history’s stories:concerning dogs

history’s stories

By Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks & Keith Littlefield

FREDERICKSBURG DOG TAGS

I started metal detecting for Civil War artifacts in 1956 and was in the group of the early relic hunters to search camps and battlefields this was less than one hundred years after the Civil War had ended. Keith started in 1973 and the searching is more difficult, even as metal detector technology has gotten more sophisticated.

In additional to finding Civil War relics, the Pandora's Box of metal readings occasionally turns up a simple, small brass plate with the letters "C.F." and a date stamped into it. It is a City of Fredericksburg dog tag; many diggers do not know what this is. The earliest Fredericksburg dog tax was in 1784, and the 1871 City Ordinance chapter on "Concerning Dogs" provides valuable historical context. After paying "the tax on dogs" the dog owner was given "a collar with a piece of metal attached thereto, stamped with the letters C.F., and also the year in which the collar was issued." The earliest known C.F. dog tag is from 1853. These tags were made locally by William Bell - his hallmark "W.H. BELL" is engraved on each one. They are very scarce and very crude. The town mayor was authorized by Town Council to keep a record of the tag numbers and who they were issued to, so perhaps these unique tags can be traced back to their owner if the ledgers can be located.

William J. Bone's 1993 book on "Pre-1900 Dog License Tags" list the following dates for C.F. Dog Tags: 1886, 1887, 1889, and 1892, the shapes different for each year. Dr. Bone notes that "all pre-1900 dog license tags qualify as uncommon and most are rare." In his 30-year-old benchmark, his rarity numbers reflect the number known, and are either (rarity) R1 or R2 for C.F. dog tags. Given the City's $1 fine for not being licensed, failure to pay the fine also resulted in the death of the dog. Clearly the Fredericksburg licensed dog population was robust, but we believe that since dog tags are found locally, many citizens simply do not know what these metal tags are. The census is clearly incomplete by a lack of knowledge and given encouragement by relic hunter Michael Littlefield (Keith's identical twin brother), that was the impetus for this article.

There are many known dog tag collectors in the area and many relic hunters that have found a Fredericksburg dog license. Other known pre-1900 C.F. city Fredericksburg) dates are: 1870 (CF on reverse), 1883, 1884, 1885, 1888, 1890, 1891.

The authors would appreciate knowing about other C.F. dog tags that you may have to help update the census. Please contact Tuffy or send him a picture. ("Tuffy" and Keith both have a vast collection of early Fredericksburg artifacts)

Ddedicated to: Stuart Heubi, Anne Brauer, Billy Noddleton, and FR. Ron Okrasinski

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

OUR HERITAGE

the waller family

By Nancy Moore

The Wallers were among the first leaders in Spotsylvania County. John Waller came to Virginia from England in 1695 and settled near the Mattaponi River in what is now King William County. He turned his sights to Spotsylvania County in 1722 when Alexander Spotswood appointed him to serve as clerk of the court.

Waller built a home that he called Newport, after his birthplace in England. He was soon elected to the first vestry of St. George ' s Parish and became senior warden. He was also one of seven trustees of the newly created town of Fredericksburg.

For the first 64 years of the county's history, members of the Waller family filled the clerk's office position. But then it was time for another adventure for the family.

Historian Paula Felder, writing about John Waller, said: "Certainly, he could not have imagined that within fifteen years of his death, his own namesake would aggressively plant a church in the Baptist faith which would weaken and ultimately destroy his beloved Mattapony Church."

That namesake, known in his youth as "Swearing Jack" Waller, became a Baptist at a time when Virginia law forbade preaching by anyone except ministers of the Church of England. "Swearing Jack," born in 1741, spent his younger days gambling and persecuting Baptists. However, as a member of a county grand jury that indicted Lewis Craig for his Baptist preaching, Waller was impressed by the defendant's demeanor and speech. Soon afterward, he began attending Baptist meetings and was ordained pastor of the Church of Lower Spotsylvania in 1770. He, Craig, and several other Baptists were arrested at that church in 1768. They were jailed when they refused to stop preaching.

The second notable Waller minister was the Rev. Absalom Waller, born in 1772. He was Swearing Jack Waller's nephew and succeeded his uncle as pastor of the Church of Lower Spotsylvania, later named Waller ' s Church in honor of the two early pastors. John Waller and other early Baptist ministers lobbied for the right to preach-a right that was finally granted with the passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom in 1786.

The Wallers gained new prominence in the 1970s with the publication of Alex Haley ' s Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The novel, which Haley based on the story of his own family, was published in 1976. Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured and sold into slavery in Africa. He was sold at the port of Annapolis, Maryland, to John Waller of Spotsylvania in 1767.

The television version of Roots, starring LeVar Burton, was wildly popular at the time. The Free Lance-Star was on hand when Haley and Burton visited the county to film a sequel, "Roots: A Second Look." Retired District Court Judge Absalom Nelson Waller, Jr., (note the family name) took them to the gravesite of his ancestor, John Waller, bringing the family story back to its roots.

Nancy Moore is a Board Member, Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. and Virginiana Manager at Central Rappahannock Regional Library. Lithograph US Army Corp of Topograhic Engineers & Army of the Potomac courtesy of Library of Congress