A Guide to the Douglass Family Collection, 1887-1945 #M 103,VC 0065

Biographical Information

The Douglass, Strother, and Love families, related by marriage, lived in Loudoun and Fauquier counties.

Martha Strother (17 January 1892-13 November 1969), the daughter of William H. Strother (1849-1894) and Nancy D. Anderson (1864-1898), was born in Fauquier County, VA, and raised by her maternal grandmother Martha A. Roberts Anderson (20 November 1835-9 July 1911) following the death of her parents. On 14 November 1917, she married John Moore Douglass (30 November 1888-14 January 1947), with whom she had three children: John Moore (b. 1918), James Edwards (Ned) (15 June 1920-29 January 1985), and Martha Anne (b. 1930). John Moore Douglass owned and operated Aldie Mill, a historically significant Loudoun County mill now owned by the state of Virginia operating from 1807-1971, until his death in 1947. Martha Strother Douglass was a member of the Aldie Presbyterian Church and the Aldie Horticultural Society until 1948 when she moved to Chevy Chase, MD. Before her death in 1969, she moved back to Aldie, VA.

George S. Cable (22 July 1858-26 June 1928) was a merchant in Fauquier Country. He married Lula H. Anderson (4 September 1869-4 March 1888) on 8 September 1886, and was Martha Strother's uncle by marriage. He had one child, Lula Anderson Cable (2 March 1888-19 September 1894) who died at the age of 7. Following the death of his wife and his daughter, George Cable married Catherine Rogers Green, known as "Katie," (12 August 1870-4 October 1932), on 20 June 1895, with whom he had three children.

Catharine E. Strother (1892-1940), known as "Kate," was the daughter of George Thomas Strother (1855-1923) and Lou Bayly (1866-1944). She was a paternal first cousin to Martha Strother.

William Smith Strother (21 May 1882-19 September 1972) was the son of James Lewis Strother (1850-1916) and Mary Elizabeth Smith (1849-1917). On 8 January 1919, he married Louis Henrietta Delaplane (26 June 1889-8 February 1984) and had two children. Originally a farmer in Fauquier County, he later taught at the Millard Prep School in Washington D.C. He was a paternal first cousin to Martha Strother.

The Fenton Mercer Love family lived in Jefferson, Loudoun County in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Fenton Mercer Love (9 June 1853-13 May 1935) was a farmer. He and his wife, Gertrude Temple Woolf Love (15 April 1853-24 May 1934), had five sons. Andrew Morris Love (August 1883-1 June 1943) was a farmer, and married Ruth H. Grubb (December 1885-1 June 1943), with whom he had two children, Sara (b. 28 May 1919) and James (1921-1 June 1943). On 1 June 1943, Thomas William Clatterbuck (10 April 1910-16 June 1944) murdered Andrew Morris Love, his wife, and his son in a debt dispute. Ernest Temple Love (24 May 1885-13 March 1966) moved to New York City and then to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he married, had one son, and became a successful banker. Fenton Mercer Love (February 1887-16 August 1964) married and became a farmer, joining the Lovettsville Farmers Club. James Woolf Love (1 Nov 1889-27 May 1924) was a soldier in World War I, stationed in France. Oscar M. Love (2 May 1892-5 January 1977) moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and became a banker, marrying and having five children.

James Edwards Douglass (15 June 1920-29 January 1985) was a son of John Moore Douglass and Martha Strother Douglass, and worked at Aldie Mill until World War II started. Joining the army on 14 May 1942, he was a bomber pilot in Italy and attained the rank of sergeant. He flew twenty-one missions before he was wounded in the left eye on 16 November 1944. After several months of treatment, both on the warfront and the home front, he was released from the Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania. In 1945, he separated from the military after 3 years, 4 months of service. He owned and operated Aldie Mill until it closed in 1971.

Scope and Content

This collection is generally grouped into three parts: Martha Strother’s papers, the Love family papers, and James Edwards Douglass’s papers. It contains letters and postcards, military papers and pamphlets, and photographs. This collection is arranged chronologically by recipient. The accompanying visual collection designation describes where each visual item is located in the collection.

The first part of the collection contains handwritten letters and postcards received by Martha Strother primarily from 1911-1913 when she was in her early twenties, although there are four earlier letters in the collection dating from 1906 to 1910. The letters were written to Martha Strother from a wide circle of acquaintances and family members, covering a variety of topics from recent news and visiting invitations to thank you notes and declarations of love.

Besides letters and postcards, the collection contains two small, undated, unidentified photographs and some handwritten copies of popular songs and poetry from the early 1900s.

There is one undated note, and one Christmas postcard from 1910 to Mrs. Anderson, who presumably is Martha's grandmother.

There is one letter to George S. Cable dated 7 September 1887 from H. M. Kingsley, owner of the Kingsley Brothers Loudoun Valley Creamery in Hamilton, VA, saying Burr Hamilton (9 July 1828-6 September 1895) could make a mill more profitable.

There are two postcards to Catharine E. Strother, dated 1911 and 23 January 1913. The 1911 postcard wishes her a Merry Christmas, and the 1913 postcard asks her to pick the sender up from the train station.

There is one postcard to William Smith Strother dated 7 September 1911 from Nancy.

The second part of the collection contains handwritten letters and postcards from Ernest and James Love to their parents Fenton and Gertrude Love, as well as assorted letters from friends and family. James wrote all his letters to his parents and younger brother Oscar telling them about army life when he was fighting in World War I, and sent home picture postcards of France. Additionally, there are six government-issued World War II ration books from 1942 used by Andrew Morris Love and his family, one letter from Sara Love to her parents, and a copy of one letter to John Moore Douglass from his brother James Edwards.

The third part of the collection contains handwritten and typed letters mailed in 1945 to James Edwards Douglass from army friends while he was in recovery. In this group there are also some blotters from the 1940s with pictures of women painted on them. Additionally, there are many government documents regarding the release of soldiers from the army, including information booklets with instructions for re-integrating into civilian life and some forms for filing a claim with the National Service Life Insurance. This group contains three pictures taken while James Edwards Douglass was in Italy, one of which is a picture of him and his army friends.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Ancestry Library, www.ancestrylibrary.com, accessed 16 July 2014.

Baird, Nancy, Carol Jordan, and Joseph Scherer. Fauquier County [Virginia]: Tomb Inscriptions, volumes 1 & 2 . Westminster, MD. Heritage Books, Inc, 2000.

Douglass Family Collection (M 103), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Duncan, Patricia B. Fauquier County, Virginia: Marriage Register 1883-1906. Westminster, MD. Heritage Records, 2008.

Fishback, Mary. Interview with Sara Love Douglass, 14 July 2014.

Loudoun County Virginia Military Separation Notices, 1918-1995 (M 004), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Loudoun Restoration and Preservation Society, 1968-2009, (M 094), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority: Aldie Mill Historic Park, http://www.nvrpa.org/park/aldie_mill_historic_park, accessed 8 July 2014.

Obituary, Loudoun-Times Mirror , 20 August 1964.

Obituary, Loudoun-Times Mirror , 2 June 1966.

Obituary, Loudoun Times-Mirror , 20 November 1969.

Obituary, Loudoun-Times Mirror , 20 January 1977.

Scheel, Eugene M. Loudoun Discovered: Communities, Corners, and Crossroads, volume four. Leesburg, VA. The Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, 2002.

Swartwout, Ashley. Interview with Brenda Douglass, 14 July 2014.

Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Aldie Mills. Richmond VA. Virginia Outdoors Foundation, 1983.

www.findagrave.com, accessed 21 July 2014.

Other Finding Aid

Past Perfect Catalogue records

Technical Requirements

None

Other Finding Aid

Bibliography