One of my favorite
things about training to be a tour guide at Hollywood Cemetery was doing the
research. I learned a ton from the older guides but in the end the kind of
research I enjoyed doing was the obscure this-has-some-meaning-to-me kind which
isn’t what I learned from other guides or a class. It’s what I learned doing my
own research. So since I’ve officially left my position with the museum, citing
that "the institutional culture no longer aligns with my core values" I am able
to enter Hollywood and go exactly where I want to go.
I appreciate the
histories of the individuals, those who were significant to many in their time
but who are basically unknown today.
One of my favorite
examples is the stunning gravestone of Elvira
A. Bruce. Not only do I adore the Gothic architecture of the piece but it
holds one of the best views of the James River. I would argue that Mrs. Bruce’s
location is even better than Presidents Monroe or Tyler’s locations in President
Circle.
Eldest daughter of Col.
William Cabell, a plantation owner of Union Hill, Nelson County, Virginia,
Elvira became the wife of Patrick Henry,
Jr. (no relation to the famous Patrick Henry) on February 9,1804 in Amherst, Va.
Within a year, Henry died. After 15 years, which seems practically
unheard of for the time, she married James Bruce. When Bruce died in 1837, he
was the third wealthiest man in America. James built the family fortune through
a system of stores; he operated a series of wagon trains to supply his stores
with goods. Between the years 1802-1837, he was the owner of twelve country
stores, several flour mills, a fertilizer-plaster manufactory, a commercial
blacksmith shop, several lumber yards, a cotton factory, and two taverns.
Elvira lived for a
while at Woodbourne in Halifax County after James died.
Her marker is next to James Alexander Seddon, a Richmond
lawyer; he was a United States Representative from Virginia from 1845 to 1847
and again from 1849 to 1851. He was a member of the Peace Convention held in
Washington, D. C., in 1861, and when that effort failed he was elected as a
Virginia Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress. He was appointed
Secretary of War by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and served from 1862
to 1865. Arrested by Union forces in May 1865, he was imprisoned for seven
months.
Today, I’m heading out with my fella to picnic and
survey the plots because we plan to make Hollywood our Afterlife home which was
our wedding gift to one another although we have yet to select a spot.
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| Mrs. Bruce's stone sits to the right of this picture with Monroe and Tyler behind me. |
What a gorgeous river view! I've not been to Virginia in some years but I well remember it's green and lush summer beauty.
ReplyDeleteYour statement of resignation "the institutional culture....my core values" is perfect for my own situation, as I've recently resigned from my health care position due to similar shenanigans as those you've described at the museum. I'm so sorry that you had to leave a position you seemed to love.