The Beautiful South has awoken! The bloody flag of thorns and brambles, has been removed.

The Brothers Grimm included a variant Little Briar Rose in their collection (1812).[6] Their version ends when the prince arrives to wake Sleeping Beauty, unlike the stories of Basile and Perrault.[8] Some translations of the Grimms’ tale give the princess the name Rosamond.

The lost Rosamond graves are found!

“These graves are right along a paved road in the woods (I mean, the stones are right along the road). This cemetery is in bad shape. No one is taking care of it. It is over grown in weeds, trees and with poison oak and ivy everywhere. David, Mark and I ventured out into the cemetery a little ways. Couldn’t go to each stone because the poison oak & ivy is soooo thick.

 Before the Commencement of the Colonial dispute (Revolution) my grandfather died, leaving a widow and twelve children . . . my grandmother was reduced to great suffering. The Indians burned her house and carried one of her daughters away captive.   She returned home after the war, scarcely able to speak English. My grandmother had to fly for protection to the woods and shelter herself and children in the hollow of a large tree.”

http://www.waregenealogy.com/NewNationNewHome-Chapter5.htm

Yes, I would very much like to know where these graves were located and if there
are any other Rosamond graves there. The fact that this cemetery is overgrown
indicates it may be one of those we missed when several of my cousins and I were
touring SC cemeteries several years ago.

I suspect that Jane Westfield Rosamond was the wife of John Hodges Rosamond who
was married to a Jane or Jennie Westfield. I have her birthdate as about 1791
which would fit pretty well with the dates given here. John Hodges Rosamond was
the son of Captain Samuel Rosamond. I am very interested in locating his
gravesite and it’s possible that he was also buried here.

Anthony Hodges was ousted from the Sons of Confederate Veterans by Denne Sweeney seen with Rick Perry and his wife.

The SCV filed a motion Thursday in a now 16-year-old lawsuit over the plates. It’s hoping to block Gov. Terry McAuliffe from removing the battle emblem that makes up part of the group’s insignia, which has been on the plates for years.

http://www.scv.org/

http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-confederate-plate-suit-20150709-story.html

McAuliffe announced late last month that he was changing the plates, following the racially motivated mass shooting in Charleston and on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Texas case that declared license plates to be government speech, not personal.

That meant the state could keep the flag off plates without worrying about 1st Amendment issues, McAuliffe said. The Sons of Confederate Veterans say McAuliffe jumped the gun, arguing that the laws in Texas and Virginia are different enough that the Supreme Court precedent doesn’t apply here.

Following the Feb. 17 court action, Commander-in-chief Hodges, in a statement
posted on the Internet, sought to assure the organization’s 30,000 to 35,000
members that the ouster was “mandatory,” and that “the GEC acted in the best
interests of the SCV.”

“Never before have we faced such an atmosphere of intimidation in the SCV, in
which members, officers and GEC members have been suspended or threatened with
suspension or expulsion for little or no reason,” Hodges wrote. “Our pride in
history has become, for a few, a faÁade masking anger, resentment and an
apparent desire to browbeat the SCV into a new direction, one with [a]
politically ideological path determined by a select few.”

Hodges listed eight allegations against Sweeney, including suspensions and
threatened suspensions of board members, conducting “harassing investigations”
against opponents on the board, and “creating and maintaining a hostile work
environment.”

Hodges closed by warning members, “Be very skeptical of the shrill voices of
contentiousness.” He asked for members’ “prayers, support and patience” in the
board’s efforts “to return the SCV to an organization committed to reasonable
conduct, a precious heritage and the rule of law.”

In the 1990s, disagreements over the purpose of the organization emerged within the SCV. At issue was an alleged shift in the SCV’s mission from “maintaining gravestones, erecting monuments and studying Civil War history” to more issue-centric concerns. The SCV’s new concerns included “fight[ing] for the right to display Confederate symbols everywhere from schools to statehouses”.^[7] The more “activist” members of the SCV gained electoral support and were increasingly elected to its leadership positions. Members of the more traditionalist camp alleged that the League of the South had influenced their organization’s new direction. One ally of the activist wing claimed that thousands of SCV members are also League of the South members. News reports state that the activists advocate “picketing, aggressive lobbying, issue campaigning and lawsuits” in favor of what they term “heritage defense” to prevent “heritage violations”. The SCV defines those as “any attack upon our Confederate Heritage, or the flags, monuments, and symbols which represent it”.^[8]

The “Church at the Walnut Grove on Mulberry Creek” as it was always described by the clerk, did not show any gain in membership by the end of its third year. Beginning with eighteen charter members, it lost within two years two of these by letters of dismission and on Oct. 20, 1828 Susannah Rosmond died, the first loss by death. This brought the membership down to fifteen, but the addition of ‘Polly Hodges’, wife of James Hodges by letter from Turkey Creek about this time, brought the membership up to sixteen. Then on Jan. 4, 1830 after a sermon by the Rev. Nicholas Ware Hodges, the first two members [were] received by baptism.  These were ‘Polly Hodges, sister of, and Mahala Hodges, the wife of Thompson Hodges.’ (This made the total membership eighteen again.) Incidentally, there are three ‘Polly Hodges’ already noted in the record.” (Ref. Newspaper)The ‘Nicholas Ware Hodges’ mentioned in the article was the sixth child of Nancy and James.  According to information from author Margaret Watson, Nicholas Ware Hodges “was ordained in 1828 and organized several Baptist churches in upper South Carolina.  He was on the committee for Furman Academy which operated for two years in Edgefield under Baptist auspices, and he was one of three men named by the State Baptist Convention to select a new site for the school.”

http://www.waregenealogy.com/NewNationNewHome-Chapter5.htm

Presidential candidate, Rick Perrry, contacted Denne Sweeney, who I titled my mortal enemy on September 20, 2009. Perry reasured Sweeny that he would not mess with the Confederate flag. Perry made a secret trip to Israel to assure the Zionists he would back them and oppose the President of the United States. This is TREASON!

Denne Sweeny took over the leadership of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from
my kinfolk, Anthoney Hodges. Above we see Sweeney ‘The Neo-Confederate Swine’
parading around with grown men in Confederate uniforms carrying Confederate
flags. He is the big guy in gueenish-grey coat. Here are some of the captions
that go with these photos. It sounds like Sweeney is commanding a imaginary army
standing up for “their ancestors” who have risen from the dead, risen from their
graves!

https://rosamondpress.com/2011/09/21/perry-contacted-Sweeney/

We are planning a trip to Abbeville, South Carolina the last weekend of September and all Rosamond and related cousins are invited. We haven’t yet decided on where we will be staying, or the exact itenerary for the visit, so all suggestions are welcome. One of the definites for the trip will be a cleanup of the cemetery described in the email below from Gwen Rosamond Forrester. If you plan to come contact me at jrosamond@prodigy.net, or any of the Rosamond researchers listed on the OTHER RESEARCHERS page. I will be posting details online as they become available.

---

The following email was sent by one of the Rosamond cousins, Gwen Rosamond Forrester to the rest of the research cousins:

Hey Y’all,

Mark and I just got back from a trip to Halan Co., Ky., and Lee Co., Va., where his folks settled after leaving NC. We had a very successful trip with finding graves of his ancestors and meeting a relative. Since we were only about 200 miles from Abbeville, SC, we drove down there to look around, and guess what, we asked a couple of gentlemen, David Higgon’s and Mr. Richie (believe his name was Walter) in Ware Shoals, if they knew where the Walnut Grove Baptist Church was. (The church our Rosamond’s, Hill’s, Hodges, and Graham’s attended in the early 1800’s)

Sure enough, they both knew where it was. David lead us to it, and he lead us to the few graves on Mulberry Creek that mark the original site of the church that was organized in 1826. Talk about luck! This was so exciting!!! We were so lucky to have ran into these two gentleman.

These graves are right along a paved road in the woods (I mean, the stones are right along the road). This cemetery is in bad shape. No one is taking care of it. It is over grown in weeds, trees and with poison oak and ivy everywhere. David, Mark and I ventured out into the cemetery a little ways. Couldn’t go to each stone because the poison oak & ivy is soooo thick. There aren’t many stones. Some graves are marked with field stones and doesn’t have any writing on them, and some of the field stones looked as those they had been chiseled on but you couldn’t read it. There are Mays buried there and one stone was a Williams. Stones are in bad shape, you can hardly read them. They have black mildew, moss or what ever from the trees, all over them. There is one stone laying on the ground in perfect condition. No mildew or anything on it. You can read it clearly. It is the marker of Lucrete Mays born Dec 14, 1797 died Feb 14, 1845. Y’all, this is probably Sarah “Sally” Mays Rosamond’s mother. What do you think?

I couldn’t hardly leave there without looking at each stone, but the poison oak was to bad. Mark and I are highly allergic to these plants. I knew though, that we are all going to be there next year, or whenever and we can be better prepared to tackle this adventure. As soon as David left, Mark and I changed jeans, socks and shoes right there by the car on the side of the road. Pretty picture! That poison oak and ivy will go through your clothes if you give it time. We were very lucky, we were o’k the next morning. Only one car passed on that road the whole time we were at the cemetery, so it isn’t a busy one.

When we go there next year, or whenever, those of us allergic to these plants, will need to wear at least knee high rubber boots. We will also need to do some tombstone rubbings to be able to read the stones. Does anyone in this group know how to do tombstone rubbings? A lady in Lee Co., Va., showed me how by using paper and a pencil. She said you could also use colored chalk that children use at school. It wont hurt the stones at all. When it rains, it will wash the chalk off.

David told us the Walnut Grove Church has tried to put a book together about the History of the Church. He said this book is at the church. We were there on Monday, and no one was there. David said the original church (1826) on Mulberry Creek was a brush arbor, which was posts with brush on top to protect them from rain. They were having Church service when it stated to rain. Had a flash flood that swept the brush arbor away. Everyone was scramming to get to higher ground, scared the horses so bad they all ran away. That’s when they moved the Church to higher ground. It was built next to where the Walnut Grove Church stands today.

Ruth, do you know the History of Walnut Grove Church, and do you know who is buried in the original cemetery?

Abbeville is a beautiful Old Historic town. It takes you back in time. Has a lot of old beautiful two story homes. I have a pamphlet listing the motels in the Old 96 District when we get ready to make reservations. If we stay in Abbeville, there is a Belmont Inn on town square that would be perfect for us to stay in, if y’all like this sort of thing. The Belmont Inn was built 1902-03 as the Eureka Hotel to accommodate “drummers” of the textile trade, patrons of the Opera House, traveling salesmen of the day, and the railroad men who had layovers in Abbeville. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic places in Abbeville. It has 25 newly remodeled, decorated rooms. They let Mark and I walk through it. The rooms that didn’t have occupants in them, they leave the doors open so we were about to view them. They are furnished with old antique furniture, some rooms have large pieces of furniture. It has wooden floors and looks like bedrooms in antebellum homes, only a bit smaller. It is nice and very clean. Really takes you back in time. Prices are very reasonable. More on that later.

The Belmont Inn is next door to the Opera House and two doors from the court house. The Library is one block away. If yall had rather stay in a motel there are three motels around Abbeville, but the nicer ones are in Greenwood, which is only 15 miles away. Mr. Richie told me the Library in Greenwood was better than the one in Abbeville. I only got to spend a couple of hours at the Library in Greenwood. They have a lot of old books for research, made several copies, but don’t think I found too much of what we don’t already have. Haven’t had a chance to look it over.

Something else we might want to think about. This pamphlet I have says Edgefield County, (which we all know is part of Old 96 District) has D.A. Tompkins Memorial Library. It serves as a genealogical and historical research center focusing on the Old 96 District. It is the headquarters for the Courtesy Center and Archives. If we have time, we might want to check this out.

…

Your Cousin,
Gwen Rosamond Forrester

Another cousin, Ruth Long Menhel, left the group the following day although for a happier reason. She and her husband had purchased a new home and she had to take care of all the various activities that accompany a move from one home to another.

 

http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/USA/Abbeville-South-Carolina/5798.html

A wonderful autobiography of Nicholas Ware Hodges was kindly provided by Jimmy Rosamond.  It provides remarkable, priceless pieces of information about Nicholas and all his family.  The following are some excerpts from the work:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICHOLAS WARE HODGES

“In the 44th year of my age, being confined at home by protracted illness, from which it is very uncertain whether I may ever recover, I proceed to the execution of a task, which I have desired and intended for many years, viz: to write a brief narrative of my life, for the instruction and benefit of my own children. . . . I must first gratify a natural curiosity in giving some account of my parentage. My grandfather, Richard Hodges, emigrated from Virginia, before the Revolutionary war, and settled in Abbeville District, on Mulberry Creek, then a frontier settlement in the vicinity of the Cherokee Indians. His wife’s maiden name was Jones. She survived her husband many years. I can recollect her when she was nearly a hundred years of age.                         My father’s name was James [Hodges]. There being no school established in that newly settled part of the country, and all that were capable being necessarily employed in opening the country and reducing it under cultivation, my father had no opportunity of going to school. Three days were the most of his schooling.                         The deficiency he lamented in [later] life and endeavored to supply it by his own efforts. He learned to read and sign his name.

Before the Commencement of the Colonial dispute (Revolution) my grandfather died, leaving a widow and twelve children . . . my grandmother was reduced to great suffering. The Indians burned her house and carried one of her daughters away captive.                         She returned home after the war, scarcely able to speak English. My grandmother had to fly for protection to the woods and shelter herself and children in the hollow of a large tree.”   [This is the account of Dorothy Hodges written about earlier.]                         My father was about 18 years of age at the commencement of the war and was soon engaged in active scenes. He was not the man that ever shrunk from danger, where duty or necessity called, and was consequently employed by his captain, with other daring young men, in several dangerous adventures against the Tories. . . . In all these battles, my father never received a single wound, though he never deserted his post and saw many fall dead on his right hand and on his left. If this was not an evidence of a special providence I know not where to find any.                         After the return of peace, my father married Ann [Nancy Ware], daughter of Nicholas Ware, who had emigrated from Virginia and settled on Turkey Creek, Abbeville . . . . My mother’s parents [Nicholas and Peggy Ware] both dying, left under my father’s care their two youngest sons, Edward and Nathaniel A. Ware, at a tender age. He brought then up as his own children and gave them the best education which the schools in his reach afforded. . . .” [For information on Nathaniel Ware, see his section.]

“I was born on Lord’s day, 1st Jan 1797 and was the sixth of eleven children. I was delicate in appearance and thought not to be equal to the labors of the farm. My uncle selected me from the rest and begged my father to keep me at school until he himself should finish his education, and he would then educate me, by way of return to my father for the kindness he had shown to him.                         My father did so. . . . One trait of character early developed itself – that was fondness for reading; but unfortunately I had no access to suitable books. . . . Having read all I could lay my hands upon in my father’s little library, I at length found an old book with very fine and dim print. I resolved to know its contents. It was the Bible. I commenced at the beginning and read on with increasing interest. I often read by fire-light, after the rest of the family had retired to rest, and thus early injured my eyes, from which they never fully recovered. Very salutary impressions were made on my mind at this age. I saw that God befriended those patriarchs wherever they were and suffered none to hurt them. I had a great desire to be like them. I was now about 12 years of age. In the summer of 1810, my uncle came to carry me to Abbeville, to commence the study of Latin with him, whilst he was pursuing the study of law.” Nicholas further writes: “I must stop here to review the scenes among which I had been brought up – together with their effect on my mind . . . my mother [Nancy Ware] had a great respect for religion, which she had imbibed from her parents. [Nicholas and Peggy Ware.] They were both pious members of the Baptist church on Turkey Creek. She used to reprove her children about using bad words and indulging passion.                         My father was brought up in the Episcopal Church in Virginia, and certainly had great respect for religion and ministers; but very little for the church in which he had been brought up.                         He often read the Testament and other good books, but said nothing to his children about doing so. The Testament, however, was generally used as a school book . . . . I hated Latin because I was to be made proud by learning and could not become the humble Christian I had desired since I first read the scriptures, and gave way to grief and melancholy. After some months my uncle entered me as a student, at Old Cambridge and engaged boarding for me with Mr. Thomas Chiles.”

Nicholas continued, “After a short stay at my beloved home, I was carried back to Cambridge, in the beginning of the year 1811. My uncle having made his arrangements to move to Natchez, Miss., paid me a short visit. He gave me good advice which made an impression upon me. This was the last time that I ever had the pleasure of seeing that dear uncle to whom as an instrument I am indebted for what education I have. I became deeply interested and prosecuted the study of Latin, Greek and higher English, and succeeded in taking the prize offered our class. I remained until the close of the year, 1812.                         I spent the year 1813 in reviewing, reading, and instructing my younger brother and sisters. During the present year, l8l3, my religious impressions increased. I began to discover my depravity more and more, and was often in much distress. I made many resolutions, but was unable to keep them, which destroyed my peace of mind. But, as yet, I knew not the way of salvation. In the year, 1814, being about 17 years of age, I taught a school at Turkey Creek Church and boarded with my Uncle Edmond Ware, at Scuffletown. I returned to Cambridge in 1815.

[. . . .]                         During the following vacation I occupied a student’s cabin alone. Here, happy in my seclusion, I had much time for meditation and prayer. I began to reflect seriously upon my situation as a sinner. I had been long striving to obtain religion, but found myself further off, instead of approaching nearer my object.

[. . . .] I thought myself the chief of sinners and was at my wits end. I could make no greater exertion than I had already made, which had proved abortive. Thus the lord was stripping me of my self-righteousness; for I had been, for years, trying to work myself into His favor.”

In closing, Nicholas relayed how, “one Sunday morning I was sitting in my cabin, reading . . . about a man who was in the habit of cock fighting. Having lost a bet, he took a solemn oath not to be engaged in such sport. . . . He was, at length, tempted himself . . . but was struck dead in an instant.                         When I read this I closed the book and thought I was as guilty as that man, for violating so many solemn resolutions.                         I looked for the hand of God to be let loose and cut me down. I rushed out of the cabin and sought the woods. Falling upon my knees I cried to God for mercy. Tears gushed from my eyes which afforded some temporary relief. I returned slowly to the cabin with despair seated at my heart. . . . I concluded to read again the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. . . . When I came to the 10th chapter, new views began to be presented. I read, ‘Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth . . . the word of faith, which we preach: that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ These remarkable words arrested my attention.                         I thought ‘Is it possible that salvation is placed on such easy terms merely to believe?’ I had been all the while under the impression that I must reform and do something to gain the divine favor. Here was a new doctrine to me, and I felt ready to lay hold upon it, for every other refuge had proved a failure. I then asked myself, ‘Do you believe in the lord Jesus?’                         I answered ‘I most certainly do’.                         I then began to feel some degree of joy from the thought that there was a bare possibility for such a sinner as myself to be saved. This joy gradually increased until I left my cabin to walk in the open fields.                         Here as I looked around, all nature seemed to put on a new and more lovely aspect.” [You can find the autobiography in its entirety on the web.]

Nicholas was so inspired that he spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel. He married twice. His first wife was Elizabeth (Eliza) Hughes of Edgefield.

Record

They had two sons, Charles and Edward. There were more children by his second wife whose name is not known. Nicholas died of tuberculosis at the age of 44 on October 7, 1841. His mother, Nancy Ware Hodges, would outlive him by 15 years; dying in 1856 at the age of 89. Nancy’s husband had also predeceased her in 1828. “James’ wife, Nancy Ware Hodges, as his widow, applied for his pension #W7776. Charlie Hodges sent an affidavit to support the pension request, March 20, 1846, in which he stated that James was his brother.”

https://rosamondpress.com/2011/09/21/perry-contacted-sweeney/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty

http://paintingandframe.com/prints/pino_daeni_restless_beauty-14595.html

http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/kates-blog/spotlight-sleeping-beauty