Linda at what may be an old family farm of her ancestors.

Stirring Around in the Family's Past ... Again

Linda keeps finding these fascinating old places in Franklin County for us to visit, all of them with family ties. Some of those ties are not something you'd talk about at a Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. Like the one today.

We had just walked around the Booker T. Washington Memorial farm, which is a few miles from her home, and she suggested we look for a side road off Va. 122 where some family used to live--years ago. She told the story that her great-great-grandpa on her mom's side, a slave owner, had impregnated the slave who bore Booker T, making him an historic uncle of hers, of sorts.

Linda says she has no documentation of that event and its outcome, but she says when the story was told at the family table, her mom was not amused. Linda loves the story and hopes it's true.

We went through the big, abandoned, overgrown house that seems to be part of a large lot with a new-ish house in it. Linda had no idea who owned the newer house or even if it was occupied. The old family place, however, presented an opportunity to explore, so we did. The house was large and apparently was in a state of being renovated when it was abandoned. There were all kinds of signs of the renovation, including tools left at the site.

I found 1973 and 1971 Sears catalogs sitting on the stove in the kitchen and Linda immediately and enthusiastically latched on to them. She was a teenager when they were current. We even found an old cemetery nearby and if Linda is not in love with cemeteries, I don't know anybody who is.

As usual, our Sunday adventure led to a lot of discussion and my guess is that it will wind up in one of her books in the future. There are so many good stories from her family.