Richmond - Rich in History, Part 1

The Virginia Historical Society was founded in 1831, and I found it very interesting that John Marshall was its first president and James Monroe was an honorary member. The first exhibit that we visited was called "Virginia’s Colonial Dynasties," and we found this an amazing opportunity to put a face on everyone that we had learned about up to this point, and many that we would meet as we continued out trip through Virginia. If we could visit the Richmond Art Museum, we could at least visit a very fine portrait gallery.

If you have root in Virginia, you will want to register to view their library, which has a fine collection of manuscripts, diaries, and newspapers and magazine. There is an online catalogue as well where you can check out the depth of their holdings.

What you can and will see here are some permanent exhibits and some changing ones. "Silver in Virginia" is an ongoing exhibit that features all manner of sterling-silver items produced in Virginia. You will see all the usual items pitcher, platters, and urns, but also silver spurs.

A temporary exhibit that was on when we were visiting was on Patrick Henry. This went along beautiful with our visit to St John Church and our future visit to Red Hill. We got to really know the man behind the patriot/politician.

There is an exhibit called "Becoming New Southerners" covering the period 1859-1865, which deals with every year as a separate entity. You get to watch a 2- to 3-minute video on each of the years sitting on a bench in the center of the exhibit. There are also cases of artifacts and plenty of additional information.

By the year 1776, 40% of Virginians were of African descent. In keeping with this, we met two women from Canada and the grandchildren of one of them who found an ancestor of theirs featured in one of the exhibits. I took their picture and emailed it to them; it was one of those moments that every genealogist dreams of.

You will be able to trace the history of Virginia from prehistoric times through modern-day issues at this museum. They have a very nice gift shop, and to get a current listing of exhibits, visit their website.

You will need to visit the Wickham House on a guided tour. You purchase your ticket in the gift shop, and tours take place hourly. The house was built for prominent Richmond lawyer John Wickham in 1812. He was the wealthiest man in Richmond. In addition to the Richmond house, he had two plantations and 150 slaves. This is all the more surprising when you realize that he was born on Long Island and one of his uncles was the governor of New York. He studied law in Williamsburg and moved to Richmond when the capitol moved. It was his career as a lawyer, however, that made him famous. In 1807, he was the lead defense attorney for Aaron Burr in his treason trial. Burr’s acquittal assured John Wickham a place in history.

Jo was our guide to the house. We learned that the Valentine Museum purchased the house, and between 1985-1995, it was restored to its former Federal style. The house was designed by Boston architect Alexander Paris, who also deigned the Governors Mansion. We visited the entrance hall, which has the black-and-white oil cloth floor painted to look like tile, but much more practical.

All the design elements are extraordinary. From the wonderful fan window to the hand-painted ceiling in the library, every element is first-class. Most of the furniture now on display is not original to the house, but is typical of the period. There are Trompe d’oeil walls that look like friezes. These are unique in having survived from this period. In each room, the parts that have been saved are highlighted and the rest have been reproduced.

There is a magnificent cantilevered stairway that seems to float, connecting the decorated public rooms from the much more austere family rooms above. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the house.

When you finish your tour of the house, you move back into the history center. Here is where we meet the Valentine family. The museum was founded in 1892 and opened in 1898 by Mann Valentine II. He was a collector, and in the beginning it was mostly natural history. It has evolved into a history museum of Richmond and its people. The collection is composed of photographs, manuscripts, decorative arts, and a large collection of textiles and costumes. There are also some fine arts, including paintings by Thomas Sully and Gilbert Stuart among others.

You follow a time line and see how Richmond and Virginia grew and evolved. Issues such as segregation, labor, and conservation are all dealt with in a very interesting and visual way. Allow at least an hour and a half.

The Founding Fathers had created a three-part government, but they had no blueprint of how the ultimate balance of power would work out. John began formulating his philosophy as he spent the winter held up at Valley Forge with George Washington. He watched Washington struggle to get supplies from the 13 colonies, and he realized that the system wasn’t working.

Somehow I had never pictured John Marshall as a rugged frontier man, but that was exactly what he was. He was born in Farquiar County to Thomas Marshall, a surveyor who had worked under Washington in the French and Indian War and Mary Randolph Keith. Even in his later years he never cared much about how he look; he had a servant (slave) named Robin who was responsible for making sure he looked presentable. He had a long and varied career. He served under Lafayette as a special agent. He was the judge advocate, and after 5 months of legal training, his legal license was signed by his cousin Thomas Jefferson. In 1782, he was elected to the state legislature in Richmond. By the late 1780s, John Marshall was the leading lawyer in Richmond. His wife, Polly Ambler, was from a prominent family, and together they had 10 children.

After the birth of her 10th child, she became a recluse and never traveled with her husband. A housekeeper was hired to supervise the servants and slaves.

About 50% of the furniture in the house is original. We see his robes as Supreme Court Justice. We also see the locket that he gave to Polly as a wedding gift; it has strands of both of their hair in it. The house was built in the Georgian/Federal transition style. It has some very fine crown molding and fine mill-work paneling. The fireplaces are coal burning and the furniture is placed along the walls. We see the rooms where he would have entertained and where he would have practiced his law career. His desk is still in the house, and there is an English mahogany bookcase that was a wedding gift, which has never left the house.

Again, this house is more about the man than necessarily about the job that he did. It does, however, make you want to know more about the professional man.

There is a small garden behind the house and a gift store in the basement. You need to be able to climb stairs to visit here.