Miss Sally - Great Great Grandma Sara Kennedy Eakle

"Miss Sally of Shenandoah"

In Shenandoah’s woods, where berries grow, 

Miss Sally climbed for nuts in trees so tall, 

With friends beside her, answering nature's call, 

Amid the hills where gentle rivers flow. 

She drove the cows, her father’s pride and joy, 

Milking and churning, hands so deft and true, 

Her laughter bright as skies of morning blue, 

A farmer’s daughter, filled with simple joy. 

Yet when the war’s dark winds began to blow,

Her heart turned cold, a hatred took its place, 

For Lincoln’s name brought sorrow to her face, 

But still her love for home refused to go. 

In Shenandoah’s heart, she left her mark, 

A light that shines through history’s shadowed dark.

"Miss Sally's War"

Beneath a Southern sky where green once grew,

The troops marched on, their boots a bitter song,

Through fields now trampled, torn by battle's wrong,

The land she loved was lost to Northern hue.

Her childhood home, now haunted by the dead,

The laughter stilled, replaced by cannon's roar,

Each soldier’s step upon the blood-soaked floor,

Her heart grew heavy, filled with endless dread.

The slaves she knew, with tearful eyes, were gone,

Their fate unknown, their future full of fear,

And Sally’s hate for Lincoln’s name grew near,

Her world undone, her father's farm withdrawn.

But still she cared, for wounded men she bled,

And on she pressed, though hope and joy had fled.

These poems were generated from the following stories found on familysearch.org

Gently rolling verdant hills, lowlands covered with a luxuriant growth of wild meadow grass; higher hills with an abundant growth of timber (maple, walnut, oak, spruce) with walnut, hazel, hickory, chestnuts and chinquapin nuts without measure. Everywhere a tangled mass of wild grass, blackberry briars and fragrant honeysuckle vines; trails glowing with bright red strawberries and brilliant yellow coreopsis. Small lazy streams from the hillsides converging to form a beautiful river and, as if shutting off all this beauty from the rest of the world, a long distinct range of mountains perpetually shrouded in a haze of blue. This was the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in its virgin state, the haunt of Indians, snakes and wild animals.

Weary, oft driven, persecuted immigrants from foreign shores, who had reached the new land of freedom, found little comfort or opportunity for growth in the new crowded towns near the seacoast and soon their inherent desire for advancement impelled them to seek a haven in the open, uninhabited country inland. Willingly they braved the wilderness with all it’s unexplored secrets and danger that they might establish for themselves and loved ones a permanent abode of independence and future opportunities.

The description of the Shenandoah Valley was given at the beginning of our sketch will apply to this farm in particular. It’s broad acres had all the beautiful things mentioned: meadows, pastures, timber, etc. The meadows furnished feed for the cattle, horses and hogs; the pasture produced mutton and wool; better land was cultivated and planted to grain, corn, sugarcane and vegetables; large fruits came from the orchard and berries grew wild along fences and among the timber which was cut for lumber for building and for fuel for the five fireplaces in the home and use in the smoke houses. 

Nutting parties in the fall on this farm provided all of that kind of food the family and their neighbors could use. A flock of between three and four hundred chickens produced eggs and poultry meat. Pillows and ticks were filled with feathers from the geese, turkeys used for special occasions. Milk was made into cheese, cream into butter and the skim milk fed to calves and pigs. Fall was butchering time when twenty hogs were usually killed, the meat cured and the lard rendered. Ice was harvested in the winter and stored for summer use. A beef or sheep was killed to provide fresh meat was needed.

Wool was sheared, washed, carded, spun into yarn for stockings, shawls etc. or woven into clothes for wearing apparel or bedding.

This farm with much hard work was practically self-sustaining. With the assistance of always one and sometimes two hired women to help in the house and two Negro men to do outside chores, the place was well cared for until fall when it was necessary to have more help to take care of the butchering, harvesting of grain and hay and the taking of the cattle to market.

Sarah Catherine, or Miss Sally as she was known by her family and friends, spent an exceedingly happy childhood. Mr. Eakle's farm was surrounded by a wooden fence, which was made by crossing two logs and placing a third on top. Frequent heavy rains caused a luxuriant growth of vegetation of all kinds. Wild berry bushes flourished especially well and about 200 acres of this beautiful estate was wooded with them, thebushes bravely crowding them- selves among the heavy timber. This was a favorite rendezvous for Miss Sally and her friends, especially at nutting time when they could enjoy the delicious nuts as well as the luscious berries. Often they would take a lunch and hike to the woods to spend the day, sometimes bringing home berries to preserve and nuts to store for winter. She loved to climb the trees for hazel and hickory nuts. Most of the chestnuts were gathered in the timber on the farm of Uncle James and Aunt Sally, which was located in Nelson County.

However, Miss Sally's childhood was not completely vested in parties to the woods. Although her father was considered wealthy, there were chores to be done in spite of the fact that there were hired helpers. As a girl she drove the cows home from the field and helped to feed and milk them whenever necessary, giving her services cheerfully. Her hands were very often clasped on the handle of the large wooden pump pushing

desperately to supply the stock with water. When she was big enough the task of helping to milk the cows was added to her chore routine. So diligently and faithfully did she do her work that her father often called her his "best helper".

On Sally's father's estate they raised a great many cattle to sell. At certain times of the year he gathered a herd and drove it to Richmond or some other large city. One time, after Miss Sally had become a young lady, he mounted one of his fine horses and drove a herd of cattle to Richmond. When he returned, he brought her a beautiful dress for which he had paid one hundred and twenty-five dollars. This was after the Civil War and he

used Confederate money.

They also raised grain and planted corn on the hillsides. Enough sugar cane was grown to supply the family with molasses and, like all other southern families, this one had its pork.

Henry Eakle hired a great many Negroes, besides the three he had inherited, to help him-- but they were never regarded as slaves! Their welcome to the "big house" was just as sincere as the welcome of white friends. The children played together, were educated together, ate together and were never forgotten by any of Master Eakle's household. One Negro was named "Winey".

Miss Sally's father had an intense admiration for fine riding horses. He owned a great many thoroughbred "beauties". Sally delighted to ride. She sometimes accompanied her father on his ride over the estate to announce plans to his employees. Her prowess with horses did not stop with the ability to ride because she was master of the driving team also. Once while riding in a carriage with a neighbor, the horses became restless. "Let me drive them," she coaxed. The team soon quieted and the praise given her by the owner was highly complimentary. He said that she was equal to a Philadelphia stage driver.

Sally helped her mother also. Her hand soon became accustomed to churning cream in a large wooden churn. To her the difficult task of cheese making was merely a common occurrence. Perhaps the thing she liked most was to aid in the making of molasses from sugar cane and maple syrup from maple sap. There was always singing and story telling during these activities. There was also the lye leaching, soap making, knitting, braiding

straw hats and a dowry that certainly showed some skill as an embroiderer. She now has an underskirt of some four yards, which she embroidered by hand. 

Because the Eakle home had ceased to be an inn it did not lose any of its graciousness. Every Saturday Miss Sally helped her mother and the hired women to prepare chicken, ham, cakes, pies and many other good things to eat, for the callers that were sure to appear on Sunday. Many came to partake of the hospitality of Master Eakle.

When Miss Sally was about eight years of age, her mother and father made plans for her to attend school. They were education-loving people themselves, her mother being the writer of articles for the county paper and one of her grandfathers an authority on mathematics and grammar. It was arranged for her to attend a small school near their home. After spending a year or two here, she walked or rode about two miles to enter a

higher "reader". At this time students were graded according to the reader that they studied. Sally was required to read the Bible as well as her other books. Her arithmetic and vague geography and history assignments she accomplished with success and without complaint. The thing, which she most enjoyed, was the weekly spelling bee. It made her happy to display her unusual ability at this game. She usually won the match!

After Miss Sally had finished her fifth reader there was no school on or near the plantation to which she might go. There were other things to occupy her mind and time now and her education was not to be resumed until some years later. It is true that during Miss Sally's childhood she played and enjoyed the good and beautiful to the utmost. She built for herself an enviable personality and the smile, which accompanied her willingness to serve, made all, who knew her love her. Then came the great national crisis, which pierced the hearts of so many of those noble Southerners. It stabbed like a sword of destiny and to the soul of the eleven year old Sally it brought a new strange and deep hatred. (Note: Feeling that President Abraham Lincoln was the cause of the strife and Civil War, she hated him through out her entire life.)

Civil War

Here were her friends, relatives and fellow countrymen engaged in stifling chaos with those Northerners who seemed to be heartlessly bringing them to economic ruin. Uglier still were the thoughts that their homeland was in immediate danger. Day after day troops of soldiers marched over their beautiful estate. Day after day the lifelessness of the surrounding country, which had once been so green and productive, haunted her young

mind. After the Battle of Piedmont for a whole day the northern armies, wagons and artillery and extra horses went along the road. The cavalry and part of the infantry went on the east of their house and the rest of the infantry went on the west side through the fields leaving everything destroyed.

The Emancipation Proclamation tore from them those faithful Negroes whose admiration for their master and his household had matured to love. They left with broken hearts and tear stained eyes knowing nothing of where they were going or how they were going to exist. How Sally's hate grew and grew! She hated the North, but she hated Lincoln more. Why had he robbed them of everything? Hadn't he forced her Negro friends to go out into the world with nothing--absolutely nothing to look forward to? He and his Northern "demons" might have at least arranged some way to care for them and provide them with the necessities of life to help them mend their broken hearts .........! 

Still the soldiers continued to tramp by - wagons, artillery, supplies and wounded men. Many of the wounded rested themselves on the Eakle lawn. Miss Sally carried pail after pail of water and helped the doctors dress the wounds of the suffering. The best of their cattle and horses were taken in forced exchange for those worn, weary animals of the army.

One day out of the midst of an unusual stillness there came a General with his army. As their approach neared it was decided that they were a larger group than those who had previously marched. When they reached the barn they stopped and unloaded as if preparing to stay for the night. Sally was helping to care for the wounded soldiers when the General found her father. "We're going to station the cannon on the west side of your barn".  "You can't do that. It will just blow my barn to pieces and you'll have to retreat anyway", pleaded Henry Eakle.

"The cannon will be stationed on the west side of your barn!" retorted the General.

Loss of the barn and an immediate turmoil meant loss of home and all possessions, which were left. Therefore Mother Eakle gathered and all of the family papers small moveable valuables together in an old carpet bag. Miss Sally and her brothers, Filmore and Edgar,

were sent to the neighbors with the bag and were told to stay there until someone came for them. Mother Eakle and the smaller children went to stay at the home of other neighbors.

Here again Sally's heart leaped--they were destroying the beautiful home in which her fathers had dwelled for three generations! Had they no feelings!! Early the next afternoon the figure of a man on a galloping steed became fixed in the eyes of those frightened little outcasts. As it neared it could be detected that it was their father! It did not take long for them to discover that the General had finally come to the realization that their barn was not the place to station the cannon after all. And then the war was over! Yes, the guns had ceased to boom and the soldiers had discontinued their weary march, but in the mind of Miss Sally hatred for the war and its great hero was never to cease. Reconstruction began but it was many years before the beautiful old mansion, its surroundings, and in fact, their very lives seemed to take on in any way their old grandeur. But on they must go, brave hearts making history. Time was changing material things but it left lasting impressions upon a girl who was now growing into her teens.

After the hard hours of toil, some kind of relief must be found. Young folks gathered for molasses candy pulls, popcorn parties, cornhusks, quilting bees and numerous other types of entertainment. They later served grand dinners and, in fact, did everything but dance.  They did not participate in this activity because their Presbyterian Church forbade it. Sally was always a most gracious hostess.