Rachel Donelson Jackson, daughter of John Donelson and wife of President Andrew Jackson.
Published 2006 by the The History Press, Charleston, South Carolina. Index. 126pp. Paperback, 6.125 x 9.25 inches. ISBN: 1-59629-137-0.
In the dusky stillness of the seven counties that lie east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a rich history unfolds. In Southside Virginia: Echoing Through History, Herman Melton enticingly exposes his readers to vignettes exploring the colonial through World War II periods in this beautiful Virginia landscape.
As Melton delves into the world of Southside Virginia's inhabitants, we meet Carson Davenport, an artist who painted a mural as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's relief program for unemployed artists during the Great Depression. We learn about the life of a gristmill, an essential element of the region's economy, built by George Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's uncle, in the year Pittsylvania County was founded. In still another chapter of the Southside saga, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was converted into a World War II prison facility for German naval personnel.
Southside Virginia has both a tumultuous and illuminating history. From the suffocating blanket of slavery to the welcome changes of the Industrial Revolution, this area east of the Blue Ridge Mountains offers a story that spans the American experience. Using precise details and beautiful illustrations, Herman Melton weaves a story that readers will never forget.
Rachel Donelson Jackson, daughter of John Donelson and wife of President Andrew Jackson.
Herman and Helen Melton with Rick Dixon of Chatham Books, Chatham, Virginia.
Herman Melton has published six books and several monographs on various topics in Southside Virginia history. He is a past president of the Pittsylvania Historical Society and was editor of its quarterly, The Pittsylvania Packet, for four years.
As an amateur writer/historian, he has been the recipient of grants for research and writing as an independent Scholar in Residence at the Center of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Melton is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and holds a Masters Degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife Helen, who is a published author of historical fiction, were longtime residents of Chatham, Virginia, and now reside in Newberry, South Carolina.
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