This large family Bible and images belonged to the writer of the well-known book, “Glencoe Diary: The War Time Journal of Elizabeth Curtis Wallace”, Norfolk County, Virginia.

Elizabeth McIntosh Curtis was born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1816. She was educated at Cortland Female Seminary in Troy, New York. She married George Thomas Wallace (born in Norfolk County in 1812) on February 24, 1835. George was the son of William Wallace and Elizabeth Hall of Norfolk County. Elizabeth was the daughter of Mary Calvert Walke (of the Princess Anne County Walkes) and Drayton Mills Curtis. The Wallaces had seven children: Mary Elizabeth (known as Bettie), born in 1835; John Gallaudet, born in 1840; William Curtis, born in 1842; George Walke, born in 1845; Anne Curtis (known as Nannie), born in 1849; Katie Darling, born in about 1850; and George Hall who died as an infant. They lived at the family plantation home, Glencoe Manor, located on the Dismal Swamp Canal in southern Norfolk County in Deep Creek Virginia. The journal is a chronicle of plantation life in Norfolk County Virginia during the years of 1863 – 1864.  This very personal account of home and family life is quite significantly laced with events of historical importance. Elizabeth was one of the region’s most prominent citizens.  She kept a diary of her experiences during the war.  This diary records the anxiety and pain that the family and many others suffered during the Union occupation. Most impressive is the adaptability of Mrs. Wallace as she becomes no longer the attended lady of the plantation but rather must attend herself to the estate and its occupants. She had two sons who fought for the Confederacy- Captain John Gallaudet Wallace and Captain William Curtis Wallace. John enlisted on October 17, 1861 as a Captain and served in the Blanchard Grays, 7^th Virginia Battalion, 61^st Virginia Infantry, and Veteran Reserve Corps. He was wounded but survived the war and was paroled on May 5, 1865. William enlisted on July 11, 1861 as a 1^st Lieutenant and served in the Jackson Grays, 7^th Virginia Battalion and 61^st Virginia Infantry. He was severely wounded in the left leg and taken prisoner on August 19, 1864, had the leg amputated the following day, but died of his wound on August 22. He is buried in Poplar Grove National Military Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia. Elizabeth and George are both buried in Wallace Cemetery in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Bible measures 9 ½” x 12” x 4 ¼” and has a dark brown leather cover with gold embossing. Both front and back covers feature an image of the angels appearing to the shepherds in the field. Bible contains both the Old and New Testaments, the Apocrypha and Brown’s concordance. It was published in 1856 in Philadelphia. There are a dozen beautiful engravings of Biblical scenes, some colored. Edges of pages are gold gilt, which has retained its brightness. Binding is tight with no loose or missing pages. Cover is lightly distressed all over, especially on edges. There are a few small areas where outer layer has peeled off. About three-quarters of the way through are the family record pages, where births, marriages and deaths are recorded in beautiful handwriting.

There are two daguerreotype images which date to the 1850’s. Sixth plate image is of Elizabeth wearing a beautifully trimmed dress with decorative buttons down the front and a large white collar. Image is housed in a full pressed paper case, which is split. Case is lined in embossed red velvet. Case is worn on edges. Quarter plate image is of Elizabeth, George and two of their young children. Elizabeth is wearing a short sleeved striped dress with a large white collar, George is wearing a frock coat with vest, white shirt and cravat, and both children are in dresses. Image is in half pressed paper case which is worn on the edges. Both images are surrounded by decorative brass frames and have light oxidation. Images are clear with good contrast.

This is a wonderful grouping from a prominent woman who lived through the Civil War, and sacrificed a son for her home state of Virginia. Family and soldier histories accompany this grouping. [sm]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS,

CLICK ON ‘CONTACT US’ AT THE TOP OF ANY PAGE ON THE SITE,

THEN ON ‘LAYAWAY POLICY’.

THANK YOU!