Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
A new book published by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, Death Notices in Extant Issues of the Rockingham Register by Dr. Dorothy Boyd-Bragg, has an Augusta Free Press Publishing touch. Work on the layout and cover design for the book was done by AFP Publishing.
The book is a valuable new resource for historians and genealogists for Rockingham County and surrounding areas. The Rockingham Register was not merely a local paper but was a well-respected regional paper. As such, it published information about residents of surrounding counties such as Augusta, Shenandoah and Page Counties as well as notices of former residents who had moved west. During most of this period, reporting deaths to county officials was not mandatory. Brief notices in the newspaper may be the only source of death dates for many of the people who died during these years.
Death notices for former Valley residents give many details on their lives while living in the valley and later. For instance, there was Joseph B. Alltaffar, aged 24 years, who died in Bridgewater in 1860. He had lived in Montgomery, Alabama for five years before contracting tuberculosis and coming home to die. Or Samuel W. Bowman, who died in 1863 in the 31st year of his age. “He removed to Missouri a few years ago, and was engaged in teaching school when the present war was commenced ….”
Deaths of former soldiers and active soldiers were reported. Revolutionary War soldiers, War of 1812 soldiers, and two Mexican War soldiers are in this book. Deaths of numerous Civil War soldiers were reported in the newspaper, many with explicit details. For instance, John Charles Wittig was shot through the hip at Jeffersonton in 1863 but died five days later. His remains were recovered by his father and reinterred in Rockingham County. Other soldiers such as Joseph Thomas Bumbgardner died of diseases contracted during military service.
Whatever your interest in Valley history—genealogy, Civil War research, or general history, this book is a must-have for your collection. Death Notices is available now. In paperback with over 300 pages, it is $23.99 plus sales tax and shipping. To order, call the Historical Society at 540 879-2616 or write HRHS, P.O. Box 879, Dayton, VA 22821.
