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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Aug 28

Lot of discussion about how to best preserve the home of Harriet Jacobs in Cambridge. I wrote about one aspect about her time there in the 1870s in a 2021 article in @cambridgeday.com
www.cambridgeday.com/2021/08/23/i...
#HarrietJacobs #Cambridge #historicpreservation

'Incidents' author Harriet Jacobs crossed paths with Imogen Eddy, an early Harvard astronomer - Cambridge Day

Harriet Jacobs, author of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” lived in Cambridge in the 1870s. As historians have documented (including during a recent History Cambridge History Café presentation...

www.cambridgeday.com

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Aug 13

August 2025--Discovering Lives. Let me know about any of your recent discoveries for my next newsletter.
mailchi.mp/fullcircle/d...

Discovering Lives

A newsletter about history, writing, and writing on history

mailchi.mp

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Jun 24

What does shopping tell us about history? I talked with Molly Kerr of History Revealed, Inc. about a project to transcribe store ledgers from the 1700s. #Alexandria #shopping #transcription #primarysources www.paulawhitacre.com/blog/shoppin...

Extracting History from the Everyday: A Conversation about Shopping Stories with Molly Kerr — Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

Molly Kerr of History Revealed, Inc., describes how to extract stories behind seemingly mundane 18th-century store ledgers and correspondence,

www.paulawhitacre.com

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Jun 16

You have to dream. In this case, Civil War veteran Lewis Cass White was determined to preserve Fort Stevens, in northwest Washington. He succeeded--and the extent of his involvement was discovered in a box in a basement in 2012. My post in Emerging Civil War

emergingcivilwar.com/2025/06/16/r...

“Rescue from Oblivion”: Lewis Cass White, Fort Stevens, and Fort Ward - Emerging Civil War

ECW welcomes back guest author Paula Tarnapol Whitacre. Lewis Cass White, an eighteen-year-old school teacher, enlisted in the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry from his home town in western Penns...

emergingcivilwar.com

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Jun 9

My quick take on last week's Biographers International Organization conference.
www.paulawhitacre.com/blog/bio-con...

BIO Conference: Potomac Fever — Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

Two inspiring days on the art and craft of biography.

www.paulawhitacre.com

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · May 21

As part of @ncjw.bsky.social, I was part of a group who met with Virginia legislators on Capitol Hill yesterday. We advocated for bills that protect voting rights, maternal health, and SNAP/Medicaid. These should NOT be an issue, right? #RiseUp2025 #WI2025

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 30

Wise words from my friend and fellow writer Joanne Glenn
conta.cc/3GvEscE #writing #creativity #timemanagement

Writers Write Newsletter: Minding time between the first thing and the next thing, tips for reading your work aloud more effectively, community news, and more

Email from Looking for writing support? You'll find it here. Writers Write In this issue: Craft: The art of reading our own work Kudos and community: Celebrating the work of fellow creatives Resourc

conta.cc

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 23

Michael Shiner was born in Maryland around 1805, worked at the Washington Navy Yard and, amazingly, kept a diary that survives. When I went to read it, I learned "Content on this website has been revised or removed to align with the President's executive orders and DoD priorities...."
REALLY?!

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 11

Alexandria Archaeological Commission, of which I am a member, turns 50 this year. First such commission in the country. Alexandria Times wrote a nice article (which includes some semi-coherent comments by me)
alextimes.com/local-news/a...

Alexandria Archaeological Commission turns 50, looks toward future

By Sydney Kodama | [email protected] With half a century under its belt, the Alexandria Archaeological Commission is continuing to prove that there is history, both buried and on display, in the c...

alextimes.com

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 10

There must be a writing analogy in here somewhere.

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 10

This effort has been ongoing and is continuing--to redesignate Arlington House at Arlington Cemetery (e.g., remove Robert E. Lee from the name, BTW he never owned it)
chng.it/TWmHMbrnXL

This campaign needs you now

Redesignate Arlington House as a National Historic Site

chng.it

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 9

Happy to share my bimonthly (or so) newsletter, Discovering Lives--writing tips, book review of Last Seen, and more.
mailchi.mp/fullcircle/d...

Discovering Lives

A newsletter about history, writing, and writing on history

mailchi.mp

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 3

While this is fresh in my mind, six lessons I learned on the path from original idea to submitted manuscript. #amwriting #nonfiction #proposal www.paulawhitacre.com/blog/deadlin...

Deadline Met. — Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

Six lessons to go from idea to submitted manuscript.

www.paulawhitacre.com

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Apr 2

98K words submitted to publisher--my book on Alexandria, VA, during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Didn't realize it would be so timely when I started this manuscript a few years ago.

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Jan 3

Mind switch in my work-in-progress. I drafted 14 chapters on Alexandria in the 1860s. Beginning final chapter that goes up to the current day. Leaving the archives in a leap of faith.

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Jan 3

Will do!

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Reposted by Paula Tarnapol Whitacre

Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · Jan 3

Congratulations to Krystyn Moon on “Proximity to Power:
Rethinking Race and Place in Alexandria, Virginia,” now available for pre-order from @uncpress.bsky.social!

Proximity to Power | Krystyn R. Moon | University of North Carolina Press

Located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, Alexandria, Virginia, has long held a unique sociopolitical position due to its proximity to the n...

uncpress.org

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Dec 7

Nominees for Alexandria Historical Society annual awards? Due Feb. 1, 2025

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Dec 7

Great research trip to the Library of Virginia in Richmond. Now to sort through tons of scanned images from Archives, Microfilm, and Special Collections.

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Dec 7

Done!

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Dec 2

Thanksgiving (and my birthday) done, leftovers finished. Goal for December: a research trip to the Library of Virginia and draft of Chapter 14 of WIP. Oh yeah, and next set of holidays.

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Nov 25

Invite you to read my latest newsletter. (Free) sign-ups welcome.
Discovering Lives: November 2024 - mailchi.mp/fullcircle/d...

Discovering Lives

A newsletter about history, writing, and writing on history

mailchi.mp

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Nov 20

Among items looked at the Library of Congress yesterday, this scrap book of news clippings about (and mostly collected by) John C. Underwood, a Reconstruction Republican in Virginia. Harriet Beecher Stowe eulogized him when he died; now, it is John who??

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Nov 18

A ferry ran from Chapman's landing on the Potomac River in Charles County (MD) to Alexandria and Annapolis in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Yesterday, we had the trail and riverside to ourselves.

Interpretative signpost about the Potomac River

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Paula Tarnapol Whitacre @paulawhitacre.bsky.social · Nov 17

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra last night--a beautiful commissioned piece by Jocelyn Hagan and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (complete with English translation as a crib sheet). Truly a relief. Next ASO performance--December 21. alexsym.org

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