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“It is difficult to comprehend senseless violence on this scale. Our prayers are with the families and friends of these victims, and members of the extended Virginia Tech community...I urge Virginians to keep these victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers.” -- Tim Kaine, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia

"Governor, thank you. President Steger, thank you very much. Students, and faculty, and staff, and grieving family members, and members of this really extraordinary place.

Laura and I have come to Blacksburg today with hearts full of sorrow. This is a day of mourning for the Virginia Tech community -- and it is a day of sadness for our entire nation. We've come to express our sympathy. In this time of anguish, I hope you know that people all over this country are thinking about you, and asking God to provide comfort for all who have been affected.

Yesterday began like any other day. Students woke up, and they grabbed their backpacks and they headed for class. And soon the day took a dark turn, with students and faculty barricading themselves in classrooms and dormitories -- confused, terrified, and deeply worried. By the end of the morning, it was the worst day of violence on a college campus in American history -- and for many of you here today, it was the worst day of your lives.

It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone -- and they leave behind grieving families, and grieving classmates, and a grieving nation.

In such times as this, we look for sources of strength to sustain us. And in this moment of loss, you're finding these sources everywhere around you. These sources of strength are in this community, this college community. You have a compassionate and resilient community here at Virginia Tech. Even as yesterday's events were still unfolding, members of this community found each other; you came together in dorm rooms and dining halls and on blogs. One recent graduate wrote this: "I don't know most of you guys, but we're all Hokies, which means we're family. To all of you who are okay, I'm happy for that. For those of you who are in pain or have lost someone close to you, I'm sure you can call on anyone of us and have help any time you need it."

These sources of strength are with your loved ones. For many of you, your first instinct was to call home and let your moms and dads know that you were okay. Others took on the terrible duty of calling the relatives of a classmate or a colleague who had been wounded or lost. I know many of you feel awfully far away from people you lean on and people you count on during difficult times. But as a dad, I can assure you, a parent's love is never far from their child's heart. And as you draw closer to your own families in the coming days, I ask you to reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who will never come home.

These sources of strength are also in the faith that sustains so many of us. Across the town of Blacksburg and in towns all across America, houses of worship from every faith have opened their doors and have lifted you up in prayer. People who have never met you are praying for you; they're praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured. There's a power in these prayers, real power. In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God. As the Scriptures tell us, "Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

And on this terrible day of mourning, it's hard to imagine that a time will come when life at Virginia Tech will return to normal. But such a day will come. And when it does, you will always remember the friends and teachers who were lost yesterday, and the time you shared with them, and the lives they hoped to lead. May God bless you. May God bless and keep the souls of the lost. And may His love touch all those who suffer and grieve." --President George W. Bush

Members of the Washington Nationals of the National League wore Virginia Tech hats during their game versus the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday April 17.

“We are Virginia Tech. We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. WE are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech. We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant in the killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech. The Hokier Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be.

We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.

We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech. " -- Nikki Giovanni

This week I witnessed the horrible actions of one very sick individual at my alma mater in Blacksburg, Virginia. People who I had not heard from in years contacted me about it because of my known affection and support of Virginia Tech. The horror of this week has been mixed with the pride of seeing Hokie students on national television showing their emotions, the courage that many of them exhibited facing a murderer and the positive feelings toward their school. They are a credit to their parents and their university.

The disgust I have felt towards the events this week is almost as strong for the irresponsible media reporting of the events especially aimed at President Charles Steger and the law enforcement officers. I thought at the convocation when President Steger received a standing ovation and a long embrace from Governor Kaine that said it all. These media types do not care about the people who their callous comments hurt or the families of the victims of this tragedy.

While I am sure mistakes were made. In studying history you can only judge someone by their actions based on what they knew at the time. Monday morning quarterbacking and blaming President Steger or the law enforcement officials for the act of a very sick individual is the easy way out especially for these so called journalists. We do not know if they had locked down the university, an almost impossible action due to the size and number of people involved, that the killer would not have just found other victims. No one could predict these events or say what would have happened.

When Nikki Giovanni ended the convocation with her “We Are Virginia Tech” remarks followed by cheering, seeing the students filling Lane Stadium and the vigil at the Drillfield later that night I felt great pride in being part of a university that has such great students and their defiance in the face of overwhelming grief not to give up. One humorous moment came at the end of convocation when Katie “Wahoo” Couric identified Hokie Football Coach Frank Beamer as the President of the United States.

No one can begin to understand the feelings of those who lost children, siblings and friends this week at Virginia Tech, but the outpouring of support this week for them is something I will never forget. This week I read fans from West Virginia, the University of Virginia, Auburn, East Carolina, LSU, Texas A&M, UNC-Greensboro and almost every university I could imagine on internet websites say repeatedly “We Are All Hokies.” I saw students at UNC-Asheville, Central Florida, Duke, N. C. State and many others hold candlelight vigils. I thought that like the embrace from the Governor Kaine to President Steger that says it all. -- Tom Perry, Virginia Tech Class of 1983

Before and after photos of the vigil for Virginia Tech at the University of Virginia. Note Zeta painted orange and maroon.

"There is nothing new in the world except the history you don't know" -- Harry Truman

The Free State Of Patrick Supports The Patrick County High School Alumni Association

The following three soldiers are very familiar with each other. Their pension files a loaded with depositions that they gave for each other. They seem to have joined the Union Army at the same time and were mustered out at the same time and returned to Patrick County about the same time.

Born on 2 February 1849 and died 26 April 1916 in Patrick County Virginia. He married twice: Mary Joyce (1843-1896, daughter of Samuel and Leathe Joyce) on 4 January 1854 and Onie Price in January 1901. To the first union 11 children were born: Henry, William, George, Mary, Samuel, James, General, Gabriel, Louisa and 2 unnamed children. No children were born to the second marriage.

He entered the Union Army on 14 April 1865 at Greensville, Tennessee and transferred to Camp Nelson, Kentucky on 10 May 1865 and served in Co. H, 119^th USCT and mustered out 27 April 1866.

In his deposition dated 20 September 1895, he said that he was owned by Jeremiah W. Hylton: “… I was owned by Jeremiah Hylton, now dead. I resided in said neighborhood from my birth until April 1865… I left my old mistress [Nancy Hylton] April 9^th 1865 and I returned to her on the 8^th day of May 1866.”

A search of my records on slaves in probate records, shows that at age 6 months, he and his twin brother, William were owned by Jeremiah Hylton – inventory dated September 1849. In a division of slaves on 17 October 1849, Nancy Hylton, Jeremiah’s wife, received the twin boys. Later on 7 November 1850, they were sold to A. (Augustus) J. Hylton for a total of $300.00. Augustus later died about 1861, but his inventory dated 8 August 1861 does not list either of the boys. Their mother, Lacky was also part of the September 1849 inventory and was given to Augustus Hylton.

Edmund applied for pension under a disability which was inflicted in the Fall and Winter 1865 when exposed to bad weather at the camp. He claimed that he contracted “rheumatism” and that affected his entire life – could not do manual labor. In the end he was given a pension of $20 per month. His widow, Onie, applied for expenses incurred in the burial of her husband and accrued pension benefits. On 23 May1928, years after her husband died, she was given a total of $2169.40.

Click Here To Learn More About Patrick County's African-American History

		Fifth Sunday Programs At The Hollow History Center

	 		April 29, July 29 and September 30, 2007

April 29, May Day Revisited At The Hollow History Center from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. The recently reconstructed section of "The Dinky”

railroad will be on public exhibit for the first time. Picnic Lunch will be available. Admission is $6 per adult with children under 14 free.

July 29, Genealogy Festival at The Hollow History Center 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Local history swap including genealogy, family histories,

old photos, etc.  Tom Perry will speak on his new book Stuart's Birthplace: The History Of The Laurel Hill Farm.

Admission is $6 per adult with children under 14 free.

September 30, Fall Festival At The Hollow History Center from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Demonstrations of cider making,

corn grinding and other agricultural activities to be scheduled. Doe Run Farm corn maze adjacent to the History Center

will be open. Enjoy autumn at The Hollow History Center. Admission is $6 per adult with children under 14 free.

		During all three events a display about The Dinky Railroad will on site.

	   Click Here To See The New Exhibit On The Dinky Railroad

Click Here To Learn More About The Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad "The Dinky"

Dinky Railroad Talk In Kibler Valley May 20

Tom Perry and Kenney Kirkman will speak to the Congregation of Danube Presbyterian Church on May 20 For Presbyterian Heritage Days and a talk on the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad "The Dinky" Sunday School at 10:15 a.m. Service at 11:15 a.m.

On April 5, 2007, Ron Hall, Kenney Kirkman, Nash Lawson, Tom Perry and Raleigh Puckett came together at The Hollow History Center to rebuild about one hundred feet of the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad “The Dinky.” The rails discovered by Anthony Terry of Ararat, Virginia, on land owned by Charles and James Clement were donated and moved to the history complex. Kirkman found crossties spikes and connector plates and brought them together. The five men spent about five hours rebuilding the railroad.

The Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad traversed just over 19 miles from Mount Airy, North Carolina, to Kibler Valley along the Dan River in Patrick County, Virginia from around 1900 until the 1920s. It brought lumber to the furniture factories in Mount Airy and brought people to places such as the White Sulphur Springs Hotel along the Ararat River. Kirkman and Perry followed the trail of the railroad over the past several winters walking nearly all the 19 miles it traveled taking pictures, talking to land owners and researching the history surrounding the railroad. Perry is building a series of webpages about the railroad at www.freestateofpatrick.com/dinkyrr.htm

Displays will be at The Hollow History Center about the railroad and at Danube Presbyterian Church in Kibler Valley on May 20 as part of the church’s heritage days starting at 11 a.m.

The Hollow History Center is located near Doe Run Church in Ararat, Virginia.

Driving Directions to The Hollow History Center

From Blue Ridge Elementary School in Ararat, Virginia, on the Ararat Highway (VA Route 773/NC Hwy 104 Riverside Drive from Mount Airy, NC) turn onto Friends Mission Road (VA Route 675) and travel 2.1 miles. Take a right turn on Doe Run Road (VA Route 631) and travel 0.6 miles. Take a right turn on Marigold Lane (VA Route 762). Take the first right 36 Marigold Lane. The Hollow History Center is located in the cabin complex to the right.

Patrick County Genealogy Society 2007 Calendar

All meetings except the November meeting begin at 6:30 p.m. at Stuart Baptist Church Fellowship Hall across from the Historic Patrick County Courthouse on Blue Ridge Street in Stuart.

May 15th: In honor of the 400th Anniversary
Celebration of Jamestown, Lisa Hollingsworth will tell us some Jamestown stories.

June 19th: Dr. Parks Lanier from Radford University will present a program on "The Meanings, Myths, and
Majesty of Heraldry: A Consumer's Guide." Heraldry is a system of the use of hereditary symbols handed
down in families or in institutions.

July 17th: Jack Goins will present a program on the Melungeons. The Melungeons were dark-skinned,
reddish-brown complexioned people supposed to be of Moorish descent, who were neither Indian nor Negro,
but had European features.

August 21st: To Be Announced

September 18th: By request, we will celebrate our Male Ancestors in honor of Grandparent's Day which is September 9th.

October 16th: Tom Brown on Apples. Tom searches for what he calls "lost" apple varieties.

November 20th: Annual Sharing Meeting & Covered Dish Meal. Covered Dish Meal begins at 6:00 p.m.

News From the Website

If you would like to receive this monthly email newsletter, please send an email to freestateofpatrick@yahoo.com with the word ADD in the subject line or visit www.freestateofpatrick.com for more information.

Richmond, VA: The Civil War Preservation Trust recently recognized The Museum of the Confederacy as one of 2007's History Under Siege sites under a newly created designation, "Museum under Siege.” History Under Siege is the Civil War Preservation Trust's (CWPT) annual report on endangered Civil War battlefields. According to CWPT, although not a battlefield, the Museum and White House of the Confederacy "are as endangered as any battleground in the U.S.," and are "literally being strangled" by the neighboring urban medical complex of Virginia Commonwealth University.

In its 20 years of rescuing key Civil War sites, the CWPT has protected 23,000 acres of battlefields in 18 states. It is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States and is committed to protecting these tangible links to the Civil War through purchases of land, conservation easements and partnerships with federal, state and local governments. Learn more about the important work of CWPT at www.civilwar.org. To find out more about The Museum of the Confederacy and its dire situation, visit www.moc.org.

Tom Perry spoke at the 10th Annual Salisbury Prison Symposium on April 14. Tom shown above with Ed and Sue Curtis, two of the guiding lights in the effort to preserve the Salisbury Prison. Part of the program included an authentic baseball game. Salisbury Prison was the first place baseball was played in North Carolina by Union prisoners during the War Between The States.

Click Here For More Information about the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association

Pat Ross describes the O. E. . Pilson collection, a large collection of files on families collected by a local historian and donated to the center.

I am a Life Member of the Patrick County Historical Society, a member on the Patrick County Genealogical Society, who held their January meeting at the Bassett Historical Center. I am a multiple contributor and purchaser of both recent books by the Patrick County Heritage Book Committee. At this moment, all three groups have large financial resources. I call on all three groups to support the building fund of the Bassett Historical Center.

I call on them to look beyond the provincial attitude of Patrick County only and see the Bassett Historical Center as “OUR” regional research library. Patrick County’s history does not end at the boundary line with Henry County or the state line with North Carolina. There are people all over the nation interested in Patrick County’s history and they come to the Bassett Historical Center. It contains the collections of Eunice Kirkman and O. E. Pilson. I view both the museum in Stuart and the Bassett Historical Center as not competing, but as partners in preserving our history. Why not work together so that people can visit and be a part of all the groups and facilities that preserve this common history.

In the last year, I have promoted the efforts of all three groups and offered web pages to two of the three. I purchased the books of all three groups and contributed material to all three recent publications of each group. I give copies of my writings to both facilities because I do not believe that one person or group owns this history. We all own this history and we have a responsibility to preserve and educate. I think of Mr. O. E. Pilson and where he would stand on this effort. He would support the Building Fund of the Bassett Historical Center and you all should as well.

Patrick County Material in the Bassett Historical Center Collection

O. E. Pilson Collection contains 1206 family files and 107 notebooks relating to Patrick County history.

Ruth Fair Morris Collection contains Patrick County family materials on Via, Koger, Burnett, Spencer, Corn, Shelton, Turner and others. http://www.brrl.lib.va.us/RuthFairMorris.htm

The Bassett Historical Center’s online catalog lists 146 books on Patrick County including census records from 1800 through 1930. Also included are records on Patrick County marriages, wills, deeds, tax lists, births, death, obituaries, cemetery records, order books along with military records on the American Revolution, War of 1812, Indian Wars, Civil War and the Spanish-American War.

The Bassett Historical Center is a repository for genealogy and regional history. Beginning in one small room in the basement of the present building, then the Bassett Public Library, with one filing cabinet and two shelves of books, the BHC has grown considerably since it merged with the Blue Ridge Regional Library in 1992. Through 2004, the number of patrons visiting increased 1359% (420 to 6129 patrons). Since 1998 an increase of 125% (2720 to 6129 patrons) a year occurred. Researchers from all fifty states and nine foreign countries (Canada, England, Italy, Luxembourg, South Africa, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand and Taiwan) have come to the library that serves the counties of Henry and Patrick along with the City of Martinsville. Of the 6, 223 patrons using the BHC in 2005 914 where from out of state, 800 where from other parts of Virginia and 831 patrons from Patrick County used the resources of the BHC.

The Bassett Historical Center contains over 9,496 family files, 2, 518 regional history files and 11,074 books. The library houses over 400 rolls of microfilm, 113 genealogical files are on computer and 139 CDs. The BHC answered nearly 300 letters and almost 2,000 emails in 2005.

The goal of this committee is to raise $800,000 to expand the Bassett Historical Center by 4, 195 square feet. This will double the size of the center allowing for new collections and a work room for the staff to better take care of the existing material. For those giving $1000, the committee will place a plaque with a maximum of 35 characters in a prominent place. Other levels of support and corresponding recognition are as follows:

For more information or to make a tax deductible donation contact the

Bassett Historical Center Building Fund

Henry County in the Civil War, 1861-1865 is on sale by the Bassett Historical Center Building Committee as a fund-raiser. Half the profits from this book go to the fund, to build an addition to their great library. This book contains the military records of Henry County Soldiers as well as some letters and other articles of interest. If you would like tosend a donation to them, or buy a book to help them, you can contact Pat Ross at baslib@hotmail.com for more information.

"At its meeting on February 22, 2007, the Patrick County School Board appointed Dr. Roger N. Morris as its next Division Superintendent, effective July 1, 2007. Dr. Morris, a native of Bassett, is currently the Director of Administrative Services in Southampton County , Virginia . After graduating from Bassett High School in 1984, Dr. Morris attended Virginia Tech and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He received his Master’s Degree from Longwood College in 1990, his Educational Specialist degree in 1998, and his Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Virginia in 2002. All of his advanced degrees were earned while he continued to work full-time in the education field. Dr. Morris has a variety of educational experiences. He served for six years as a teacher in Buckingham County Schools, followed by more than thirteen years of experience as an administrator in Fluvanna, Dinwiddie, and Southampton County School divisions. During this time, Morris has been a leader in the fields of personnel management, finance, and pupil personnel services. But Roger Morris never forgot his roots. In 2006, he and his father collaborated to write a novel called A Distant Bugle, which is a fictional Civil War era story. He also volunteers in community programs and has in the past been a member of the Ruritan Club. Most recently, Dr. Morris has taught Sunday School, and is active in church functions. Dr. Morris has been married for over sixteen years to his wife, Patricia. They have two sons, Alex and Brad, who are both thirteen years old and currently in the eighth grade. He is the son of Aubrey and Doris Morris, who reside in Bassett. “My family and I and very excited to become a part of the community and to call Patrick ‘home’,” stated Morris. “The Patrick County School System has always had a

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Construction uncovers old cemetery: Graves and remains dating back to the 1770s found on expansion site in Charlotte

Patrick County Material in the Bassett Historical Center Collection

For more information or to make a tax deductible donation contact the

Bassett Historical Center Building Fund