Family Artifacts - who will take them when I die?

I have a collection of documents and other artifacts from our family dating back in history to at the least the 1800s. Carpentry and lumberyard tools, Masonic pins, watches, jewelry, books, Homestead papers, and many other vintage items need to be identified and assessed, and most importantly decisions made as to who will take responsibility for them when I am gone. I've thought of creating a photobook of them all, which would be a fairly easy project. But who will take the actual artifacts themselves?

Then there is the awareness that my sister has an equal amount of such memorabilia in her possession. 

I'm getting close to corralling everything. I hope to catalog it all somehow and then educate my sons about the entire collection. Maybe attach a letter of instruction. If my sons don't wish to inherit the items, perhaps my niece and nephews would be interested.

As obsessive as my mother was, there is information she missed sharing with us about some things. She left us a whole bin of random memorabilia with an attached note that said, KEEP FOREVER. It was sad to go through the items in that bin and have no idea what they meant to her. 

This and That: random discoveries that I have yet to process.

 In no particular order:

New information! There was a Catholic orphanage in Wichita, established in the 1880s that burned down in 1912. It was possibly established to handle the number of orphans created by the tuberculosis pandemic.This is likely where my orphan grandmother was raised rather than an orphanage in Paris, Texas, as I have believed up to now. Evidence proves that she did go to boarding school and nurses training in Paris, Texas, but probably as a young adult, not as a child.

A birth announcement in a Kansas newspaper tells of a baby girl born to Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Allen of Wichita in 1911. Did my grandmother have a half sister that she never knew about? Note to self: there was another A. D. Allen in Wichita at that time who owned a shoe store.

Discovered a volume of the complete works of Shakespeare published in 1852 that traveled with my pioneer ancestors to the west in a covered wagon, according to family lore. An inscription says, “H. Wandell, Chicago, 1856.” I have not been able to identify H. Wandell. 

I ordered a large family photo of the Powell family of Henrico. Efforts to match ages and dates have not been entirely successful. Two persons, an old man, and a young man that could be my father’s twin, cannot be identified. My best guess is that they are a brother and nephew of my great great grandfather Jefferson Monroe Powell. Another family photo of a picnic at Afton Mountain has several people that cannot be identified. One older woman, sitting in the middle of the family group could possibly be Jefferson Powell‘s mother, Mary Ellen Stevens Powell. It will take some work to find proof.

Mary Ellen Stevens was married to George James Powell, a POW from the Civil War. His gravestone shows the name George Littleton Powell. Where did the Littleton name come from? Who are George’s parents? 

Burning questions:

The Bryant family used the name Fenton multiple times. Fenton is a common name in other southside Virginia families. Where did that name come from?

Of course, there’s the question of Eley and Margaret Bryant’s graves The graves were still being maintained according to a letter from Charlie Bryant to Bluke Fletcher in 1926, but the property in Blackwater was no longer owned by the family.

Elizabeth Judd… When did she die and where is she buried? Was she the acclaimed doctor from family lore? See her daughter Marie Louise Powell’s obituary.

Joining a genealogy group

A post showed up on my Facebook feed a few weeks ago promoting a genealogy event in my area hosted by a local genealogy group that I didn't even know existed. They appear to be a very organized and enthusiastic group. I attended the event online and it was so helpful. It was about how to organize and preserve ancestry records and materials for posterity. It was exactly the boost I needed to move forward with my research, as I had become paralyzed by the enormous amount of material I've gathered in my years of research.

I sent in my dues and registration and received so much information about resources available through the group. I'm excited to begin exploring. They requested a brief bio of me as a new member, and a description of my research goals for their quarterly newsletter. This may be a way to get further help with finally locating the graves of my great great grandparents.

So here goes:

Thank you for welcoming me to your group and for introducing me to so many new local ancestry resources. I'm excited to meet everyone, and hopeful that this will give me the boost I need to move forward in my research. I have questions springing from my local research that I'm hoping to resolve. If you enjoy solving mysteries, please read my story!

I grew up in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach and have lived locally all of my life. My parents and grandparents lived in the area as well as many 1st cousins on both sides of my family. I was interested in our family tree when I was as young as twelve years old, and I created a beautiful family tree poster which I still have. My mother was a member of DAR and wrote many letters back and forth to distant cousins in her lifetime, but it wasn't until around 2012 - after my four sons were grown and on their own - that I started working on my own research. 

Prior to my research, I didn't think we had deep roots in Tidewater Virginia. We were aware of distant cousins here in Virginia Beach, but we were told that a long ago "rift" caused an estrangement in the family that affected subsequent generations. My father knew about The Rift, as we called it, but didn't know what caused it; neither did my grandmother. Extended family in Richmond also knew about it. As a child, I always wondered why we would travel to Richmond to visit family but never visited relatives in our own hometown. My sister and I, as adults, ultimately developed a close relationship with these hometown cousins. They were as mystified about The Rift as we were.

I finally had a breakthrough about three years ago. Since 2012, I have been writing a blog about my research journey (www.descenddance.blogspot.com). Through my blog, I connected with a distant cousin in New Jersey, Matt, who happened to be doing his professional genealogy certification project on our mutual g-g-grandmother, Margaret Bryant. He was using my blog as a resource for his project. We met in person in 2022 and began working together on our research. 

My newfound cousin Matt came across a thick file in the Library of Virginia's archives containing documents about a lawsuit brought against Margaret by her own daughter, Addie. He also found newspaper articles about Margaret's death from "apoplexy" (stroke) in 1908 which occurred on a train trip from Richmond to Norfolk, as the 70-year-old widow was on her way to Norfolk to respond to the lawsuit. It is reasonable to conclude that her stroke was indirectly caused by the court case. This would certainly be a plausible explanation for the major rift in the family between Addie and her three living siblings! Mystery solved! My formerly estranged Virginia Beach cousins are descended from Addie; I am descended from Addie's twin sister, Ida.

Of course, answers only lead to more questions. My great-great grandparents, Eley and Margaret Bryant, were from families who had lived in Southampton County since colonial times. For economic reasons, they moved to Princess Anne County around 1885 to what they called "Land of Promise Plantation" (not associated with the present farm by that name). A visit to the courthouse in Virginia Beach helped us to identify the location of this property - 40 acres at the intersection of Blackwater and Head of River Roads. Shortly afterward, their daughter Addie and her husband purchased land on both sides of Pungo Ferry Road where it intersected with Blackwater.  

When Eley unexpectedly died in 1895, Margaret did not report his death. If she had, she would have been legally required to sell the farm and divide the proceeds with her children. Instead, she moved to Richmond to live with her daughter Ida (Addie's twin) and continued to take in rent from the farm and income from the sale of lumber from the property. In 1908, Addie sued her mother Margaret for her rightful portion of her father's inheritance; after Margaret's death in 1908, the farm was sold. Addie received her share, 1/4 of $117.31. 

My first quest: The newspaper articles mention that Margaret's body was sent for burial to "Hickory Ground," a train station at the Norfolk County end of Head of River Road. My burning question is, where are Eley and Margaret buried? A 1926 letter from her son Charles indicates that their graves are together and were being cared for by family. Since Margaret buried Eley secretly, I am assuming they were both buried on the farm at Blackwater and Head of River Roads. However, I knocked on the door of the current owner of the property, and she stated that she had walked every inch of that land and there are no graves. I am thinking they have to be there somewhere under the soybeans. My next move will be to go to the courthouse to find the 1909 deed of sale and see if there are graves marked on the plat. 

My second quest: I discovered that my great grandmother, Ida Rene Bryant (Addie's twin) was married at least five times (big surprise, we only knew of two). On her marriage record to William Butler in 1895, she is named as "Ida Rena Williams, widow." I have been trying to find out the identity of her deceased husband by the last name Williams. This is important because Ida's son Earl Butler was born in 1892, but she didn't marry William Butler until 1895. Who was Earl's biological father, Williams or Butler?  The Bryant farm in Blackwater was close to the Williams family... was someone in that family married to Ida? I have not been able to find any record of that marriage or death. 

This is just one branch of my family tree, but it is the only branch with history in Virginia Beach. I hope someone reading this will have a brilliant idea for where to find the answers to my questions!

Putting it all together

My bucket list includes writing a book. In my mind, this could not be accomplished until my life was in order and stability achieved. Finally, in retirement, in my forever home, with all crises managed, I am able to start working on compiling our family stories into a book.

It's hard! Just determining the organization of information is a huge challenge. A chronological account is way too complex and daunting. Stand-alone stories seem disjointed and lack meaningful relationship connections. I've pondered this for a very long time - years in fact. And one day, it just came to me. I will organize all of our stories and information by categories, with interesting chapter titles and catchy opening lines. 

Here are the categories I've settled on so far. I will keep adding to this list as this concept congeals in my mind. It's a sorting game! I'll try to fit all of our best stories into the chapters where they fit best. It's amazing how my research seems to fit neatly into categories like this:

Cemeteries (final resting places): surprisingly, the source some of the most exciting revelations.

Immigrants: who were the first in our lines of descent to come to America?

Notables and other colorful characters: the well-known folks and standouts in our ancestry.

Emotional Moments: the research findings that brought tears and excitement over the past decade.

Slices of Time: capturing the big picture across all branches of our family tree at certain historically important times.

Family Connections to Virginia Beach History

My parents moved to Princess Anne County from Norfolk in 1959. In my early childhood, our address was Princess Anne County. Until 1963, the town of Virginia Beach existed only on a strip of land at the oceanfront - a quaint cottage village compared to today's bustling commercial tourist destination. When we went to the "beach" it was a pilgrimage from our home in "the county." We parked in the sand and ate picnic lunch from the trunk of our car. 

My father's parents resided in Norfolk, leaving their families and their home in Richmond during the Depression. My mother's parents had moved to Norfolk from "out west" in the 1940s. Though both sets of grandparents lived nearby, I always knew our family was not originally from the area. 

I was lucky to grow up in the "town" of Kempsville. As an early settler in one of the first suburban housing developments in Kempsville, there was a sense of belonging that still holds strong. Back then, there were still plenty of farms and undeveloped land all around us and miles of desolate country roads. We ate fresh produce from farm markets, much of which we picked ourselves. We had milk delivered from the nearby dairy farm. I share common memories with hundreds of neighbors and classmates who all stay connected to Kempsville in one way or another.

Dr. Fletcher was the only dentist in the area. His office in Kempsville was a small brick building behind the fire station in Kempsville. Dad said he was our cousin. Curious! I have written before about "the rift" between my great grandmother and her twin sister so I won't repeat, but I learned eventually about my distant relatives in Virginia Beach. It was surprising and satisfying to learn that my 2X great grandparents were once farmers in the Blackwater area of Virginia Beach. My dad never even knew about this connection. My grandmother never mentioned it.

I am completely invested in the history of Virginia Beach, having worked for the city all of my life. 

Then, I happened to marry into an old "county" family. I heard all the familiar names from the old Princess Anne County days... Waterfield, Flanagan, Whitehurst, Malbon, Mansfield, Henley, Cox, Kellam... these names are still active in Virginia Beach social and cultural life. In my quest to find the graves of my great great grandparents, I became immersed in the history of the area. I discovered that the old names from the county are intertwined with my own family. 

For years I've been drawn to the story of Grace Sherwood, the Witch of Pungo - Virginia Beach's cultural icon. She has become especially significant to me for several reasons:

• My uncle's parents lived at the very end of Witchduck Road at the presumed spot where Grace was ducked. For many years, our family celebrated Easter on the bank of the Lynnhaven River at that place. 
• Also, my father's parents lived in a house on Witchduck Road when I was 4 or 5 years old.
• Grace Sherwood's house and farm were on Muddy Creek Road in Pungo where my parents once considered purchasing land.
• As a teenager, I visited the home of Louisa Venable Kyle who wrote the children's book, The Witch of Pungo. 
• My ex-spouse's uncle drew the portrait on which the Grace Sherwood statue was based...the likeness was actually that of a family member. The statue stands at the corner of Witchduck Road and Independence Blvd. 

I just finished reading the newest, definitive work about The Witch of Pungo, by Scott Moore. So interesting to read about all the names and places that have been familiar to me all of my life. 

Miriam "Teeny" Lukhard Vaughan, 1933-2023

 I just updated her information in my Ancestry tree, closing out another story of a life well-lived.

My whole life has been anchored by my dad's cousins on the farm in Old Church (Mechanicsville, VA).  Aunt Teeny was my touchstone, my favorite relative. I have boxes of cards and letters that she sent through the years, and I'm sure she has the same from me. I visited her regularly, especially after my dad died. She was the connection that helped to keep his memory and his love for family alive. When her daughter Robin died two years after my dad, I became a connection for her to Robin. 

At age 7, I was delivered by my parents to the farm to stay for two weeks with Aunt Teeny and Uncle Kenneth and their three children in their tiny home next to the "Big House." The house had once been a slave cabin I was told. Robin, who was a year younger than me, was my 2nd cousin, my playmate and companion. We slept in a bunk bed in her room. After that first year, the Vaughan family lived in a darling cottage-type house that was built for Teeny on another part of the farm. (The old cabin was moved and Uncle Junior, Teeny's brother, lived there until he died, and it was sold out of the family.)

I remember having moments of homesickness that first year, but farm life was so magical to me. To this day I can recall the smells, the crunching of straw and tall grass underfoot, the bugs, the variety of animals, the close proximity of family, the plentiful and hearty food, and most of all, the freedom to roam and explore all day, virtually without (noticeable) supervision. We had the run of the property -  the Big House, the pastures, barns, chicken coops, sheds, fields, orchards, woods and ponds. Later, we would saddle up our rides (at first, the donkey for me, pony for Robin; then graduated to pony for me and horse for Robin; then horses for both of us). There were so many memorable adventures. Through all of this, my Aunt Teeny wrapped us up in a warmth that enfolded us like one of her colorful, soft, handmade quilts. She was as comfortable as an old pair of slippers.

As I got older, the visits were less often, but I made sure to take friends to the farm whenever I could during college. I knew that we would always be greeted with open arms, food, fun, and laughter. It was fuel for my soul. 

I could go to her whenever I needed unconditional love and affection. Hugs and expressions of love in our family were uninhibited and filled up my heart. Near the end of her days, I tried to give back the love she had so generously given me all my life. I took food and special photo albums that I made for her. 

Holly and I drove up to visit her three days before she passed. She was heavily sedated and incoherent, but she knew we were there. We held her hand and told stories and visited with each other. Occasionally she would try to say something, but we couldn't understand her. She asked a question: ".... exciting....?" Mostly she would dream and smile sweetly, perhaps seeing something that we could not imagine. Holly and Sharlyn worked together to change her out of her soiled nightgown; after they re-dressed her and situated her in the bed, Sharlyn said, "Nanny, we're all done!" Relieved after the struggle, Teeny responded clearly, "yay-y-y!" 

We will hear that echoing in our heads for the rest of our lives. "Yay-y-y!" 

Searching for Burial Site (Margaret and Eley Bryant)

Since we strongly suspected that Margaret and Eley were buried on the family farm in Princess Anne County, the next logical step in our search was to find the current owner of the Bryant farmland. We found her! She is a 90-year old woman who lives in a modest ranch home across Blackwater Road from the property. Her name is Doris (family name, Frost), and she was born in the original farmhouse which had been located across the street (our family's home?) where there is now a barn owned by another family. 

Here is how we found her:

Cousin Terry invited three of us, including my sister and a mutual friend, to meet her for breakfast on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023 at the Redhead Bay Cafe very near the location of the old Fletcher farm in Pungo. The mutual friend is a member of the Princess Anne Historical Society, and she had a particular interest in the history of lumber mills in the County. After breakfast Terry suggested we go for a ride and see the family properties that had taken so much effort to find three years ago. 

We first drove across the Pungo Ferry bridge toward Blackwater Road, pointing out the Fletcher property. Turning left on Blackwater, we saw the old Blackwater Store and the pond where the lumber mill must have been. Heading back in the other direction, I pointed out the 40+ acres that was once the Bryant farm, now all soybean fields. 

A man was out in his front yard across the road. His house and fields took up the triangle at the corner of Blackwater and Head of River Roads where Blackwater Road had once been straightened. We got out of the car and approached him. He wasn't friendly at first. He even challenged the story we told him. But then his wife (?) came out and she was more interested in helping us. They told us that "Doris" is the current owner of the property and lives right across Blackwater Road... and... look! She's home right now, waiting for a ride to go somewhere. Hurry and catch her! 

We drove immediately to Doris' house and got out of the car. The front door was open and Doris came right out. She soon warmed up to us and told us about being born in the old farmhouse there. She pointed directly across the road to where a barn now stands. Learning the location of the house was significant in that we realized the Bryant property had been divided sometime after 1908. We explained that we were searching for graves. She assured us that she has walked every inch of that property and there are no graves. We thanked her and told her that she had saved us a lot of trouble and satisfied our curiosity. 

I remember seeing the name "Frost" on an old map. Next step is to follow up on that lead. 

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:  Here we are more than a YEAR later! November 2024!

Matt discovered that Ancestry added the death registries for Virginia, and he found Portsmouth 1900-1908. There was Margaret, on May 18, 1908, age 73, dau. of Wm Cobb and Evelyn Wallace, burial permit #1401, Snelling & Knight Undertaker, place of burial Hickory Grove (Ground?). 

There is no cemetery by that name in Portsmouth, Chesapeake, or Va. Beach. The invoices from Margaret's death and burial indicate that her body was transported from Portsmouth to Blackwater for "services and burial." Blackwater in Virginia Beach is very close to the Hickory area of Chesapeake. There is currently a voting district in Chesapeake called Hickory Grove. It was all part of Norfolk County in that time period. The closest match on FindaGrave was Pleasant Grove cemetery in Hickory. 

On Wednesday, November 6, Holly, Clayton, and I set out for Hickory in Chesapeake. We stomped around several cemeteries looking at old grave markers. No luck. Clayton called Hickory UMC (formerly "Hickory Ground Methodist" we later learned) and spoke with a staff member there about the church history. No cemetery there.

Matt suggested that I try going through the individual cemetery records in Family Search or checking the collections in local libraries. I went through the probate record with a fine-toothed comb, and so did Holly. We didn't come up with anything helpful except that the body was taken to Blackwater by train. I researched the train system at the time and found that there were railways that ran close to Blackwater and Hickory.

On Halloween, the "Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake, Virginia" posted a photo of a cemetery on Facebook. I made a comment on the post about looking for my ancestor, and on November 25, I received a reply from a volunteer with the organization offering assistance! After a few emails back and forth, now two more researchers are taking on the challenge. 

One of the researchers, Suzy, wanted to know the address of the Bryant farm. That was not an easy question! The farm's original property line had been changed due to the straightening of Blackwater Road. The original house was gone, and part of the property (where the house had stood) was sold out of the family. The best I could figure out is that the property's address became Head of River Road (3101?), as it was now cut off from Blackwater Rd. I sent her copies of the map with the property marked, and the current owner's house circled. I also sent her the property description from the probate documents. 

Suzy sent copies of Margaret's obituary (which I already have) and told me that according to the newspaper, she was buried in Blackwater. I then sent her the Portsmouth death register that indicated the cemetery, "Hickory [Grove?]". She then brought in another researcher to interpret the handwriting on the record, believing it to say "Ground," not Grove. I found a 1911 map showing the railways, and sure enough, one of the stations, the closest to Blackwater, was called Hickory Ground. 

Searching through South Norfolk/Chesapeake documents online revealed that Hickory Elementary was once called Hickory Ground Elementary, and that Hickory UMC (in front of the school) was called Hickory Ground Methodist Church. As I mentioned before, Clayton had already called the church and learned that there was no cemetery there. 

Suzy sent an email today (Dec. 2, 2024) saying that "Kay" had searched all of the deeds and found nothing. She suggested I call or go to Virginia Beach and search the deeds at the courthouse. There are no gravemarkers listed in Chesapeake for Margaret and Eley, according to a book that I can purchase for $20. She said that it was most likely that they are buried on their property. We may just have to accept that conclusion. I made a joking comment about their graves being covered by soybeans. She said that is often the case. Often farmers have no regard for graves on their property. They find many graves in soybean fields.

There is a corner of the Bryant farm property that is still forested. The owner says she has walked every square foot of the land, but could they be in that little wooded section? Or maybe they were buried near the house, in which case, it would be on property that belongs to the family that lives in the little triangle of land that got cut off by the road straightening.

Next steps: the deed room at VB courthouse. Try to find W. E. Charlton who performed the services at burial. Also, look up burial permit #1401 (per Portsmouth death register). 

My thoughts about W. E. Charlton... according to a receipt in Margaret's funeral papers, he was paid $7 for "services at burial." We have been thinking he was a clergyman of some sort who performed services. No person by that name came up in any records, including Ancestry. However, now that we have come to believe she was buried on the farm, we think he might have been a local laborer who dug the grave for them. Interesting sidenote: the receipt was written in elegant handwriting. 

Also, as Charles Bryant stated in a 1924 letter to Bluke, "I must find someone to take care of Mothers and Fathers graves." This strongly indicates a private cemetery. If Margaret and Eley were buried on the farm, it would make sense that the 1908 deed at the time of sale would show the location of the graves. The farm was sold to J. F. Cox on November 16, 1908. That deed of sale should show the house, and hopefully, the graves.

Could this be the very train that brought Margaret's body to Blackwater in 1908? 

Personal note: it was such a relief to identify Hickory Ground (instead of Hickory Grove), and to learn confirm that Margaret's body was taken to Blackwater in [what is now] Virginia Beach. There were some very puzzling coincidences that almost made me give up. There is a Blackwater River and a Hickory Grove Church in Isle of Wight County, both near the Bryant/Cobb ancestral home. And, to complicate things more, I searched in Glen Allen in Richmond, near Ida's home where Margaret had been living for several years. There is a Hickory Grove church there as well. It was hard to figure out which direction the family would have taken. At last, we have narrowed the search to the farm in Virginia Beach. 

Another personal note: on Charles Bryant's birth record, his mother Margaret is listed as "Peggy." 

Unrelated question: in transcribing Charles' 1924 letter to Bluke on Ancestry, I noticed that he mentions visiting Uncle Sam in Virginia. Who could that be? Answering one question always leads to ten more.

Update: Dec. 18, 2024 

On a Facebook page, "Abandoned Places in Virginia," a comment (from someone I know!) suggested contacting the City of Virginia Beach Historial Preservation person. I sent an email explaining my quest and am awaiting reply.