The Chapel of Romeo & Juliet
John Doone wrote that, “No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main…” But the wealthy patriarch of the Winston family would disagree.
The Winston Family Chapel, circa1908, built in the Colonial Revival style fashionable at the time, by the patriarch of the Winston family, Lucien Dade Winston. Lucien’s history is one of enrolling at the Virginia Military Institute in 1853, when his father, William Winston died. Despite the prospect of inheriting a plantation of 766 acres, and the slaves (51) that came with it, Lucien studied under Major Thomas Jackson, who later earned the nickname “Stonewall” at the First Battle of Bull Run (or the Battle of Manassas to the Confederacy) in July 1861, when he urged his troops to move forward to stop the advance of the the Union Army under the command of Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, and one of his fellow generals rallied his retreating troops by pointing to Jackson and shouting, “Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall!”
Lucien Dade Winston with some of his VMI classmates, circa 1853.
After the war Lucien would move to Kentucky, where he would meet and later marry Elizabeth McNeill Bodie. After a period of time their family would return to the property left to Lucien in Culpeper County, Virginia.
Elizabeth and Lucien’s wedding photograph, circa 1878. Note the pose - he is sitting and she is standing beside him as the “dutiful” wife. This was a fairly common pose even up to the 20th century. When my parents were married they went to a prominent local studio and had three portraits made: my mother in her wedding dress, mom and dad standing together, and then one like this pose from the 19th century.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)
Lucien’s fortune and family both grew over the years. That happiness was shattered when their oldest son, Malcolm passed away from Scarlett Fever (and some sources say it was Typhoid Fever) in 1906, on his mother’s birthday. He was only twenty two. This is a portrait of Malcom at age ten.
The Winston Family Chapel was originally built as a memorial for Malcolm Boddie Winston.
The patriarch of the wealthy Winston family, in his will, left the chapel ownership, care, and maintenance only to descendants of the Winston family. According to the legend that has been passed down, the daughter, Martha was in love with the son of another "rival" family - the Somervilles, just like Romeo and Juliet. Except they had a happier ending in that they married, thus joining the families together. But the will states that only a Winston can “inherit” that chapel, and they have all of whom have passed away. While the Somerville family, by virtue of that marriage, would now own the property, they have let it stand as is.
For more research on this chapel and the Winstons I’d suggest these 2 site:
https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2016/12/03/rats-crossed-arms-and-a-mourning-ribbon-winter-2017/
https://theforgottensouth.com/winston-chapel-culpeper-virginia/