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Falmouth in Stafford County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

A Family Memorial

Gari Melchers Home and Studio

 
 
A Family Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 17, 2021
1. A Family Memorial
Inscription.
Joseph Burwell Ficklen purchased Belmont in 1824, just as he began making his mark as a mill operator in Falmouth. He did not marry until 1843, at age 43. Ellen McGehee Ficklen died in 1845. Her grieving husband buried her here along with their infant daughter, Ella, who had died a year before her mother. Ficklen married Anne Eliza Fitzhugh in 1847, and they had six children. J.B. Ficklen, wife Anne Eliza Ficklen, and several of their children are buried in the Fredericksburg City Cemetery. In 1916, Ficklen's daughter-in-law, Julibelle Stansbury Ficklen, sold Belmont to Gari and Corinne Melchers.

Joseph Ficklen purchased a stately tombstone for his first wife. Made from marble, the table-top style grave marker had fluted corners and solid sides. Ella's grave is a bed style marker, with a head and foot board. The rose symbolizes heavenly love, while a broken bud signifies a life cut short before it had a chance to bloom.
 
Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesWomen. A significant historical year for this entry is 1824.
 
Location. 38° 19.499′ N, 77° 28.46′ W.

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Marker is in Falmouth, Virginia, in Stafford County. It can be reached from Washington Street (County Road 1001) 0.1 miles south of Warrenton Road (Business U.S. 17), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 224 Washington St, Fredericksburg VA 22405, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker and memorial is in the Washington Metropolitan Area, in Northern Virginia, and in the Piedmont. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Welcome To Our Trails (within shouting distance of this marker); Water Supply Methods (within shouting distance of this marker); A Working Farm (about 300
A Family Memorial image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 17, 2021
2. A Family Memorial
feet away, measured in a direct line); Cow Barn, 1921 (about 400 feet away); Hard Hand of War (about 400 feet away); Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne (about 400 feet away); Caretaker Cottage (about 400 feet away); Preserving Meat (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Falmouth.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 634 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on April 20, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
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Jul. 10, 2026