Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 8.05 Women and Gender
Presentation #1 Title
Duly Recorded: The Life and Ledger of Virginia Ross Dailey
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Born in Catoosa County, Georgia in 1901, Virginia Ross Dailey was the oldest of three sisters. As a child, Virginia Ross attended Union Grove, a one-room school located off Dailey Hill Road near West Chickamauga Creek. She later taught at Union Grove as did her younger sister, Janie Ross Davis. Virginia, who went by the name “Virgie” her entire life, received formal teacher training at Young Harris College during the 1920s. Virgie Ross remained single until the mid-1930s, when she married John W. Dailey, a much older gentleman in poor health. After they married, John and Virgie built a small “ridge-rock” home just below the summit of Peavine Ridge. It was in that home that Virgie penned a ledger that is both a diary and book of memorandum. For students of Appalachian Studies, the document is an invaluable resource, providing important insights into rural social networks, mutual aid, and the importance of church in southern Appalachian life. It also challenges previously held notions about the impact of rural isolation on those living in the mountain region. Despite the fact that Virgie Ross Dailey seldom traveled more than five miles from her home, she had a telephone, received daily mail, and hosted countless visitors. The presentation will focus on the daily activities of the ledger writer, which includes egg gathering, wood cutting, gardening, berry-picking, and attending to a sick husband. It does not romanticize the life of Virgie Dailey nor make her a victim of what are truly extraordinary life circumstances.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Donald Edward Davis is an independent scholar living in Washington, DC. He is the author of the award-winning Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians.
Duly Recorded: The Life and Ledger of Virginia Ross Dailey
Born in Catoosa County, Georgia in 1901, Virginia Ross Dailey was the oldest of three sisters. As a child, Virginia Ross attended Union Grove, a one-room school located off Dailey Hill Road near West Chickamauga Creek. She later taught at Union Grove as did her younger sister, Janie Ross Davis. Virginia, who went by the name “Virgie” her entire life, received formal teacher training at Young Harris College during the 1920s. Virgie Ross remained single until the mid-1930s, when she married John W. Dailey, a much older gentleman in poor health. After they married, John and Virgie built a small “ridge-rock” home just below the summit of Peavine Ridge. It was in that home that Virgie penned a ledger that is both a diary and book of memorandum. For students of Appalachian Studies, the document is an invaluable resource, providing important insights into rural social networks, mutual aid, and the importance of church in southern Appalachian life. It also challenges previously held notions about the impact of rural isolation on those living in the mountain region. Despite the fact that Virgie Ross Dailey seldom traveled more than five miles from her home, she had a telephone, received daily mail, and hosted countless visitors. The presentation will focus on the daily activities of the ledger writer, which includes egg gathering, wood cutting, gardening, berry-picking, and attending to a sick husband. It does not romanticize the life of Virgie Dailey nor make her a victim of what are truly extraordinary life circumstances.
