Lyceum: Historian & Author Taylor Chamberlin

Join us for a fascinating discussion by Waterford historian and author Taylor Chamberlin about his hew book “My Old Carpetbagger,”  which uses the story of his great-grandparents to reveal new aspects about Virginia and national history. Capt. Simon Elliot Chamberlin and Edith Matthews met at the end of the Civil War, when the Union Cavalry officer was provost marshal at Point of Rocks and the teen-aged Quaker was still reeling from the devastation of the family farm (Clifton) outside Waterford.  Beginning with the Taylors of Taylorstown and the Govers of Waterford, Edith’s family played a prominent, if not always exemplary role in Loudoun’s Quaker community and would pay heavily for its support of abolition and the Union.

“Although Clifton would remain an anchor for the family throughout Reconstruction and the turbulent years beyond, Simon Elliot’s career as farmer, political activist and Federal employee would take him from chairmanship of Virginia’s Republican Party to sugar plantations in Cuba and British Guyana, with many an adventure in between. Copies of Taylor’s book will be available after the program, and the author will give another talk to the Lovettsville Historical Society on June 9 that will focus more on Simon Elliot’s Civil War service and brief stint in the U.S. Cavalry.”

June 2, 2024

3:00 pm

Waterford Old School, Auditorium

40222 Fairfax St.

Waterford, VA 20197

Event organized by Waterford Foundation’s Education Committee