- Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sallie White (32 KB)
John Edward White (1892-1951) and Sallie Meads White (1895-1967) were married in 1915 in Pasquotank Co., NC. He was the brother of my great-grandmother, Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993). Photo courtesy of their daughter, Lillie White Pritchard.
- Caleb W. and Annie Kellam Stevens House, 2009 (65 KB)
Located at 800 West Main Street at its intersection with Holly Street in Elizabeth City, NC, this was the home of Caleb Walston Stevens (1862-1935) and Annie Lee Kellam Stevens (1866-1952), and later of 2 of their 5 children, Lillie Mae Stevens (1892-1974) and Clyde Walston Stevens (1896-1983), until 1970. Annie was the youngest sister of my great2-grandmother, Rebecca Kellam Stevens (1856-1931), and Cale was a second cousin of my great2-grandfather, John Gregory Stevens (1855-1942). The Stevenses were from Camden Co., NC, whereas the Kellams were from Accomack County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Uncle Cale moved from Camden to Elizabeth City in 1888, where he became a successful businessman who dabbled in several ventures, including cigar manufacturing, real estate, a grocery store, and an early auto dealership. In 2007 I received an e-mail from the new owner of this home who had located my information in my website about it and was restoring it to become a bed and breakfast.
- Jacob Hadley (1786-1878) of Parke Co., IN (54 KB)
He was a brother of my great4-grandmother, Catherine Hadley Newlin (1772-1842), and came from Alamance or Chatham Co., NC, to Parke Co., IN.
- Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sallie White (30 KB)
This picture of my great-grandmother Mattie White Godfrey's brother, John Edward White (1892-1951), and his wife, Sallie Meads White (1895-1967), was taken shortly before his death at age 59 from a heart attack. Photo courtesy of Lillie White Pritchard.
- My Aunts Minnie and Ora Perrow (28 KB)
These were two sisters of my Great-Grandmother Pearson, Minnie Urania Perrow (Farmer) (1895-1988), on left, and Ora Harvey Perrow (Garner) (1892-1969), on right. Photo courtesy of Susan Garner Noll of Encinitas, CA.
- Aunt Ora and Uncle Welford Garner of Baltimore, MD (32 KB)
At top is Ora Perrow Garner (1892-1969) on a horse beside her brother J. Harvey Perrow (1900-1980). At bottom are Ora Perrow Garner and her husband, Welford Evans Garner, Sr. (1889-1971), at their home in Baltimore, MD. Photos courtesy of Susan Garner Noll of Encinitas, CA.
- Some Family of Benjamin Godfrey (1787-1853) (579 KB)
This photocopy is of some pictures in possession of Godfrey genealogist Shelton Godfrey (1913-1968) of Hampton, VA, a grandson of Benjamin's son Stephen Miles Godfrey (1846-1900). I am anxious to locate the originals and have copies made of these pictures, especially the one at bottom left as it is my great3-grandmother, Martha Jane ("Patsy") Godfrey Turner (1838-ca. 1909), who was also a half-sister of my great3-grandfather, Gilbert Godfrey (ca. 1822-ca. 1854), both being children of Benjamin Godfrey by different wives. At top left are Patsy's daughter Mary Jane Turner Williams (1863-1936), sister of my great2-grandmother Susan "Rebecca" Turner Godfrey (1862?-1917), and husband Noah Williams, and at top right is Charles Godfrey (ca. 1871-ca. 1926), who later lived at Belhaven, NC, son of Benjamin's daughter Rebecca "Melissa" Godfrey Hartin (1850?-1924).
- Uncle Fletcher Chiles Perrow (1842-1915) & family (31 KB)
He was a brother of my great2-grandfather W. Adolphus Perrow, and was in the Confederate Army. Top 3 pics are him and wife, Sallie Payne Perrow (1845-1896), and bottom 3 are their 2nd son, F. Kirk Perrow (1874-1947) and wife Elizabeth Stone Perrow (1881-1973). Sallie Payne Perrow was a great-great-granddaughter of Colonial Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood and a descendant of several other acting governors. Photos courtesy of the late Epps Turner Perrow of Hurt and Lynchburg, VA.
- Quinton R. and Henrietta White Hurdle family (41 KB)
Taken about 1905, this is Quinton Riddick Hurdle (1840-1924) and Henrietta White Hurdle (1855-1942) with 9 of their 10 children, a son-in-law James Copland, and their eldest grandchild, Quinton Raper Hurdle (1898-1991), taken on their farm at Belvidere, NC. Aunt "Ret" was a sister of my great2-grandfather, Willis Doctrine White (1865-1894). Their grandson Quint is the little boy in front holding Ret's hand. The girl holding Ret's left hand is her youngest child, Katherine "Eucil" Hurdle (Boyce)(1898-1982). The boy to Uncle Quinton's right is Jerome West Hurdle (1896-1963). The girls behind Jerome are, left to right, Clemma White Hurdle (Hayman)(1892-1985), Olive Hurdle (Lane)(1889-1918), Laura Eley Hurdle (Copland)(1882- ?) with husband James Phillips Copland behind her left side, and Bessie Elethia Hurdle (Parker)(1882-1935). In back are Earl Anderson Hurdle (1887-1961), John Quinton Hurdle (ca. 1877-ca. 1905), James Phillips Copland, and Hubert Doctrine Hurdle (1885-1962). The eldest child, William Carson Hurdle (1875-1940), is the only one not pictured, as he had already left home and settled in the New Hope vicinity of Perquimans County, but his son Quinton Raper Hurdle in front is shown. Photo courtesy of William C. Hurdle's grandson, John Quinton Caddy of New Hope, with whom we found in April, 2009 the Hurdle family plot off Perry's Bridge Road in northern Perquimans County where Ret, Quinton, his sister, and daughter Olive are buried, after a thorough search through a farm. I hope we can eventually find the plot nearby where Ret's parents, Doctrine R. Perry White (ca. 1806-1883) and Elizabeth "Catherine" Whitehead White (ca. 1828-bet. 1883-1890), my great3-grandparents, are buried, as my great2-grandfather Willis D. White is probably buried there also. Mr. Caddy had been to that cemetery also more than 30 years ago, and its location has been forgotten.
- David Gardiner's Grave, Hartford, CT, in 2004 (47 KB)
This is the tomb of my great10-grandfather, Lord David Gardiner (1636-1688), in Hartford's Ancient Burial Ground in back of the Congregational Church downtown. He lived on Gardiner's Island, NY, but died suddenly while on business in Hartford.
- Uncle Edgar Taylor's Home, Business, and Grave (41 KB)
At top is the plot where Uncle Edgar Dalby Taylor (1848-1928) and his wives are buried in Richmond, VA's Hollywood Cemetery. Left is me in front of his home at 6209 Three Chopt Rd., Richmond, in 2001, and on the right is the Powers-Taylor Building.
- The Lazarus and Joseph Lazarus Pearson Home, 2009 (1 KB)
Now the residence of the Lofton family and located on Rt. 581 on Little River in Wayne Co., NC, this was the home of my great3-grandparents, Lazarus Pearson (1814-1865) and Sarah Edgerton Pearson (1816-1872), after 1850, and later of my great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944), and his first wife, Mary Deans Pearson (1861-1917), until they moved to Goldsboro, NC after 1901 and then to Prince Edward Co., VA, in 1911. Supposedly all 8 of my maternal grandmother's half-siblings were born on this farm. Lazarus Pearson, a prominent slaveless planter, landowner, Quaker abolitionist, and Union sympathizer, was a leader of the Underground Railroad before the Civil War whose prominence, work ethics, and moral superiority aroused resentment and hostility from his Confederate slaveholding neighbors, but died of typhoid fever just a few weeks before the war ended. This home and the nearby home of my great2-grandparents, John Thomas Pearson (1837-1877) and Dicena Newlin Pearson (1836-1897), are now surrounded by a neighborhood. There is a picture included elsewhere on this home page of some descendants of Lazarus Pearson in 1886, which I assume was taken at this home, especially since Joseph and Mary were sitting on the porch with their two children at that time. However, the porch on the left in the current photograph does not show siding to the right, whereas one can see siding on the right in the 1886 photo. The owners say there were 4 porches on the house at one time, and the porch on the side in this picture is an addition to the house which may not have been there in 1886. Perhaps the 1886 photo was taken on a porch that was part of the main house but no longer exists, possibly because it may have been removed to make way for the smaller house that attaches to the main one.
- "Warwick," Upshur's Neck, Accomack Co., VA, 2005 (42 KB)
This was the plantation (though not the original home) of my great10-grandfather, Arthur Upshur (1624-1709) and his last wife, Mary Clarke Hammond Jacob Upshur (1618?-1703), an ancestor of my Jacob lineage. Many Eastern Shore residents and tourists are familiar with the folklore surrounding Rachel Revell Upshur (wife of Abel Upshur, son of Arthur II) being bitten by a rabid fox and smothered to death between two mattresses Christmas night 1749 and that the blood from her fox bite can still be seen on the doorstep/millstone when it rains. This occurred here, and she and Abel are also buried in the cemetery in front of the house.
- The last picture of Grandma O alive beside me (34 KB)
With the exception of pictures taken at my brother's wedding 4 months later, this was one of the last pictures of my maternal grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008), alive, taken by my friends Matthew and Angela Yehiel about 3 months after Grandma was placed in Eden Pines Assisted Living at Hampton, VA. This was 6 months before she had to be upgraded to The Newport nursing home at Newport News, VA and 8 months before her death. I did not realize this that day, but this picture was taken 2 February 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the death of my last-living great2-grandmother, Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958), Grandma's grandmother-in-law. Behind Grandma is the retirement picture of my grandfather, Melvin "Ray" Overstreet (1920-1984). After visiting Grandma that day, we went to a nearby nursing home to visit my Grandma Godfrey, whose dementia had already been advanced for a year and a half, and ironically I figured she would be the one not to last much longer instead of Grandma O, yet a year and a half later, she is still alive at 89.
- "Shirley," Hack's Neck, Accomack Co., VA, 2005 (45 KB)
This was the home of my great6-grandparents, George Hack (1743-1817) and Margaret Teackle Hack (1749-1823). They and several children of theirs are buried in the cemetery to the side of the house.
- My first visit to Newlin Mill Park in 2000 (50 KB)
Located at Concordville, PA, this is a park surrounding the grist mill built in 1704 by my great7-grandparents, Nathaniel and Mary Mendenhall Newlin. I returned to the mill for its tricentennial celebration in June, 2004.
- Cover of book About Robert W. Parker (1838-1865) (47 KB)
"Lee's Last Casualty" is about my 1/2-great4-uncle-by-marriage, said to be the last man killed in the Civil War from the Army of Northern Virginia who was shot just before the firing ceased at Appomattox. Published in 2008, it contains some biographical information but is mostly transcribed letters that Parker wrote to his family and that his wife Rebecca wrote to him that had been preserved by descendants until they were donated to the University of North Carolina. Sgt. Robert William Parker, from Bedford Co., VA, married Rebecca Louise Fitzhugh Walker (1840-1867), half-sister of my matrilineal great3-grandfather, Robert Benjamin Walker (1828-1908), and they had 3 children who became orphans after Rebecca's death at age 27, said to have been due to the fact that she never recovered from her grief at losing her husband 2 years earlier. I highly recommend this book for any cousins of mine on the Walker side. Interestingly, Uncle Robert Parker was a second cousin of the author Samuel Langhorne Clemens AKA Mark Twain, and my great4-grandfather Dr. James Alexander Walker's second wife, Nancy Moorman Jopling (1814-1873), was a cousin to both Twain and Parker, her son-in-law, through the Moorman family.
- "Fairview," Accomack Co., VA, 2005 (39 KB)
This was the plantation and cemetery of my great7-grandparents, Peter Hack Hack (1716-1802) and Ann Custis Hack (1725-1790), and later of their son Peter Hack (1754-1844). The Hack Monument was erected in 1929 over the old cemetery by two prominent descendants of the latter Peter Hack, B. Drummond Ayres and Henrietta Dawson Ayres Sheppard (1871-1960). Mrs. Sheppard's husband, Harper Donelson Sheppard (1868-1951), founded the Hanover Shoe Company at Hanover, PA, and the Sheppards used their fortunes from this for philanthropic causes, including her hobby of genealogy.
- My first trip to the Mother Country, January, 2001 (36 KB)
An avid anglophile, I hope to make many more such trips in search of ancestral sites. At top is Stonehenge, bottom right is Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon, and left is a window in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Needless to say, I did not have the advantage of a digital camera at that time!
- Cover of book about John Custis, IV (1678-1749) (14 KB)
Councillor John Custis IV was a brother of my great8-grandfather, Col. Henry Custis, of Virginia's Eastern Shore. History remembers John most as the father of Martha Washington's first husband from whose estate her second husband, George Washington, benefitted so much, and as the great-great-grandfather of Gen. Robert E. Lee's wife, but Custis was also a distinguished colonial botanist, colonial official, leading landowner, and leading slaveholder in Virginia who lived most of his adult life in Williamsburg, VA but is buried on the old Custis plantation on Old Plantation Creek in Northampton Co., VA on the Eastern Shore, beside his grandfather Maj. Gen. John Custis II (ca. 1629-1696), my great10-grandfather whose lineage I used to join the Society of Colonial Wars in 2000. John IV's Colonial Williamsburg home and extensive gardens were located on the present Francis Street near where the Colonial Parkway passes beneath the road, less than half a mile from my alma mater, the College of William and Mary. I hope that someday the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will decide to construct a likely replica of his house and gardens on the site to add to all the other buildings and gardens there that were restored or reconstructed for interpretive tours. Through the Osborne family of London, England, John IV and I were related distantly to statesman Peyton Randolph, whose Colonial Williamsburg home has been nicely restored and is open for tours. Custis was also a brother-in-law of the more famous Colonial Virginian, William Byrd II of "Westover," Charles City Co., VA. Not only do many prominent southern white families descend from the Custises, but John and several of his descendants are known to have sired children with their slaves and are therefore probably ancestors of numerous African-Americans.
- "Old Castle," Savage Neck, Northampton Co., VA (44 KB)
This was a Stratton home, possibly of my great7-grandfather, John Stratton (ca. 1695-ca. 1751), but most accounts say it was built by an immediate descendant of his.
- A Pearson Get-Together near Keysville, VA, 2000 (45 KB)
This is the "Mount Vernon" farm at Briery, birthplace of my maternal grandmother. Bottom right are my grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008), and sister, Virginia Pearson Wheeler (1922- ), in front of the 1995 Plymouth Neon I owned from 1998 to 2002.
- "Conjuror's Neck," Colonial Heights, VA, 2004 (43 KB)
This was the homesite of my great9-grandparents, Col. Richard Kennon (?-ca. 1696) and Elizabeth Worsham Kennon (ca. 1651-ca. 1743). The original home burned, but the present one was built on its foundation. The surrounding neighborhood retains the name. Interestingly, my stepmother, her ex-husband, and their daughter lived on Conduit Road, the main thoroughfare leading into this neighborhood, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before I knew my mother's ancestors were rooted in that neighborhood and probably owned land extending up to Conduit Road.
- Cousin Hessie Newlin Davis (1891-1979) (41 KB)
Mrs. Davis was a daughter of my Great-Great-Grandmother Pearson's brother, J. Oliver Newlin. She was a conservative Quaker and lived at Sophia, Randolph Co., NC. Her family have been some of my favorite relatives, especially her youngest daughter, Emily Davis Pugh (1922-2004), who gave me this picture. Emily's death on December 19, 2004 was one of my most regrettable among the many deaths I have experienced in my genealogy contacts the past decade.
- Cousin Epps Turner Perrow (1912-2006 ) (41 KB)
The widow of my Grandma Overstreet's 2nd cousin, F. Kirk Perrow, Jr. (1906-1992), Mrs. Perrow was one of my most delightful relatives. She was a long-time artist in the Lynchburg/Altavista area when she lived at her husband's family home, "Locust Hill."
- Joseph and Ruth Farlow Newlin (1 KB)
Joseph Newlin (1797-1865) and Ruth Farlow Newlin (1801-1874) were my first-born great3-grandparents and lived in Alamance Co. and Randolph Co., NC. Joseph led an interesting life as a prominent Quaker investor, businessman, trustee of New Garden Boarding School which later became Guilford College at Greensboro, NC, tavernkeeper, tinsmith, and postmaster on the old Fayetteville to Salem Plank Road that is now U.S. Highway 311. In 1852 he made a journey to Quaker meetings from North Carolina all the way to Maine, recording his travels via train, horseback, and boat in 2 journals which are an important primary source in Quaker history and for the Newlin family, for he passed through his ancestral territory in Pennsylvania on his way to New England. This is a scan of page 525 of Dr. Algie I. Newlin's 1965 genealogy, "The Newlin Family: Ancestors and Descendants of John and Mary Pyle Newlin," this page being a biography of Joseph and Ruth with small pictures or portraits of them at the bottom. I would like to know where Dr. Newlin obtained these pictures or whether he or his brother Harvey made copies and where they or the originals might be, for I am interested in having copies made. Dr. Newlin transcribed Joseph's journal shortly before his death in 1985 at age 89. My maternal grandmother's second cousins, children of Joseph's granddaughter Hessie Newlin Davis (1891-1979) of Sophia, NC, who inherited many heirlooms, did not recall where these pictures came from and whether these were in their family, but they shared everything they had as of 1996 with me and insisted I keep some photographs and letters, including an original photograph of Joseph's father, Nathaniel Newlin (1768-1867), who settled in Bloomingdale, IN in 1826 with 9 of his 10 children, Joseph being the only one who remained in North Carolina. A cellarette from the Joseph Newlin tavern is on display in the Reading Room of Guilford College's Friends Historical Collection.
- Home of the W. Adolphus Perrow Family, 2004 (56 KB)
Located on Nowlin's Mill Road in Campbell Co., VA, this was the home where my great-great-grandparents, W. Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow, lived, later owned by their son Adolphus, Jr., and now by his son Robert.
- Mary Emily Newlin Allee (1856-1962) (42 KB)
Having lived her entire 105 years in Parke Co., IN, where her great-grandfather and my great4-grandfather Nathaniel Newlin (1768-1867) settled in 1826, she remembered him well, and both were members of Bloomingdale Friends Meeting and are buried in its cemetery along with many other Newlin descendants. Mrs. Allee retained the traditional Quaker plain speech of "thou" and "thee." This was taken on her 104th birthday, copied from Dr. Algie I. Newlin's 1965 Newlin book. In addition to the extreme longevity of Mrs. Allee and her great-grandfather, it is noteworthy that her son Hermon Maris Allee (1886-1988) lived nearly 102 years, that her son Foster Cook Allee (1889-1983) lived 93 years, his wife Kathleen Morrison Allee (1893-1995), who was also a descendant of Nathaniel Newlin, lived 102 years, that both of her sisters lived into their 90s, that their father Exum Newlin (1830-1917) lived 86 years, that their great2-grandfather John Newlin (1716?-1805?), my great5-grandfather, lived about 90 years, and that their great3-grandmother Mary Woodward Newlin (1690-1790), my great6-grandmother, lived 100 years. Mrs. Allee was a second cousin of my matrilineal great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944), on his maternal Newlin side, and coincidentally, on his paternal Edgerton side, he had another second cousin named Mary who lived to the same age, Mary ("Mollie") Jinnette Pearson (1876-1981), who was also the second wife of his brother William Eli Pearson (1863-1928). Is there something to be said for Quaker attitudes and morals contributing to health and longevity? I have known several more Quaker relatives in my lifetime who might give credence to that suggestion.
- Old Burying Ground, Deerfield, MA, 2004 (34 KB)
This was the burial place of the victims of the 1704 French and Indian raid on Deerfield, several of whom, the Smeads and Nimses, were collaterally related to me through the Stoughton family. Deerfield Academy adjoins the property. Although I am only collaterally related to these Deerfield residents, I enjoyed visiting the town during the 300th anniversary of the raid in 2004, and look forward to more opportunities to visit it and similar New England villages.
- The Pearson homes & bridge, Wayne Co., NC (45 KB)
Top left is the home of my great2-grandfather J. Thomas Pearson. Center and bottom are the home of his father Lazarus Pearson, where my great-grandfather Joseph lived with his 1st wife. Rt. 581 bridge over Little River used to be called Pearson Bridge.
- 7 Generation Ancestor Table for My Brother and Me (1 KB)
This shows the first 7 generations of my ancestry back to my great4-grandparents. Unfortunately, because vertical text format is not compatible with Microsoft Word's Webpage format, I cannot post this as a file. Also, Word will not allow one to split a column into more than 63 columns, which is why I had to enter my 64 great4-grandparents as couples in the same column, and why I cannot show more than 7 generations. These charts are a good way of seeing ancestor duplications in one's immediate ancestry for those of us (probably most of us) with inbreeding in our ancestry, which is inevitable for those whose ancestors lived in the same locality for generations. There are no ancestor duplications in the first 6 generations of my ancestry, but there is one in the 7th, Benjamin Godfrey, who is a great4-grandparent of mine 2 ways (meaning I have 63 instead of 64 great4-grandparents) because my great-grandfather, Gilbert Godfrey, was a product of 1/2-first cousins who both shared Benjamin Godfrey as a grandparent (being descended from different wives of his). If I could show 8 generations, there would be more duplications in my ancestry, for my great4-grandfathers Samuel Updike and William Updike were brothers and had as parents Amon Updike (1749-1828) and Hannah Harris (1753- ?). To complicate mattters even more, my great4-grandmother Sarah Updike Warner was a sister of my great3-grandfather William Updike, so that makes their parents, Samuel Updike and Jemima Willis, my great4-grandparents one way and my great5-grandparents another way, and makes Amon Updike and Hannah Harris, as well as all their ancestors, triple ancestors of mine. As one can see here, my father descends from Godfreys 3 ways and Sawyers 2 ways, and my mother's father was descended from Updikes 3 ways and Whites 2 ways. These charts are also a good way of viewing problematical areas in one's immediate ancestry at a glance by seeing where blanks are. I feel thankful#
- The Blessing of Whitie Godfrey, Oct., 2004 (38 KB)
This was the annual Blessing of the Animals at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Top left are my friend Matt Yehiel, who gave Whitie to me in 2003, with his girlfriend Angela and cat Orwell.
- Cousin Theo Williamson and myself, 2004 (24 KB)
Theo Ernest Williamson (1914-2005) of Newport News, VA, was my Great-Grandfather Overstreet's first cousin and last-living grandchild of Jesse Powers Overstreet (1838-1924) and Mary Jane Warner Overstreet (1841-1922), whose picture he is holding. This was taken about six months before he celebrated his 90th birthday in his home on Roanoke Avenue, where he and his wife of 67 years, Frankie Overstreet Williamson (1915-2007), lived 1948-2005. Because he vaguely remembered his Overstreet grandparents, Mr. Williamson saw at least seven generations of the Overstreet family, even though he never had children of his own. Photo courtesy of Gail Dowdy Hayes of Newport News, VA, a niece of Mrs. Williamson and distant cousin to Mr. Williamson and me.
- Me Standing Next to Grandma O's Body, 10/14/2008 (31 KB)
This was when my maternal grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008), died, taken the night of her viewing at Peninsula Funeral Home in Newport News, VA. Although my mother says it was time for Grandma to die since she suffered from dementia for several years and apparently suffered debilitating strokes and pneumonia the last 2 months, and most would say 87 years is a long life even for a woman nowadays, I wasn't prepared for her to die until after she was 90 and after Grandma Godfrey died. But I should be thankful I had both Grandmas when I turned 35 and that 3 of my 4 grandparents lived into their 80s. I am also thankful that Grandma did not live so long wasting away in assisted living or nursing home care that her life savings/ children's inheritance was spent, which has been the case with Grandma Godfrey. I have inherited Grandma O's bedroom and dining room furniture and dishes-china from both grandmothers which I proudly display in my condominium, and I hope to live up to my grandparents' standards of parsimony, hard work, and generosity which are so lacking in the younger generations.
- Old Wachapreague Burial Ground, Accomack Co., VA (43 KB)
One of the Eastern Shore's oldest cemeteries, this is where my great6-grandfather, Zorobabel Kellam (ca. 1721-1791), and his father, John Kellam (ca. 1696-1771), are buried. The original headstones are pictured.
- Jesse P. and Mary Warner Overstreet (27 KB)
Jesse Powers Overstreet (1838-1924) and Mary Jane Warner Overstreet (1841-1922) were my great3-grandparents and lived in Bedford Co., VA. He was in the Civil War (CSA), and her father was in the Revolutionary War! Photo courtesy of Wilma Overstreet Noell of Bedford, VA.
- Grandma Godfrey's 90th Birthday, 1/11/2010 (32 KB)
This was not a happy occasion as Grandma has been in the advanced stage of dementia since she was 86, and there was no celebration but I decided on the spur of the moment to drive down to the nursing home in Hampton, VA to celebrate one grandparent making it to 90. Grandma's mother lived to be 102 (but without any dementia until the very end), so who knows how long Grandma could linger like this with no quality of life.
- Johnson's Methodist Church, Northampton Co., VA (36 KB)
These are the graves of my great3-grandfather, Thomas Hatton Kellam, Jr. (1826?-1907), his son David Cornelius Kellam (1854-1925), and several members of Uncle David's family.
- The Jesse P. Overstreet Family (43 KB)
Bottom right: Cousin Theo E. Williamson and wife/distant cousin, Frankie Overstreet Williamson of Newport News, VA Top left: Me at graves of Jesse P. and Mary Warner Overstreet, 2003 Bottom left: Another descendant in the plot.
- Cousin Sallie Pearson Moore (1904-1998) & me, 1995 (35 KB)
Mrs. Moore was my maternal grandmother's first cousin, and the last practicing Quaker in the immediate Pearson family. Top picture taken at the Newlin Reunion in Alamance Co., NC, bottom one at her home at Liberty, NC. Beside her in the reunion picture is one of her daughters, Sarah Moore Shoffner, Ph.D.
- The B. Zone Overstreet Family in 1925 (36 KB)
My grandfather Ray Overstreet (age 5 at the time), his siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and paternal grandparents, are all pictured here at a 1925 get-together on the Overstreet farm in Bedford Co., VA.
- When I first joined the SAR in 1996 (24 KB)
This was when I became a member of the Williamsburg, VA chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, using my lineage of descent from Col. James Callaway (1736-1809) of Bedford Co., VA. There are over a dozen other ancestors I could have used as well. I applaud SAR and similar organizations for their efforts at honoring veterans of all wars and the current military, but I wish they would be less celebratory and more open-minded or cognizant of the wrongdoings of our forebears.
- Nathaniel Newlin (1768-1867) of Bloomingdale, IN (1 KB)
I don't normally like to play favorites with certain ancestors or sides of my family, but I am fascinated by ancestors who lived long, righteous, healthy, and interesting lives, have well-traced family roots, traveled a lot in their lifetimes, left portraits or photographs of themselves, have extant grave markers, and/or left numerous descendants, especially if they left many descendants of prominence. Nathaniel Newlin, one of my earliest-born great-great-great-great-grandparents, was one of my favorite ancestors for all of these reasons and also because I have an original picture of him, because he was among the Midwestern pioneers of the early 1800s (of which I have few among my direct ancestors because my immediate family is from the East), because he was a North Carolina Quaker who pioneered in the development of Parke County, Indiana, and the founding of its Bloomingdale Friends Meeting, and since he left a journal of his 1819 journey to the Midwest as a Friends elder, seven years before settling in Indiana with his wife, Catherine Hadley Newlin (1772-1842), and nine of their ten children. I descend from their second child, Joseph Newlin (1797-1865), the only one who remained in North Carolina. The descendants of Nathaniel and Catherine are very numerous. He lived 99 years, and such pictures of people born at that time are rare. He was a farmer and harness marker, and worked at the latter occupation until within six hours of his death. The youngest of the six children of John and Mary Pyle Newlin, Nathaniel was the only child not born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, from where the family moved with other Quakers to Alamance County, North Carolina, around 1768, where Nathaniel lived until settling in Parke County, Indiana, 58 years later. The basketball star, Larry Bird, a native of French Lick, IN, is a great-great-great-great-grandson of Nathaniel's eldest brother, James Newlin (1747-1813).
- Great-Aunt Mable Overstreet Hawkins' 4 children (41 KB)
These are Linda Sue Hawkins (Howell) Styne (1942- ), Travis William Hawkins (1945-2005), Eugene Calvin Hawkins (1952- ), and Richard Colon Hawkins (1954- ). The second picture was taken May 3, 2005 as a Mother's Day gift for Aunt Mable just three days before Travis died unexpectedly at age 59 of a heart attack. Supposedly, the second picture was the only other picture of them all together by themselves since the first picture was taken when they were children, so it was very lucky it was taken when it was. However, Aunt Mable had a very sad 2005 Mother's Day standing next to her son's casket in Bedford, VA's Updike Funeral Home, but there were many visitors there paying condolences to Travis' family. This picture was developed in time to be displayed, along with many other pictures of Travis, at the funeral home. Although I did not know Travis that well and only saw him at family reunions or funerals, I was in shock over his death as it is, fortunately, not too often that close relatives of mine pass away so suddenly, and I received a speeding ticket on Route 29 on my way to his viewing as I was not concentrating on my driving.
- Aunt Zilphia Edgerton Hollowell (1824-1901) (19 KB)
She was a daughter of Thomas and Absilla Pike Edgerton and sister of my great3-grandmother, Sarah Edgerton Pearson. She lived in Wayne Co., NC, and died in Greensboro, NC.
- Cousin Irene Langhorne Gibson (1873-1956) (31 KB)
Immortalized as "The Gibson Girl" as the wife of artist Charles Dana Gibson, she was a 4th cousin of my great-great-grandmother, Ella Walker Perrow, through the Callaway family. She symbolized southern high society and feminine ideals in the last century
- Ruth Pearson Harper (1901-1985) of Roanoke, AL (34 KB)
My maternal grandmother's first cousin, Mrs. Harper typed a genealogy of the Pearson family in 1982, and she and her husband were killed during a storm by a falling tree limb in their driveway three years later. I am continuing her genealogy efforts. Photos courtesy of John B. Harper of Birmingham, AL.
- John Nelson (ca. 1654-1734) of Boston, MA (1 KB)
An eminent settler, merchant, and statesman of Boston, born in London, England, he was a nephew and heir of Sir Thomas Temple, Governor of Acadia (Nova Scotia) and allegedly a brother of my great9-grandmother, Margaret Nelson Teackle, who settled in Accomack Co., VA. Nelson was a leading proponent of his time for the expulsion of the French from North America, and his conflicts with the French once resulted in his imprisonment in the Bastille. His and Margaret's ancestry has been traced back to royalty several ways through their mother's Temple lineage, and many prominent families of New England and Long Island descend from John Nelson and his wife Elizabeth Tailer, including those of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Senator John Forbes Kerry. One of my genealogy challenges has been locating primary source materials proving that Rev. Thomas Teackle married John Nelson's sister Margaret, which has long been stated in genealogies of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and never disputed. The main circumstantial evidence is the fact that a Teackle descendant named a son Temple Nelson Robins (1797-1843), and Temple and Nelson have been used several other times in the Robins-Teackle family. Thomas Teackle Upshur (1844-1910), the leading Eastern Shore genealogist a century ago, stated his ancestor Thomas Teackle's second marriage to Margaret, daughter of Robert and Mary Temple Nelson of London, and more than likely it had been passed down through the family but the primary source records have disappeared. I am convinced the connection is valid, but Gary Boyd Roberts, a leading American genealogist and expert on royal descents, has stated that he'd like to see a monograph proving the Nelson-Teackle marriage. Even if, by some unlikely chance, it is invalid, I can still claim a collateral connection to Nelson's wife, Elizabeth Tailer, through her mother's Stoughton line, one of my mother's prominent New England lineages.
- My cat Whitie when she was given to me in 11/2003 (33 KB)
The pic of her sleeping on top of my monitor while I was typing an e-mail is the cutest. The top left pic is just a filler, showing me in Baltimore, MD's Inner Harbor a few months before I acquired Whitie. With the exception of a dog for a short time when I was very young, I never had pets all my life until a friend gave Whitie to me less than two years after I first expressed an interest in having a cat.
- The Pearson-Edgerton farm/ cemetery, Wayne Co., NC (41 KB)
Botton right is the H. Haskell Edgerton homeplace, formerly the home of my great4-grandfather Ichabod Pearson II (1781-1845). At left is the Pearson-Lewis-Gurley-Edgerton cemetery on the farm. The home is now owned by Pat Edgerton, Uncle Haskell's grandson
- Aunt Lovey and Uncle Jim Sanderlin (16 KB)
James Berry Sanderlin (1868-1950) and Lovey Godfrey Sanderlin (1869-1954). Lovey was a sister of my patrilineal great-great-grandfather, John Hughes Godfrey. They lived in Camden Co., NC. Photo courtesy of Linda Mansfield.
- Uncle Luke & Aunt Mary Wright Stevens, Shiloh, NC (17 KB)
Luke Stevens (1815-1878) was a brother of my great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Stevens. He donated the steeple for an earlier Shiloh Baptist Church which was replaced by the present brick building. Photo courtesy of Linda Mansfield.
- Sarah Gregory Stevens Sanderlin (1837-1892) (35 KB)
Sallie was my great-great-great-grandmother and lived near Shiloh, Camden Co., NC. She had children by both husbands, Noah Berry Stevens (1829?-1865) and Enoch Garrett Sanderlin (ca. 1829-ca. 1902). Photo courtesy of the late Carl F. Cannon, Jr.
- Aunt Luna Stevens Godfrey Godfrey (1887-1987) 1905 (32 KB)
Luna was a first cousin of my great-grandmother, Rebecca Stevens Godfrey, and married my great-grandfather's brother, Loyal Berry Godfrey. She was the earliest-born relative I ever met, having met her in 1986 when I was 13 three months before she died.
- Lucy Wilhelmina Nottingham Kellam (1859-1898) (22 KB)
Mina was the first wife of David Cornelius Kellam (1854-1925) of Northampton Co., VA, brother of my great2-grandmother Rebecca Kellam Stevens. Photo courtesy of her granddaughter-in-law, Virginia Felts Brown of "Spring Grove," Westmoreland Co., VA.
- Lucy Wilhelmina Kellam Mayo Brown Bowman 1887-1971 (20 KB)
Cousin Mina (or Mrs. B), a native of Northampton County, VA, was a daughter of David Cornelius Kellam by his first wife Wilhelmina Nottingham, and a first cousin of my great-grandmother, Rebecca Stevens Godfrey. She and her second husband, James Dall Brown (1880-1949), lived at his family home, "Spring Grove," on Cople Highway in Westmoreland Co., VA, had five sons, and are buried with their family at historic Yeocomico Episcopal Church, which a remote uncle of ours, Major Francis Wright, helped found. Photo courtesy of her daughter-in-law, Virginia Felts Brown (widow of J. Dall Brown, Jr.) of "Spring Grove."
- Sir Charles Scarborough (ca. 1616-1694) (29 KB)
He was a brother of my immigrant ancestor, Col. Edmund Scarborough of Accomack Co., VA, and a noted court physician and scholar in England.
- My friends and me at the W&M Wren Building, 2005 (417 KB)
These are me (left), Michael Marmura, MD (now a neurologist specializing in headaches in Philadelphia, PA) in center, and Peter Swanljung, MD (now a psychiatrist outside Philadelphia) to the right, at the 2005 College of William and Mary Homecoming. Photo courtesy of Pete's wife, Alyssa Carlson Swanljung.
- Uncle Bernard and Aunt Hattie Overstreet, 2003 (127 KB)
Raymond "Bernard" Overstreet (1915-2005) lacked four months of his 90th birthday when he died in July, 2005. He was a brother of my Grandfather Ray Overstreet, a B-17 bomber pilot in WWII, and one of my favorite uncles. His wife of nearly 68 years, Hattie Burnette Overstreet (1918-2006), outlived him by only six months, and was also a relative through the Woodford, Creasey, and Dowdy families. Photo courtesy of their son, Michael R. Overstreet of Rustburg, VA.
- Cousin Emily Davis Pugh and granddaughter, 2001 (123 KB)
Emily Davis Pugh (1922-2004) of Trinity, NC, was my Grandma Overstreet's second cousin through the Newlin family and related more distantly many other ways. I miss her very much. Although she wasn't a practicing Quaker as an adult, she lived the humble lifestyle of her Quaker background, and was very down-to-earth with a good sense of humor. I enjoyed knowing her the last eight years of her life.
- Pipe wrench patented by Great-Grandfather Pearson (24 KB)
My family and I never knew about Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944) patenting a pipe wrench in 1897 until I happened to find out by typing his name in google in 2005 and came across a Vintage Reprints website. I knew he had good mechanical ability.
- Aunt Mane and Uncle Tom Godfrey and family ca 1900 (39 KB)
Mary Matilda Stevens Godfrey (1864-1949), known as Mane, was a sister of my great2-grandfather, John Gregory Stevens, and her husband, Thomas Burgess Godfrey (1860?-1946), was more distantly related to me through the Godfreys. Beside them are their daughter Luna Stevens Godfrey (Godfrey)(1887-1987), who later married my patrilineal great-great-uncle Loyal Berry Godfrey, and their son Will Stevens Godfrey (1889-1969). To the right is a neighbor. Their youngest child, Harry Stevens Godfrey (1901-1972), was not born yet. This was the home of the family of Aunt Mane's mother, my great-great-great-grandmother Sarah Gregory Stevens Sanderlin (1837-1892), where Aunt Mane was born, married, and died. It still stands on Rt. 343 near Taylor's Beach Road in Camden Co., NC. Photo courtesy of Will's daughter, Bess Tillitt Godfrey Sawyer of Camden, NC, and William D. Godfrey of Hampton, VA, Aunt Luna's grandson. Aunt Mane was not only a farm wife, but also a skilled seamstress, somewhat liberated for her time as she was the dominant voice in the family.
- Aunt Luna Stevens Godfrey Godfrey (1887-1987) (41 KB)
This was Aunt Luna sometime when she was in her late nineties in Elizabeth City, NC's Winslow Memorial Nursing Home. Photo courtesy of her grandson, William D. Godfrey of Hampton, VA. When I saw her when I was 13, I didn't appreciate at the time, or know, that she had seen 7 generations of my family, having known my great-great-great-grandfather Samuel Godfrey (1828-1906), her husband's grandfather, and her maternal grandmother, Sarah Gregory Stevens Sanderlin (1837-1892), my great-great-great-grandmother. She lived to be a great-great-grandmother.
- Aunt Luna Godfrey (1887-1987), 1977 (24 KB)
This was Aunt Luna around the time she first went into the nursing home. Photo courtesy of her niece, Bess Tillitt Godfrey Sawyer of Camden, NC, and her grandson, William D. Godfrey of Hampton, VA.
- Me in the Luke Stevens plot, Camden Co., NC (61 KB)
This was taken by my dad's second cousin through the Godfreys and third cousin through the Stevenses, Bill Godfrey of Hampton, VA, during our visit to Camden on January 2, 2006. This is the plot of my great5-uncle Luke Stevens (1815-1878), where my great3-grandmother, Sarah Gregory Stevens Sanderlin (1837-1892), was buried. Her tombstone has apparently disappeared or sunk beneath the ground, but I am pictured beside the headstone of Uncle Luke's daughter Mary Stevens Kellam (1857-1903), first wife of Dr. William Dalby Kellam, brother of my great-great-grandmother Rebecca Kellam Stevens. This is in a pasture in the Sandy Hook section of Camden County across from where the Luke Stevens home once was. Supposedly he was the one who started this plot, but I have also heard that my great3-grandfather, Noah Berry Stevens (1829?-1865), Luke's nephew, was buried here as well, and he died before Luke. Perhaps even earlier Stevens ancestors are buried here, as the Stephenses/Stevenses have lived in the Sandy Hook area since the 1680s.
- Article on Tom and Mane Godfrey 60th anniversary (66 KB)
This is a picture of Uncle Tom and Aunt Mane at their home.
- Aunt Sheila O'Shea Overstreet (1951-2006) (19 KB)
The last formal picture of my mom's brother Kenny's second wife Sheila. We miss her very much.
- Eli Newlin (1815-1897) of Bloomingdale, IN (39 KB)
Uncle Eli was the youngest and last-living child of my great4-grandparents, Nathaniel and Catherine Hadley Newlin. Photo courtesy of Sherri Vavra.
- Rachel Pike Perkins (1795-1862) of Wayne Co., NC (30 KB)
She was a sister of my great4-grandmother, Absilla Pike Edgerton (1788-1865), and a daughter of Nathan Pike (1760-1844) and Rachel Maudlin Pike (1767-1850), founders of Pikeville, NC. Photo courtesy of her great-great-grandson, librarian and Quaker genealogist Theodore Edison ("Ted") Perkins (1917-2010) of Greensboro, NC, who was also related to me through the Quaker Thomas Cox family. Mr. Perkins' book "The Perkins and Allied Families of Wayne County, North Carolina," traces Rachel's many descendants and their connections, and I have benefitted from owning a copy of it and several of Mr. Perkins' other works, all of which I hope to enter into my FTM database gradually. I was happy to have known him the last ten years of his life and to visit him several times when I was in Greensboro. The Guilford College Friends Historical Collection will miss Mr. Perkins, as he had volunteered there many years.
- Stephen Perrow, Jr. (1786?-1860) of Rustburg, VA (27 KB)
He was my great4-grandfather and lived in Campbell Co., VA. Having had 14 children, his descendants are very prolific. Stephen was a planter, a large slaveholder (unfortunately), and a captain in the Virginia Militia. Stephen's father, Stephen Perrow, Sr. (1735-ca. 1791), born at the Manakintowne French Huguenot settlement in present-day Powhatan Co., VA, came from Buckingham Co., VA, to Campbell County about 1772. Photo courtesy of Edgar J.T. ("Ned") Perrow of Galt's Mill, Amherst Co., VA. I should mention that Ned's grandmother, Elizabeth Stone Perrow (1881-1973) of Pittsylvania Co., VA, an avid family historian, was the one who had labels engraved for this and her many other family portraits/photographs, and she labelled this one as "Stephen Perrow, Sr." However, since Stephen, Sr. died in 1791, long before photography was invented, and this appears to be a photograph, I believe it is safe to assume it is the Stephen Perrow, Jr. who married (1) Dolly Cox and (2) Amy A. Green, especially since this Stephen also had a son named Stephen Washington Perrow.
- Elizabeth Bell Jacob Dorsey Kellam (1793-1835) (34 KB)
She was my great4-grandmother and lived on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, at the "Evergreen" plantation in Accomack County after her second marriage to her fourth cousin, Thomas Hatton Kellam, Sr. (1790-1841), where they are buried. A native of Northampton Co., VA, she was descended from many of the founding families of Virginia's Eastern Shore, the Norfolk/ Virginia Beach area, and the Northern Neck of Virginia, and three of her immigrant ancestors have been documented back to royalty, Margaret Nelson Teackle, Thomas Stratton, and Richard Wright. This portrait was passed down to her great-great-granddaughter, Evelyne Cox Sherbondy (1910-2002) of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA, who graciously loaned it to me to copy.
- My dad, his sisters, and their parents (34 KB)
These two pictures were taken around the time my paternal grandparents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1987. Left picture is of my dad, Aunt Bobbie in front, and Aunt Luanne in back. Right is of their parents.
- My maternal grandparents, Ray & Ella Overstreet (32 KB)
This was taken in 1982 when Granddad retired from the Newport News Shipbuilding, two years before his death.
- The Lazarus Pearson Family in 1886, Wayne Co., NC (1 KB)
This shows my maternal grandmother's paternal Quaker relatives. In back, left to right, are Ichabod "Emory" Pearson (1839-1919), Nathan T. Pearson (1840-1923), William Lazarus Pearson, Ph.D. (1849-1935)(sons of my great3-grandparents Lazarus and Sarah Edgerton Pearson), and William Eli Pearson (1863-1928), a grandson of Lazarus and Sarah and brother of my great-grandfather. In front of them are Mary Achsah Pearson (Edgerton)(1874-1915), Emily Ruth Pearson (Smith, Bulla)(1865-1954) (sisters of my great-grandfather and granddaughters of Lazarus and Sarah), Sarah ("Sallie") Pearson Copeland (1838-?), Elizabeth F. ("Lizzie") Pearson (1842-1927)(daughters of Lazarus and Sarah and sisters of my great2-grandfather). In front of Emily is her mother, Dicena Newlin Pearson (1836-1897), my great2-grandmother. My great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944), who lived at the Lazarus Pearson homeplace at that time, is sitting on the porch with his first wife, Mary Deans Pearson (1861-1917), son John Thomas Pearson II (1883-1935), and infant daughter Annie Beatrice Pearson (Edwards)(1886-1958). This was taken shortly before Uncles Emory, Nathan, and William and Aunts Lizzie and Sallie, went West. John Thomas Pearson (1837-1877), the husband of Dicena and father of Joseph and 7 other children, died before this picture, and was the only surviving child of Lazarus and Sarah Edgerton Pearson who remained in North Carolina. Photo donated by Aunt Emily's granddaughter, Elizabeth Jenkins Beery (1914-1991) of Wilmington, NC, to the late Ruth Pearson Harper for use in her 1982 Pearson genealogy, and given to me by Mrs. Harper's son, John B. Harper of Birmingham, AL, in 2002. I assume this is the Lazarus Pearson home, which still stands as of 2009 off Rt. 581 on the south side of Little River in Wayne Co., NC.
- Samuel Godfrey (1828-1906), my great3-grandfather (1 KB)
Sam was my father's father's father's father's father and was born and died in Camden Co., NC but also lived in the 1860s-70s in Kempsville in present-day Virginia Beach, VA (then Princess Anne Co., VA). Because of the burning of Camden's records, I have not proved his ancestry beyond his father Manliff Godfrey who died about 1840, and the families of both John Godfrey of Norfolk, VA and Francis Godfrey of Barbados and Perquimans Co., NC settled in the Camden area. A descendant had recorded that Manliff's father and grandfather were both named Samuel, one of whom was in the War of 1812, and that prior to them there were 2 generations of Williams, one of whom served in the Revolutionary War. Both of my dad's parents were Godfreys, and my grandmother descended from the Perquimans Godfreys. I believed my grandfather's Godfreys descend from the Norfolk ones until I learned in 2006 that my YDNA does not match a fairly well-proved descendant of that lineage and in 2007 learned it does match that of my grandmother's brother and another Perquimans Godfrey descendant, with only 2 mismatches on a 67-marker test, indicating a 90% probability that Francis' son William Godfrey (1658?-1726?) was the closest common patrilineal ancestor of my grandfather, his great-grandfather Samuel Godfrey, and my grandmother. However, we need a sample from another proven descendant of the Norfolk Godfreys to validate the first sample, for it is still possible Samuel was descended from John Godfrey of Norfolk if John was related to Francis (unlikely since John probably came from Huntingdonshire, England, whereas Francis was probably identical with Joseph and Katherine Willoughby Godfrey's son Francis who was baptized in 1613 in Lincolnshire, England, and was descended from the Godfreys alias Coopers of Hertfordshire). Photo courtesy of my grandfather's first cousin, Mary Tatem Johnson (1911-2005) of Newport News, VA.
- Thomas Hatton Kellam, Jr. (1826?-1907) (23 KB)
He was my great3-grandfather, and lived on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Born into a wealthy Eastern Shore family, he inherited the "Evergreen" plantation at Hack's Neck in Accomack County from his paternal grandmother, Margaret Hatton Kellam Beard, in 1846, but lost it after the Civil War, living his later years in Northampton Co., VA, where he is buried at Johnson's United Methodist Church. Photo given to me by the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- "Evergreen," Accomack Co., VA, 1996 (26 KB)
This was the birthplace of my great-great-grandmother Rebecca Kellam Stevens (1856-1931) and probably of her father, Thomas Hatton Kellam, Jr.(1819-1907), as well, having been in the Hack-Muir-Hatton-Kellam family since the 1700s. Thomas H. Kellam, Jr. lost this home due to financial difficulties following the Civil War, ca. 1874. The home was built by his great-great-grandfather, Adam Muir (1705-1772), believed to have been born in Scotland, who married Francina Hack (1706-1784), whose grandfather, Lt. Col. George Nicholas Hack, patented the land on which "Evergreen" is located. The Muirs and their daughters were the first known family members to be buried in the family plot near the home.
- Henry Byrd Cheek (1830-1908) of Bedford Co., VA (1 KB)
He was my great3-grandfather and was wounded in the Civil War Battle of Second Manassas as a Private, 28th VA Regiment, Confederate States Army. He lived in the Body Camp section of Bedford Co., VA, but died in Roanoke.
- Dr. James Alexander Walker (1802-1869) (33 KB)
Dr. Walker, my great4-grandfather, was a planter and a physician in Bedford Co., VA. This was copied from the book "'Our Kin': Bedford County, Virginia, Families." His Walker, Munford, Jones, Kennon, Worsham, and Batte ancestors were among the founding families of Petersburg, VA, and the surrounding counties of Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, and Henrico. His parents, Robert Munford Walker, Sr. (1771-1827) and Mary Smith Walker (1777-1811), and several Walker aunts/uncles, came from Dinwiddie to Bedford County around 1800, settling on what is said to have been an English land grant to the Walkers along present-day Route 43 AKA Virginia Byway several miles south of Bedford City. I descend from his first marriage to Elizabeth Booth of Franklin Co., VA, who was also his fourth cousin through their descent from the Colonial Virginia explorer, Thomas Batte. My earliest childhood years, from age two to age eight, were spent in Petersburg, VA, and ironically I did not know about our family's connections to that area (in particular being a cousin of Petersburg's namesake, Peter Jones II), until more than a decade after we left the area following my parents' separation in 1981.
- W. Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow (32 KB)
William "Adolphus" Perrow (1854-1926) and Ella Walker Perrow (1859-1927) were my great-great-grandparents and lived in Campbell Co., VA. Photographs courtsey of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC
- John "Thomas" Pearson (1837-1877) of Wayne Co., NC (27 KB)
Thomas was my great-great-grandfather and lived mainly in Wayne Co., NC. He grew up there and in Johnston Co., and Wilson Co., NC, and lived in Randolph Co., NC during the early years of his marriage to Dicena Newlin, a native of Randolph. At least 75% of his immediate ancestors (except the Bradburys on his paternal grandmother's side) were of Quaker background, and he was descended from Quaker settlers of North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Photograph courtesy of the late Esther Edgerton Allen of Rocky Mount, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Dicena Newlin Pearson (1836-1897) (30 KB)
Dicena was my great-great-grandmother and lived in Randolph Co., NC, and Wayne Co., NC. She was a very devout Quaker, and all of her known ancestors (except the Cashats) were Quaker and came from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in the 1700's. Photograph courtesy of John B. Harper of Birmingham, AL.
- My Great-Grandmother Overstreet's family (38 KB)
At top are her parents, Amon Updike (1848-1933) and Isabella White Updike (1856-1891). Bottom left is her aunt Mariah White Lacy (1847-1924) and at right are Great-Grandma Bessie and 2 sisters, Lil and Iva. Mariah's photograph courtesy of the late Rev. Dr. Marvin C. Wilbur of Tenafly, NJ, and remaining photos courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- 1925 Reunion of B.Z. Overstreet Family (42 KB)
Seated in front are my great-great-grandparents, Berry "Zone" Overstreet (1863-1934) and Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958), and their son Herbert, my great-grandfather, is in left front. Their other children are also shown, all except Luther who had died. Photpgraph courtesy of Wilma Overstreet Noell of Bedford, VA.
- Uncle Haskell Edgerton and his second wife Roella (26 KB)
After Mary Pearson Edgerton died during her fourth pregnancy, Haskell married a distant cousin of his and Mary's, Roella Cox (1884-1963), by whom he had four more children. Photograph courtesy of the late Esther Edgerton Allen of Rocky Mount, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Willis Doctrine White (1865-1894) (26 KB)
Willie was my great-great-grandfather and lived in Perquimans Co., NC, and Pasquotank Co., NC. He is the only great2-grandparent of mine whose burial place is unknown, but it is said to be near Whiteston, Perquimans Co., NC, where he was from. I wish I could trace back his White and Whitehead ancestry, feeling fairly certain he was descended from the Henry White family of Perquimans Co., NC, and the Arthur Whitehead family of Isle of White Co., VA. I have been able to trace back the families of his grandmothers, the Perrys and Evanses, and determine that both of his grandmothers were descended from the Perquimans County Quaker settler, Timothy Clare. Photograph courtesy of Alma Godfrey Rosso of Norfolk, VA.
- Uncle Willie and Aunt Mollie Pearson, 1897 (24 KB)
This was the marriage of William Eli Pearson (1863-1928) to his second wife and second cousin, Mary Abigail Jinnette (1876-1981). Willie was a brother of my great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson, and lived around Goldsboro, NC, and Wayne Co., NC. Aunt Mollie would live to the age of 105, long enough for her eldest daughter Mildred to reach the age of 82! Photo courtesy of the late Margaret Pearson Hicks of Cary, NC.
- Grizzelle Ellis White Jennings (1869-1922) (29 KB)
Grizzelle was my great2-grandmother and lived in Pasquotank Co., NC, and Elizabeth City, NC. Photograph courtesy of Katherine Godfrey Godfrey of Newport News, VA.
- The Perrow sisters in their younger years (38 KB)
Daughters of Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow lined up according to age, with Great-Grandma Virgie, the oldest, at the far right and Aunt Phanie, the youngest, at far left. Photo courtesy of Berkley O. Bryant of Radcliffe, KY.
- Ephraim Godfrey (1854-1918) (32 KB)
He was my great2-grandfather (on my Grandma Godfrey's side, not my patrilineal lineage) and lived in Perquimans Co., NC, and Pasquotank Co., NC. He was blind many years. He was one of the many fatalities of the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic. Fortunately, his descendants have hosted an annual reunion for many years, generally around central North Carolina. Photograph courtesy of James Ephraim Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC.
- Perrow Family Get-Together ca. 1950, Leesville, VA (41 KB)
Some of the family of Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow, taken in Aunt Euphan Perrow Carter's home at Leesville, VA. (My grandmother Ella and her family were not present, but her sister Virginia and her family are shown). Photo courtesy of Virginia Pearson Wheeler of Lynchburg, VA.
- Rebecca Turner Godfrey (1863-1917) in center (26 KB)
Becky was my great2-grandmother and lived in Perquimans Co., NC, and Pasquotank Co., NC. Her two youngest sons, Glenn Wilson Godfrey (1904-1989) and Eugene Godfrey (1909-1943), are pictured beside her. Photograph courtesy of James E. Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC.
- Two Perrow Family Homes (29 KB)
Top--"Shady Grove," near Gladys, VA, home of Capt. William C. and Virginia Cowling Perrow Bottom--1382 Rivermont Ave., Lynchburg, VA, home of Ora Perrow Harvey and later of Lizzie T. Perrow, my great-great-aunt, where my Grandma Overstreet lived ca. 1940. Top photo courtesy of Ann Perkins Hicks, bottom photo taken by me in 1994.
- Ephraim and Becky Godfrey with son Eugene (40 KB)
Eugene Godfrey (1909-1943), who was electrocuted while working at the Cherry Point Marine Corps base at Havelock, NC, was the youngest of their 10 surviving children. Ephraim and Becky were half-first cousins, grandchildren of Benjamin Godfrey (1787-1853) of Perquimans Co., NC. Photo courtesy of Uncle Eugene's posthumous son, James E. Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC.
- Me with my mom and her family, May, 1996 (40 KB)
This is me with my mom, stepdad, grandmother, and brother when I graduated from the College of William and Mary.
- The Stevens Family ca. 1897, Shiloh, NC (36 KB)
My great2-grandparents, John Gregory Stevens (1855-1942) and Rebecca Kellam Stevens (1856-1931), with their five daughters, at their first home near Shiloh, Camden Co., NC. My great-grandmother Rebecca Irene Stevens (Godfrey) (1888-1963) is one of the girls toward the left. Because she and Maude Kellam Stevens (Cox)(1890-1976) were only two years apart in age, I cannot tell which is which, but feel certain Aunt Helen Elaine Stevens (Coppersmith, Evans)(1886-1985) is the second girl from the right and Aunt Edna Earle Stevens (1882-1955) is the one at far right. Aunt Hazel Virginia Stevens (Hooper)(1897-1990) is the baby being held by her mother. Photograph courtesy of the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- My Grandmother Overstreet with a sister and cousin (28 KB)
In center is my maternal grandmother, Ella Perrow Pearson (Overstreet)(1921-2008), with her sister Virginia Ford Pearson (Wheeler)(1922- ) at the left and their first cousin, Ruth Western Morgan (Bailey)(1922- ), at the right. Photo courtesy of Ruth Morgan Bailey of Brookneal, VA.
- John G. and Rebecca Kellam Stevens (40 KB)
They were my great2-grandparents and lived at Shiloh, Camden Co., NC. Beck was a native of Accomack Co., VA. Photographs courtesy of the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Three siblings of my Great-Grandma Pearson (35 KB)
At top is Jeanette Perrow Morgan (1897-1985). At bottom are John "Harvey" Perrow (1900-1980) and Minnie Perrow Farmer (1895-1988). Photos courtesy of Ruth Morgan Bailey of Brookneal, VA.
- John H. and Mollie Forbes Godfrey of Shiloh, NC (31 KB)
John Hughes Godfrey (1859-1934) and his first wife, Mollie Forbes Godfrey (1859-1900), were my patrilineal great2-grandparents and lived near Shiloh, Camden Co., NC. Photographs courtesy of the late Carl F. Cannon, Jr. of Williamsburg, VA.
- Miscellaneous Perrow Pictures (39 KB)
Top right: Me holding portrait of my great4-grandfather Stephen Perrow, Jr., 1999 Bottom: My matrilineal great-great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth ("Bettie") Haley Walker (1838-1908)
- Charlie Forbes Godfrey (1886-1962) (39 KB)
He was my patrilineal great-grandfather and lived in Camden Co., NC, and Elizabeth City, NC.
- 6 generations of the Lucy Cheek Overstreet Family (35 KB)
This was taken when my great2-grandmother Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958) first became a great2-grandmother, and shows her father's (Henry Byrd Cheek's) portrait and all five living generations of the family of her great2-grandson Roger Lee Ransom (1956-1989), the baby here, who died of a heart attack at age 33. Her daughter Ollie Overstreet Ayers (1888-1965), granddaughter Evelyn Ayers Walker (1918-2000), and Mrs. Walker's daughter Faye Walker Ransom (1937-1963) are all shown. Mrs. Ransom died of a brain tumor at age 26. Photo courtesy of the late Kenneth E. Crouch of Bedford, VA.
- My Grandfather Godfrey and his parents in 1927 (26 KB)
My grandfather, Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996), and his parents, Charlie Forbes Godfrey (1886-1962) and Rebecca Stevens Godfrey (1888-1963). Granddad came from humble beginnings as the only child of sharecroppers in Camden Co., NC.
- "Boxwood Hill," McDaniel Road, Bedford Co., VA (51 KB)
This was the home of Maj. Edward Thomas Walker (1835-1911), brother of my great3-grandfather Robert Benjamin Walker, that he inherited from his great-uncle, Capt. William Jones Walker (1761-1850).
- Rebecca Stevens Godfrey (1888-1963) (26 KB)
Beck was my patrilineal great-grandmother, a native of Shiloh, NC, who was institutionalized in Raleigh and Butner, NC after 1940 due to involutional melancholia. Schizophrenia and manic depression have run in her family.
- Dr. James Alexander Walker Farm, Bedford Co., VA (36 KB)
This is the home and cemetery plot of my great4-grandfather, James Alexander Walker, MD (1802-1869) and his family, located off Montevideo Road in Bedford Co., VA.
- 50th Wedding Anniversary- Gilbert & Mattie Godfrey (31 KB)
These were my great-grandparents (on Grandma Godfrey's side) when they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in their home in Pasquotank Co., NC, in 1963. She lived 30 more years, to the age of 102.
- Wilson's United Methodist Church, Bedford Co., VA (42 KB)
My maternal grandfather's Overstreet, Cheek, Warner, and Mayhew ancestors lived near and/or belonged to this church, and so did my maternal grandmother's Walker ancestors. Many relatives are buried in its cemetery.
- My Great-Grandma Mattie Godfrey & children, 1981 (48 KB)
This was my great-grandmother Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993) with her seven children in 1981, the year she turned 90. My grandmother, Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ), is in front, second from right.
- "Pocket Farm," Pittsylvania Co., VA (39 KB)
Located on a bend in the Staunton River, this was the home of my great4-grandparents, Capt. Archibald Haley (1802-1887)and Martha A.A. Brown Haley (1814-1885), before it was torn down in the 1990's. The land is now owned by Haley descendants. My matrilineal great-great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Tunstall Haley Walker (1838-1908), and great-great-grandmother, Ella Tunstall Walker Perrow (1859-1927), both grew up here. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses, my great5-grandmother, Elizabeth N. Arnold Brown (1791-1869), was listed as living here, suggesting she lived with her daughter Martha AKA Patsy in her later years, and she is buried here. Photo courtesy of Betsy H. Phillips of Rustburg, VA.
- Gilbert Godfrey (1889-1965) of Pasquotank Co., NC (30 KB)
Gilbert was my great-grandfather (on my Grandma Godfrey's side) and lived in Perquimans Co., NC, and Pasquotank Co., NC. He is shown with his eldest sister, Martha ("Mattie") Godfrey Campbell (1879-1971), in the bottom picture. Interestingly, my dad, Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey was named for his maternal grandfather Gilbert Godfrey, who was in turn named for his paternal grandfather, Gilbert Godfrey (1822?-ca. 1854). This Gilbert was named for his maternal grandfather, Gilbert Colson, of Perquimans Co., NC.
- Ora Perrow Harvey (1851-1937) of Lynchburg, VA (23 KB)
Aunt Ora, whom my grandmother visited often as a child, was a sister of my great2-grandfather, William "Adolphus" Perrow. My grandmother inherited two vases given to her when she married John W. Harvey in 1877. Photo courtesy of Dr. H. Shepard Moon of Richmond, VA.
- 4 Generations of My Family, ca. 1979 (29 KB)
This is the only picture of my great-grandmother Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993), my grandmother Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ), my dad Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey (1945- ), and myself and my baby brother, Jason Paul Godfrey (1978- ), all together by themselves. It was taken in the kitchen of Great-Grandma's home when she was about 88 years old.
- Miss Minnie Cowling Perrow (1861-1945) (48 KB)
Aunt Minnie was the youngest sister of my great2-grandfather, William "Adolphus" Perrow. My grandmother inherited her glasses. Left photo courtesy of Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC; right photo courtesy of Dr. H. Shepard Moon of Richmond, VA.
- My Great-Grandmother Godfrey on her 100th Birthday (34 KB)
The top picture is of me standing beside my great-grandmother, Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993), at her 100th birthday celebration in May, 1991, in the Guardian Care nursing home at Elizabeth City, NC.
- Charlie Forbes Godfrey (1886-1962) (23 KB)
My father's father's father. All he had to leave my granddad Garland, his only child, when he died was a chair. He lived with various families around Elizabeth City, NC, in his later years following the Great Depression.
- Great-Grandma Godfrey and her farm (32 KB)
This was my great-grandmother Mattie White Godfrey at about the age of 96, two years after she left her farm of 60 years, shown at top, to go into a nursing home.
- Uncle Howard and Aunt Addie Overstreet (39 KB)
Wesley "Howard" Overstreet (1887-1959) was a brother of my great-grandfather, and his wife Addie Updike Overstreet (1889-1976) was a first cousin of my great-grandmother. Photo courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- My Overstreet great-grandparents in early years (34 KB)
These were Herbert Colon Overstreet (1885-1967) and Bessie Updike Overstreet (1887-1970) shortly after they were married at Bedford, VA. Photograph courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- Uncle Lander Updike of Newport News, VA (39 KB)
Orlander Rucker Updike (1884-1967) was a brother of my great-grandmother. He and three brothers settled in Newport News, VA, where my grandfather, their nephew, later moved to work for its shipyard. Lander worked for C&O Railroad. He and his wife Florence had no children.
- My Overstreet great-grandparents and his mother (33 KB)
This was the 50th wedding anniversary of my great-grandparents, Herbert Colon Overstreet (1885-1967) and Bessie Updike Overstreet (1887-1970), 1957. His mother, Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958), is sitting between them in their home in Bedford Co., VA.
- Aunt Phanie and Uncle Aubrey Flynn, ca. 1953 (32 KB)
Aunt Phanie was the youngest sister of my great-grandmother, Virgie Perrow Pearson, and the only sibling I ever saw. Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Flynn Beckwith of Abbeville and McCormick, SC.
- Home of the Herbert C. Overstreet Family, 2003 (45 KB)
This farm in Bedford Co, VA, was the home where my maternal grandfather, Melvin "Ray" Overstreet, was born and raised, and was in his family from about 1907 until 2001. Its current address is 3439 Headen's Bridge Road, Bedford, VA. The right-of-way gives a clear view of the Peaks of Otter, about 20 miles to the north, Bedford's main tourist attraction. I have many happy memories of visiting this farm when my Great-Aunts Gladys and Isy lived there, and mourn the fact that Isy had to leave this farm, the only home she ever lived in for 65 years, and put her three cats to sleep, when she moved into an apartment in Bedford City. I am happy that the new owners restored it, however, adding two decks.
- The 1696 Thomas Massey House, Broomall, PA (48 KB)
This is the restored home of my great8-grandparents, Thomas and Phebe Taylor Massey, early Quaker settlers of Delaware Co., PA. It is open for tours.
- Aunt Phanie and Uncle Aubrey Flynn, 1979 (34 KB)
This was taken at their home in Aiken, SC, two years before his death. Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Flynn Beckwith of Abbeville and McCormick, SC.
- Concord Friends Meeting/Cemetery, Concordville, PA (38 KB)
The bronze tablet marks the graves of my great7-grandparents, Nathaniel and Mary Mendenhall Newlin, and of his parents, Nicholas and Elizabeth Paggott Newlin, Quaker immigrants from Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1683.
- My Grandfather Overstreet and family, ca. 1922 (36 KB)
This was the Herbert C. and Bessie Updike Overstreet family about 1922, with seven of their eight children.
- Aunt Ilene and Uncle Jim Jones and their daughter (28 KB)
Ilene Perrow Jones (1885-1961) was my great-grandmother's sister, and she is pictured with her husband James Pendleton Jones (1882-1964), her daughter Elizabeth Jones Bryant, RN (1906-1991), and son-in-law Douglas Eugene Bryant (1908-1989). Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Flynn Beckwith of McCormick, SC.
- Cane Creek Friends Meeting/Cemetery, Snow Camp, NC (43 KB)
Includes the monuments and/or graves of John and Abigail Overman Pike, Hannah Hadley Dixon Stanfield (1709-1783)(ancestral aunts/uncles), and her son Simon Dixon (1728-1781). Simon is the main character in the drama "Sword of Peace," shown near here.
- Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944) (36 KB)
He was my matrilineal great-grandfather, a native of Randolph Co., NC, who lived in Wayne Co., NC, Goldsboro, NC, and Prince Edward Co., VA. My grandmother was his eldest daughter by his second wife, and was born when he was 62 years old. Most of his ancestors were of Quaker background, except for the Bradburys on his father's side and the Cashats on his mother's. His Quaker ancestry is very well-traced, and my pride in his morally and intellectually distinguished Quaker family background greatly helped spark my genealogy interest as a kid, after my grandmother ordered a Pearson genealogy. Photo courtesy of Aunt Virginia Pearson Wheeler of Lynchburg, VA.
- My Great-great-Aunt Ora in her younger years (23 KB)
Ora Perrow Garner (1892-1969) was a younger sister of my great-grandmother, Virginia Perrow Pearson, and they apparently lived together at Norfolk, VA, and Baltimore, MD, before they were married. Photo courtesy of the late Ora Lee Perrow Hubbard of Richmond, VA.
- Cousin William Lumsden Godfrey (1886-1964) (33 KB)
One of the last of the sailmakers, and chronicled in the book "This Was Chesapeake Bay," Will was a son of Wilson Godfrey, son of my double great4-grandfather Benjamin Godfrey. He lived most of his life in Baltimore, MD, but returned to Elizabeth City, NC. Photo courtesy of his great-niece, Dorothy Adair Hayman of Sun City, AZ.
- My Pearson great-grandparents' wedding, 1920 (31 KB)
This was Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944) and Virginia Alexander Perrow Pearson (1883-1955), his second wife, when they were married in 1920 at Baltimore, MD. They spent their married years in Prince Edward Co., VA, but Virgie moved to Lynchburg, VA, after he died. Photo courtesy of the late Hugh Pearson Tuggle and wife, Dr. Stuart Wilson Tuggle, of Keysville, VA.
- Uncle Willie and Aunt Mary Kellam (37 KB)
Dr. William Dalby Kellam (1852-1918) was a brother of my great-great-grandmother Rebecca Kellam Stevens, and his first wife Mary Stevens Kellam (1857-1903) was a first cousin of my great3-grandfather, Noah Stevens. Kellam practiced medicine at Shiloh, NC. Photos courtesy of the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Virginia Alexander Perrow (Pearson) (1883-1955) (41 KB)
This was my matrilineal great-grandmother when she was about 19, ca. 1902. She did not get married until she was 36 years old, and then had three daughters, my Grandma Ella the eldest. Before marriage she lived in Norfolk, VA, and Baltimore, MD, working for D.P. Paul and Sons Jewelers and Singer Sewing Machine Company in Norfolk. It is said she was in love with a ship captain who was lost at sea, and met my great-grandfather some time afterward. Photo courtesy of my grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet of Newport News, VA.
- Uncle Loyal and Aunt Luna Godfrey, 1954 (33 KB)
I saw Aunt Luna at age 99, three months before her death, in Elizabeth City, NC, probably the earliest-born (but not the oldest) relative I ever saw. Photo courtesy of their grandson, the late Carl F. Cannon, Jr. of Williamsburg, VA.
- Sarah ("Sally") Stevens Wright Godfrey (1875-1927) (23 KB)
She was the second wife of my great2-grandfather, John Hughes Godfrey, and daughter of John and Elizabeth Stevens Wright. Elizabeth ("Betty") was a sister of my great3-grandfather, Noah Berry Stevens. Photo courtesy of the late Mary Tatem Johnson of Newport News, VA.
- Capt. William Cox Perrow (1810-1887) (26 KB)
He was my great3-grandfather and lived in Campbell Co., VA, having purchased the "Shady Grove" plantation near Gladys in 1862. He was one of Campbell County's largest landowners and, unfortunately, slaveholders, but my branch of the Perrow family benefited little from his wealth. Photograph courtesy of Dr. H. Shepard Moon, DDS of Richmond, VA.
- Aunt Lela Godfrey (1882-1944) of Washington, NC (40 KB)
She was a sister of my great-grandfather, Gilbert Godfrey, and lived with her sister, Sally Godfrey Harris (1893-1988), at Washington, NC. Photo courtesy of James E. Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC.
- Uncle Edgar Taylor's home, grave, & nephews, 2004 (44 KB)
At top are Uncle Edgar's home, 6209 Three Chopt Road, Richmond, VA, and its current owner, Mrs. Jane Covington, with Edgar's great-nephew, Col. Julian Minor Quarles, Jr. At bottom are Col. Quarles and myself at Uncle Edgar's plot in Hollywood Cemetery, April, 2004.
- Virginia Cowling Perrow (1820-1884) (29 KB)
She was my great3-grandmother. Orphaned at age 8, she was a native of Richmond, VA, but lived in Campbell Co., VA, following her marriage in 1836, where she and her husband William are buried at "Shady Grove." She was an extremely devout Methodist. Photograph courtesy of Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- Uncle Marvin Ralph Godfrey (1927- ) (20 KB)
Uncle Marvin is a brother of my Grandma Katherine Godfrey Godfrey. A graduate of NC State University and veteran of the Korean War, Uncle Marvin retired from FCX seed company, lives at Fuquay-Varina, NC, and is considered a family leader because he manages the Gilbert and Mattie Godfrey estate. I am grateful to Uncle Marvin for agreeing in 2006 to submit a Y-DNA sample to compare with my own, for we were a match with only 2 mismatches on a 67-marker test, indicating my paternal grandparents were descended from the same Godfrey lineage in a biologically accurate patrilineal line.
- The Watson-Perrow Cemetery, Buckingham Co., VA (47 KB)
Located on Gunner Mountain on Westvaco property near Slate River, this is ancestral land of the Daniel Perrow (1702-1789?) family, but the marked graves are later relatives who remained there after my great5-grandfather Stephen Perrow (1735-1791?) settled in Campbell Co., VA. A descendant of the Buckingham Perrows, Mr. Robert Lindsay ("Bob") Watson (1934-2006) of Newport News, VA, and his immediate family, were instrumental in restoring this cemetery in 1998. Mr. Watson was of immense help to me in my efforts to learn and use computers, particularly genealogy-related programs. The Perrows were said to be early owners of slate and gold mines in Buckingham, and a slate sign in front of the cemetery was donated by Perrow descendants, the Adamsons of Richmond, VA, owners of a slate mine in Buckingham.
- My Great-Uncle Bernard and Great-Aunt Gladys (37 KB)
Raymond "Bernard" Overstreet (1915-2005) and Gladys Overstreet Laing (1909-2000) were the two siblings of my Grandfather Overstreet who were veterans of World War II.
- My trip to Bloomingdale, Indiana, in 1996 (51 KB)
This is known as the "covered bridge capital of the world," and shown here are Bloomingdale Academy and Bloomingdale Friends Meeting and Cemetery, where my great4-grandfather, Nathaniel Newlin (1768-1867), and many other Quaker relations, are buried. Photo of me courtesy of Ray R. Lewis, Ph.D. of Indiana.
- Mayhewtown, Iredell Co., NC, June, 2004 (39 KB)
Located near Lake Norman which was created by damming up the Catawba River, this was named for the family of my great5-grandfather Reason Lucas Mayhew's brother, John Love William Mayhew (1757-1838), a Revolutionary War veteran from Prince Georges Co., MD who settled there, became a Methodist preacher, and is buried at McKendree Chapel Methodist Church, also pictured here. These Mayhews descend from the Maryland family of James Mayhew, but many older members of the family stubbornly claim descent from the more prominent Gov. Thomas Mayhew family of Martha's Vineyard, MA. I received invitations to the annual Mayhew Reunion there from 2000 until I attended one in 2004, and have not received one since; perhaps I angered some when I politely told several that there are records proving our Mayhews came from Maryland instead of Martha's Vineyard, MA.
- My Grandfather and Siblings in 1970 (35 KB)
This was taken at the funeral of my great-grandmother, Bessie Updike Overstreet (1887-1970), and shows seven of her eight children with their spouses. Aunt Lucille had died five years earlier. This was taken at Updike Funeral Home in Huddleston, owned by distant cousins.
- My 1996 trip to the Eastern Shore with Cuz Evelyne (51 KB)
The top three pictures are of the "Evergreen" home and plantation, and the bottom two are the tombs of our Custis ancestors at "Arlington."
- Alexander Echols Walker (1869-1922) (18 KB)
He was a half-brother of my great-great-grandmother, Ella Walker Perrow, a son of my great3-grandfather Robert Benjamin Walker and his second wife, Julia Caroline Standifer. As far as we know, Alexander died a bachelor. He lived in Texas and is buried beside his parents in Shady Grove Cemetery in Stephens Co., TX. Coincidentally, two years after I visited Alexander's grave while living temporarily in Texas, my stepmother's daughter gave birth to a son named Alexander Patrick Echols (Patrick for the father). Photo courtesy of Rebecca Abbott Holt.
- My Great-Grandma Overstreet and Family, 1960s (40 KB)
The top picture is of my great-grandmother, Bessie Updike Overstreet (1887-1970), and her youngest sister, Lillie Updike Overstreet (1889-1986). Photographs courtesy of Aunt Iva's granddaughter, Diane Wiatt Thompson of Lynchburg, VA.
- Rebecca Susan Kellam (Stevens) (1856-1931) (34 KB)
This is a copy of a daguerreotype of my great2-grandmother as a child, given to me by her granddaughter, Evelyne Cox Sherbondy (1910-2002).
- Euphan Shepherd Cowling (1793?-1822),Richmond, VA (27 KB)
Fannie was my great4-grandmother and lived in Richmond, VA as the first wife of Willis Cowling (1788?-1828), a furniture maker, justice of the peace, and member of the American Colonization Society. Her birthplace and parents have not been determined yet, but she was probably from Gates Co., NC or Suffolk, VA. Her husband was from Nansemond Co., VA and had previously lived in the City of Suffolk before moving to Richmond. I believe Euphan's ancestors may be the Latimers of present-day Hampton, VA, who intermarried with the Shepherds and Naylors. Photograph of portrait (now in possession of the family of the late State Senator Mosby Garland Perrow, Jr.) taken by the late Ann Perkins Hicks. 2006 update: Having learned that Willis Cowling and Euphan Shepherd were married 25 Aug 1813 in Gates Co., NC, which adjoins Suffolk, VA, it seems likely that was where she was from, but I still do not know her parents' names.
- Early's Chapel UMC, Campbell Co., VA, 1994 (52 KB)
Early's Chapel Methodist Church, located at Rts. 646 and 648, was the church to which my great2-grandparents, W. Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow, belonged after 1886. They, her mother, her Grandfather Arch Haley, and others are buried in its cemetery.
- Portrait of Rebecca Susan Kellam (Stevens) (24 KB)
This was painted by her granddaughter Evelyne from an original portrait done around 1873, and shows Beck in mourning from the recent death of her mother, Susan Ann Taylor Kellam (1824-1873).
- Haley-Perrow piano in Museum of Appalachia, TN (57 KB)
Donated by Cousin Berk Bryant to this museum at Norris, TN, the piano was bought by my great4-grandfather, Archibald Haley, ca. 1830, and passed down in the family to his great-granddaughter, Jeanette Perrow Morgan (1897-1985), who played it very well. My great-grandmother, Virgie Perrow Pearson, and her sisters learned music from their maternal grandmother, Bettie Haley Walker, using this piano, and Aunt Jeanette was considered the best player in the family. Photo courtesy of Ruth Morgan Bailey of Brookneal, VA.
- My Grandfather Overstreet's Siblings, 1984 (51 KB)
These were five of my grandfather's siblings, taken May 22, 1984 at his home in Newport News, VA, the day of his funeral. Lucille was already deceased, and Rudy was not present.
- Rebecca Kellam Stevens (1856-1931) of Shiloh, NC (36 KB)
This was a picture that Cousin Evelyne Cox Sherbondy took of her grandmother, my great2-grandmother, shortly before her death at her home at Shiloh, NC. It is through Rebecca that my Granddad Garland Godfrey, her grandson, could claim illustrious Virginian and English ancestry, and ironically Rebecca was born on an Eastern Shore waterfront plantation, whereas her grandson Garland was born into very meager circumstances as the only child of a sharecropper in Camden Co., NC (somewhat similar to the story of George Jefferson on TV's sitcom, "The Jeffersons").
- My Pearson great-grandparents and Aunt Virginia (38 KB)
Here are Joseph L. and Virgie Perrow Pearson, and at top is their restored home, "Mount Vernon," my grandmother's birthplace, at Briery, Prince Edward Co., VA. My grandmother's sister, Virginia Pearson Wheeler (1922- ), is at the bottom.
- My Overstreet Grandparents (27 KB)
These were my maternal grandparents, Melvin "Ray" Overstreet (1920-1984) and Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008), around the time I was born.
- Rebecca Kellam's Finishing School Diploma, 1872 (35 KB)
This was presented to my great-great-grandmother, Rebecca Susan Kellam (Stevens)(1856-1931), when she graduated from the Southern Literary Institute at Baltimore, MD.
- My Great-Grandma Pearson & 2 daughters (33 KB)
This was Virginia ("Virgie") Perrow Pearson (1883-1955), possibly her 70th birthday celebration at Lynchburg, VA, with 2 daughters, Virginia P. Wheeler (1922- ) and Ora P. Dowdy (1925-1968). My grandmother, Ella P. Overstreet (1921-2008), is not shown.
- My Godfrey Grandparents (23 KB)
These were my paternal grandparents, Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996) and Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ).
- Shiloh Baptist Church and cemetery, Shiloh, NC (46 KB)
This was my Grandfather Godfrey's native church, and it is where his parents, paternal grandparents, patrilineal great-grandparents, and many other relatives, are buried. It is on Route 343 in southern Camden County. One of my Grandma Godfrey's ancestors, Philip Torksey, was among the founders of this church when it started in 1727, and it is said to the the oldest Baptist church in North Carolina.
- The Godfreys' 50th Wedding Anniversary, 1987 (28 KB)
These were my paternal grandparents, Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996) and Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ), when they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at Calvary Baptist Church, Newport News, VA, May, 1987.
- My Grandfather Godfrey (36 KB)
Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996)
- Uncle Nathan and Aunt Rosie Updike (33 KB)
Nathan David Updike (1850-1944) was a brother of my great2-grandfather Amon Updike, and his wife, Rosa Woodford Updike (1860-1933), was a distant cousin to me through the Woodford, Dowdy, and Creasey families. Photo courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- Grandma Godfrey after she went to assisted living (23 KB)
This is Katherine Godfrey Godfrey's picture in the newsletter for Mayfair House Assisted Living at Hampton, VA, where she lived from 2003 to 2006.
- Solomon Pearson (1805-1883) (41 KB)
He was the eldest child of Ichabod and Elizabeth Bradbury Pearson and brother of my great3-grandfather Lazarus Pearson. Solomon settled in Coffee Co., TN, and later in Oswego, Labette Co., KS. Photograph courtesy of his great-granddaughter-in-law, Frances McCall Pearson of Indio, CA.
- Marlboro Friends Meeting and Cemetery, Sophia, NC (29 KB)
My great-grandfather Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944) was a birthright member of this meeting. Shown here are my 4th cousin, Kelly Danielle Pugh (Hinebaugh), and myself at the monument/graves of our ancestors Nathan and Ruth Carter Farlow. Also shown are graves of Joseph and Ruth Farlow Newlin, the common great3-grandparents of Kelly and me. We are related to the Farlows, Newlins, Davises, Swaims, and several other Quaker families who have dominated this area of Randolph Co., NC, for over two centuries.
- My dad and his two sisters, 1987 (31 KB)
This is my dad, G. Wayne Godfrey (1945- ), his older sister Barbara "Bobbie" G. Newton (1939- ) in front, and his younger sister Luanne G. White (1954- ) in back, taken for their parents' 50th wedding anniversary in 1987.
- Edgar Dalby Taylor (1848-1928) (27 KB)
Edgar was the youngest child of David Crippen Taylor and Margaret Dalby Taylor of Accomack Co., VA, and brother of my great3-grandmother Susan Ann Taylor Kellam. Orphaned as a teen, he came to Richmond about 1862, serving in the Confederate Army at age 14 helping to defend Richmond against Dahlgren's Raiders. He worked for the Powers Drug Company, later becoming President after the death of Mr. Powers in 1907, when it was renamed the Powers-Taylor Company, and the building where it was located still stands near Richmond's Shockoe Bottom and retains the same name. Uncle Edgar became very involved in Confederate veterans' activities, serving as Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia chapter of United Confederate Veterans. He lived on Richmond's Monument Avenue and then in 1908 moved to his final residence, 6209 Three Chopt Road in the Westhampton section of Richmond, which was then on the outskirts of town. He was one of the early members of the Country Club of Virginia, located less than half a mile from his Three Chopt home. Twice widowed, Uncle Edgar had no children. Photograph courtesy of his great-nephew, Col. Julian M. Quarles, Jr. of Harrisonburg, VA, who has fond memories of visiting Uncle Edgar as a child, and in April, 2004 enjoyed revisiting Uncle Edgar's home with me and his great-nephew for the first time since 1927.
- Shady Grove Cemetery, Eolian, Stephens Co., TX (56 KB)
Two years after I solved, through unusual streaks of luck, the mystery concerning my great3-grandfather, Robert Benjamin Walker (1828-1908), after he separated from my great3-grandmother in Virginia and went to Texas, I visited the graves of him and his second wife while living temporarily at Austin, TX, in 1997. Buried here are Robert and his second wife, Julia Caroline Standifer Walker (1847-1933), and three of their nine children, Alexander Echols Walker (1869-1922), Flora Walker Hatchett (1871-1929), and Clara Julia Walker (1874-1940).
- My Mom and Stepdad, ca. 1998 (33 KB)
This is my mother, Janet Overstreet (Godfrey) Watkins (1945- ), and her second husband, Nelson Cornell Watkins, Jr. (1938- ), taken for the Trinity United Methodist Church, Poquoson, VA, directory.
- My Walker Relations: The Texas Branch Part I (40 KB)
Bottom right is Julia Standifer Walker (1847-1933), second wife of my great3-grandfather, Robert B. Walker, with a granddaughter, Bertagene Walker (Donnelly)(1920-1967). I wish I could locate a picture of Robert just as I have his two wives! Photos courtesy of Patricia Walker Scott of Odessa and San Antonio, TX.
- My stepdad and his 3 sons (20 KB)
This is my stepdad, Nelson C. Watkins, Jr., with his three sons by his first marriage to Betty Carol Holloway, Bradley Carol Watkins, Todd Harrison Watkins, and Andrew Scott Watkins.
- Aunt Mollie Pearson on her 100th birthday, 1976 (36 KB)
This was Great-Great-Aunt Mary Jinnette Pearson (1876-1981) with her daughter, Mildred Pearson Brown (1898-1988), and son-in-law, Leslie Thompson ("Jack") Brown (1895-1985), taken at their home in Goldsboro, NC. Aunt Mollie was also a cousin several ways through the Edgerton, Pike, and Cox families. I copied this picture on the day of President Reagan's death from the collection of Aunt Mollie and Uncle Willie Pearson's youngest child, Margaret Pearson Hicks of Cary, NC, who at age 93 was doing very well, but passed away several months later, on December 11, 2004. Mollie was the second wife (and second cousin) of William Eli Pearson (1863-1928), brother of my great-grandfather Joseph Lazarus Pearson. Willie had three surviving children by his first wife, Annie E. Howell (1868-1896), and three more by Mollie.
- My Walker Relations in Texas Part II (44 KB)
Some more of the family of my great3-grandfather, Robert Benjamin Walker (1828-1908), by his second wife, Julia Caroline Standifer (1847-1933). They had nine children, but apparently only two begat offspring. He had one daughter Ella by his first wife.
- Uncle Ken and Aunt Sheila Overstreet & kids (23 KB)
This is my mom's brother, Kenneth Wayne Overstreet (1948- ), his second wife Sheila O'Shea Overstreet (1951-2006), his son Errin Michael Overstreet (1976- ), & her daughter Erika Margaret Reade-Hill(Cooper) (1977- ), ca. 1988 at Stone Mountain, GA
- My Uncle Loyal, Aunt Luna, and Aunt Maude (27 KB)
This was my Great-Grandfather Charlie Godfrey's brother, Loyal Berry Godfrey (1884-1968), sister Maude Godfrey Tatem (1888-1976) to his right, and wife Luna Stevens Godfrey Godfrey (1887-1987) to his left. Photograph courtesy of the late Mary Tatem Johnson of Newport News, VA.
- My Walker Relations in Texas Part III (49 KB)
Another picture of my step-great3-grandmother, Julia Standifer Walker, with some children and grandchildren. Her father, Jesse Marshall Standifer, MD, was considered one of the founders of Fort Worth, TX.
- My Mom and Dad before they were married (39 KB)
These show my parents, Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey (1945- ) and Janet Lee Overstreet (1945- ), during their courtship.
- Samuel Perkins (1786-1868) of Wayne Co., NC (25 KB)
He married Rachel Pike, sister of my great4-grandmother Absilla Pike Edgerton, and it appears nearly all the Perkinses in the Wayne County area descend from them. Photo courtesy of Ted Perkins, his great-great-grandson.
- Grandma and Granddad Godfreys' 50th anniversary (38 KB)
This was when Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996) and Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in May, 1987, Newport News, VA. Grandma and Granddad are seated in the center. To Grandma's right is her mother, Great-Grandma Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993), and to Granddad's left are three of their four grandchildren, Kimberly Nicole White (1983- ), Jason Paul Godfrey (1978- ), and myself, Bryan Scott Godfrey (1973- ). David Glenn Newton (1961- ), the eldest grandchild, was not present that day due to a motorcycle competition. In back are their three children, Luanne Godfrey White (1954- ), Barbara Godfrey Newton (1939- ), and my dad, Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey (1945- ).
- Uncle Ken Overstreet, 1st wife Pam, & son Errin (30 KB)
This is my mom's brother, Kenneth Wayne Overstreet (1948- ), his first wife Pamela Martino Overstreet (1953- ), and their son Errin Michael Overstreet (1976- ), taken around 1977.
- Aunt Maude Forbes Godfrey (Tatem) (1888-1976) (26 KB)
Maude was the sister of my great-grandfather, Charlie Forbes Godfrey, and she and her husband moved to Newport News, VA, where my grandfather, her nephew, later moved, and where I grew up after the age of eight. Her husband Edgar was a streetcar conductor in downtown Newport News. Photo courtesy of Mary Tatem Johnson of Newport News, VA.
- Grandma Overstreet, ca. 1997 (26 KB)
This is my maternal grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008), when she posed for the 1997 Temple Baptist Church, Newport News, VA, directory. This was the picture that we printed in her obituary 11 years later.
- Uncles Nathan, Emory, and William Pearson (26 KB)
Nathan T. Pearson (1840-1923), Dr. William Lazarus Pearson (1849-1935), and Ichabod "Emory" Pearson (1839-1919. These were the surviving brothers of my great2-grandfather, John Thomas Pearson, and all went to the West and Midwest. Photos courtesy of the late Esther Edgerton Allen of Rocky Mount, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA.
- My Parents' Wedding, June 22, 1968 (28 KB)
Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey and Janet Lee Overstreet wedding--22 Jun 1968 at Temple Baptist Church, Newport News, VA. They were married 13 years. Photo courtesy of Janet Overstreet Watkins of Newport News, VA.
- Grandma Overstreet, date unknown (22 KB)
Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008)
- Aunt Sallie Godfrey Harris (1893-1988) (27 KB)
Aunt Sallie was a sister of my great-grandfather, Gilbert Godfrey, and lived most of her adult life at Washington, NC. She is shown here with her adopted daughter Rebecca. Aunt Sallie had gone to Washington, NC to work in the Louise Hotel following the deaths of her parents, and did not marry until later in life. She was obsessively frugal. Photo courtesy of James E. Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC.
- My Dad as a Child in Newport News, VA (31 KB)
Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey (1945- )
- Grandma Overstreet, early 1990's? (23 KB)
Ella Pearson Overstreet (1921-2008)
- 50th anniversary of Herbert and Bessie Overstreet (31 KB)
This was when my Overstreet great-grandparents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in April, 1957, Bedford Co., VA.
- Robert Munford Walker, Jr. (1804-1895) and family (32 KB)
Robert was a brother of my great4-grandfather, Dr. James Alexander Walker. One of his sons, John Fletcher Walker (1827-1915), was the namesake of the village of Walker, Lane Co., OR, where he settled. Robert lived and died in Bedford Co., VA.
- My Parents and Paternal Grandparents, 1968 (29 KB)
Wayne and Janet's wedding with his parents standing beside them, Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996) and Katherine Godfrey Godfrey (1920- ).
- Granddad Overstreet, 1982 (41 KB)
This was Melvin "Ray" Overstreet (1920-1984) at his retirement from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. At this time he was in remission for prostate cancer and taking early retirement.
- Elizabeth Tunstall Haley (Walker) (1838-1908) (22 KB)
This is my matrilineal great3-grandmother when she was young. Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- "Kingston," Courthouse Road, Dinwiddie Co., VA (22 KB)
This was the Walker ancestral plantation, built by either my great7-grandfather David Walker or his son Capt. Robert Walker (1729?-1797?). In any case, the land was first patented by David and Mary Munford Walker, and their son Robert lived in the home.
- Cousin Evelyne Sherbondy and Myself, 1996 (34 KB)
This was when Evelyne Cox Sherbondy (1910-2002), my Granddad Godfrey's first cousin, and I toured "Evergreen," Accomack Co., VA, in March, 1996. We are at the graves of my great4-grandparents, Thomas Hatton Kellam, Sr. (1790-1841) and Elizabeth Jacob Kellam (1793-1835). Pungoteague Creek is behind us. Photograph courtesy of Vernon Bonniwell of Exmore, VA.
- Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958) (25 KB)
This was my great2-grandmother when she was in her nineties. The bottom picture, taken in 1956, shows her in front of her grandson Kenneth Crouch's extensive book collection in her home. Interestingly, Great-Great-Grandma Lucy had trouble adjusting to the new-fangled idea of a television in her home, which was still unusual for country folks in the 1950s, as she had a hard time believing that the characters on the screen could not see her. Her home had electricity but never a bathroom until it was sold out of the Overstreet family and restored around 1997 following Kenneth Crouch's death.
- Bettie Haley Walker, Ella Walker (Perrow) ca. 1870 (29 KB)
This is my matrilineal great-great-grandmother, Ella Tunstall Walker (Perrow) (1859-1927), with her mother, Elizabeth Tunstall Haley Walker (1838-1908). Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- Lt. Alexander Smith Walker (1839-1902) & wife (33 KB)
He married Virginia Frances Johnson (1843-1935). Alexander was a half-brother of my great3-grandfather, Robert Benjamin Walker, and served in the Civil War from Bedford Co., VA. Photos courtesy of Rebecca Abbott Holt.
- Aunt Annie Kellam Stevens (1866-1952) (33 KB)
Annie was the youngest sister of my great2-grandmother, Rebecca Kellam Stevens, and she married Caleb Walston Stevens (1862-1935), a second cousin of my great-great-grandfather, John Gregory Stevens. She lived in Elizabeth City, NC, most of her adult life. Photograph courtesy of the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- 1951 B. Z. Overstreet Family Reunion (21 KB)
This is Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958)(seated) with her seven children (of a total of ten) who were living at the time, in her yard in Bedford Co., VA.
- My Great-Grandfather Pearson's home at Briery, VA (63 KB)
This is "Mt. Vernon," the home where my maternal grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet, was born and raised, owned by her father, Joseph Lazarus Pearson (1859-1944), from 1911 until his death. Photo courtesy of my half-second cousin, Monroe Wilson Tuggle.
- Uncle Charlie Walker, Aunt Lucie McGhee, & husband (32 KB)
Charles Pleasant Walker (1844-1924) and Lucie Walker McGhee (1846-1914) were half-siblings of my great3-grandfather, Robert B. Walker. Lucie's husband was Rice McGhee (1836-1928). Charlie served in the Confederate Army and wrote a letter about it in 1915.
- Aunt Annie and Aunt Margaret Kellam (27 KB)
Margaret Kellam Cooke Carder (1858-1940) and Annie Kellam Stevens (1866-1952) were sisters of my great2-grandmother, Rebecca Kellam Stevens. They all left the Eastern Shore after they were grown, eventually settling in North Carolina. Photographs courtesy of the late Evelyne Cox Sherbondy of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- The Herbert C. Overstreet Family (36 KB)
Top left are Herbert C. and Bessie Updike Overstreet before marriage. Center left and top right are their daughter Gladys. Center right are their children, ca. 1922. Bottom are Herbert and Bessie in their senior years with offspring.
- Lake and sculpture at Mt. Vernon, 2006 (61 KB)
This is me in front of the lake at the home where my Grandma Overstreet was born and raised. The owner of this estate is obviously talented as shown by his ability to craft sculptures like this by welding scrap iron. Photo courtesy of Monroe W. Tuggle.
- Jesse Jopling Walker (1850-1912) of Bedford Co. VA (24 KB)
He was the youngest half-brother of my great3-grandfather, Robert Benjamin Walker, and inherited the farm of his father, Dr. James Alexander Walker, which remained in the family until his grandson's death in 2001. Photo courtesy of Cauthorn Walker of Bedford, VA.
- John Gregory Stevens (1855-1942) (23 KB)
This was my great2-grandfather when he was young. The original is a daguerreotype, courtesy of his granddaughter, Evelyne Cox Sherbondy (1910-2002) of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Lucille Overstreet Robertson (1908-1965) (15 KB)
Aunt Cille was my Granddad Overstreet's eldest sister, and died at age 57 of cancer. She married a distant cousin, L. Rucker Robertson (1907-1990), a banker in Roanoke, VA. She and Ruck had no children.
- John Gregory Stevens (1855-1942) (35 KB)
He was my last-living great2-grandfather and my dad's last-living great-grandparent. Photo courtesy of his granddaughter, Evelyne Cox Sherbondy (1910-2002) of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Aunts Cille and Gladys as infants (22 KB)
Lucille Estus Overstreet (Robertson)(1908-1965) and Gladys Lucy Overstreet (Laing)(1909-2000), ca. 1910, Bedford Co., VA. They were the two eldest children (of a total of eight) of Herbert C. and Bessie Updike Overstreet.
- William "Adolphus" Perrow, Sr. (1854-1926) (23 KB)
Adolphus was my matrilineal great2-grandfather and lived his entire life in Campbell Co., VA. He was born near Rustburg, raised mostly at his parents' "Shady Grove" plantation near Gladys, and after 1886 lived on his inheritance of about 500 acres of land his father owned near Sherwill and Concord Depot in Campbell County. Adolphus was not as prosperous as most of his family, including his siblings, parents, and grandparents, and he struggled as a farmer with 10 surviving children. Photo courtesy of Virginia Pearson Wheeler of Lynchburg, VA.
- John Hughes Godfrey (1859-1934) of Shiloh, NC (24 KB)
He was my patrilineal great2-grandfather, my father's father's father's father, and lived in Camden Co., NC most of his life with the exception of his early childhood years when his parents lived at Kempsville in present-day Virginia Beach, VA. Photo courtesy of his great-grandson, Carl F. Cannon, Jr. (1928-1994) of Williamsburg, VA.
- John Hughes Godfrey (1859-1934) of Shiloh, NC (25 KB)
Another picture of my patrilineal great2-grandfather. Photo courtesy of his granddaughter, Mary Tatem Johnson (1911-2005) of Newport News, VA.
- Camille, Carroll, Frances, Charles Updike ca. 1917 (58 KB)
These are 4 of the 5 children of my Great-Grandma Overstreet's eldest brother, Charles Green Updike (1876-1965), and his wife, Margaret Sawyer Updike (1882-1963), who lived in Scottdale, PA and Florence, NJ. They are Camille Updike (Malik)(1906-1981), Carroll Amon Updike (1907-1962), Frances Laverne Updike (Smires)(1909-1995), and Charles Nathaniel ("Chuck") Updike (1915-1976). The youngest, Margaret "Lois" Updike (Russell)(1919-1999), was not born yet. What became of this family was a mystery to my Grandfather Overstreet's immediate family and cousins until I tracked down Carroll Updike's daughter in 2007, who is living outside of Pittsburgh, PA, where he, Mrs. Malik, and Mrs. Smires were living at their deaths. Photo courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- Charles and Margaret Updike, 1955 (41 KB)
This was Charles Green Updike (1876-1965) and wife Margaret Sawyer Updike (1882-1963) when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Florence, NJ, in 1955. He was the eldest brother of my great-grandmother, Bessie Updike Overstreet, and lived at Scottdale, PA and Florence, NJ. Photo courtesy of their granddaugher, Valerie Russell Koeber of Wayne, NE.
- Uncle Bernard's WWII plane, "Hellcat Hattie" (18 KB)
This was the B-17 Bomber aircraft in which my great-uncle, R. Bernard Overstreet (1915-2005), flew 30 missions over Germany and adjacent areas as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Thank you, Uncle Bernard, for your efforts ! Thankfully he lived long enough to visit the new D-Day Memorial in his home county of Bedford and to view on TV the new World War II Veterans' Memorial at Washington, DC. He named this plane for his wife, Hattie Burnett Overstreet.
- Map of North Carolina's Outer Banks (61 KB)
This map of Northeastern North Carolina shows where much of my ancestry was rooted, especially my dad's immediate family, and the beaches where we spent much time when I was young. My dad bought this for me and framed it when I was nine years old.
- Ella Walker Perrow (1859-1927) of Campbell Co., VA (24 KB)
Ella was my matrilineal great2-grandmother, my mother's mother's mother's mother, and was raised at her Grandfather Archibald Haley's "Pocket Farm" plantation in Pittsylvania Co., VA, but lived in Campbell Co., VA, after she was married. My maternal grandmother was named for her. When Ella was born, there were 4 living generations of her maternal ancestors, including her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Arnold Brown (1791-1869), her grandmother, Martha Brown Haley (1814-1885), and her mother, Elizabeth Haley Walker (1838-1908). Ella has the most well-traced ancestry of all my great-great-grandparents, mostly southern (Virginia and Maryland) except for the Browns, who came from Long Island and were descended from New England Quakers and Puritans, which she was apparently proud of since her children were aware of the latter. Photo courtesy of Virginia Pearson Wheeler of Lynchburg, VA.
- An unlabeled pic of the Perrow sisters, ca. 1950 (40 KB)
My great-grandmother, Virgie Perrow Pearson (1883-1955), on far right in front, with her seven sisters, Minnie, Phanie, Ora, Jeanette, Ilene, Euphan, and Lizzie, ca. 1950. They were daughters of W.A. and Ella Walker Perrow.
- Massachusetts Gov. William Stoughton (1631-1701) (1 KB)
He was a nephew of my great11-grandmother Elizabeth Stoughton Scudder Chamberlin, who came to Massachusetts about 1643, following several siblings. Stoughton, a bachelor, was a son of Col. Israel Stoughton who is considered the founder of Dorchester, Massachusetts. William was a Puritan minister, Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, a leading benefactor of Harvard University where a building is named in his honor, a judge in the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, and the namesake of Stoughton, Massachusetts. As a minister he often echoed the sentiments of more famous Puritan leaders by implying New England was a "City on a Hill," a theme later used by President Reagan to justify American self-righteousness (and perhaps arrogance?). Stoughton also prophesied the later New England obsession with genealogy with his quote that "the book that shall be opened at the last day will contain Genealogies among them. There shall be brought forth a Register of the Genealogies of New-England's sons and daughters." I suppose this website is part of that "register," though New England accounts for a very small portion of my known ancestry. Because his admission of spectral evidence caused the Salem witch trials to be so severe in their punishments, I am somewhat ashamed to be a relative of his, but he was relying on literal interpretation of the laws of that time, not on present-day concepts of morality, superstition, and human rights.
- Ella Tunstall Walker when she was married, 1880 (25 KB)
This was my great2-grandmother when she married my great-great-grandfather, W. Adolphus Perrow, in her Grandfather Haley's plantation, "Pocket Farm," in Pittsylvania Co., VA. Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- 1924 Quaker Baptist Church Homecoming, Bedford Co. (46 KB)
My grandfather Ray Overstreet (then age 4), his grandparents, and numerous other relatives were all identified by two persons in 1998! Photograph courtesy of Wilma Overstreet Noell of Bedford, VA.
- The Archibald Haley family (29 KB)
At top is my great3-grandmother, Elizabeth Tunstall ("Bettie") Haley Walker (1838-1908), bottom left is Bettie with her only child Ella Tunstall Walker (Perrow)(1859-1927), bottom right is Bettie's sister Delia Haley Hawkins (1852-1889). If anyone can ever locate photographs of Bettie and Delia's parents, Capt. Archibald Haley (1802-1887) and his wife, Martha ("Patsy") Brown Haley (1814-1885), for me, I shall be most grateful to have copies made, especially since Patsy was my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother's mother. I feel sure pictures were taken of Arch and Patsy due to their prominence, but apparently none remain among the family of their granddaughter Ella Walker Perrow, even though they lived with her in their later years.
- Daughters of W. Adolphus and Ella Walker Perrow (239 KB)
Taken around 1950 in Aunt Euphan Carter's home at Leesville, VA, this shows my Great-Grandmother Pearson and all of her sisters. Left to right (alternating back to front) are: Minnie Perrow Farmer (1895-1988), Phanie Perrow Flynn (1903-1995), Ora Perrow Garner (1892-1969), Jeanette Perrow Morgan (1897-1985), Ilene Perrow Jones (1885-1961), Euphan Perrow Carter (1898-1977), Elizabeth Tunstall ("Lizzie") Perrow (1887-1969), and Virginia ("Virgie") Perrow Pearson (1883-1955). Two brothers, William "Adolphus" Perrow, Jr. (1889-1969) and John "Harvey" Perrow (1900-1980), were not present that day.
- Ella Walker Perrow (1859-1927), ca. 1925 (33 KB)
My great2-grandmother appears to be hiding behind a tree to keep her picture from being taken. Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- My Great-Grandfather Overstreet's family (33 KB)
The top picture shows my great-grandfather Herbert, his parents Zone and Lucy Cheek Overstreet, and all of their surviving children except Delbert, who was not born yet. The bottom picture is of the family or neighbors farming. Photographs courtesy of Wilma Overstreet Noell of Bedford, VA.
- My High School Senior Portrait, 1990-91 (21 KB)
This was me, Bryan Scott Godfrey (1973- ), when I was a senior at Homer L. Ferguson High School at Newport News, VA, Class of 1991. Ferguson closed five years later.
- The H. Brown Haley Family (40 KB)
Henry "Brown" Haley (1842-1909) was a brother of my great3-grandmother, Elizabeth Haley Walker. He lived in Campbell County and Richmond, VA, and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. Photo courtesy of Betsy H. Phillips of Rustburg, VA.
- Elizabeth ("Bettie") Haley Walker (1838-1908) (30 KB)
Bettie was my matrilineal great3-grandmother, my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother. She lived in Pittsylvania Co., VA, and Campbell Co., VA. She and her husband, Robert B. Walker, were divorced, a rarity in that time, following the birth of their only child Ella, and he then went to Texas and started another family after remarrying. When Bettie was born, four generations of her maternal ancestors (including her great-grandmother Patsy Lee Arnold 1769-1840 were living, and she lived long enough for the birth of her first great-grandchild, Ilene "Elizabeth" Jones (Bryant)(1906-1991). Thus, Bettie saw seven generations of the Lee-Arnold-Brown-Haley-Walker-Perrow family in her lifetime, even though she was not quite 70 years old when she died. Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- My Great-Great-Grandmother Overstreet & 2 children (36 KB)
Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958) with her two youngest children (of a total of ten), Essie Cornelia Overstreet (Crouch)(1902-1986) and Delbert Rucker Overstreet (1903-1960). Photograph courtesy of Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- My W&M Freshman Yearbook Picture, 1992 (19 KB)
This was taken when I was a freshman at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 1992.
- Me Celebrating Black History Month, Feb. 2008 (1 KB)
I am festive during Black History Month at the high school where I taught from 2006-08, having served on its Black History Committee. Here I am beside some posters I created for my classroom depicting African-Americans such as Barack Obama whom I am related to, roles my family had in black history such as my Quaker relatives in the Underground Railroad, and famous African-Americans such as Frederick Douglass or Booker T. Washington who grew up on plantations having connections with my relatives. Another poster is about The Benjamin Banneker Association, which promotes black achievement in Mathematics. Whether Barack Obama or John McCain is our next President, it will be a relative of mine since I share common Colonial American ancestry with both, Obama through the Duvalls of Maryland and McCain through the Arnold family of Central Virginia. In 2001, I met and had dinner with an African-American descendant of the Eggleston family from which I descend, and hope to meet many more black cousins in the future. My Underground Railroad poster honors a collateral cousin, Levi Coffin of Indiana, for his role as Unofficial President of the Underground Railroad, and my Pearson great3-grandparents for being station managers of the UR in North Carolina. Wright Maudlin of Michigan was another relative of mine active in the UR whom I did not know about when I created the poster. Frederick Douglass spent part of his childhood on the Gov. Edward Lloyd plantation, "Wye House," near Easton, MD, and the Lloyds were cruel slaveholders but leading government officials in Maryland who were collaterally related to me through the Denwood family. Booker T. Washington was raised on a plantation in Franklin Co., VA adjacent to where my Divers ancestors lived. How appropriate that I am wearing my official Society of Colonial Wars bowtie!
- Me as a little boy in Petersburg, VA (19 KB)
Since I'm not good at judging children's ages and there's no date marked on the picture, I'm not sure how old I was, only that it was taken when my parents were living at Petersburg, VA, late 1970's.
- Rev. William Pearson (1797-1888) (33 KB)
Perhaps the earliest-born Pearson in my line for which there is an extant photograph, he was the youngest son of Ichabod and Miriam Lamb Pearson and brother of my great4-grandfather, Ichabod Pearson, Jr. (1781-1845). He left Wayne County, North Carolina with a married sister after becoming an orphan, settling in Logan County, Ohio and after 1850 near New Sharon, Mahaska County, Iowa. His wife, Catherine Pickrell (1799-1869), was a Maris descendant. Uncle William's long life as an early Quaker pioneer, farmer, father of nine, and minister make him an admirable uncle to me. He and his wife are buried in the Friends Cemetery at New Sharon, Iowa. Two of their daughters married Bryan brothers who were also related to me through the Quaker Mendenhall, Maris, and Clayton families. One of his grandsons and namesakes, Dr. William Alanson Bryan (1875-1942), was a noted professor of the Hawaiian Islands who published an extensive natural history of the region, now downloadable on Google Books, and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of the Hawaii Territory twice. Photo courtesy of Rev. Pearson's great3-granddaughter, Pamela Davies of Grantsburg, WI.
- William H. Ellis & Sarah Pendleton Ellis (41 KB)
William Hith Ellis (1845?-1926), my last-born and last-living great3-grandparent, was run over by a car and killed while returning to Pasquotank Co., NC to visit friends and family, having lived at Norfolk, VA his last 15 years. His ancestry beyond his parents is a mystery, and I only know the first names of his parents, Joshua and Mary Ellis, who had him at very young ages. He lived in Pasquotank Co., NC, Elizabeth City, NC, Moyock, NC, and Norfolk, VA. Photo courtesy of his great-granddaughter, Janet Ellis Robertson of Frederick, MD. I descend from his daughter, Grizzelle Frances Ellis White Jennings (1869-1922), by his first marriage to Elizabeth Ann Pailin (1838?-1892), but he had 4 more children by his second wife, Sarah ("Sadie") Pendleton (1869-1930), from whom he was separated in his later years. He was walking down Gallberry Road near Weeksville, NC to the home of his first wife's niece, Mollie Pritchard Palmer, when he was struck, dragged to the side of the road, and abandoned. He is buried at the Old Episcopal Cemetery near Weeksville, probably beside his first wife, but their graves were unmarked. There are 3 rocks in the cemetery, 2 of which probably mark their graves, and perhaps another marks the grave of Elizabeth's mother, Frances Garrett Pailin. Frances' sister Lydia Garrett Pailin (ca. 1802-1855) has a marked grave. Sadie is buried at Riverside Memorial Park in Norfolk, as are all 4 of their children they had together.
- The Homeplace of my Overstreet Great2-Grandparents (27 KB)
This was the home and cemetery plot of Berry "Zone" Overstreet and Lucy Cheek Overstreet on Difficult Creek Road in Bedford Co., VA. I am pictured in front of the headstone, taken in December, 2003.
- Baby/Toddler Pictures of Me, ca. 1974-75 (29 KB)
The left one was probably taken when my parents lived at Coshocton, OH, ca. 1973-74, and the right one was probably taken shortly after we moved to Petersburg, VA, in January, 1975.
- Clellie Sawyer Jeralds, age almost 107, May 2008 (35 KB)
This is me with Mrs. Clellie Sawyer Jeralds (1901-2009), age almost 107, in the new Winslow Memorial Nursing Home outside Elizabeth City, NC. She was the aunt of the late husband of my Granddad Godfrey's second cousin, Bess Tillitt Godfrey Sawyer (on the Stevens side). Both of my paternal grandparents were descended from Sawyers, but I may never know their lines of descent back to the Sawyer brothers who settled in Camden Co., NC in the late 1600s, and I may never know Mrs. Jeralds' exact connection either, since the Sawyers are a very tangled family to trace due to so many of the same first names. But since she was a Sawyer from Camden County, she was almost certainly related somehow. She was still driving when she turned 100 and lived in her home in Camden until she broke her hip at the age 106 1/2, survived surgery, and went into the nursing home. Her hearing and mind were very alert when I met her. I was determined to meet her ever since her niece-in-law told me about her since she is the oldest person I have ever seen (that I know of). She died at age 108, 15 months after I met her. The only person I have heard of related to me in any way who lived longer, 110 years, was Mrs. Bessie Sublett Viar (1881-1992) of Madison Heights and Lynchburg, VA, who was only related by marriage as her daughter, Bessie "Kathleen" Viar (1912-2009), married my maternal grandmother's second cousin, Lt. Col. William Perrow Moon, Jr. (1911-1997).
- My mom and her family at her first wedding, 1968 (32 KB)
This is when my mom and dad were married, and shows her with her parents and her brother Kenny. Photo courtesy of Janet Overstreet Watkins of Newport News, VA.
- Leah Walker Beverly (1876-1947) and daughter (30 KB)
Leah was a half-sister of my great2-grandmother Ella Walker Perrow. Her only child, Nora Bob Beverly (Cowan)(1906- ?), later disappeared from her family, including her mother and daughter. Leah lived in Arizona and Texas and is buried at Fort Worth, TX, which her maternal grandfather, Dr. Jesse Marshall Standifer (ca. 1811-1881), helped found as a U.S. Army post surgeon there. Photograph courtesy of Nora Bob's daughter, Beverly Cowan Morcom of Baton Rouge, LA.
- David Cornelius Kellam and home & family ca. 1903 (1 KB)
On the steps are David Cornelius Kellam (1854-1925), with his 2nd wife, Gawina Corbin Murphy (1869-1924), and his 3 daughters by his first marriage to Lucy "Wilmina" Nottingham (1859-1898): Lillian May Kellam (Jacob) (1883-1963), Helen Pauline Kellam (Jackson) (1885-1959), and Lucy "Wilmina" Kellam (Mayo, Brown, Bowman) (1887-1971). Beside the nanny in front is David and Gawina's son, David Corbin Kellam, Sr. (1900-1935), and their other son, Henry "Stafford" Kellam (1906-1979), was not born yet. This was taken ca. 1903. The home is still standing and occupied, located on Lankford Highway (Rt. 13), on the right side going north, at Shady Side south of Machipongo in Northampton County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. David was a brother of my great-great-grandmother, Rebecca Kellam Stevens (1856-1931), and a merchant and potato farmer, his store having been located on the present site of Blue Heron Realty across the highway. My great3-grandfather, Thomas Hatton Kellam, Jr. (1826?-1907), was living here when he died in his son David's home. In spite of Thomas having lost the Hack-Muir-Hatton-Kellam family plantation, "Evergreen," in Accomack Co., VA, after the "Late Unpleasantness," apparently his son David reclaimed some of the family's prominence as shown by the prosperity evident in this photograph, and it is admirable that he included his black hired help and his horse as they were truly part of the family and unlike his ancestors, he probably had to make his own way in the world without benefit of slaves or family inheritance. Photo courtesy of Lillian Kellam Jacob's granddaughter, Elizabeth Wilkins Rowe, of Rockville, MD, and copied by her son-in-law, Bill LeWarne. The home of daughter Helen and her husband, Dr. J. Walker Jackson (1885-1954), is across the road, later inherited by Lillian's daughter, Lillian Jacob Oliver (1911-2003).
- My mom and her brother Kenny (26 KB)
This is Janet Lee Overstreet (Godfrey, Watkins)(1945- ) and Kenneth Wayne Overstreet (1948- ), the two children of Melvin Ray Overstreet and Ella Pearson Overstreet. Photo courtesy of the late Ella Pearson Overstreet of Newport News, VA.
- Great-Grandma Godfrey holding my brother, ca. 1978 (37 KB)
This was Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993), the only great-grandparent my brother and I ever had in our lifetimes, holding my brother, Jason Paul Godfrey (1978- ), in her kitchen, Pasquotank Co., NC, ca. 1978.
- 636 Sterling Street, Newport News, VA (44 KB)
Home of the Garland Stevens Godfrey family from 1948 to 2004, where my dad and his two sisters were raised.
- My mom when she graduated from college, 1968 (21 KB)
This is my mother, the former Janet Lee Overstreet, when she graduated from Westhampton College of the University of Richmond in 1968, B.A. in Elementary Education.
- Granddad Godfrey when young (21 KB)
Garland Stevens Godfrey (1914-1996)
- My mom's wedding picture (22 KB)
This is the formal portrait of my mother, Janet Lee Overstreet, when she married my dad, Gilbert "Wayne" Godfrey, in 1968.
- Granddad Godfrey receiving an award, ca. 1977 (20 KB)
This was when Garland Stevens Godfrey received a commendation from the Peninsula Shipbuilders Association for excellence in completing a risky burning job with a torch on a ship propeller. Photo courtesy of Katherine Godfrey Godfrey of Newport News and Hampton, VA.
- Richard Cocke Graveyard at Curles Neck Farm (78 KB)
One of the oldest extant graveyards in Virginia, and located on the Curles Neck Farm on a dirt road about 3.5 miles from Route 5 and within sight of the James River in Henrico Co., VA, this is where my great10-grandfather, Richard Cocke (ca. 1602-1665), and several generations of his descendants, are buried. There were several Cocke families in Virginia, but Richard Cocke was progenitor of the family from Pickthorn in Shropshire, England and later of Henrico County. He established a dynasty from which many Virginians and southerners in general could trace descent, almost as well-known, prolific, and prominent as that of the William and Mary Isham Randolph family that settled Turkey Island nearby. This is on private property, but permission to vist the graveyard can be secured. It is within sight of Interstate 295's Varina-Enon Bridge, a scenic way to obtain a birds-eye view of the James River and its islands between Hopewell and Richmond, including Henricus Park on Farrar's Island, which was settled by the family of William Farrar, whose presumed stepdaughter, Temperance Baley, was the first wife of Richard Cocke, from which marriage I descend. Richard Cocke also has many descendants from his second marriage to Mary Aston.
- Lt.. Gov. James Hamilton (1710?-1783) (28 KB)
A son of Anne Brown Preeson Hamilton and famed Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton (1676-1741), who paved the way for freedom of the press in Colonial America through his brilliant defense of John Peter Zenger in New York in 1735, Gov. Hamilton was a first cousin of 2 of my great8-grandmothers, Sarah Preeson Hack Gibson and Susanna Upshur Teackle Scarborough of Virginia's Eastern Shore, grandchildren of Thomas and Susanna Denwood Browne. Gov. Hamilton and his family were well-connected with Colonial Pennsylvania history beginning with his father's supervision of the construction of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Among other endeavors, James was a Mayor of Philadelphia, served twice as Acting Colonial Governor of Pennsylvania, a leading landowner in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the founder of Lancaster, PA. His brother-in-law, William Allen, was founder and namesake of Allentown, PA.
- My mom and her 2 sons, 1985, Newport News, VA (20 KB)
This is my mom, Janet Overstreet Godfrey, with my younger brother Jason and me, shortly before she married my stepdad, Nelson Cornell Watkins, Jr.
- My Great-Grandfather Godfrey and brother Loyal (33 KB)
At top is my great-grandfather, Charlie Forbes Godfrey (1886-1962). Bottom left is his brother, Loyal Berry Godfrey (1884-1968), at the Jamestown, VA 300th birthday celebration in 1907, held at Norfolk, VA. Right are Uncle Loyal and his wife Luna.
- Lion Gardiner (1599?-1663) Tomb, Easthampton, NY (7 KB)
This pic is from Wikipedia as I have not visited Long Island yet, but I hope for it to be my next genealogy-related vacation if gas prices come back down! This the tomb of my great11-grandfather Lion Gardiner, who is regarded as the builder of Fort Saybrook in Connecticut, founder of English settlements on Long Island, founder of East Hampton, the namesake of Gardiner's Island, etc. This tomb was constructed in 1886 after his remains were excavated, 222 years after his death. Many of his descendants are buried in this cemetery too. Admittedly I feel as though I am too low-classed, with my Honda Civic, to set foot in the Hamptons in spite of my family connections having preceded the noveaux riche that have bought properties there in the past 100 years!
- My Paternal Grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary (41 KB)
This was taken in May, 1987 at Calvary Baptist Church, Newport News, VA. I am sitting on the floor in front of my Great-Grandmother Mattie White Godfrey.
- My mother and Uncle Kenny as youngsters (36 KB)
This is my mom, Janet Lee Overstreet (Godfrey, Watkins) (1945- ) and her brother, Kenneth Wayne Overstreet (1948- ), Newport News, VA.
- Some Stevens family members (36 KB)
Top left- Sarah Gregory Stevens Sanderlin (1837-1892), my great3-grandmother. Top right- Aunt Helen Stevens Coppersmith Evans (1886-1985), below her is her daughter Helen C. Evans (1915-1982), below her are Aunt Hazel Stevens Hooper (1897-1990) & Wilhelmina ("Mina") Coppersmith Barnes Adams (1911- ). Left is the former home of Maj. Charles M. and Mina Coppersmith Adams, 606 N. Road Street, Elizabeth City, NC.
- 9 Groome Road, Newport News, VA (30 KB)
This was the home of my maternal grandparents from 1948 to 1973, and where my mom and her brother Kenny were raised. Photo courtesy of Ella Pearson Overstreet of Newport News, VA.
- High school senior pictures of my brother and me (30 KB)
Left is my brother, Jason Paul Godfrey (1978- ), when he was a senior at Ferguson High School in Newport News, VA, and on the right is my principal, Mr. Henry J. Godfrey (no known relation), presenting me my diploma at Ferguson's 1991 commencement.
- Cousin Ray Coppersmith at the Stevens Home (23 KB)
This was my Granddad Godfrey's first cousin, Raymond Stevens Coppersmith (1918-1988), his first wife Mary Debrule Coppersmith (1918-2002), and their eldest daughter, Sandra Coppersmith (Geddie),in front of the home of his grandparents (my great-great-grandparents), John Gregory Stevens and Rebecca Kellam Stevens, Shiloh, NC.
- A Painting of the Boone-Callaway Abduction (48 KB)
This is "The Abduction of Daniel Boone's Daughter by the Indians" by Charles Ferdinand Wimar (1853), courtesy of "Wikipedia". This is one of several paintings depicting this famous incident in Kentucky history in which Daniel Boone's daughter Jemima and two daughters of Col. Richard Callaway were abducted by Indians outside Boonesboro Fort and subsequently rescued by men they later married, Elizabeth Callaway marrying Samuel Henderson, Frances Callaway marrying John Holder, and Jemima Boone marrying Flanders Callaway, son of Richard's brother James. This and another kidnapping incident were inspirations for James Fenimore Cooper's novel, "The Last of the Mohicans." In spite of worries they might be tortured and raped, the women reported being treated well by the captors. They were first cousins of my great7-grandfather, Col. James Callaway (1736-1809) of Bedford Co., VA. Four years later, Col. Richard Callaway was killed and scalped by Indians at Boonesboro.
- 224 Keith Road, Newport News, VA (41 KB)
My maternal grandparents bought and moved into this home about a week before I was born in April, 1973, and my grandmother lived there until she went into assisted living in October, 2007. I lived here from 1981 to 1984 with my mom and brother following my parents' divorce in Petersburg, VA. Photo courtesy of the late Ella Pearson Overstreet of Newport News, VA.
- My Grandfather Overstreet, ca. 1938 (28 KB)
This was my maternal grandfather, Melvin "Ray" Overstreet (1920-1984), around the time he graduated from Huddleston High School in Bedford Co., VA. Photo courtesy of Ella Pearson Overstreet of Newport News, VA.
- The Gilbert Godfrey Home and Family (31 KB)
At top are my great-grandparents, Gilbert Godfrey (1889-1965) and Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993), at the home of his sister Mattie Godfrey Campbell in Rocky Mount, NC. Bottom left is the Gilbert Godfrey home as it appeared in 1946.
- Williams-Brown House, 801 E. Main St., Salem, VA (51 KB)
Now the location of the Salem Museum, this was built by William Curle Williams and later owned and occupied by their daughter, Mary Jane Williams (1821-1895), and her husband, Joshua Robert Callaway Brown II (1815-1900), brother of my matrilineal great4-grandmother, Martha Brown Haley. This was the home of the Joshua R.C. Brown family for several generations.
- Granddad Overstreet's funeral, May 22, 1984 (44 KB)
This is Grandma with all of her offspring, her two children Janet and Kenny, and her three grandsons Bryan, Errin, and Jason. This was taken in Grandma's backyard before the funeral. Photo courtesy of Janet Overstreet Watkins of Newport News, VA.
- My Grandma Overstreet's senior portrait, ca. 1939 (20 KB)
This is my maternal grandmother, Ella Perrow Pearson (Overstreet) (1921-2008), around the time when she graduated from Worsham High School in Prince Edward Co., VA. Photo courtesy of Grandma.
- Me holding portrait of Stephen Perrow, Jr., 1999 (22 KB)
Stephen Perrow, Jr. (1786?-1860) was my great4-grandfather. He had 14 children, over 77 grandchildren, and is the ancestor of nearly all Perrows around Lynchburg and Campbell Co., VA, with the exception of some who may be descendants of his 1st cousins.
- William Updike (1804-1882) of Bedford Co., VA (15 KB)
Taken from the 1889 "Opdyck Genealogy," this is my great3-grandfather. Photo scanned for me by Leslie K. Updike of Richmond, VA. William married his first cousin, Elizabeth Updike (1816-1852), and after her death, her aunt, Frankley West (ca. 1819-1879).
- My Overstreet great-grandparents (33 KB)
Herbert Colon Overstreet (1885-1967) and Bessie Updike Overstreet (1887-1970)
- Cousin Kimberly's high school graduation, 2001 (43 KB)
This is when my first cousin (of only three), Kimberly Nicole White (1983- ), graduated with honors from Bethel High School, Hampton, VA. At top are her and her parents, Luanne and Charlie, and our Grandma Godfrey is in the center right picture.
- Quaker Baptist Church, Bedford Co., VA (45 KB)
Includes the graves of some of my relatives there, including my Overstreet great-grandparents, Great-Aunt Gladys, and Great-Uncle Cecil and Aunt Lucille.
- My mom, her brother, and their spouses (31 KB)
Left--my mom, Janet O. Watkins, and my stepdad, Nelson C. Watkins, Jr. Right--my Uncle Kenny Overstreet and his second wife, Sheila O'Shea (Reade-Hill) Overstreet.
- A tragic telegram from the 1918 flu epidemic (61 KB)
This telegram was sent by my great-grandmother Rebecca Stevens Godfrey's sister, Helen Stevens Coppersmith (1886-1985), to their sister Maude Stevens Cox (1890-1976), pleading for help following the death of her husband George and illness of her entire family. Aunt Helen was living at Norfolk, VA. Aunt Maude's daughter, Evelyne Cox Sherbondy, inherited this telegram and allowed me to copy it.
- Alfred Turner's grave with some descendants, 2008. (75 KB)
Alfred Turner (1823-1871) is the only great3-grandparent of mine whose parents' names I do not know, but it is safe to assume he was from Perquimans Co., NC since William Turner settled there in the Little River area in the late 1600s and there were several other intermarriages between Godfreys and Turners there. This was taken at an informal gathering of the Morse-Sawyer-Godfrey-White families at New Hope United Methodist Church (of which this is its cemetery) in Perquimans Co., NC. Left to right are James Ephraim Godfrey of Goldsboro, NC (my grandmother's first cousin), Raymond M. Godfrey, Jr. of Nixonton, NC (my dad's first cousin), G. Wayne Godfrey of Charles City Co., VA (my dad), and Marvin R. Godfrey of Fuquay-Varina, NC (my great-uncle). Alfred's wife, Martha Jane Godfrey Turner, is buried elsewhere, probably in one of the Godfrey family plots nearby, in an unmarked grave, and no one knows her date of death.
- My brother and me at the Overstreet Farm, 1983 (44 KB)
This was where our grandfather was born and raised. My mother is embarrassed about this picture because it makes us look like country bumpkins!
- Col. William Callaway (1714?-1778), Bedford Co. VA (25 KB)
He was my great8-grandfather. A native of Caroline Co., VA, he and his brothers, orphaned children of Joseph Callaway of Essex or Caroline Co., VA, came to Bedford in the 1740's, establishing themselves as one of its founding families. He was a Colonel in the French and Indian War, and lived at New London, the county seat then. This portrait hangs in a courtroom of the Bedford Courthouse, and when I stood on a bench to photograph it in 1996, I was afraid Judge Sweeney would catch me! (But a clerk gave me permission to photograph and reproduce it and a picture of James Steptoe in Judge Sweeney's chambers). William Callaway's younger brother, Col. Richard Callaway (1717?-1780), settled Transylvania (Boonesboro), Kentucky, with Daniel Boone, where Richard was scalped by Indians in 1780. William and Richard had a nephew, Flanders Callaway, who married Daniel Boone's daughter Jemima.
- 50th Wedding Anniversary of Herbert & Bessie Ovst. (29 KB)
This was taken in April, 1957, when my great-grandparents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at their farm in Bedford Co., VA.
- Uncle Kenny as a senior at Virginia Tech, ca. 1971 (21 KB)
My uncle, Kenneth Wayne Overstreet (1948- ), received a B.S. in Forestry from VPI, but has worked in restaurant, grocery store, and pet store management most of his career. He has lived around Atlanta, GA, since 1977.
- New London, Bedford Co., VA (Rt. 460) (31 KB)
At top is the Callaway-Steptoe Cemetery, burial place of my Callaway ancestors. At bottom is New London Academy, attended by many relatives of mine in that area, including my great-grandmother Bessie Updike Overstreet and several Perrow great-great-aunts.
- Amon Updike (1848-1933) of Bedford Co., VA (50 KB)
He was my great2-grandfather and lived in Bedford Co., VA and later in the City of Bedford with his second wife. He worked in the Hampton Looms woolen mill in Bedford, where he lost a hand in a machine accident. Photograph courtesy of Aunt Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- My Grandma Overstreet, Uncle Ken, & Cousin Errin (28 KB)
This was when Uncle Kenny married his second wife, Sheila Margaret-Mary O'Shea Reade-Hill, in 1987 at Stone Mountain, GA. Errin is by his first marriage to Pamela Susan Martino. Ken and Sheila had 19 wonderful years together before Sheila's tragic, premature death from small cell lung cancer in 2006.
- My Great-Grandma Overstreet and some siblings (41 KB)
This was taken in front of the home of their father and stepmother, 104 Judd Street, Bedford, VA. Not pictured are Uncle Charlie, Uncle Will, Uncle Carroll, and Uncle Lander. Photograph courtesy of Aunt Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- Benoni and Mary Preston Overstreet (45 KB)
These are Benoni Overstreet (1796-1884) and his wife, Mary Ann ("Polly") Preston Overstreet (1808-1885) of Bedford Co., VA. He was a brother of my great5-grandfather, Jesse Overstreet, and probably the only child of the 15+ children of Thomas Overstreet, Jr. (1744-1842) and Barsheba Turner Overstreet (?-ca. 1825) for whom there is an extant photograph and an extant grave marker. Photo courtesy of his descendant Robert Bruce ("Bob") Overstreet of Everett, WA, an avid Overstreet researcher.
- The B.Z. and Lucy Cheek Overstreet Family, 1925 (55 KB)
Berry Zone Overstreet (1863?-1934) and Lucy Cheek Overstreet (1861-1958) were my great2-grandparents, and my great-grandfather, Herbert Colon Overstreet (1885-1967), is in front on the far left. Their 7 other surviving children are shown also.
- Virginia and Ed Wheeler and daughters, 1958 (28 KB)
This is my Grandmother Overstreet's sister, Virginia Pearson Wheeler (1922- ), her husband Everett Lee ("Ed") Wheeler (1923-1974), and their daughters Virginia "Carolyn" Wheeler (Creed)(1944- )(in center) and Barbara Lee Wheeler (Beck)(1946- )(on the right), taken in Lynchburg, VA in 1958, the same month that Aunt Virginia and Uncle Ed's son, Everett Pearson Wheeler, known as Eddie, died of a brain tumor at age 9, one of several tragedies Aunt Virginia has courageously lived through. I don't know what occasion this was, but it obviously was not right after his funeral or else they would not be smiling.
- My Cousin Errin's senior portrait, ca. 1995 (20 KB)
This was shortly before my first cousin, Errin Michael Overstreet (1976- ), graduated from Roswell High School at Roswell, GA, in 1995.
- Levi Hollowell Massey Family Reunion, ca. 1908 (41 KB)
Levi H. Massey (1827-1911) and Avis Coleman Massey (1834-1917) were both distant cousins of my Quaker family lines, and two of their daughters, Sarah and Mary, married my Pearson great2-uncles. Avis was related to me through the Coxes. Photo courtesy of Dr. J. Wilbert Edgerton and Marianna Dow Edgerton of Greensboro, NC.
- Calvin Perrow Carter (1924-2008) at store, 1995 (36 KB)
This is my Grandma Overstreet's first cousin in front of Carter's Store at Leesville, VA, which had been in his family for 4 generations, when I first met him in 1995.
- Amon Updike (1848-1933) of Bedford Co., VA (28 KB)
This was my great2-grandfather, and it is interesting to me that his parents were first cousins! Photograph courtesy of Aunt Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- My Cousin Errin and Step-Cousin Erika (28 KB)
Errin Michael Overstreet is my Uncle Kenny's only child by his first wife Pam, and Erika is the only child of Kenny's second wife, Sheila, by her first marriage to Eric Reade-Hill.
- Levi H. Massey family, 1895, Dudley, NC (29 KB)
This is a reunion of the Levi Hollowell Massey family. His first wife was my ancestral aunt Talitha Edgerton, his second wife, Avis Coleman, was a Cox descendant, and two of their daughters married Pearsons and two other children married Coxes. Photo courtesy of Wil and Marianna Edgerton of Greensboro, NC.
- Willis and Euphan Shepherd Cowling (26 KB)
Willis Cowling (1788?-1828) and Euphan Shepherd Cowling (1793?-1822) were my great4-grandparents and lived at Suffolk and Richmond, VA. These portraits are in possession of a Perrow descendant in Lynchburg, VA. I need to take a better photograph of Willis.
- Isabella White Updike (1856-1891) of Bedford Co VA (24 KB)
Isabella was my great2-grandmother. Note her Indian features, helping to validate the tradition that her maternal grandmother, Nancy Hackworth Laughon, was of Indian descent. Isabella was from the Mentow area of Bedford Co., VA, where her father, George White, was a blacksmith and large landowner, and her maternal grandfather, Isham Laughon, also a prominent farmer. Her Whites came from present-day Nottoway Co., VA, and her great-grandfather, Joseph White (1740?-1844), served in the Revolutionary War from Bedford, living to be over 100. Photograph courtesy of her granddaughter and namesake, Isabelle White Overstreet of Bedford, VA. Isabella died at age 34 of kidney disease resulting from giving birth to her ninth and youngest child, Uncle Walter Updike, several months earlier.
- John Fleming Perrow (1815-1883) of Rustburg, VA (21 KB)
He was a brother of my great3-grandfather, Capt. William Cox Perrow, and his wife, Martha Cowling Perrow (1819-1885), was a first cousin of my great3-grandmother, Virginia Cowling Perrow. They lived at Rustburg, Campbell Co., VA. Photo courtesy of Dr. H. Shepard Moon of Richmond, VA.
- Great-Great-Grandpa Perrow & Uncle Dolphus (33 KB)
This is my great2-grandfather, William "Adolphus" Perrow, Sr. (1854-1926), holding his first surviving son, William "Adolphus" Perrow, Jr. (1889-1969). Photo courtesy of W. Robert Perrow and Jean Dees Perrow of Concord, VA.
- My Dad and Stepmother, May, 2008 (37 KB)
This is my dad, G. Wayne Godfrey, and his partner Jerri at his my brother Jason's engagement party, James River Country Club, Newport News, VA.
- My Great-Grandma Overstreet and two sisters (34 KB)
Seated is Iva Maude Updike (Peters)(1882-1954). Standing are Bessie Belle Updike (Overstreet)(1887-1970)(left) and Lillie Mae Updike (Overstreet)(1889-1986)(right). Bessie was my great-grandmother, one of nine children. Photo courtesy of Aunt Isy White Overstreet of Bedford, VA.
- A Perrow Vacation to Orlando, FL, in 1916 (48 KB)
Left is Euphan Perrow Moon (1848-1944), center is her daughter Mary Gordon Moon Parker (1877-1942), and right is Minnie Cowling Perrow (1861-1945). Euphan and Minnie were sisters of my great2-grandfather, W. Adolphus Perrow. Photo courtesy of Dr. H. Shepard Moon of Richmond, VA.
- Uncle Harvey and Aunt Cassie Perrow, 1929 (25 KB)
This is my Great-Grandma Pearson's youngest brother, John "Harvey" Perrow (1900-1980), when he married Cassie Matilda Nash (1905-1990), Campbell Co., VA. Photo courtesy of W. Robert Perrow and Jean Dees Perrow of Concord, VA.
- Kenneth Elwood Crouch (1924-1995) of Bedford, VA (35 KB)
He was my Grandfather Overstreet's first cousin through the Overstreets and third cousin through the Laughons, one of my inspirations for my lifelong interests in genealogy, history, collecting, reading, writing, and civic-mindedness. His grave in the Overstreet family plot reads, "Bedford's Historian." He was a bachelor and only child of Aunt Essie Overstreet Crouch. Through the Divers family of Franklin Co., VA, Kenneth was more distantly related to my Grandmother Overstreet. His 1973 booklet, "Saints and Black Sheep," was the first family genealogy I ever read, beginning at age nine, and my desire to expand, update, correct, and disprove information in it (in particular the erroneous Pocahontas descent) is what got me started on genealogy as a kid. Photograph courtesy of Wilma Overstreet Noell of Bedford, VA.
- Maria White Lacy (1847-1924) of Bedford Co., VA (19 KB)
Ann Maria White was a sister of my great2-grandmother, Isabella White Updike, and her husband, James "Mortimer" Lacy, was related to me through the Booths and Lees. They had 13 children and over 50 grandchildren. Note her American Indian appearance. Photo courtesy of the late Rev. Dr. Marvin C. Wilbur of Tenafly, NJ, Maria's grandson-in-law.
- Wedding of Robert Perrow & Jean Dees, 1956 (36 KB)
William "Robert" Perrow (1925-2008) was my maternal grandmother's first cousin. Far left are Mr. Perrow's parents, W. Adolphus Perrow, Jr. (1889-1969)(my great-great-uncle) and Lois Moore Perrow (1894-1974). W. Robert and Jean Perrow are in center.
- Grandma Overstreet's wake at my mom's house (42 KB)
Ella's children and grandsons with her husband Ray's sister, Mable Overstreet Hawkins (age 91), and her daughter Linda H. Styne. I hope I inherited Aunt Mable's genes for longevity, hard work, and a sharp mind!
- Great-Grandma Godfrey's 100th birthday article (58 KB)
This was the article that appeared in the Elizabeth City, NC, newspaper following the 100th birthday of Mattie White Godfrey in May, 1991.
- John Newlin Pearson (1861-1928) of Wayne Co., NC (36 KB)
He was a brother of my great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson, and lived his adult life near Dudley, Wayne Co., NC. His daughter Ruth Pearson Harper (1901-1985) wrote a Pearson genealogy in 1982. Photo courtesy of his grandson, John B. Harper of Birmingham, AL.
- Gen./Sen. William Cocke (1747-1828) of TN and MS (19 KB)
General William Cocke was a first cousin of my great6-grandmother, Mary Smith Booth, and is often dubbed the Father of Tennessee due to being one of its first 2 U.S. Senators. He also helped Daniel Boone explore parts of present-day Kentucky and Tennessee. He later lived in Columbus, MS, where he died. Cocke County, TN, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, is named for him.
- Grandma Godfrey's Parents and Siblings (41 KB)
At top are Gilbert Godfrey (1889-1965) and Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993). At bottom are Mattie White Godfrey on her farm with her seven children, taken in 1981, two years before Aunt Hazel's death.
- Sarah Massey Pearson (1865-1929) of Wayne Co., NC (35 KB)
She was the wife of my great-grandfather's brother, John Newlin Pearson (1861-1928), and died four weeks after he died. She was also a distant cousin of John and myself through the Quaker Cox and Hollowell families. Photo courtesy of her grandson, John B. Harper of Birmingham, AL.
- The Oliver Newlin Family, 1934 (38 KB)
Seated in center is Joseph "Oliver" Newlin (1842-1934), brother of my great2-grandmother Dicena Newlin Pearson, on his 92nd and last birthday. His children and grandchildren are beside him. This was taken at his home at Sophia, NC.
- Delia Haley Hawkins (1852-1889) (26 KB)
She was a sister of my matrilineal great3-grandmother, Elizabeth Haley Walker (1838-1908), daughters of Capt. Archibald and Martha Brown Haley of "Pocket Farm," Pittsylvania Co., VA. Photo courtesy of Billie B. and Marguerite Flynn Harry of McCormick, SC.
- Grandma Godfrey's Parents and Brother-in-Law (30 KB)
This was Gilbert Godfrey (1889-1965) and Mattie White Godfrey (1891-1993) with their son-in-law, Edward ("Eddie") Procopio (1921-1996), when they visited him and their daughter Hazel in Warren, RI, ca. 1951.
- Some Pearson half-blood relations (38 KB)
These were some children and inlaws of my Great-Grandfather Joseph L. Pearson by his first wife, Mary Elizabeth Deans (1861-1917). Photos courtesy of the late Hugh Pearson Tuggle and Dr. Mary "Stuart" Wilson Tuggle of Keysville, VA. Included are pictures of my grandmother's half-brothers, John Thomas Pearson II (1883-1935), Joseph "Harvey" Pearson (1893-1975), Oliver "Ross" Pearson (1898-1976), and Edgar "Paul" Pearson (1901-1980), as well as a half-sister, Minnie Pearson Tuggle (1887-1979).
- Margaret Pearson Hicks (1910-2004) of Cary, NC (53 KB)
This is a picture of Mrs. Hicks, my maternal grandmother's last-living first cousin on the Pearson side, at her nephew's house, next to his Porsche, four months before her death. I visited her two months before this picture was taken. It's hard to believe she is almost 94 years old in this picture, and because of the many ways I am related to both sides of her family due to Quaker intermarriage, I hope I have inherited some of those genes for longevity and youthfulness at an old age! Her mother, Aunt Mollie Jinnette Pearson, lived to be 105.
- Ora Pearson Dowdy (1925-1968) (20 KB)
Aunt Ora was the youngest sister of my maternal grandmother, Ella Pearson Overstreet, and died at age 42 of cancer while living at Richmond, VA. Photograph courtesy of Ella Pearson Overstreet.
- My Great-Grandfather Pearson's family (32 KB)
Top left--His marriage to my great-grandmother Virgie in 1920 (second wife) Right center--His first wife, Mary Deans Pearson (1861-1917), in 1912 shortly after they moved from Goldsboro, NC, to Prince Edward Co., VA. Photos courtesy of the late Hugh P. and Stuart Wilson Tuggle of Keysville, VA.
- Aunt Ora's family at her daughter's death in 2000 (42 KB)
These were pictures taken at the memorial service of Aunt Ora's daughter, Linda Lee Dowdy (1945-2000), at Falls Church, VA, including Aunt Virginia and her family.
- Thomas "Oliver" Pearson (1877-1949) AKA Uncle Top (21 KB)
He was my Great-Grandfather Pearson's youngest brother, and worked as a jeweler and watch/clock repairman at Canton, MS, and Memphis, TN. He greatly resembles my brother, Jason Paul Godfrey. Uncle Top was married twice but had no children. Photo courtesy of the late Esther Edgerton Allen of Rocky Mount, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA.
- Aunt Mary and Uncle Haskell Edgerton (23 KB)
Mary Pearson Edgerton (1874-1915) and her husband and second cousin, Hardy "Haskell" Edgerton (1875-1956). Mary was a sister of my great-grandfather, Joseph Lazarus Pearson, and they lived in Wayne Co., NC. Photograph courtesy of their daughter, the late Esther Edgerton Allen of Rocky Mount, NC, and Virginia Beach, VA.
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