Should the role of a historian be altered by their Christian worldview? Should their work reflect their perspectives? The answers to these questions are debated at length within the realm of academia. However, I believe there must exist a fine line between objective analyzation of the past and the Christian’s frame of reference. As John Fea suggests, a Christian may use their scriptural understanding “to enhance historical” interpretations but should refrain from using scripture to explicitly define the reasons for certain events occurring. (1) Individuals are not, as error-prone humans, capable of knowing God’s plan; their explanations would always fall short. Nevertheless, historians can use the past as a way to teach moral lessons and to inspire the people of today. The historian should be detached to a certain extent and abstain from emphasizing any particular bias or discernment regarding someone’s character based on their actions. Those that are influenced by a historian’s ...
Let's talk Ellwood Manor... Roughly seventy years, after Spotsylvania was established, a beautiful manor house was built by a man named William Jones. The exact year is unknown, but it was sometime around 1790. This house will come to hold the memories of families, enslaved people, generals, doctors, and war-torn soldiers. It's been a place where generals lie their heads and mothers sing their children to sleep. William Jones built the home with his wife Betty Churchill Jones. William, Betty, and their daughter Hannah, called the house and it's adjoing 5,000 acres home. Sadly, Betty passed away in 1823. William, now a widower, went about his life for five years before marrying again. This time it would be to his grand-niece, Lucinda Gordon. She was 16 and he was 77. William's oldest daughter, Hannah, married John Coulter and together they made Chatham Manor home, after living in Richmond for a short while. An intersting note about Hannah is that she wanted to fr...