike and mentioning it to her grandmother in the vicinity of Mr. Shannon. Next thing she knew she had a shiny new bike waiting for her.) I don’t know after the house was sold if people made modifications because the house sat vacant and the people before you everyone said were hippies because they painted it kind of a pink and yellow color. Before it was a nice, pretty, white house.

  The last time I was in the house was 1952 or 1953 (the year she graduated from high school) after the first people bought it, it was looking kinda hippy from the highway. I can tell you how the house looked when I went over as a child. When you came off the side porch the kitchen was to the right (which means the kitchen was in the small addition at the back of the house and was tiny) and the dinning room was to the left. To me it was huge, because I was a kid. Mr. Shannon sat at the head of the table so he could see out the door.  (Mrs. Scott-Johnson even remembered where she would sit at the table when she was visiting with the grandchildren of the Shannon’s.)

  If you walked straight it was a small hall and a bathroom to the left and then you made a left and that was a big wide hall. Mr. Shannon never slept upstairs because he was heavy and had a bad leg (I later was told that he may have had a prosthetic leg) and right there they had a bedroom and past his bedroom was another room they considered the living room and then it was the front porch. Around April or May 1953 they had Mr. Shannon’s body on display in that wide hall.

  I didn’t go upstairs much because it was Mr. and Mrs. Shannon living in the house but I understand he had been married three times. The second wife, Molly, she suggested my name “Annette Marie” (after the Canadian Dionne quintuplets born around the same time). We had a relationship with them for years because…I’ll be 84 years old. (She said she would play with Mrs. Shannon’s daughter’s children who came from Baltimore and that’s the only time she would be upstairs.)

  I spent my time inside and John (her cousin who still lives across the street in Mayfield) spent more time outside.

  (She moved away in 1955) but up until 1990 I was down there every week and then after my mother got sick I was down there every Thursday for 10 years. And as the years went by the shrubs grew up and the house started looking worse. It was a beautiful place when I was a little girl. (She was born on the 31st of July,just celebrating her 84th birthday).

  Where the pool is now it was a wheat and hay field. At the interchange that was a big field and that’s where they had the Angus cows. There was nothing on that side of the highway but the Shannon farm. The Sylvania plant down to the left of the swimming pool all of that was just all open field. So it has really, really grown down in that area.”

  

  Mrs. Annette Scott-Johnson, August 16th 2019, standing off the side steps of Sligo. Where the two white chairs sit on the porch is where Mr. Shannon would sit, watching the comings and goings of the farm.

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  Posted in Grounds, History, Main House, Shannon | 2 Comments

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