Shenandoah County Library Archives

Shenandoah County Library Digital Archives

Melvin Lutz & Family

Files

http://10.10.10.10/zach/Morrison03000jpg/03532.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Melvin Lutz & Family

Subject

Lutz, William Melvin (1894-1954)
Lutz, Fleta Ivis (Sheetz) (1896-1965)
Williamson, Mary Ann (Lutz) (1929-2014)

Description

Studio portrait of Melvin Lutz with his wife, Fleta (Sheetz) Lutz, and his daughter, Mary Ann (Lutz) Williamson.

Melvin was born near Conicville, the son of Erasmus A. (1963-1917) and Virginia Catherine (Stickley) (1896-1965) Lutz. He attended Roanoke College.

When he registered for the WWI draft in June 1917, Melvin’s occupation was “miller” and his employer was his father. He still lived near Conicville.

He married Fleta Ivis (Sheetz) (1896-1965) Lutz in 1919. She was the daughter of Linden Arthur (1874-1943) and Charlotte Ann (Barton) (1878-1924) Sheetz, from Edinburg. Her father was a carpenter.

In both the 1930 and 1940 censuses, Melvin and Fleta lived in Edinburg where Melvin worked as an insurance salesman. They had a daughter, Mary Ann (Lutz) Williamson. Melvin’s widowed father-in-law, Linden A. Sheetz, also lived with them.

Melvin was a life-long member of St. James Lutheran Church at Hudson’s Crossroads. He was also a member of the Edinburg Lions Club.

Mary Ann grew up in Edinburg. She graduated from Mary Washington College in 1950, taught school for two years after graduation, then married Robert Lynn Williamson, a VMI graduate and Korean War veteran.

The couple had five children: Charlotte, John, Penelope Ann, Robert, and Mary.

Mary Ann earned a Master's of Humanities degree from the University of Richmond and a doctorate from the University of Virginia. She taught elementary and middle school, and later accepted professorships at Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Union University.

She was Director of Computer Learning for Control Data and the Private Industry Council in Richmond, where the family lived for many years.

Mary Ann is most remembered in Edinburg for the work she did after she retired. In addition to writing many books (including “The History of Edinburg, Virginia” in 1994), Mary Ann created the Edinburg Heritage Foundation, and led a campaign to save the Edinburg Mill, now a museum.

Mary Ann was vice president of the Board of Trustees at the Shenandoah County Library. She also served as president of the Shenandoah County Historical Society and was a board member of the Shenandoah County Music Festival.

Most notably, perhaps, for almost 25 years she wrote the monthly newsletter for the Edinburg Heritage Foundation.

Creator

Morrison Studio

Source

Morrison Studio Collection - Shenandoah County Historical Society

Publisher

Shenandoah County Library

Date

ca. 1930

Contributor

Identified by Nancye L. Bowman, who was a friend, and knew all 3 of the subjects.
Additional biographical information was compiled from public sources.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED

Relation

William Melvin Lutz appears in Morrison Studio Collection images 003532, 003533, and 010297.
Fleta Evis (Sheetz) Lutz appears in Morrison Studio Collection images 003532 and 003533.
Mary Ann (Lutz) Williamson appears in Morrison Studio Collection images 003532 and 003533.

Identifier

003532

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Glass Negative

Citation

Morrison Studio, “Melvin Lutz & Family,” Shenandoah County Library Archives, accessed March 28, 2024, https://archives.countylib.org/items/show/30531.

Comments

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