Dr. Row in the Limelight

Dr. Elhanon Winchester Row

     Today I write my eighty-eighth post, which if nothing else proves that anyone with an internet connection and access to a trunk full of old papers can become a history blogger.
     A couple of years ago I wrote a piece about Elhanon Row, who has always been a favorite ancestor of mine: he was the first of my people to graduate from college, the first to graduate from medical school, the first to be elected to state office and the first to be president of the Medical Society of Virginia.
     So when the Orange County Historical Society approached me late last year to write something for their venerable newsletter, the Record, Dr. Row was a logical choice for subject matter. The Record enjoys a well deserved reputation for featuring high quality historical writing by gifted people. While I had every confidence that Elhanon deserved to be read by the Society's membership, I was also honest enough to know that my writing ability was not in the same league with their regular contributors. Orange County author and historian Frank Walker volunteered to spot weld some of the weaker portions of my narrative, and I am proud to say that this effort appears in the current number (Vol. 44, No. 1) of the Record, shown below. For those of you who read this to the end, the date that Dr. Row departed this life should read 23 May 1900. (Images can be clicked on for larger viewing.)
     To my readers who have a strong interest in local history in general and Orange County history in particular, I highly recommend the back issues of the Record, available on the website of the Orange County Historical Society.

Orange County Historical Society Record