Local History Legends

With contributions from Brooklyn Sandridge and Dale MacAllister

This November 1944 membership certificate for what was then called the Rockingham County Historical Society* includes the names of progressive leaders who helped reestablish the society that had begun in 1898, but had faltered and languished by the early 1930s. The reorganization occurred on April 1, 1944, in the assembly room upstairs in the Rockingham County courthouse. All five of the certificate signers were present at that Harrisonburg meeting.

Joseph K. Ruebush:
Joseph Kieffer Ruebush (1878-1963) provided an abundance of resources to the Shenandoah Valley as a collector and dealer in old books and historical documents. From printing gospel music at the Ruebush-Kieffer Company, where he was business manager, to publishing books dealing with local history, he was a prominent figure in the area and beyond. The Library of Virginia holds his archive of Frederick County papers. His biography is included in John W. Wayland’s Men of Mark and Representative Citizens.
A Guide to the Joseph Kieffer Ruebush, Frederick County Papers, 1788-1888 Ruebush, Joseph Kieffer, Frederick County Papers, 1788-1888 23718

Flavia F. Converse: 
As a genealogist, Flavia Converse (1881-1967) devoted her life to the history and family connections in Harrisonburg and beyond. Her name can be found on many response letters to genealogy queries sent to the courthouse and answered by her. Her archive is held at Rocktown History. In addition to Miss Converse’s professional time, she performed public stenography and was a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, which advocated for female employment.
HRHS-001 – F. Flavia Converse Collection | Rocktown History

Noah D. Showalter:
Through his comprehensive work on Rockingham County’s geography and places names, Noah Daniel Showalter (1886-1948) developed a detailed map of the county titled an Atlas of Rockingham County, Virginia, published in 1939. This publication also contained much historical information contributed by historian John W. Wayland, another author in the Valley. Showalter’s map was the last one published in Rockingham to show the location of houses and give the names of their owners. He was also a widely known song leader for various “old folks” hymn sings held in the area.
The 1939 Atlas of Rockingham County is available in the Rocktown History bookstore.

H. A. Brunk:
Harry Anthony Brunk (1898-1990), an associate professor of history and social science at Eastern Mennonite College (now University), was on the faculty there from 1925 to 1963. He devoted his life to researching and writing about the history of the Mennonites in Virginia. Brunk was one of six charter students when Eastern Mennonite School opened in Park View in 1917. He graduated from Bridgewater College with a B.A. degree and received his master’s degree from the University of Virginia. Brunk was the author of five books, but his most important works include the two volumes, History of Mennonites in Virginia, 1727 – 1900, and History of Mennonites in Virginia, 1900 – 1960. He also published two editions of Harmonia Sacra, the shaped note songbooks compiled by Joseph Funk at Singers Glen. Brunk’s Mennonite histories can be found in libraries, archives, and used book retailers.
History of Mennonites in Virginia, 1727-1900 – Harry Anthony Brunk – Google Books
History of Mennonites in Virginia, 1900-1960, vol. 2 / Harry Anthony Brunk. – Brunk, Harry Anthony | Mennonite Heritage Center

John Wayland:
John Walter Wayland (1872-1962) was born in the Woodlawn area of Shenandoah County, Virginia. He moved to Bridgewater in Rockingham County with his family in 1893. In 1898, he married Mattie Fry of Bridgewater. He was admitted to Bridgewater College, where he received a B.A. degree in 1899. He obtained a PhD in history at the University of Virginia in 1907. John Walter Wayland became an original faculty member at the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg (currently James Madison University). He was the chair of the history and social science department.
Over his extensive career, he published over 40 books and numerous articles on the history and people of the Shenandoah Valley. Among those books are histories of central Valley counties and a history of the Virginia Lincolns, who lived in what is now Rockingham County from the late 1700s. He also contributed many articles to the Harrisonburg newspaper, the Daily News-Record. Wayland was considered the preeminent Shenandoah Valley historian of his time. From 1901 until the day he died in 1962, he kept a daily journal or diary. Bridgewater College archives retain those remarkable records.
John Walter Wayland Papers, Bridgewater College Special Collections
Collection: John W. Wayland Papers | JMU Special Collections
Biography of John W. Wayland, Ph.D. – Virginia Genealogy
A Guide to the John Walter Wayland Papers, 1798-1950, Wayland, John Walter, Papers 26 WFCHS, Stewart Bell, Jr. Archives, Handley Library. These archives contain numerous genealogy and cemetery records that Wayland collected. He also contributed his collection of early historical photographs.

*The Rockingham Historical Society later became the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, which operates as Rocktown History today. You can learn more about the organization’s history here.