Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Bernice Kathryn McDaniel Jarrell 10/5/21 - 5/11/14

 Bernice Kathryn McDaniel Jarrell, 92, of Pratts passed away on Sunday, May 11, 2014, in Charlottesville. Born October 5, 1921, in Madison County she was the daughter of the late Edgar McDaniel and Lucy McDaniel, and wife of the late Guy Lee Jarrell. She was also preceded in death by two sisters, Nora Alexander and Carrie G. Jenkins; five brothers, Jessie, Claude, James, Eugene and Hubert McDaniel; three nephews, William Alexander, James Alexander and Lewis McDaniel; and two nieces, Joann Partlow and Louise Herndon. She was a member of Church of the Brethren in Kinderhook and was retired from the Silk Mill in Orange. Mrs. Jarrell made a wish to thank each and all who made her life good for her after her husband passed on. She made beautiful quilts and many crochet pieces that she enjoyed giving to people and if she gave you one she would always let you know how to take care of it. She is survived by four nieces, Genevieve Shifflett, Nina Belle Sprouse, Evelyn Mae Lamb and Corrie Lee Smith; and numerous great-nieces and nephews and friends. Funeral service was held 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at Preddy Funeral Home Chapel in Madison conducted by Pastor Glenn Shifflett with interment in Madison Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Pratts. The family received friends one hour before the service on Wednesday from 10 until 11 a.m. at the funeral home.

Della Dyer White



Della Dyer White, 93, of Orange, died on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at the Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville. She was born on January 3, 1922, in Madison County, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Elizabeth Nicholson Dyer, and was also preceded in death by her husband, Maxie Warren White.Mrs. White is survived by her two sons, Gary Warren White and wife, Donna Lee of Mineral, and Carl Edward White and wife, Judy Mae of Unionville; and two sisters, Ila Weaver of Madison, and Margaret White of Luray.Funeral services were held on Monday, July 13, 2015, at 11 a.m. from the Preddy Funeral Home in Orange, interment followed at Walkers United Methodist Church cemetery. The Rev. Olin Herndon officiated. The family recieved friends on Sunday July 12, 2015, from 3 until 5 p.m. at the funeral home. Preddy Funeral Home of Orange is in charge of arrangements.

Donna Kay Jenkins 1/29/60 - 7/9/15


   
Donna Kay Jenkins, 55, of Leon, Va. passed away on Thursday, July 9, 2015 at her residence. She was born on January 29, 1960 to Raymond A. Johnson and the late Ida Nicholson Johnson.She is survived by her husband, Albert Jenkins; daughter, Jennifer Lynn Jenkins of Madison Co.; sons, Albert McKinley Jenkins Jr. and wife, Rebecca, of Madison, and Andrew Neal Jenkins and wife, Amanda, of Madison; brother, Raymond Edward Johnson of Madison; and grandchildren, Gracie Ann, Anna Marie, McKinsey Hope, Mason Lee, Ava Leigh, and Aubry Nicole Jenkins.Funeral services were 11 a.m. Monday, July 13, 2015 at Preddy Chapel in Madison, Va. with interment in Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper conducted by Pastor Jeff Light. The family received friends from 2 until 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, July 12, 2015 at the funeral home.

Wesley Lee Beahm 5/26/37 - 2/22/15


Beahm, Wesley Lee
Wesley Lee Beahm, 77, of Culpeper passed away Sunday, February 22, 2015. He was born May 26, 1937 in Oak Park, Virginia, and was the son of the late, Sammie Daily Beahm and Bertha Lee Peacher Beahm. He was also preceded in death by a brother, Floyd W. Beahm.Mr. Beahm was a member of Church of Christ in Culpeper.


He served honorably as a SGT in the United States Army. He was a former surveyor for VDOT for 17 years, Assistant Administrator with Cargill Milling for 27 years and was employed at Fisher Auto Parts for the last ten years. He is survived by his wife, Peggy Aylor Beahm of Culpeper; sons, Jeffery Lee Beahm and wife Donna of Madison, and Wesley Kevin Beahm of Culpeper; daughter, Tina Beahm Smith and husband Kenyon of Culpeper; sisters, Joyce Ann Henshaw, and Irene G. Beahm, both of Brightwood; a brother, Alvin R. Beahm and wife Faith of Unionville; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.


Funeral service will be held 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 25, 2015, at Preddy Funeral Home Chapel in Madison with interment in Culpeper National Cemetery conducted by Pastor Mike Morgan. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.

Violet Conley Woodward 7/2/44 - 6/26/15

   
Violet Conley Woodward, 70, of Stanardsville, VA went to be with the Lord surrounded by her family on Friday, June 26, 2015 in the University of Virginia Medical Center.She was born July 2, 1944 in Greene County and was the daughter of the late Luther and Virgie Morris Conley. She was also preceded in death by a son, Darrell Keith Woodward; and a sister, Barbara Ann Holland.


Mrs. Woodward was a member of First Bible Baptist Church. She loved her garden, canning, cooking and being surrounded by her family.


She is survived by her husband, Quint "Bill" William Woodward of Stanardsville; three daughters, Janice W. Shifflett and husband, C.W., Sandra Faye Woodward all of Stanardsville, and Dora Ann Sheler and husband, Sean, of Ruckersville; a son, Gary Lee Woodward of Stanardsville; a sister, Lethia Mae Conley of Stanardsville, four grandchildren that she cherished very much, Harry Lee Shifflett, Anna Nicole Shifflett both of Stanardsville, Abigail and Gavin Sheler both of Ruckersville; and three nephews, Norman "Dickie" Conley, Kenneth Conley and Steven Conley all of Stanardsville.


Funeral services were held 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at First Bible Baptist Church conducted by the Rev. James Woods, Pastor Josh Shifflett and Pastor Phillip Powell. The interment was at Mt. Herman Menonite Church.

Linda Louise Taylor Beauchamp 9/12/48 - 7/16/15

                       
Linda Louise Taylor Beauchamp, 66, of Waynesboro, passed away Thursday, July 16, 2015, at the Augusta Health Center.Born in Washington, D.C., September 12, 1948, she was the daughter of the late John Taylor, Jr. and Agnes Conley Taylor. Linda spent her life giving to others. She gave her time and love to her family, friends and animals. For many years she worked as a CNA where she was affectionately referred to as "an angel."She is survived by four children, Terry Blankenship and his fiancé, Kimberly of Lynchburg, Tanya Nixon and her husband, Russell of Rustburg, Tammy Carden and her husband, Jesse and Avannah Beauchamp, all of Waynesboro; one brother, John Taylor, III; ten grandchildren, and one great grandchild.A memorial service celebrating her life will be conducted at 12 p.m. today, Saturday, July 18, 2015, at Hyland Heights Baptist Church with the Rev. Rick Magee officiating.The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service at the church.In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Mirador Farms Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 8, Greenwood, VA 22943.To send condolences online, please visit whittentimberlake.com.

Charles V. Beahm 10/29/27 - 6/04/15

Charles V. Beahm Jr., 87, of Ranson, died Thursday, June 4, 2015, at Willow Tree Manor, Charles Town.
Born Oct. 29, 1927, in Ranson, he was the son of Charles V. Beahm Sr. and Jessie (Henry) Beahm.
For over 30 years, Mr. Beahm was a electrocardiogram technician at the VA Medical Center, Martinsburg. After his retirement from the VA Center, he spent 17 years as the supervisor of maintenance at Willow Tree Manor, Charles Town.

Article Photos

Charles V. Beahm Jr.
He was a very active member of St. Thomas Lutheran Church.
He was a member of the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 948, Charles Town; VFW Memorial Post 3522, Charles Town; and the Jackson-Perks American Legion Post 71, Charles Town.
He served in the U.S. Army for two years.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Kathryn B. (Hough) Beahm, at home; daughter, Karen G. Kerns and husband, Gary, of Ranson; son, Charles "Michael" Beahm, of Martinsburg; and Susan B. Hough and husband, Todd, of Kabletown; grandchildren, Charles 'Brian" Kerns, Christopher "Chris" Lee Kerns, James M. Kerns, James "Corey" Beahm and Sarah B. Hough; and seven great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter-in-law, Tammy Beahm; sister, Colleen Spear; and brother, Willard Beahm.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 12, 2015, at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 119 South Seminary St., Charles Town, with Pastor J. Lowell Knauff officiating.
Interment will be private.
Friends will be received from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, June 12, 2015, at the church.
Arrangements by Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home, Charles Town.
Please sign the online guestbook and view his obituary at www.mtstrider.com
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's Association - West Virginia Chapter, 1601 2nd Ave., Charleston, WV 25387.

George Raynor writings mentioned in Salisbury Post - article by Mark Wineka

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 21, 2015 in the SALISBURY POST



SALISBURY — Their names were, well, sort of beautiful — Adeline, Garrison, Marget, Adelaide, Isham, Chelsy, Sally.
They go on and on, and meld into the history of two distinctly different places: Salisbury, N.C., and Oberlin, Ohio.
In Salisbury, they had been slaves and property of well-known merchant, financier and planter Maxwell Chambers. In Ohio. they lived as human beings should, free to build lives on their own terms.
In Oberlin, they became shoemakers, wheelwrights, barbers, students, soldiers, farmers, grocers and gardeners, and over generations, they were part of the fabric of the village, while still carrying Rowan County names such as Chambers, Cowan, Haynes and Torrence.
When David Freeze, the intrepid cyclist from Rowan County stopped in Oberlin Sunday night and part of the day Monday, he brushed against these names and the places they lived and worked.
It was 161 years ago that 18 freed slaves from Salisbury also stopped in Oberlin, and most of these men, women and children went on to make the town their home. Other freed slaves from Salisbury would follow, and it all traces back to Chambers, who although he died in 1855, still casts a significant shadow over things local.
In his will written in January 1854, Chambers included a codicil — No. 32, to be exact — that arranged for the emancipation of “some of my slaves” that coming spring (which came before his death the following year, in 1855).
The key word here is “some,” because Chambers also directed elsewhere in his will that other slaves (“and their increase,” or children they would have in the future) become the property of specific friends and relatives.
In many cases through his will, Chambers was, in his mind, looking after slaves who were older and for whom he held personal sentiment. He mentioned these slaves by name. His will also made arrangements that upon his death, “the remainder of my slaves” previously “not provided for” be given the offer of freedom to go to a free state or Liberia.
If they chose freedom, Chambers directed, they also would be given the same money, clothing and transportation offered to the 18 slaves freed in 1854, as long as they didn’t leave before his plantation crop was in.
With a few additions of commas for clarity, Codicil No. 32 of Chambers’ will read as follows:
“Being desirous to emancipate some of my slaves during the ensuing spring and having concluded to send them to the State of Ohio, I hereby request and direct my executors in case of my death before effecting it, to liberate and release from slavery or involuntary servitude my woman Adeline and all her children, Marget and all her children and Garrison, her husband, also Edwin, Isham Hugh, Chesly, brother(s) of Adeline and Marget, and to furnish them with a complete and plentiful outfit of good clothing and a full supply of provisions for the journey (say three or four weeks), also to hire a sober, steady person with a wagon and a team to take them comfortably to their place of destination, and furnish all those over 12 years old with $60 each, and those under that age with $40 each in such money as will be current in Ohio, the children’s money to be given to their parents.”
Adeline Cowan had six children. Garrison and Marget Chambers (also referred to in subsequent census counts as “Margaret” and “Margrett”) had five children — Adelaide, Warren, Haynes, John Henry and David. Add in the four brothers of Adeline and Marget, who all took the last name “Haynes,” and you have the 18 people who were granted their freedom by Chambers on May 25, 1854.
They were sent on their way to Ohio under the care of a “sober, steady person” named Moses Rimer, who was a shoemaker training Garrison Chambers. In 1860, Isham Haynes took the “freedom paper” issued by Chambers and gave it to the treasurer of Oberlin College for safekeeping, in case there was ever a question.
Copies of that freedom paper ended up with many descendants of the African-American Chambers.
In writing about Maxwell Chambers in 1983, the late George Raynor says the mention of Ohio as a destination for his 18 slaves suggested “that Chambers was familiar with northern areas favorable to the resettlement of freed slaves.”
Oberlin at the time was a station on the Underground Railroad, which helped hide slaves on their way to freedom in Canada. But it also had a reputation as a tolerant community for former slaves who had been given their freedom. Its progressive college was the first American college to go coeducational, the first to graduate women and the first not to refuse black students.
In 1858, Raynor said, a band of Oberlin professors rescued a runaway slave from a U.S. marshal, and they were later imprisoned for doing so. Raynor also theorized Chambers could have been persuaded to grant many of his slaves freedom and send them to Oberlin after having corresponded with John E. Patterson, a free and literate slave in Fayetteville.
Patterson also suggested Liberia as an alternative destination for freed slaves, Raynor said.
In his 1981 book, “They Stopped in Oberlin,” William E. Bigglestone says 48 more of Chambers’ former slaves traveled to Oberlin in 1855 after Maxwell Chambers’ death in February of that year. He also noted they were assisted in the same way as the group of 18 from Salisbury the previous year.
Salisbury historian Betty Dan Spencer recently received a copy of Bigglestone’s book, which was reprinted by the college in 2002.
“The book the man wrote is absolutely fabulous,” she says. “I mean, what an amount of research it took. … It’s extremely interesting.”
Spencer combed through the book looking for all the Salisbury references and found many, tracing back to Maxwell Chambers. According to a foreword in the 2002 reprinting, many freed slaves came to Oberlin to take advantage of educational opportunities offered by the college and because the town already has racially integrated public schools.
Bigglestone, the college’s first archivist, also was the first historian to focus primarily on the town’s black population and why so many were drawn to Oberlin and stayed for protracted visits or to become full-time residents.
The book includes 300 biographical sketches of African-Americans who were born and reared during the era of slavery and who for long and short periods between 1840 and 1900 made Oberlin their home. Included are Garrison and Marget Chambers, William Sanford Chambers, Adeline Cowan, Henry and Lucy Chambers, Richard Chambers, Warren and Mary Chambers, James Cowan, Martha Jane Cowan Griffin and Scipio and Eveline Torrence.
Garrison Chambers and one of his sons, William, might be among the better known in Oberlin history.
Garrison Chambers was an Oberlin shoemaker, who died in 1904 at the age of 82. He apparently was a conductor on the Underground Railroad and well-respected throughout the community. Marget (or Margaret), his first wife, died in 1873, and Garrison married another woman named Margaret two years later.
They had three children, and their eldest, William, started out as a day laborer, then a gardener with an extensive knowledge of flowers.
“But his great love was athletes and the guiding of young men,” a newspaper said at his death in 1942. “… Over a period of a quarter century, his influence for good among the young men of the village, and among the athletes of Oberlin Academy and Oberlin College, was greater than that of any other individual, regardless of rank or position.”
From 1890s to the 1920s, Bill Chambers served as an unofficial trainer and often a coach of Oberlin high school teams. “Many great athletes, several of whom attained national fame, owe their start to his tutoring,” the newspaper said, “(while) scores of men now in high places in other professions will acknowledge their debt to him.”
Several of the Chambers men who were slaves in Salisbury went on to enlist with the U.S. Colored Infantry or Heavy Artillery. They included Richard Chambers, son of Henry and Lucy Chambers; and Warren Chambers, son of Garrison and Marget Chambers.
James M. Cowan, who was born in 1847 and definitely belonged to Maxwell Chambers as a kid, somehow made it to Oberlin with his parents in 1852, according to Bigglestone.
When he died in  1921, the Oberlin newspaper said, “For 40 years, Mr. Cowan was engaged in the wagon business and was a wheelwright of ability. He won a reputation for square dealing and was industrious in his business. He took an active interest in civic affairs and politics, always standing for those things which tended for the moral and intellectual growth of the village.”
An interesting side note: The late Rose Post wrote in August 1983 about the visit of Bonnie Banks from Cleveland, Ohio. Banks’ grandmother Cynthia was a daughter of Garrison Chambers’ second marriage to Margaret. She also was a sister to Bill Chambers, the noted coach.
Among the possessions that had passed down to Banks from her grandmother were a Carolina lily quilt that had made the trip from Salisbury to Oberlin in 1854, a copy of the freedom paper and 12 silver spoons.
For safety reasons, instead of carrying all the money Chambers had given to them in silver coins, the freed slaves made the spoons, Banks said.
During her 1983 trip, Banks visited the slaves quarters or dependency, which makes up part of today’s Hobson House. Because it once belonged to Chambers, it could have easily housed some of Banks’ ancestors. She also met a Maxwell Chambers descendant, read the Maxwell Chambers will at the library and saw the portraits of Chambers and his wife in First Presbyterian Church.
Spencer has been in contact by telephone with Banks recently in Cleveland, and Spencer reports there is some question — and a lot of digging going on — as to the location of the original copy of Chamber’s freedom paper for the 18 people who made it Oberlin in 1854. The document had been in the Oberlin College archives, but Spencer says it apparently was returned to the Maxwell Chambers family in 1934, and Maxwell Chambers III of Maryland gave it to the Rowan Public Library in 1953, during the county’s bicentennial.
Whether it’s now back at Oberlin College or still with Rowan Public Library is the latest mystery coming under the shadow of Maxwell Chambers.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mark.wineka@salisburypost.com


To read the writing of George Raynor CLICK HERE:  http://divinityarchive.com:8080/bitstream/handle/11258/11122/religioneducatio00rayn.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Monday, April 20, 2015

Gertrude (Trudy) Nelson 8/31/1920 - 4/18/2015

Mrs. Gertrude (Trudy) Nelson, age 94, a resident of 119 West 11th Street, Washington, North Carolina, died Saturday April 18, 2015.Funeral services will be held Tuesday April 21, 2015 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Peter's Episcopal Church the Rev. Jim Horten will officiate. Burial will follow at Oakdale Cemetery. The following will serve as pallbearers: Swanson Graves, Lex Mann, Walker Lynch, Bill Mac Alligood, Fred Scales and Mayhew Cox. Honorary pallbearers are: David Howdy, James Skillen, Lee Latham, William Cochran III and Tom Payne.

Trudy was born in Great Falls, Montana, August 31, 1920. She was the daughter of the late Harold Eugene and Gertrude Underwood Blanchard. She was a graduate of Council Grove High School in Council Grove, Kansas. After graduation she served as the secretary to the Camp Cooke commander in California, where she met Captain Leonard Dorsey Nelson. They were married March 10, 1946 and moved to Washington, NC.

While raising 4 children, Trudy worked at John Cotton Tayloe Elementary School, at the Washington Housing Authority and for lawyers John Wilkinson and Judge Hallet Ward. Until retirement Trudy served as Deputy Clerk of Court at the Beaufort County Courthouse.Trudy was an active member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church for over 50 years and a leader of the Episcopal Church women. She was a dedicated volunteer at Beaufort chapter of the American Red Cross. She also gave her time at the Beaufort County Humane Society.Trudy received the Abeyounis Memorial Award as volunteer of the year at Beaufort County Hospital in 1997. She was recognized by the governor as Volunteer of the Year for the state of North Carolina in 2013 at the age of 92.

Trudy was preceded in death by her husband Leonard Dorsey Nelson Sr., parents, Harold E. and Gertrude U. Blanchard, brothers: Harold Blanchard, Donald S. Blanchard and Robert D. Blanchard. She is survived by a sister: Virginia Hunter of Council Grove, Kansas, four children: Suzanne Nelson Moody and husband Jim of Redmond, OR, Mary Chapman Nelson Hines and husband Bill of LaGrange, GA, Leonard Dorsey Nelson and wife Sharon of Raleigh, NC and Thomas Blanchard Nelson and wife Patty of Williamsburg, VA. She has 13 grandchildren, 12 great- grandchildren, with 3 more on the way.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Peter's Building Fund, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 985, Washington, NC 27889 or the Lights of Love, Vidant Beaufort Hospital, 628 East 12th Street, Washington, NC 27889.Condolences may be offered to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Nelson family. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?pid=174674140#sthash.3ExuaA7k.dpuf

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Doris Marie Shifflett Conley 7/14/50-1/26/14

Doris Marie Conley Doris Marie Conley, 63, of Ruckersville passed on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at her home. She was born on July 14, 1950 in Greene County to the late Floyd and Mildred Shifflett. In addition to her parents she is preceded in death by her brothers, George Shifflett, Joe Shifflett, Allen Shifflett, and Ottis Shifflett, sisters, Fannie Shifflett, Mary Shifflett and Margaret McCardell, brother-in-law, John “Hoyt” Collier, step children, Cletus Conley and Lisa Shifflett, grandchild, Manis “Lee” Shifflett III, and her pastor, Elbert Conley. She is survived by her loving husband and caregiver Lester Conley, her children, Clinton Deane and his wife Janet, Wade Deane and his wife Stacy, Marian Bowman and her husband Tressler, Rebecca Shifflett and her husband Wesley, and Melvin Conley and his wife Sharon. Additional survivors include her sisters Sylvia Morris and her husband Ray, Goldie Deane and her husband Lloyd, and Hazel Collier; her grandchildren, Amanda Deane, Kimberly Deane, Brooke Deane, Leighann Shifflett, Betty Easton, Brandon Shifflett, Kendall Shifflett, Chad Conley, Christopher Conley, and Mitchell Conley, 4 great grandchildren, her ex-husband Sherman Deane, her sister-in-law Redie Bortle, and her daughter-in-law Darlene Conley. Doris was a beloved mother, sister and wife who loved to spend time with her family and was a member of Shady Grove Bible Baptist Church. The family would like to thank Bridgett and LaQuanda for their dedication and love shown throughout her illness. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Ryan Funeral Home, 12819 Spotswood Trail Ruckersville, VA 22968. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 11 a.m. at Ryan Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in her name to Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Hwy Suite 300 Charlottesville, VA 22911 and/or a charity of your choice. An online guestbook is available at www.ryanfuneral.com Ryan Funeral Home of Ruckersville, VA is handling the arrangements.

Friday, January 9, 2015

John W. Gaines, Sr 1841 VA - 2/28/1910 PA

Altoona Mirror, Tuesday, 1 March 1910:

"John Gaines, Sr. died at 4:40 yesterday afternoon at his home, 231 Willow avenue, after an illness of one week, from pneumonia. The deceased was aged 68 years, 11 months and 2 days, and was born in Page county, Va. The deceased served for four years in the Confederate army. For a number of years he had been a resident of this city, and is survived by his wife and ten children, as follows: John W., Altoona; L.N., Hagerstown, Md.; Mrs. Elizabeth France Beahm of Virginia; Mrs. Carrie V. Miller, Altoona; Mrs. Matilda C. Evans, Wilmore; Mrs. Hattie F. Minor, Mrs. Mary E. Plubell, Thomas M., Charles E. and Robert L., all of this city. He was a member of the Walnut Avenue Methodist church."

Altoona Mirror, Wednesday Evening, 1 June 1910:

"PLACED WREATH ON REBEL GRAVE

"Local Grand Army Men Decorate the Last Resting Place of a Confederate Soldier

"That time heals all wounds and that the boys who carried the Stars and Stripes in '61 have long since ceased to regard as enemies those who carried the Stars and Bars, was very beautifully illustrated on Memorial Day afternoon when a committee of Grand Army men from Post 62 visited Rose Hill cemetery, for the purpose of decorating the graves of the veterans of the Union army and navy buried there.

Sleeping beneath a simply stone in that cemetery is John Gaines, for many years a prominent resident of this city and, who, during the great rebellion, wore the grey, he being one of Lee's men.

When the committee of the Grand Army men made the rounds of the graves there on Monday, Comrade D.E. Edwards, while the rest stood at attention about the little grave, stooped and reverently place a marker and a wreath of flowers on the mound, remembering only that the body interred there was that of a soldier, who fought for what he thought was right, and not that he had fought against the cause they had fought to uphold.

Mr. Gaines, who died February 28 this year was the only Confederate soldier buried here whose grave the Grand Army men knew, though there was another who died many years ago, a former milk dealer in the city."

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Leonard Franklin Smith 7/27/34 - 12/20/14









Leonard Franklin Smith, 80, beloved husband and father, was called home to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 20, 2014. He was born on July 27, 1934, in Madison County, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bane Beauregard and Lizzie Frances Weakley Smith; and four brothers, Charles (wife, Ruth, resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia), James "Jimmy," Ruben, and Delma.

He is survived by his adoring wife of 58 years, Lucille; two children, Donna Farrar and her husband, James, and Timothy Raynor, all of Orange, Virginia. He was "Papa" to his two grandchildren on whom he doted and was dedicated to, Jason S. Farrar of Ruckersville, Virginia, and Kayli Raynor of Orange, Virginia. His surviving brother, Robert Smith and his wife, Barbara, reside in Manassas, Virginia. He is also survived by a host of in-laws, nieces, and nephews about whom he cared deeply.

Leonard was a hardworking soul. He served two years with the United States Army in Germany and Lebanon from 1957 until 1959. He worked for numerous years at Virginia Metal Industries in Orange, Virginia. He was also a paint contractor and he devoted 23 years to Orange County High School, where he took great pride in the building he cared for and the people in it. Over the years, he loved planting his garden in an effort to satisfy his love of tomatoes until he ran out of strategies to keep the deer away. In his retirement, he was a genius at lawnmower repair; he spent his time fixing mowers for friends and those others said could not be fixed.

Leonard was also a social man and McDonald's in Orange was his meeting place. He leaves behind dear and treasured friends with whom he spent many hours laughing, talking, and solving the world's problems. Those relationships cultivated over milkshakes and coffees brought him great joy. His friends, men he knew he could call and count on, are Alan Johnson, Vernon Holmes, his brother-in-law, David Raynor, Dallas "Tex" Smithson, and Thomas Woolfolk.

Leonard will be sorely and deeply missed as a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. Those who knew him will not forget his mischievous grin, twinkling blue eyes, and hardworking hands.

A memorial funeral service was held on Tuesday, December 23, 2014, at 2 p.m. at the Orange Community Baptist Church, Old Gordonsville Road, Orange. The family received friends on Monday, December 22, 2014, from 6 until 7 p.m. at the church.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the Orange County Rescue Squad or the Orange Fire and EMS. Preddy Funeral Home of Orange, assisted the family.