Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
  • Contact Us
  • State News
  • National News
  • Classifieds
  • Legals
  • Login
  • My Account
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
  • News
    • Local News
    • Courthouse
      • Civil Suits
      • Deeds
      • Marriages
      • Public Meetings
      • Reunions
    • Club News
    • Education
    • Business News
    • Entertainment
    • Sports News
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Southern Baptist
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Church Bulletin
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
    • A Look Back
    • Back Down Country Roads
    • Dear Recycle Lady
    • Between The Lines
    • Letters to the Editor
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications
    • Properties and Lifestyles
    • State Fair Guide
No Result
View All Result
Mountain Messenger
No Result
View All Result
  • National News
  • WV State News
  • VA State News
  • Contact Us
Home Categories Club News

Skip Deegans prepares Mathews angel plot for fall

October 27, 2020
in Club News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Lewisburg House & Garden Club members Judy and Skip Deegans have been tending to the Mathews plot in the Old Stone Cemetery surrounding a beautiful life-size, museum-quality, marble angel statue. The Angel memorializes the graves of two young sisters, Maude Montague Mathews and Florence Vane Mathews, as inscribed on the base. 19th-century Lewisburg lawyer Alexander Mathews and his wife, Laura, sadly buried their daughters within a year and half of each other. The statue has captivated many over the decades with its unquestionable beauty and display of great love by mourning parents.

It has also captivated those intrigued by its myth. The tale goes that twin cousins of the departed sisters attended a ceremony for the statue installation. Both, supposedly, kissed the Angel on the cheek and were dead within a year. No history confirms this tale; yet, the name “Angel of Death” has been perpetuated. The Angel, also known as Maude, has required protection from those wanting to test or celebrate the myth. Often followers of ghost tales and Halloween night revelers have caused damage. Melted candle wax has seeped into the porous stone, staining and causing cracks as the weather changes. Lipstick marks left behind on her cheeks have stained as well. Thus, in 2017, Lewisburg House & Garden Club, with the help of Judy and Skip Deegans, found and installed a Victorian iron fence around the plot to protect the marble beauty from further damage.

Morgan Donnelly Bunn, a cemetery historian and preservationist, wrote in a 2017 Mountain Messenger article that the statue “is not only the finest example of funerary art in the cemetery, but it is also a memorial to two lost young lives, beloved daughters, that deserve to be memorialized with respect and dignity.” With that wisdom in mind, Lewisburg House & Garden Club, on behalf of all clubs, individuals, and trustees who work to preserve and beautify the historic cemetery, ask visitors not to disturb the tombstones in any way. The cemetery is open dawn to dusk to respectfully walk through and view the fascinating stones and inscriptions.

 

ShareTweetPin
Previous Post

Williamsburg CEOS discover Famous Trees of WV

Next Post

Alderson Police Department receives $50,000 for new vehicles from USDA

Join Our Newsletter

  • News
  • Spiritual
  • Obituaries
  • Columns
  • eMessenger
  • Special Publications

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
No Result
View All Result
  • eMessenger
  • Local News
  • Courthouse
  • A Look Back
  • Business News
  • Church News
  • Club News
  • Sports News
  • Entertainment
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Special Publications
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe | Digital & Newspaper

© 2022 Mountain Media, LLC

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login