| The Algoma Log |
A copy of the Algoma Log has been on our shelf for years, unread because the handwritings
were so difficult to decipher. Last year, because of some success with other family records,
I felt challenged to tackle this one.
Algoma was the summer home of Genl. & Mrs. T. M. Logan of Chesterfield County and Richmond. It was one of several such retreats upriver from Scottsville, accessible by railroad from Richmond and by horseback from Charlottesville and elsewhere. The log gives a charming picture of life in a busy hospitable household. Family, guests, and neighbors come and go. Horses and farm life are of central importance. And we see a cluster of households, with an abundance of attractive young people drawn together in an enthusiastic social life. The log covers most of three summers, 1890 to 1893. Names familiar to me flood the pages. My husband’s father and mother did their courting from two of the neighborhood houses, and were married in late 1893. Many of our friends and relatives are descended from the young people we read of in these pages. I discovered that University students then were the distinguished elderly gentlemen I met when I came to Richmond as a bride in 1939. I had lots of help to put this together. Alan Bruns was invaluable, with his knowledge of the people and places. Much of Alan’s information came from Pauline Peters Word, of Dillwyn, who grew up near Axtell. Her uncle was farm manager of Algoma at the time of the deaths of Genl. and Mrs. Logan. My son Alfred has been both editor and producer. I made some arbitrary decisions about inconsistent spelling and have probably misread some of the difficult writing. We have done our best to identify people and hope the lists we have provided will help our readers to enjoy this agreeable little window on the past. Elizabeth P. Scott (Mrs. Frederic W.) The Algoma Log
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