Bryant Research, Cont. - trip to Richmond

I took a long list of research tasks with me to my first visit to the Library of Virginia. 

My list included:

• find the Joyners of Southampton book written by Ulysses P. Joyner, 1975
• obtain the missing page from the Bryant probate file (Ida's deposition, p.2)
• research Ida's marriage history for the years 1884-1895 (especially her marriage to the mystery man surname Williams, and her divorce or annulment from L.P. Eley). 
• find Earl Butler's birth certificate from 1892.
• locate any new information about the Allens of Lunenburg County.

There were several other items on my list, but four hours went by far too quickly!

The first thing I did was to search through the microfiche records of marriages for Ida, and the Bureau of Vital Statistic records for Earl. This took nearly two hours of my precious time. The marriage records yielded two entries to follow up on, but nothing very promising. The birth records were disappointing as they were virtually unreadable - white on black background, and very faint. 

I was able to save some interesting pages to a flash drive that I purchased for $8 at the circulation desk.

Then I went to the archives room and requested the probate file. It took about 15 minutes for them to retrieve it while I applied for the necessary library card. It was a poignant moment for me as I held the folder of original papers that were once held in the hands of my great grandparents. There were all of the original receipts and documents supporting the court case between Addie Fletcher and her siblings over her father's estate. The missing page was easily found. It happened to be the page containing Ida's original handwritten signature. It took my breath away for a moment. I felt connected to her in a way that a photocopy cannot match. The documents also included the signed deposition of my great grandfather George Abbott. I filled out a copy request for Ida's signature page, and handed the file back to the librarian. 

With only an hour left in the library, I left the archives room and went to the circulation desk to request the book, Joyners of Southampton, which is housed in the closed library and had to be retrieved by the staff. In the meantime, I browsed through the "Local History and Genealogy" room. I found the shelf of books for Southampton County and searched every one. I found "Wills and Administrations of Southampton County, Virginia 1749-1800, and took a photo of an entry for Lewis Bryant. I didn't spend much time on it, as I already had a copy of his will in my ancestry records. (Lewis - born in 1690 - is the earliest Bryant ancestor that I have been able to find in Southampton County).

I checked out the Joyners of Southampton book, and realized quickly that I was holding an absolute treasure trove of family history. Rather than photocopy a few pages, I sat down and (almost) indiscriminately took photos with my iphone of about 20 pages, including a wonderful map of land holdings that was folded on the inside back cover.

With only about 30 minutes left of my time in the library, I searched through all of the books in the Lunenburg County section. I found mention of a deed witnessed by my ancestor Turner Allen. This was not really helpful to answer my questions about the Allens, but I took a photo anyway. 

These questions that were not addressed on this visit to the Library of Virginia will have to wait: 

1. Was Mary Eliza Bryant born in 1861 (per birth record) or 1862 (per family Bible)? 
2. Who was Earl Butler's father? (find birth record).
3. Who were Rawley Butler's birth parents? (find birth record)
4. Where was William Butler and what was he doing in the lost years after the Civil War until 1895?
5. Where was Charles Bryant in the years between 1880 and 1908?
6. When did Blucher and Addie Fletcher first purchase the property in Blackwater?
7. Find proof of Robert Scott Allen's ancestry through John Watson Allen and Turner Allen of Lunenburg County, Virginia. What is the connection to the Bacon and Collier families?
8. Why is George James Powell's gravestone mistakenly engraved "George Littleton Powell?"
9. Where did the name Fenton originate in the Bryant family?
10. Where did Jefferson Powell meet Marie Louis Judd? Why did she move from NY to Va?
11. Find a listing of the orphanage rolls at the Methodist orphanage in Richmond (Earl, William, Rawley).
12. What is the story about the lost patent for growing peanuts?

On my way home from Richmond, I called my collaborator cousin Matt. I reported my discoveries at the Library of Virginia, and we shared our enthusiasm for all the new things we had learned as I drove down route 460 - alongside the very railroad tracks that carried my Virginia ancestors to NJ and ultimately connected my destiny with Matt's. 

I can't explain how I felt as this railroad that I had passed so many times in my life now has a whole new significance for me. 

As a result of our conversation, I am determined to find out whose handwriting is the Bryant family Bible (dated 1870), since Margaret, the supposed owner of the Bible, was illiterate. I will process the photos and digital documents that I found and share them with Matt. I will contact the member of the Princess Anne Historical group (J. Waterfield) who remembers the Bryant farm in Blackwater. I will await response from my letter to the current owners of the farm regarding graves on that property. And I will definitely plan a visit to NJ one day soon to visit all of the sites related to the Abbott side of family.

After my visit to the library, I went to the Lessards' new home in Midlothian to spend the night. It was an amazingly wonderful visit, and a highlight was a morning walk on a wooded path around the Swift Creek Reservoir. In a wooded area, we saw a gravestone just off the path engraved "A. J. 1883." A tree had grown over the grave and threatened to topple it. I took a picture and, of course was compelled to research the history of the Brandermill property. Someone wrote that it was likely a slave's grave marker because it gave only initials. I am not sure I agree due to the date and quality of the stone. Anyway, it only shows how easy it is to get caught up in this kind of research and get lost down one rabbit hole after another!