Newspaper Tidbit: Hoadly (1921)

Prince William News
29 December 1921

HOADLY

Happy New Year to All

Miss Florella Milstead of Washington is spending the holidays with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Milstead.

Mr. E. M. Garner spent Sunday with Miss Eva Kidwell, of Agnewville.

Mrs. Edith Yates of Washington is spending the holidays with her mother, Mrs Annie Garner and her daughter, Alma Yates, who has been with her grandmother for some time.

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sprague of Washington are visiting relatives here.

Dr. W. Fewell Merchant of Manassas was in this vicinity several days last week looking after smallpox patients and vaccinating.

Mr. and Mrs. Tyson Reid and daughter, Miss Maxine, were in Washington shopping Saturday.

A horse belonging to Mr. Daniel Reid was kicked by another horse last Friday night.  Mr. Reid's animal suffered a broken leg and had to be killed.

Sunday's Obituary: William Russell Will (1916)

Charlotte Observer (NC)
17 January 1916

DEATH OF PROF. WILL

Father of Mrs. D. S. Yates Passes Away in Maryland

Prof William Russell Will, for 35 years teacher of mathematics in Bryant-Stratton College, Baltimore, and father of Mrs. David S. Yates of Charlotte, died Saturday night at the home of his son Rev Theodore S. Will, rector of Trinity Church, Elk Ridge, Md., a suburb of Baltimore. Mrs. Yates and daughter, little Miss Dorothy Sinclair Yates, left last night for Baltimore to attend the funeral.

Mr. Will was in his 75th year. He was a native of New Orleans. Leaving home at the age of 14 years, he traveled extensively over a great portion of the world, returning home in time to enlist in the Confederate Army. It was while he was a soldier in Prince William County, Va., that he met Miss Mildred Sinclair, whom he afterward returned to wed. He taught for a number of years at Manassas and then they moved to Baltimore where for 35 years he held the position of instructor in mathematics at the noted business college. He wrote a number of textbooks on mathematics and used these in teaching. At the age of 72 years he completed his most notable book on the subject, and it was rewarded with much success, the Board of Education of Baltimore requesting him to write another dealing with the subject in a more elementary way so that it could be used in the public schools. Shortly after completing this, in the Summer of 1914, he became ill and underwent an operation, from which he rallied and returned to work. Last Summer he underwent another operation and had since been unable to attend to his duties. Since Thanksgiving he had been confined to his room.

Mr. Will is survived by his wife and seven children, Mr. Allen Sinclair Will city editor of The Philadelphia Public Ledger, Mrs. John M. Norris of Baltimore, Mrs. D. S. Yates of Charlotte, Mr. Harry Will of Baltimore and Rev. Theodore S. Will of Elk Ridge, Md.

Mr. Will was known to a number of Charlotte people. He was a man of delightful personality, uniting genuine culture to genial manners and unaffected courtesy. His high ideals made him a genuine inspiration to young men and his intellectual acuteness and depth  made him a man worth knowing.

Wedding Wednesday: Foley/Combs (1895)

The Evening Star (Washington, DC)
November 23, 1895

A very pretty wedding took place at the residence of Mrs. S. F. Yates of Georgetown, D.C., on the night of November 20.  The contracting parties were Mr. Enoch F. Foley of Waterfall, Prince William county, and Miss Janie L. Combs of Mountain View, Fauquier county, Va., the ceremony being performed by the Rev. W. S. O. Thomas of Gay Street Baptist Church, Georgetown, D.C.  The bride wore a handsome dress of changeable silk, with pearl ornaments, and carried a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.  The flower bearer, Phoebe Moffet, a little miss of five years, attired in a gown of white tulle, carrying a bouquet of the same flowers, preceded the couple to the strains of Mendelsshon's wedding march.  The ceremony was performed under a bower of chrysanthemums, after which a reception was held from 8 until 10.  Mr. and Mrs. Foley left Thursday for their future home in Prince William county, Va.

Newspaper Tidbit: Independent Hill Items (4 May 1917)

Recently, a reader pointed out that I tend to post items to my blog that favor (a) the Lynn surname, (b) Brentsville, and/or (c) Independent Hill/Coles District.  That may well be true.  I try to cover the entire county and time periods, but I must admit to a certain bias toward all of the above.

In the case of the Lynn surname, that one's a bit obvious since it's who I hale from and the Lynn Family has been in the county since the early 1700's.  

Brentsville was the county seat for many years and there's a lot of history there worth noting.  The Brentsville Courthouse Historic Site was the first historic site I visited after I moved to the county (even before the Manassas Battlefield) and includes my favorite historic building in the county, the Brentsville Jail.   

As for the community of Independent Hill, that is where my grandfather, Earl Lynn, was born and where his parents and his ancestors lived during most of the 1800s/early 1900s.   Not surprisingly, I love coming across little "Local Items" in newspapers that give personality and depth to the lives of those who lived there. 

Manassas Journal
May 4, 1917

INDEPENDENT HILL

Mr. and Mrs. George Retzer, who spent the past winter in Baltimore with their daughter, Mrs. Graeff, have returned to Virginia and are visiting now at the home of Mrs. H. L. Hinton.

Mrs. George Lowe spent several days last week as the guest of Mrs. John Carter.

Mr. A. M. Yates, of Manassas was a visitor Sunday at the home of Mr. S. Long.

Mr. Carlton Hill, who attended Eastern College the past session has returned to his home to assist in putting in the spring crops.

Mrs. Nellie Keys has returned to Manassas, where she has been staying with Mrs. L. T. Bauserman.

Mr. Earl Lynn motored to Manassas Wednesday in his new motor car.

Mr. Clifton Storke spent a few days this week with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Storke.

Hayfield School and Civic League will hold its regular monthly meeting Friday, May 11, beginning at 8 o'clock.  Addresses will be made by Supt. Charles R. McDonald and Hon. C. J. Meetze.  Music and readings will be contributed by Misses Myrtle and Annabel Merrill and Miss Hattie Simpson and Messrs. George Oleyar, R. L. Hinton and Richard Thorp.