Timeline History of AMA

1839

Birth of Charles S. Roller

Charles Summerville Roller born May 8, 1839 in Mt. Sydney, Virginia. Click on the event box to read a complete biography of the man, written by Duke Fancher, ’58.

1859

Roller at UVA

Charles Roller studied Law for two years at the University of Virginia, from 1859 to 1861.

1861

On 24 July 1861, 3 days following the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), Roller enlisted as a private in the Confederate States military forces at Fairfax Court House. He joined General J. E. B. Stuart’s 1st Virginia Calvary Regiment which fought in that first major conflict of the war...Read More

1865

Charles Roller Begins Teaching

In September of 1865, five months after the end of the war, Charles Roller joined C. M. Packer as a teacher in the school at the Augusta Church. Before and after the war there were schools in the vicinity of the church; they were variously referred to as the Old..Read More

1871

Charles Roller serves in Virginia Legislature

On 7 November 1871, Roller was elected to the Virginia State Legislature as a member of the Conservative Party in a contest primarily between Conservatives and Republicans. The Legislature convened on 6 December 1871, less than a month after the election. In the House of Delegates, Roller was a member..Read More

1874

Academy Moves South of the Church

In 1874 Charles Roller moved his school from the immediate area of the Augusta Church to a newly erected frame building a short distance south of the Church and the name became Augusta Male Academy.

1874

Charles Roller marries Rosabelle Moorman

Charles Roller married Rosabelle Moorman on 26 October 1874. The couple had four children: Margaret Belle, William C., Thomas J., and Charles S. Jr. Thomas and Charles, Jr., were to follow their father into life-long commitments to secondary school education at the Academy.

1875

Maggie Belle Roller Born

Charles’ and Rosabelle’s first child, Margaret “Maggie” Belle Roller, is born, August 20, 1875. Maggie Belle married Warren S. Robinson on January 27, 1920. They lived in the original home of Charles and Rosabelle, and the name of the building was changed to the Roller-Robinson House. Maggie died January 25, 1956..Read More

1876

William Crawford Roller Born

William Crawford Roller, second child of Charles and Rosabelle, born 1876.

1877

Thomas Jacob Roller Born

Third Child of Charles and Rosabelle, Thomas Jacob Roller, born 1877