Santa Visits Chatham, Virginia

Eva Spencer, Earl Spencer, Hardwick Spencer (toddler in Earl’s arms), Earlene Spencer (behind her brother), and Bobby Wiley are joyous to great Santa Claus! This photograph may have a connection to Hargrave Military Academy, since Earl Spencer is in his uniform from HMA. Or it could have been a Chatham church or civic event.

Photograph from the Preston B. Moses Collection. Thank you to the Moses family for sharing the picture!

Baptism in Pittsylvania County

Baptisms were often held in Pittsylvania County at the conclusion of revivals. A Rev. Mr. Lake wrote that at one baptismal held at Kentuck, Virginia in 1871, he baptized “forty-three persons — some far advanced in life — and some six or eight more will be baptized at our next meeting.” (The Christian Era, Boston, Massachusetts, August 17, 1871.) Baptisms were also often held at the conclusion of the Pentecostal Holiness camp meetings held in the summer in Dry Fork, Virginia, in the 1920s and 1930s.

Undated picture (probably mid-1900s) from the Preston B. Moses collection, courtesy the Moses family. Artistic touches added by Sarah E. Mitchell.