Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.

African-American scholar and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct after a confrontation with an officer at his home, according to a Cambridge, Massachusetts, police report.
Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct.
According to the report, officers responded to a call Thursday from a woman who said she saw "a man wedging his shoulder into the front door" at Gates' house near the university. The report, obtained by CNN affiliate WCVB-TV, indicates Gates refused to identify himself to a police officer, claiming the officer was a racist.
Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department stated in the report that he told Gates he was investigating a report of a break-in at the residence. According to the report, Gates "opened the front door and exclaimed, 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "
Crowley wrote in the report that he warned Gates two times he was becoming disorderly. After Gates continued to yell and accuse him of racial bias, Crowley wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."
A statement by Gates' lawyer and fellow Harvard professor Charles Ogletree said that the incident occurred when Gates returned to his home after a trip to China.
Gates, accompanied by a driver, found the front door damaged.
He entered the house with his key through the rear door. Then, he and and driver were able to force the front door open, Ogletree said in his statement.
The statement was published on the Web site The Root, of which Gates is editor-in-chief.
An officer arrived and told Gates he was investigating a call about a breaking-and-entering at the residence, Ogletree wrote.
Gates identified himself at the officer's request, according to Ogletree.
"He [Gates] turned to walk into the kitchen where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver's license to the officer," Ogletree wrote on The Root.
Ogletree's statement also said that Gates asked Crowley for his name and badge number several times without success.
Then, when Gates followed Crowley to the front door, Crowley said, "Thank you for accommodating my earlier request, and then placed him [Gates] under arrest," Ogletree said.
The Cambridge Police Department would not release any information regarding the incident.
Gates has one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at Harvard University, according to WCVB, and joined the faculty in 1991. He is considered one of the nation's pre-eminent scholars of African-American studies. In 1997, Time magazine placed him on its list of the 25 most influential Americans.

CNN

Golden Ball Taverns

Golden Ball Tavern Dig Wraps Up With Many Important New DiscoveriesThe month-long excavation at the former Golden Ball Tavern at Old and Market streets in Old Towne Petersburg is about to wrap up, but a number of important new clues about the city’s early days has recently been revealed.
“The last few days we’ve been focusing on digging outside the walls of the first and second Golden Ball Taverns in an effort to determine the economies and life ways of the people of Petersburg during the 1760 – 1820 period (the years of the first tavern) and the 1820 -1944 (the time period of the second tavern),” said Dr. Chris Stevenson, a Virginia Department of Historic Resources archaeologist who is leading the three-year study.
The have recently unearthed a base to a bowl with the inscription “Success to the King of Prussia,” which was removed from a deeply buried layer in the back yard of the 1764 tavern. This Delftware ceramic was manufactured in the early 16th century to the late 18th century in the Netherlands and England. There are several known plates with this inscription, which were issued by the British to commemorate the 7 Years War (1756-1763), and, therefore, the plate would post-date the end of the war by several years. Stevenson believes this plate may have originated from the British visit to Petersburg in 1781, although he states there is no proof as to how it got here.
Additional findings unearthed earlier this summer include two ceramic pieces that may have once formed an early 1900s soap dish and pieces of English and other European pottery.
The excavators have also been able to extend their digging down into the periods before the first Golden Ball tavern, finding evidence of the earlier habitation by both early Europeans traders and Native Americans. Artifacts from this earlier historic period include pipe stems, which provide an excellent means of dating the site. Native American artifacts, dating back before 1600, include pottery fragments and flakes from stone tools.
“The artifacts found will help us to understand the material culture of early residents of Petersburg,” added Stevenson. “This includes eating habits and where items being used were from, either made here in America or imported from Europe. These artifacts include bones and shells, some of which are burned. They also include ceramics, glass, bone handles, iron, pipe stems, and bricks.”
The professional and volunteer archaeologists are spending the last few days of this summer’s dig also looking for the remains of outbuildings and dependencies to understand more fully how urban dwellers from the Revolutionary period and the 19th and early 20th century were living. Several postholes, a builder’s trench and other possible architectural features have been identified so far.
The three-year project began last summer. This summer more than 25 volunteers from all walks of life are volunteering with the dig from June 17 through July 19. Another month-long excavation at the site next summer will conclude the three-year project.
This summer’s volunteers have come from as far away as New York and Florida to assist on this dig. One young person is working on his Boy Scout Archaeology badge; another young person, an International Baccalaureate student at Prince George High School, is focusing on the Golden Ball Tavern for her yearlong project. Another volunteer is working toward her Master’s degree in anthropology with a focus on historic archaeology. And other volunteers include numerous central Virginia residents and college students.
At the conclusion of this summer’s dig, experts will conduct lab work and research the artifacts. The findings will be put into a presentation that will be used at local academic institutions.
Additionally, Stevenson will give a presentation on the results of the 2009 archaeological dig on November 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Richard Bland College. Also, on November 14 and 15, 2009 an exhibit on Taverns and Ordinaries, featuring the Golden Ball Tavern, will open at the Prince George County Regional Heritage Center.
The property where an 18th-century Golden Ball Tavern once stood and then a later 19th-century one after the first was burned or torn down, has been a parking lot since the mid 20th century. It now belongs to the Historic Petersburg Foundation Inc., a partner in the archaeological project.
This collaborative project is sponsored by the Prince George County Historical Society, Historic Petersburg Foundation, Inc, Richard Bland College, Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the City of Petersburg, with generous funding from The Cameron Foundation.
For more information on the dig, call HPF at (804) 732-2096.

Ronald Moring 1947-2009

Moring, Ronald

Quietly, during the afternoon hours of Monday, July 13th, 2009, God reached out and took the hand of his faithful servant Ron and carried him to his heavenly home where he is now fully healed of Metastic Melanoma Cancer. Ronald was the second son of Ruth Shelley and Vernon Moring, born on April 11, 1947 in Petersburg. He was a resident of Petersburg all his life and graduated from the Petersburg School System. An Air Force veteran, he served on active duty (6994 Security Forces) in Turkey and Viet Nam. He retired after 32 years of employment at Honeywell Inc. and then worked for the Bureau of Tourism in Petersburg. Ron was a man of great passions and love of all life. He loved his church, Washington St. United Methodist Church, its history and it’s spiritual and civic commitment. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to walk you through it’s beautiful sanctuary and tell its history. He served his church well. He loved his city. His time at the Tourist Bureau gave him the outlet to let everyone he met know of its history, its revitalization and its promise for greatness. A people person, he never met a stranger. His warmth and ability to communicate made people who had only known him for five minutes tell him their life’s story. Often these people continued to communicate with Ron, and felt as if they had known him, all of their lives as well. He had a great passion for photography, taking hundreds of pictures through out his lifetime. From the beauty of nature to the intrigue of people, he captured on film those things and everything in between. His life was also one of service to all things and people. His kitties he saved bear testament to this. Ron is survived by his wife and companion of 31 years Cheryl Anne Sculthorpe-Moring, his brother, Donald H. Moring and wife Kathy of Prince George. Nephew, Troy Moring and wife Donna, great-niece, Kaley and great-nephew, Brady of Ford, VA. His wife’s parents, Betty and Duke Sculthorpe and family. Also, many cousins and their families, beloved friends and neighbors.

Visitation will be held at J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral home, Petersburg on Thursday July 16th from 6:30 to 9:00pm.

A service of memories and music will take place at Washington St. United Methodist Church at 2:00pm on Friday, July 17th, 2009. Interment will be at Blanford Cemetery at the Moring grave site. Following the burial, all family and friends are invited to return to the church for a time of food and fellowship.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to:
Washington St. United Methodist Church Restoration Fund
22 E. Washington St. Petersburg VA 23804
or
the Petersburg Animal Shelter,
1600 Johnson Rd, Petersburg, VA.

Ron Morning was indeed my friend.

Minerva Books Closing in August

Kristy Bell, owner of Minerva Books, the only book store in Petersburg has announced the closing of her bookstore. Stating, "business is all about numbers and demographics. A town with an essentially stagnant population of approximately 32,000 is borderline for a business such as mine to begin with. Factor in the 42% illiteracy rate, disability rates that some sources estimate as high as 40%, and the highest real estate tax rate in the state, and you have a recipe for some frustrating days."

James Dinsmore (1771, Ireland - 1830, VA) FL 1816/1817 Petersburg, VA

James Dinsmore and John Neilson, master carpenters were renting a cabinet-makers shop from Robert Bolling in Petersburg, Virginia during 1816 until Sept. 1817.

Does anyone have any details on what buildings they may have work on?

Or any details on them during this period. Where did they resided while working there?

Prestwould

Prestwould: Gracious Living on the American Frontier, 1790-1830

Thursday, October 9, 2009 (noon)

By Julian Hudson Banner Lecture Series

Virginia Historical Society

Prestwould Plantation, built at the end of the eighteenth century in a post-revolutionary Georgian style, is located on the bluffs above the Roanoke River near Clarksville, Virginia. Dr. Julian Hudson, the executive director of the Prestwould Foundation, has overseen the restoration of this historic property by leading preservation specialists. His lecture will illustrate the material culture represented by Prestwould, beginning with Sir Peyton and Lady Jean Skipwith and extending down four subsequent generations.

http://www.vahistorical.org/news/lectures_banner.htm

Located at Prestwood Dr, Hwy 15th North Clarksville, Virginia, 23927 (434)-374-8672 Open April 15 through October 31, seven days from 12:30 to 3:30 PM or by appointment, 434-374-8672. Cost: Adult $8, Senior over 65 $6, Child 6-12 $3

Constructed in 1700s, this massive combination Georgian-Federal style house amazingly stayed in the family of Sir Peyton Skipwith and Lady Jean (a cousin of Thomas Jefferson) until 1914 after being inherited by their second son. The interior of the home is best known for its original 18th and 19th century wallpapers, which have been copied in a special collection offered by Scalamandre. Tradition has it that the property, once home to Blue Stone Castle, was won by Sir Skipwith in a three day card game with William Byrd,II, of Westover on the James River.

A substantial African American interpretation exists on the property as well. An intact rare original slave quarters.

Given the strong period relationship with the early artisans and merchants of Petersburg had with supporting this plantation with goods this is an important site to visit. They maintain the largest collection of early period Petersburg crafted furniture. Skipworth sold his crops through Petersburg to England. Lady Jean purchase many of her books and household needs in Petersburg.

Early American Industries Association

The Early American Industries Association

will host a Gathering in the Shenandoah Valley

for all History and Tool EnthusiastsUlster Forge

The Frontier Culture Museum

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Everyone is Invited!

at the

Frontier Culture Museum,

Staunton, VA

www.frontiermuseum.org