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Allison's distant relative Frances Thorpe Waple
Annie Robertson Allison works to clear the Robertson-Kidwell family cemetery in Fairfax County, which had been overgrown.
In her costume room, Allison displays a pink parasol, a feather boa and dozens of custom-made hats and dresses, which she wears for special occasions.
Allison's ancestor Martin Van Buren Kidwell served with the Confederate Army and was captured at Gettysburg.
Annie Katherine Robertson Allison is shown at about age 3 at the Robertson family farm in Fairfax County.
In her search for the graves of distant relatives, |
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
ANNIE ROBERTSON ALLISON
"I'm a Southerner, but first I'm an American," said Allison, who is a member of the United Daughters
The UDC does have a flag protocol, according to Fredericksburg Chapter President Jill Simmons.
"We always include the American flag in all of our events and meetings. We say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the national anthem first during all of these events," Simmons said in an e-mail.
A controversy began, however, when Allison noticed that the American flag was being superseded by the Confederate flag at UDC ceremonies.
Most recently, at an Iron Cross ceremony honoring Confederate
"I raised a ruckus," Allison said
Allison didn't let that stop her. "I've got enough of my ancestors in me. I'm going to stand up to you. It's not a Yankee flag," she said.
The diminutive but feisty grandmother, who is visually impaired, took her beef to UDC President General Janice Langford.
Langford agreed, and in a letter published in the June/July issue of the UDC magazine reminded members to show their patriotism by supporting the Stars and Stripes.
"In all UDC programs and functions, the U.S. Flag is presented and allegiance is pledged to it. We love and revere our Confederate Flag, and we honor those who fought under it, but at the same time, as Americans, we pay total honor to the American Flag," she wrote.
Now, Allison says, the color guard must carry in the American flag first and continue to hold it during the ceremony.
Allison honors Old Glory not only because she had relatives in the Civil War. Another ancestor served in the Continental Army under Gen. George Washington. And her family history doesn't stop there. Allison traces her family tree as far back as Pocahontas.
"It really is a wonderful heritage," Allison said.
Born Aug. 14, 1937, in Fairfax County, Allison moved to Stafford with her family when she was a teenager. She met and married "the boy next door," Stuart Allison, and together they raised two daughters, Jan and Joyce.
The Allisons' home near Aquia Creek in Stafford is tucked away on a secluded wooded lot with ornamental rock gardens, cozy outdoor seating areas and concrete yard sculptures
Dressed in a flowing pink floral skirt, Annie Allison greets a visitor and quickly offers a tour. Every nook and cranny is occupied by some treasure. Louis XVI chairs share space with an antique spinning wheel. Porcelain dolls fill shelves and tables. Prints by the old masters--Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet--line the walls along with family photographs.
"I just love antiques--they tell a story," Allison says, pointing to her mother's china in a glass cabinet. Laughing over the potpourri, she describes herself as "eccentric, not crazy."
Another room holds her pride and joy, a collection of Victorian dresses and hats she wears for special occasions--usually UDC ceremonies or Red Hat Society meetings. With
FAMILY TREE
Allison and her family had always known that they were somehow related to the famous Indian princess Pocahontas. And she knew there was a Civil War soldier or two in her family tree. But in order to join the UDC, members are required to provide records of their lineage. About
Now, instead of antiques shops, she scours dusty archives, piecing together her family tree. The "antiques" she collects are birth and marriage certificates, letters, wills and photographs that tell the story
The proof she sought came in the form of great-granduncle Martin Van Buren Kidwell's service record, muster rolls and prisoner-of-war report, and a book titled "The 22nd Battalion Virginia Infantry" by Thomas M. Rankin.
Martin Kidwell enlisted in 1862 and was captured at Gettysburg in July 1863. He was imprisoned at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Fort Delaware and Point Lookout, Md., where he spent the remainder of the war. During those years, Kidwell's uncle Benjamin Davis wrote letters to Brig. Gen Huffman, commanding officer at the prison at Point Lookout, requesting his nephew's release.
Kidwell also wrote to Huffman a heart-wrenching plea for freedom, stating that his "wife had come through the lines and was in a suffering condition at Fairfax
Because he refused to take the Union oath, Kidwell remained in prison until May 1865--one month after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
The fact that Kidwell's allegiance remained with the South entitled his descendants to membership in the UDC. Allison received her official certificate in 2002.
"She is a huge asset to our Fredericksburg Chapter," said Simmons, the chapter president. Allison has served as chaplain and is currently the chairperson of the Judah P. Benjamin Award committee, which recognizes individuals' outstanding community service.
Another of Allison's ancestors, Martin Kidwell's brother John, also served with the Confederate troops. However, he deserted the army and took the oath of allegiance to the Union in February 1865.
Allison's great-great-grandfather Isaac France of New York fought
Having family from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, Allison says, she defends both the North and the South. However, she added that had she been alive during the Civil War, she would have been an abolitionist. "I'd have had to take the oath supporting the North because of the way blacks were treated in the South," she said.
In search of her roots, Allison haunted cemeteries, searching for headstones of distant relatives. In Bristow, she came upon the Robertson family plot, an overgrown oasis
"It was like finding the Secret Garden," she said, describing the ancient trees, blooming lilies and choking weeds. Robertson headstones were buried under ivy.
"I cried, I was so happy," Allison said of when she pulled back the weeds. Since then, she and family members have cleared and restored the Bristow cemetery as well as the Robertson-Kidwell family graveyard in Fairfax.
Working backward through her family history, Allison then turned her attention to finding proof of a relative who served in the American Revolution.
She made frequent visits to the Bull Run Regional Library in Prince William County, searching for evidence. Because she suffers from macular degeneration, a disease of the retina, she relied heavily on staff librarians (as well as her husband, Stuart) to read the old print. Finally, they uncovered a 1784 voucher verifying George Robertson's service in the 3rd Light Dragoons cavalry
"I was elated," Allison said. "All that research was finished, and it was wonderful that the librarians let me use their eyes."
"Had it not been for Annie's tremendous perseverance, I would have given up," added Stuart, her partner of 50 years.
Allison was inducted into the Daughters of the American Revolution in December 2007.
Allison's genealogy work continues with her search for proof that she is related to Pocahontas. Family legend has always maintained it was true, but in the past, having Indian heritage was hushed up, Allison said.
However, Allison believes that her great-grandmother Georgiana Kidwell was the granddaughter of a full-blooded Powhatan, which may connect her to the Indian princess. She hopes to find the birth certificate
She'll head to the Fairfax County Courthouse "as soon as Stuart's eyes take a rest," she said with a chuckle.
Ann McDuffie of Stafford County is a freelance writer. E-mail her in care of gwoolf@freelance star.com.
