DACOR Bacon House History: Academic Library




Most Recent Articles



Tench Ringgold and the Lees of Loudoun County, Virginia

Apr 28 2025
Tench Ringgold, born to a wealthy Eastern Shore Maryland family that moved to western Maryland at the end of the eighteenth century, married twice, both to women whose family name was Lee. The first was the daughter of the Catholic Lees of Maryland, the second to the Protestant Lees of Virginia. Ringgold seems to have remained a Protestant throughout his life, but his children were mostly Catholic, except for his younger son, Thomas Lee Ringgold. The flexibility of faith among the rich families of this part of the country has been noted in studies of religion in America’s younger days. Ringgold’s tie to the Lees of Virginia was especially prized by his grandson, Chief Justice Edward Douglass Black, son of Sydney Lee Ringgold and a former governor of Louisiana and staunch southerner.


Easter at the Carroll House, 1880

Apr 21 2025
A letter found in the John Marshall Brown Papers in the Maine Historical Society library in Portland, Maine describes the celebration of Easter at the home of Mrs. William T. Carroll, then residing at 1801 F Street. It was written by her youngest daughter, Alida (Carroll) Brown, to her husband, John Marshall Brown, who was left alone in Portland when she traveled to Washington with her three children to spend the Easter holiday with her mother. Bearing no date, it can nonetheless be dated through internal references to March 28, 1880. The letter is written in a rushed style, with little attention paid to punctuation or phrasing, while clearly displaying Alida’s emotions for her mother, her children, her husband, and the house. It also bears witness to the importance of religion in the Carroll family.


Louisa and Elizabeth: Emancipation Day, April 16, Continued

Apr 14 2025
Louisa and Elizabeth were the daughter and granddaughter of Betsy, an enslaved young woman who was given to Mary D. G. Ringgold, Tench Ringgold’s eldest daughter, when she was six years old. Louisa was born in the Ringgold household in 1822, and she and Betsy were present in the house when Chief Justice John Marshall and four other justices boarded. They were there when the Monroes came to stay for visits. Louisa gave birth to her own daughter Elizabeth in 1844, probably in Alexandria County where Ringgold had retired and where Mary looked after him. After years of servitude, they were finally emancipated in 1862. This is what we know about them and their owner.

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Our Authors


Terence Walz is the resident historian at DACOR Bacon House. He is a historian of modern Egyptian history with a doctorate from Boston University. He is the author and editor of two published books and has recently contributed articles to the Journal of Supreme Court History and the website of the White House Historical Association. Dr. Walz’s work in international organizations led him to the DACOR Bacon House where he has been a member for six years. He has taken on the task of researching and documenting the history of the DACOR home, its history, and its inhabitants, particularly the first one hundred years. This archive is a growing collection of his work.



Elizabeth Warner, a lawyer by training and DACOR member, is researching the life of Virginia Murray Bacon, the last private owner of the DACOR Bacon House from 1925 to 1980. She is an adjunct professor at New England College, where she designs and teaches courses in law and political science. A long-term resident of the Washington, D.C. area, she also lived and worked throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia for 14 years, often in extremely challenging environments. In addition to articles about Mrs. Bacon, she has published material on human rights, international law and other subjects. Ms. Warner has law degrees from the University of Michigan and Georgetown University.