Where do I begin... so much I have learned today! I invited cousin Charlie Fletcher and his daughter Terry over for lunch today. The idea was that I would share what I have learned about the Bryant family history, and ask some of the burning questions that I hoped Charlie could answer. Charlie is an impressively sharp 91 year old, full of stories about his life and about family.
They arrived at 10:30 a.m. We talked for about two hours before we even thought about having lunch! Conversation went off on many tangents (listed below) which I will explain later in this post.
- The Jamestown Exposition of 1907 on Seawells Farm
- Ocean View
- Asbury Park
- Civil War
- Blackwater
- investment properties
After lunch we got on the computer and I invited Terry to view and contribute to my family tree on Ancestry. We looked at some of the photos, stories, and documentation that I have collected for each ancestor. Then we looked at maps online to learn where the Bryant and Fletcher family farms were located in Blackwater. Though it was already 3:00 in the afternoon by this time, we decided to get in the car and drive out to Blackwater to see the land firsthand.
As we thought, the memories ingrained in Charlie's brain led us to all the places he remembered from childhood. Even though the landscape is dramatically changed, he "felt" that we should turn or veer right there... he knew the names of every family property we passed. We turned off of Blackwater Road onto S. Head of River Road, a small segment of road that probably used to be part of Blackwater Road. We stopped where Charlie thought the Bryant family farm should have been. We pulled in a driveway next to a couple of modern barn buildings. A neat row of ancient cypress trees up to the main road gave a clue that an old driveway had been there. I got out of the car and talked with a girl who was putting horses away in the barn. Her last name was Ehrinzeller and she had only owned the property for a few years. She bought the farm from the daughter of the Wright family (of the Lake Wright Hotel) and had no idea of its history. But Charlie was sure it was the right place. The "old Cox place" was right next door.
UPDATE 9/20/21: Recently I sat down and wrote down a timeline of Bryant family history. I discovered that Charlie Fletcher was not born until after his family moved to Ocean View in Norfolk, so he could not have had childhood memories of the family farms in Blackwater. This put a good part of my research into question! After studying the original deed to the Bryant farm, I learned that it was actually located on the other side of the Cox farm, across Head of River Road.
Note to my children: This farm, once owned by my 2X great grandfather, is at one end of Head of River Road. At the other end of Head of River Road is the farm where your paternal great grandmother, Mae Kelly, was born.
Then we drove up the road to Pungo Ferry Road, where the Fletcher Farm had once been. "Pungo Ferry Road ran right through the middle of grandfather's strawberry field," recalls Charlie. The Davis Grainery, next to the original house, was once on a piece of property owned by the Fletchers. We took pictures of where the house once stood, but the only remaining evidence was an old tree (see picture below).
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The big old tree stood in front of the Fletcher house, which burned down.
Sadly, the tree fell not long after this photo was taken. |
Further down Blackwater Road was the Baptist Church, where we thought we might find some family graves. We were specifically looking for the graves of Eley and Margaret Bryant. Charlie said that his grandfather, Blucher, was the first elder of the
Blackwater Baptist Church so we thought we'd check out the cemetery there. We looked at all the oldest gravestones, but no luck. There was a Margrett Jane Fletcher - no idea who she was. But it was a pleasant adventure into Pungo history.
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| Blackwater Baptist Church |
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From Findagrave.com:
Margaret Jane was married, first to George A. Gilbert
in about 1880, and second, to Malachi G. Fletcher
in about 1903 (this was Malachi's third marriage).
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We stopped at the Blackwater Trading Post, originally owned by the Cox family, where we ran into a native of Blackwater who shared some stories with Charlie. Then we drove down to the Mill Dam Stream where Murray's sawmill had once been. Both families are related to the Fletchers by marriage. Blucher Fletcher was married twice before he married Addie. A daughter from a previous marriage was married to Mr. Murray. Their son, Edgar, lived and worked on the farm with Blucher and Addie (1910 Census). Blucher, Jr.'s step-sister, Margaret, married into the Cox family ("Sis Mag") who owned the farm next to the Bryants.
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| Terry and her father, Charlie. |
Side stories:
Sis Mag's adopted son Horace Cox, who worked for Kline Chevrolet, was killed by muggers.
Margaret's sister Penelope was married to Dr. Murray and lived in the gray house at Boush and 21st Street.
Now, back to the random topics of conversation from this morning.
Blucher Fletcher, Sr., purchased 8 lots for $25 each in Ocean View and created a "mini-farm" at Willoughby Heights off 1st View. Blucher built houses on Peachtree Street out of cypress from his farm land in Blackwater. The first house (9337 Peachtree) was divided into apartments and several generations lived under one roof. I believe my grandfather, Ernie Zaun, lived with them for a short time when he first moved to Norfolk from Richmond. The second house (9327 Peachtree) was Addie's "dream house." Both houses are still standing. Charlie was born on Peachtree Street, and his daughter, Terry, was born in another house on Peachtree Street.
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| 9337 Peachtree Street |
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| 9327 Peachtree Street, Ocean View, Norfolk, Va. |
Blucher Jr. and his son Phillip (Charlie's father) left the farm and got work dismantling the houses on Sewells Point. These homes had been built on the former Sewells Farm by the 13 colonial states for the Jamestown Exposition of 1907*, and the Navy wanted to tear them down and use the land for barracks. [The houses were all moved to one street and became known as Admirals Row].
Charlie remembers his uncle Charlie Bryant (his namesake) visiting their home on Peachtree Street in his chauffeured car. Charlie Bryant's wife Mariah was a wealthy widow who owned several hotels on the beach in Asbury Park in New Jersey. He also remembers visiting my grandparents, Jack and Ernie Zaun, in their home on Mason's Creek Road. The house is still there (cream with two rails). [Note: I can find no evidence of my grandparents living on Mason Creek Rd].
Charlie still has the money that was in the pocket of his great grandfather Blucher when he signed up to go to war. Blucher had described to Addie how he hid behind trees during battle and watched the bark fly off.
Charlie's aunt Ruth had a mental disability from Scarlet Fever.
One of Audrey's children was badly scarred on her face from an accident near Charlottesville when Charlie Page was driving. Charlie Fletcher had wanted to ride in the car with his fun uncle Charlie but his mother wouldn't let him.
There was once a streetcar to Ocean View at the Princess Anne County line. Van's Cottages were at the end of the line. Charlie delivered newspapers in this area as a boy. He invested in many properties that were hugely profitable in Ocean View and Virginia Beach, including "Little Williamsburg." [I am trying to find information on these properties].
*The "Norfolk 100" were men who built funds to bring the Jamestown Exposition to Norfolk instead of to Richmond.
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