Historic Shepherdstown newsletter – December 2020

Dear Supporter of Historic Shepherdstown,

Season’s Greetings from the Board of Directors of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission. We want to thank you so much for your generosity during our recent $60 for 60 Years fundraiser. As of Dec. 11, 2020, the date of our Zoom Happy Hour, we had raised $7,955, far exceeding our hopes. You have truly come through for us, and we appreciate every one of you.

We want to let you know who won the basket raffle. The names were drawn during the Happy Hour by our administrator Teresa McLaughlin, from in front of her Christmas tree in her living room. Those in attendance noted that she regularly mixed up the entries before drawing the names, appropriately, from a basket. The winners are:

  • Autumn basket and sign: Jerry Bock and Bruce Massey
  • Cat Lovers basket: Jim and Peachy Staley
  • Relaxation basket: Eleanor Finn
  • Food and Wine Favorites basket: James Leathers
  • Book Lovers basket: Jim Auxer
  • Christmas Wreath and basket: Nicola Sanchez 

Many thanks need to go to the members of the Events Committee – Wendy Beckner, Anne D’Alauro, Mina Goodrich, Ebonee Helmick, Donna Bertazzoni and Teresa McLaughlin – for the work they did to organize this fundraiser and compile and contribute to the baskets.

We want to announce a few end-of-the year pieces of news:

Wanda Perry of Charles Town has lent the Historic Shepherdstown Museum a table that is believed to have been used by Colonel John Francis Hamtramck. Mrs. Perry purchased the table in the fall of 1986, when the contents of the Wyncoop-Morgan-Selby-Hamtramck-Shepherd-Billmyer house on East German Street in Shepherdstown were sold at public auction. Mrs. Perry acquired the table so it would remain in Jefferson County because family members often referred to the piece as the “General’s Table”, a reference to Colonel Hamtramck. He lived in the German Street home with his wife, Sarah Ellen Selby Hamtramck, following the death of Sarah’s father, Walter Bowie Selby, in 1855. Colonel Hamtramck was the great-grandfather of Elise Selby Billmyer, the last descendant to own the home. The table is currently in the front parlor of the museum. Other Hamtramck items on display in that room are Colonel Hamtramck’s diploma from West Point and his presentation sword. We want to thank Mrs. Perry for her generous loan.

This year’s Christmas ornament, featuring the Opera House, is still available. Contact Teresa McLaughlin at 304-876-0910 or visit our website, www.historicshepherdstown.com, to order yours. Some ornaments from previous years are also still available. Each ornament costs $20.

The schedule for the 2021 Speaker Series has been set. The first event has been scheduled for May, in hopes that by then, Covid-related restrictions on gatherings will have eased. Kevin Pawlak, who gave an abbreviated presentation at our annual meeting in September, will be our first speaker. Details will be forthcoming.

Our annual membership drive will be held in January and February. Please keep an eye on your mail for membership information.

Finally, while 2020 has not been the year any of us hoped it would be, we want to sincerely thank all of you for your continued support and wish you joy and happiness as we move forward into 2021. Please stay safe and healthy over the holidays and during the winter ahead.

Sincerely,
Donna M. Bertazzoni
President, Historic Shepherdstown Board of Directors

2019 Shepherdstown Tour of Historic Churches – Dec. 26th 2-6pm

The popular Shepherdstown Tour of Historic Churches will once again be hosted by Historic Shepherdstown & Museum. Assisted by the Shepherdstown Visitor Center, the event will take place on December 26th from 2-6 pm.

Read more

Children’s Holiday Events, 2018

Historic Shepherdstown will present two events for children during Christmas in Shepherdstown. Both will take place at the Shepherdstown Museum in the Entler Hotel building at the corner of German and Princess Streets. On December 1, right after the 10 a.m. Shepherdstown parade, Santa will greet children at the Museum. The next weekend, on December 8 at 2 p.m., Mrs. Margaret Entler, wife of the original proprietor of Daniel Entler’s Hotel, will present ” ‘Twas a Night Before Christmas,” the famous poem written in the early 1820’s, the same period when Daniel Entler opened the hotel.

As he has done for many years, Santa will talk with children about their Christmas wishes in the parlors of the historic hotel and museum. Santa will present each child with a small gift. This event will begin when the parade ends, around 11 a.m., and end around 1 p.m. The Museum will be decorated for Christmas.

On December 8, ” ‘Twas a Night Before Christmas” will feature Mrs. Entler, portrayed by Karen Johnson, recounting some of the town’s and the hotel’s history and reading Clement Moore’s famous poem. The old-fashioned Christmas decorations will be reminiscent of 19th century Shepherdstown and will represent parts of the poem. There will be activities for the children, along with a copy of the poem for each child and some small surprises.

Historic Shepherdstown’s President, Jerry Bock, noted that “it is good to have children visit the Museum, whether it’s for Santa, Mrs. Entler or a school tour. We want to provide a welcoming place for children and their families. We also want to share this town’s exciting history with its younger members.”

Both events are free.

The Shepherdstown Museum will be open for visitors on weekends from November 24 through December 16: Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

For more information, contact Historic Shepherdstown at [email protected] or 304-876-0910.

Entler Hotel

Deed Chains

Every home has a history. In Shepherdstown, chances are good that a long line of people owned and/or lived in your home before you did. Creating a deed chain is one way to document this succession of owners and your home’s place in Shepherdstown’s history.

A deed chain is a listing of all known owners of a property, from the first person to purchase it to the present-day owner, if possible. A deed chain typically lists:

  • the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) for each purchase
  • the date of the purchase
  • the deed book and page where the purchase was recorded
  • a link to the deed, if available

It may also list:

  • the purchase price
  • the date the deed was recorded
  • any interesting details the deed chain creator has been able to find out about the people who lived there and events that took place there, from newspapers and other sources

Start with your deed when creating the deed chain. It will list not only you and the people from whom you purchased your home, but also the people they purchased it from, along with the deed book and page where the previous owner’s deed is recorded. With this information, you can go to the County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse in Charles Town and look up the deed for the previous owners. That deed will tell you where to look for the next deed, and so on.

You can print out the deeds at the County Clerk’s office for a small fee, and most of the deeds are also online (although there are some gaps in coverage, and you cannot print from the online site.) The County Clerk’s Office has deeds back to 1801, when the county was formed. If you want to extend your search further, you’ll need to look at deeds in Berkeley County and in Frederick County, Virginia. You can check with the Berkeley County Historical Society; the Society has deeds available on microfilm for much of the area. Once you have a list of names, you can stop there, or if you are hooked, you can begin to research the owners and find out what kinds of contributions they made to the town.

The Sharpsburg Historical Society has done a great job of putting together deed chains for many of the homes in Sharpsburg. They can be viewed here: Sharpsburg Historical Society

If there is interest, we might consider doing something similar. Please contact us if you would consider  volunteering to do a deed chain for your home.

The Rumsey Monument Turns 100

Read more