Reliving History Legacy Fund
The new Legacy Fund will help provide continued restoration, preservation, and programming in perpetuity . . . that means for a very long time or forever . . . which ever comes first.
To contribute:
Make check payable to:
The Peter Burr House
Specify that the contribution is for:
the Legacy Fund
Mail to:
Reliving History, Inc.
68 West Side Avenue
Hagerstown, MD 21740
After your contribution is recorded, it will be endorsed over to (or deposited and reissued to) the Eastern WV Community Foundation for the Reliving History Fund.
Dear People, The Peter Burr House is a wonderful treasure that has
survived almost 260 years. It has lasted longer than the stone
structures built in this area. Additions were added twice, once during
approximately the time of the Revolutionary Was and again in the early
1800's. Not only is this treasure the oldest wooden frame structure in
the state, but it also is among the oldest structures that remain
structurally unchanged for almost 200 years.
If you want info about other ways you can support this effort Contact Us
News Article – The Journal, Oct 9, 2009
Reliving History
Inc. sets up fund
By John McVey, Journal
Staff Writer
MARTINSBURG - When Joyce
Cole first stepped into the Peter Burr House in Kearneysville about five years
ago, she could feel that her DNA had been involved in building the circa 1751
wood-frame home.
Cole is a direct descendent of Peter Burr
through his youngest son, William Burr, who moved to Logan County, Ky.
The elder Burr is Cole's
great-great-great-great-grandfather. Her mother's maiden name was Burr.
"I didn't know the
house existed," the Nashville, Tenn., native said in a recent interview.
"How many other Burr descendants didn't know about the house?"
Cole, who now lives in
Hagerstown, Md., decided something had to be done to expose the Burr House to
the Burr family.
"They needed to see the
house," she said.
So, last October, about 40
descendants of Peter Burr held a family reunion at the home, which is believed
to be the oldest standing wood-frame house in West Virginia.
Out of that initiative, Reliving
History Inc. has grown.
"I had a desire to do
something to make sure the house lives another 258 years," Cole said.
"I want to bring life to that time period - 1750 to 1800."
With the help of several
local residents, including Burr descendants Betty Lowe of Shepherdstown and
Kitty Jackson of Ranson, she founded Reliving History Inc. to present the
history of that day through "the eyes that saw history in the
making," she said.
Before retiring and moving
to this area, Cole worked for the American Red Cross of Tennessee for several
years, recruiting volunteers and planning the state chapter's programs - a
perfect training ground for her current undertaking.
Before that, she was a
bookkeeper for 25 years, she said.
"I'm eccentric,
also," Cole said with a smile.
In her vision, Reliving
History will have a cast of characters portraying not only Peter Burr and his
family - he had 11 children by two wives - but historical figures of the
period, who would have known Burr and been familiar with his home. People like
Charles Washington, the founder of Charles Town, and Robert Harper, the founder
of Harpers Ferry, both of whom settled in what would become Jefferson County at
about the same time as Burr, would be brought back to life.
Cousin of the notorious Aaron
Burr, Peter's home is owned by the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks
Commission and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
While the longstanding
Friends of Peter Burr organization conducts living history presentations
exclusively on site, recreating an 18th century farmstead with The Peter Burr
Living History Farm, Cole wants to take the Reliving History portrayals into
the community to put the Peter Burr and his home within the context of the
region and the time, she explained.
"For the house to have
value, the historic period must be strengthened," she said.
The period she refers to is
the Colonial/Early American. She said it is little appreciated, overshadowed as
it is by Civil War history, but it is especially rich in this area.
To finance the living
history programs and further protect historic properties, the Reliving History
Fund was recently established with the Eastern West Virginia Community
Foundation, Cole said.
"Through the fund,
local people and family members can invest in the house so that it is protected
in perpetuity. I just love that word - perpetuity," she said.
The Eastern West Virginia
Community Foundation, founded in 1995, provides financial stewardship for more
than 125 endowment funds, distributing grants and scholarships each year,
Executive Director Amy Owen explained in a recent interview.
Endowment funds are financed
through donations and money bequeathed to endowment funds through individual's
wills, she said. Because the funds are commingled, even small contributions are
able to accrue considerable interest, she said.
When a fund reaches $5,000,
it is fully endowed, Owen said. The Reliving History Fund is working toward
that goal.
In the meantime, Cole is
preparing for next year's Burr Family Homecoming at the Burr's ancestral
homestead, which will be in October 2010, although the exact date has not yet
been set and she is contacting more Burr descendants, she said. She has been
able to get in touch with the descendants of six of the 11 children, all the
sons, but none of the daughters.
"Reliving History's
programs will get into the minds of the people who saw history," Cole
said.
_____________________________
Fact Box
Reliving History
Fund:
Contributions for the fund can be made payable to the
Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, clearly marked for the Reliving
History Fund, and mailed to EWVCF at 229 E. Martin St., Suite 4, Martinsburg,
WV 25401
_____________________________
____
The Journal, 207 W. King Street, P.O. Box 807, Martinsburg, WV
25402-0807. 304-263-8931
Error Correction: Peter Burr had 13 rather than 11 children, and the Peter Burr Society has to date located descendants of 6 of those 13 children including from the 3 sons who had descendants and from 3 of the daughters.We also know the other son, Moses, had no descendants. Any information that helps us to locate other descendants will be greatly appreciated.
NOTE: Anyone wishing to contribute directly to the Reliving History Fund by sending your check directly to the EWVCF, be aware this method, while faster and certainly permissable, by-passes our accounting process. In addition to not knowing who is supporting the fund, it also prevents us from the ability to make sure the check is designated clearly to the correct fund.
If you want info about other ways you can support our various efforts, Contact Us
