Another absolutely delightful day spent with Charlie Fletcher and his daughter, Terry (my 3rd cousin, as we found out). When we three get together, one never knows what direction the day will take!
 |
| The Fletcher home on Kent Lane, built 51 years ago. See the new tea house on the point to the left. |
We started out with a tour of Charlie's "man cave" and private apartment over the garage. There are artifacts from our family's past everywhere. I took photos and hope to attribute them to the correct forefathers in the Bryant-Fletcher family.
The first thing I saw was the antique car - this is the actual vehicle that was taken to family outings to Afton mountain when Charlie was a youth. I have written previously about the fateful accident involving another family car, in which cousin Idarene suffered severe facial injuries that left scars. Charlie would have been in that other car if his mother had allowed it.
Next we toured the upstairs apartment. Here are some of the family heirlooms that decorate this space:
 |
| Kitchen table from the Fletcher family home in Blackwater. |
 |
| Bed tray made by Charlie's father, Bluke. |
 |
| Buffet table made by Blucher, Sr. for Addie. The table opens up for silver utensil storage. |
 |
| Side table made by Bluke. |
 |
| Plant stand - one of dozens made by Bluke. |
A ride in the golf cart took us over to the Tea House built in honor of Terry's mother, Juanita. The little house is mostly glass on one side facing the sunset over the water. Inside, the house is decorated in Asian-style furnishings in soft greens. The tea house has two lofts - one for playing games and one for sleeping. Below are sitting and dining areas, and a bathroom/closet. Basic kitchen appliances and supplies are hidden away in a beautifully refinished armoire.
 |
| The tea house and footbridge to the house. |
 |
I enlarged this photo so the COLLARD GREENS FOR SALE sign could be seen above the sleeping loft.
Blucher, Sr. made this sign to sell produce from his farm in Blackwater. In the corner is a small desk and lamp made by Bluke, Jr. The lamp was fashioned from old colorful metal Venetian blind slats. |
 |
| Toy chest made for Charlie by his father. |
 |
| Vegetable bin made by Blucher, Sr. Each bin drains moisture to a pan underneath the bin. |
 |
| Table made of wood scavenged from the Blackwater farm. |
 |
| Chess set made by Charlie's father, Bluke. The pieces are stored in an old wooden nail-sorting container. |
We ate fancy sandwiches for lunch, drank tea, and headed over to the main house to look through some old papers and photos. A letter written to Bluke, Jr. by my great grandmother Ida's was discovered in this old box:
 |
| This box contains piles of old letters and documents dating back to the early 1900's. |
Terry brought out another large box of her grandmother's old photos and we realized that this job would not be completed in one sitting. But we did discover a few new facts to add to our family tree! For instance, Charlie had told us the story about his Uncle Billie (William Thomas Bryant) visiting the family home on Peachtree Street in Ocean View. Uncle Billie had an old wound on the inside of his right calf that wouldn't heal. Charlie recalled Billie sitting on the porch in a rocking chair and digging at the wound with a pocket knife. We wondered how he got this "war" wound, as it was described. Well, wouldn't you know, in the box we found a letter written in 1924 to Bluke, Jr. from his uncle Charles Bryant in New Jersey, and in the letter, Charles mentions "Billie's" leg wound that had occurred the previous year. There was no war in 1923 that we could recall!
The letter from Charles Bryant is a treasure - it revealed other important new information that I have yet to assimilate into our family tree. The letterhead was from his piano company and gave both his business and home addresses. Who knows where these new clues will lead!
The large box of photos contained mostly pictures of the Fletchers, but we found some amazing photos of the Bryant side of the family. We actually found a photo of the twins - Ida and Addie. I did not know that such a photo even existed.
 |
Addie and Ida Rene, left and right. I think Charlie's mother Catherine is in the middle.
I'm guessing that the one on the right is Ida... she looks most like the photos I've seen of her. |
Many, many more new photos and writings were gleaned from this afternoon's work. They will all be identified where possible, and will be posted to Ancestry. Plans were discussed with Terry for future genealogy road trips - to Southampton County, to the Library of Virginia in Richmond, and to Point Lookout, MD, where our mutual great great grandfather Eley Bryant was POW for a year.
