Impedimenta, Posted on April 28, 2026
Two trunks. The top one contained medical supplies. It belonged to Dr. John Alexander Mebane ((1790-1861). The larger one, below, belonged to Mamie White Scott (1865-1953), a schoolteacher.
When I was studying Latin in high school, I learned the word, “impedimenta.” Loosely translated, it refers to luggage.
Nowadays, we have all sorts of clever ways to make luggage less cumbersome. Whoever thought of adding wheels to a suitcase deserves a prize.
Back in the day, and I do mean back, luggage was a serious business. The photo that appears above includes two trunks. The top one is thought to be the medical trunk of Dr. John Alexander Mebane (1790-1861), a son of Alexander Mebane for whom the town of Mebane was named. In his day, doctors would visit their patients in their homes.
The larger one on the bottom was owned by Mamie White Scott (1865-1953), a schoolteacher who must have taken everything she owned from school to school during her career.
I was in Greensboro, North Carolina over the weekend and was able to arrange a visit to the graves of Dr. Mebane and his wife Celia Sutton Mebane.
Their graves are hidden away in a small cemetery located on the grounds of the Greensboro History Museum. The cemetery was associated with First Presbyterian Church and is still under their authority despite the fact that the church moved to another location many years ago. The museum, which is really spectacular, was built around the church and they connect. We found the Mebanes right away and went on to explore further.
Our tour guide, Grace, stopped us at a small marker on which was inscribed: Known only to God. What a sad story that was. A small child passed away while a group of travelers was passing through Greensboro many years ago. The church stepped in to provide a burial for the child, but no one knew her name. Grace has researched this child and even found a newspaper article about the burial, but so far has not discovered the child’s name. Grace is very smart and diligent. I expect that some day, she will solve this mystery.