The Grymes family has been in Virginia since the 1630's, when an Anglican minister in England (Rev. Charles Grymes) was caught up in the emerging conflicts associated with the Puritans. Evidently my ancestor was unable to keep his mouth shut (you'll recognize the family trait...), and it was better to get out of town rather than stay. So he went to the new colony of Virginia when it was still a raw frontier, with English settlements just reaching the Fall Line.
You'd think we might have bought some land, back when it was cheap cheap cheap, and we'd be rich today. But no, we've managed to buy high and sell low for generations. In the colonial days, we were pretty well-off. There are family plantation homes scattered around Tidewater, such as the mellifluously-named "Grymesby on the Piankatank." Relatives were influential in the House of Burgesses and on the Governor's Council.
But it was the Grymes women who seemed to thrive in Virginia better than the men in my family. They married well. One, Lucy Ludwell Grymes, was by family tradition the "lowland beauty" that caught George Washington's eye - but rejected his advances. Lucy married Henry Lee instead, and lived on the plantation that is today Leesylvania State Park. She and husband Henry Lee are buried there.
Their first son was "Lighthorse Harry Lee," a cavalry officer who served General Washington well in the American Revolution. He must have inherited the financial talents of his mother's family; Lighthorse Harry died bankrupt. Lighthorse Harry's last son, Robert E. Lee (head of the Army of Northern Virginia) helped restore some luster to the Lee name, but just being a grandson of a Grymes makes him important to my family.
My branch of the family moved to Orange County, then Chesterfield, before settling in Richmond. I also have relatives in Halifax County, so don't be surprised if I focus on that area throughout the class. One of us was the District Attorney in New Orleans - until he showed up in court to defend the pirate that he was expected to prosecute. That required an immediate career change, but at least someone in the family once made a little money.
Other branches of the family moved across the Ohio River. One came back to visit as a Union soldier. He wrote about marching with Sherman through Georgia in 1864, saying in a letter that "we enjoyed it hugely." (We don't have quite the same feelings towards him... surprise, surprise.)
I'm not full-time faculty at George Mason. I retired in 2007 from a day job pushing paper as a Federal bureaucrat in a downtown DC office. At various times I've laid railroad track in Virginia, shipped tobacco from warehouses and packed it into hogsheads in Florida/North Carolina/Kentucky, led cave tours and presented campfire talks as a park ranger in Missouri, and managed scenic easements on a Wild and Scenic River in Oregon. I'm also active in local history and environmental groups in Prince William County.
So what qualifies me to teach the class? Mostly my interest and my knowledge from living in the state nearly 50 years. My academic credentials: I earned an "independent studies" diploma from the University of Virginia in 1975, since as an Echols Scholar I did not have to declare a major. I finished my Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) degree at GMU in June, 2002, after completing a project on the cultural and natural history of Prince William County in Northern Virginia.
(NOTE: I'm not a Ph.D. entitled to the honorific of "Doctor." Even "professor" is a little much for me - Charlie is fine, or Mr. Grymes if you think an old guy deserves a break.)
I've been exploring Virginia for decades. I'm fascinated by the state. The idea that the sand grains on Virginia Beach could have come from Waynesboro... that still tickles me. When the thunderstorms of summer roll through, you'll find me applauding in the cheering section. When the cardinal flowers appear in the wetlands in August, I know that summer - and those thunderstorms - are almost done, and now it's time to see if we get a hurricane or at least a nor'easter.
And the patterns of people in Virginia intrigue me. Folks in Southside really are different from folks in Arlington. We all watch the same TV commercials and regional accents are fading, but we're not homogenized yet. On Monday morning in Pittsylvania County, you'll find people talking about Ward Burton's weekend accomplishments - but in Loudoun, it will be "Think the Caps really can win the Stanley Cup?" at the AOL water coolers.
The study of Virginia geography helps clarify why we have such differences. It's more challenging than reading a detective story, and more fun to unravel. Price Mountain coal was squeezed hard enough by the collision with Africa, over 200 million years ago, that Blacksburg fuel would be preferred for powering the Civil War ironclad fighting the Monitor in Hampton Roads... wow, connecting the dots can create a great picture of Virginia.
So my main qualification is that I recognize Virginia as a special place, worth exploring in depth. I'm delighted to lead you through 14 weeks of the journey, and hope after the semester ends that you will continue to look outside the car window and think such thoughts as "Hmm, I wonder why it looks like that, at this place..."
Classes taught through George Mason University:
Geography of Virginia (GEOG 380)
Geography of Northern Virginia (GEOG 333)
Virginia From the Ground Up - Southwest Virginia (NCLC 498/GEOG 399)
Virginia From the Ground Up - Shenandoah Valley (NCLC 498/GEOG 399)
The Natural World (NCLC 120, in New Century College)