Sons of the American Revolution present Silver Good Citizenship medals

On January 8, 2022, the Colonel James Wood II Chapter of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution, based in Winchester, presented a Silver Good Citizenship Medal to Ms. Ellen Gant of Middletown and Mr. Jeffrey Taylor of Strasburg. This medal recognizes outstanding and unusual patriotic achievement and service.

Color guard members with the awardees, Thomas “Chip” Daniel, Doug Hall, Allan Phillips, Marc Robinson, Ellen Gant, Jeff Taylor and Dale Corey. Photos courtesy of Thomas “Chip” Daniel.

Ms. Gant and Mr. Taylor research and restore African-American cemeteries and grave sites. Of particular note was the work they performed at the Henrico Baltimore Cemetery in Reliance which was used from as early as 1781 to the 1930s by the African-American community. They uncovered 198 graves, restored the cemetery, erected signage, a split rail fence and a kiosk with a map and chart of the cemetery. Their efforts included clearing brush, removing fallen trees and resetting stones.

During their research, they located descendants from as far away as Harrisburg, PA, Ashburn and others from the Shenandoah Valley. In addition, they have worked on the restoration of the Old Georgetown Cemetery in Mt Jackson. This includes graves dating from 1885 – 1995 and additionally found 12 slave grave sites. They have begun work at the Sugar Hill Cemetery in White Post which includes army veterans from World War I who were among the first black engineers to arrive in France in 1918.

The efforts of Gant and Taylor in uncovering history in the African-American Community have impacted families from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The ceremony was held at the Wayside Inn, Middletown, Virginia. Chapter President Marc Robinson presented the awards with support from chapter members, David Carpenter, Sean Carrigan, Paul Christensen, Dale Corey, Thomas “Chip” Daniel, Lew Ewing, Doug Hall, and Allan Phillips.

Marc Robinson presenting the awards to Ellen Gant and Jeff Taylor.