Home on Bond Street in Waterford, Virginia, where Thomas Moore lived until 1799.
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A Message from the Executive Director
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Is it spring yet? Count me among the many who are done with this cold weather! I am buoyed by the tips of the daffodils poking their optimistic leaves into the icy air, and the drifts of snowdrops bursting forth in village gardens. When the snow finally gives way to warming weather and green grass, it won’t be hard to imagine an Irish Quaker likening our village to his birthplace of Waterford, Ireland. Read the story below about Thomas Moore to learn the original name of the town of Waterford and how it was changed to what we know today.
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Also in this newsletter, you’ll find details about upcoming Waterford Craft School classes, including an evening soapmaking class just days away. Don’t miss the link to register for our 3rd Annual Historic Waterford Trail Run, now including a 10k route! Read on to learn about two of our most dedicated Properties Committee volunteers. And,
in honor of Women’s History Month,
read to the end to learn about a woman whose quick thinking saved one of Waterford's best known landmarks.
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Stephanie Thompson
Executive Director
P.s:
Did you miss the invitation to our February history talks for Black History Month? We are hoping to schedule a second date for
Class, Color, and Karma: An Informal Talk with John Souders
. Contact Megan at
mflinn@waterfordfoundation.org
or 540-882-3018 if you would like to be added to our waiting list.
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Waterford's Ireland Connection
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NOTE: This article was written with information provided by Bronwen Souders. Bronwen Souders is a member of the Waterford Foundation’s Education Committee and has written and co-authored many publications about Waterford, Virginia.
Waterford County Ireland,
Library of Congress
Thomas Moore lived in Waterford and died in Waterford, despite the fact the two “Waterfords” were an ocean away from one another! Moore was born in Waterford, Ireland, and he is the reason Waterford, Virginia has its name today.
Thomas Moore was one of seven children born to Quakers James and Amy Barnes in the year 1730. When Thomas was only around ten years of age, his mother and all his siblings fell ill and died. After their deaths, Thomas, his father James, and James’ sister Anne sailed to the New World. Around 1740, Thomas’ father is described in a Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (the name of a Quaker congregation) as, “
James Moore, widower…from Waterford Ireland.”
As an adult, Thomas went against his father's wishes by marrying a woman who was not a Quaker. As a result, the Meeting disowned him. Afterwards, Thomas and wife Elizabeth moved to New Jersey. Around 1762, Thomas’ father James and his aunt Anne died within a few months of each other. Not long after their deaths, Thomas, now in his early 30s, petitioned to rejoin the Society of Friends, as the Quakers are otherwise known. Thomas, Elizabeth, and three children were subsequently accepted back into the Quaker community of Trenton, New Jersey with the blessing of the Philadelphia Meeting. They lived in Trenton through the 1770s, as the United States was emerging as a new nation.
In 1780, Thomas, Elizabeth and five adult children traveled to a little village known as Janney’s Mill in Loudoun County, Virginia. They persuaded the town to rename the village “Waterford” after Thomas’ birthplace. Evan and Amy Moore Taylor’s daughter, Rachel, married Waterford businessman Thomas Phillips, one-time owner of the Phillips Farm, part of which is preserved today by the Waterford Foundation and its supporters.
Thomas Moore died in 1799 at his home on Bond Street in Waterford, Virginia. That home is still standing, overlooking the Bond Street Tanyard.
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Bond Street Tanyard in Waterford, VA
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Save the Date for
A Feast With Friends!
October 5, 2019
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We are excited to announce that on Saturday evening during the 75th Fair, we will be hosting
A Feast With Friends
,
a field-to-table celebration of 75 years of preservation and education.
Please mark your calendar and
watch for more details.
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Join us for Introduction to Soap Making!
Thursday March 14, 2019 from 6pm to 9pm
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Limited space is available in the
Waterford Craft School
mini class
Introduction to Soap Making
. This class is taught by local herbalist Jessie Baker, owner of Day Spring Farm in Middleburg, Virginia.
Students will be creating their own soaps in class to enjoy at home. Cost is $95 per person and includes all materials and refreshments!
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Updates at John Wesley Church
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Bill and Sue McGuire are the dynamic duo of the Waterford Foundation's Properties committee. Among their many contributions were the improvements made to John Wesley Church in 2018. The McGuires worked tirelessly to install new bathrooms and a kitchen that includes counters, a sink, cabinets, and light fixtures.
Their volunteer labor saved the Foundation so much money that we were able to paint the exterior of the church with the funds remaining from the donation for the water project.
We consider ourselves most fortunate to have such dedicated and skilled volunteers. Bill and Sue McGuire, Thank you for all your hard work!
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Waterford Craft School News!
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Last Chance to Register for Session I of Waterford Craft School!
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Available April Classes:
Suminagashi & Turkish Marbling
Repair and Restoration of Old Windows
Splint Seat Weaving
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A Look Ahead at Session III in June...
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Get $15 off June Classes with Discount code: WCS-2019-EARLY-4
Code expires May 13, 2019
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Over 22 classes are posted now for every
interest and every budget at the
Waterford Craft School
. Container gardening, basket-weaving, leather-working, rug-hooking, stained glass, and more!
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Don't Miss our Annual 5k/10k Walk/Run Saturday, April 27, 2019!
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Registration is now open for the 3rd Annual Historic Waterford Trail Run. This year we are excited to include a new 10k route through the vineyards and rolling hills surrounding the village. Join hundreds of runners on Saturday, April 27th, to celebrate and participate in the preservation of our National Historic Landmark village. Stay after the race for our Preservation Expo featuring local farms and nonprofit preservation and conservation organizations. Register for the race through the link below. Early-bird rates expire March 15th.
Click the link to register:
Business owners: promote your business and support the preservation of Waterford with your 2019 Waterford Trail Run sponsorship! For more information, please contact Stephanie Thompson at
sthompson@waterfordfoundation.org
or 540-822-0004 ext 5.
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In Fond Memory of JoEllen Day Keating
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During the early morning hours of March 1, 2019, JoEllen Day Keating passed away. JoEllen and her family had resided in Waterford since the early 1980s. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Keating, in 2018 and daughter Nora in 2001. The Keatings were devoted preservationists and community members. JoEllen volunteered as Ms. Nickens in the Second Street School Living History Program. Many Loudoun County 4th graders learned what it was like to attend a one-room schoolhouse in the late 1800s thanks to the teacher reenacting the role of Ms. Nickens. JoEllen also helped with the Waterford Fair in many capacities but primarily by assisting with the homes tour. And her own home was open during the fair more often than not. JoEllen could be found helping out at the many other community events, being very active in the Waterford Citizen’s Association, and her devotion to causes in the greater Loudoun area including, but not limited to, programs for those with disabilities and the Democratic Party. She will be sorely missed by all of us and especially by her neighbors down at the end of Main Street."
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March is Women's History Month
Had it not been for the quick thinking of a woman named Amanda Smallwood Reed, the Waterford Post office (and nearby buildings) may not exist today. In the mid-1800s, the Waterford Post office was a dry goods store operated by John B. Dutton. According to a personal account memorialized in poem by Dutton's daughter, Mary Frances Dutton Steer, a fire broke once out inside the building. It appears only one resident, Amanda Smallwood Reed, remembered the gun powder sitting on a shelf inside the store...
...A kindly woman there did live;
We called her "Grandma Reed";
Once when my father's store took fire,
She did a noble deed.
She hastened out upon the street,
And hurriedly did call
The powder can upon the shelf,
Forgotten were by all.
The cans so hot were taken down,
And carried from the store,
There was no doubt she saved the town
And no one knows what more...
For more stories like these, purchase a copy of "
When Waterford and I Were Young"
by John E. Divine.
Click here to purchase your copy online
or visit the Waterford Foundation office at 40222 Fairfax Street, Waterford VA.
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