Home Sweet Home

2,880 miles and 8 states in 11 days. Wow! Max was outstanding in the car and in our travels. We left Williamsburg yesterday morning and made a brief stop at the Old Blandford Church in Petersburg VA. Grandma had visited here once before on one of her genealogical tours. The descendent who brought her family here from England is buried at the church. Richard Yarbrough’s is the oldest grave there, and even pre-dates the church.

It is now a 300 acre cemetery with significance to Revolutionary, 1812, and Civil War dead. Thomas Jefferson’s father founded the church, and it is significant now for its artistic qualities. It’s one of only a few buildings with only Tiffany windows. Following the Civil War, the ladies auxiliary in Petersburg wanted to honor the numerous Confederate war dead buried in the cemetery. Most of them had offered their own husbands and sons in the war, and this task let them show honor. Previously, they had worked to carefully place the mostly unknown soldiers in their graves with their units. Then they wrote to Tiffany to see about arranging windows. He agreed, and gave them a very affordable rate. His only condition was that no committees be formed (any of you who deal with committees at work will appreciate that) and he just wanted the state seal and a quote from each state to be honored. Other than that, he designed what went on each window and where it was placed in the church. It is a really beautiful old church. This ladies group is also responsible for Memorial Day. With so many veterans in their cemetery, they set aside a day to honor them. The idea caught on with other groups, and ultimately led to a federal holiday.
After Blandford, we hit the road and drove hard for 2 days and tonight we are home!