“We need to get together more often and not at a
funeral.” How many times have you and a cousin said that? Funerals are much
like a family reunion. You can learn a lot about a family just by looking at
who showed up. Using my grandparents’ guest books and sympathy cards, I’ll be
exploring “Who came to the funeral?”
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is for Farrar, Lewis Granville Farrar to be exact, the
husband of Elta Sullivan, my maternal grandfather’s cousin.
Lewis and family attended the funeral for Orvin Davis in
October 1963. They also sent a spray of yellow gladiolas.
Lewis was born in 1898, but I could not find him in the
1900 census. In 1910 Lewis (11) and his
mother Sarah (44) were listed as servants in the home of Edwin Hamilton in
Augusta County. Sometime before 1920,
they moved to Shenandoah in Page County where Lewis went to work for the
railroad.
My collection of photos indicates my grandfather was
always close to his Sullivan cousins, frequently at one another’s home. I imagine
Lewis and my grandfather became good friends.
 |
| Lewis Farrar in sunglasses, Elta, Orvin Davis, Laura Sullivan, Pearl Sullivan |
%2BX.jpg "Lewis Farrar with Sullivan girls") |
| Lewis Farrar Pearl Sullivan Strole, Elta S. Farrar baby Maxine Strole, Minnie Sullivan Breeden |
Lewis and Elta married about 1920 and lived with her
parents in Shenandoah for a time. Lewis began working for the N & W
Railroad as a car repairman, but by 1930 he was an electrician. They bought a
house on Second Street and began their family.
The 1940 census for Norfolk County indicates the Farrars were
still in Shenandoah in 1935; daughter Phyllis was 4 years old, so it appears
that Lewis and Elta moved their family to Portsmouth in 1936 when jobs for
electricians were plentiful at the shipyard. He remained an electrician at the
shipyard the rest of his working days.
Lewis died in November 1970. He and Elta are buried together in Greenlawn
Memorial Gardens in Chesapeake, Virginia.
For more Frivolity, Fantasy and Fun, do yourself a Favor
and Find your way to the A to Z Challenge.
© 2015, Wendy Mathias.
All rights reserved.
Two great old photos in this post - they always fascinate me.
ReplyDeleteSorry it's taken me so long to find you on A-Z, Wendy. The pale 'orange' links on the participants lists are straining my eyes!!
No problem! I didn't realize you were doing AtoZ until I saw your comment on Kristin's blog. I should have remembered that you are a regular AtoZ-er.
DeleteI love the hats. Great pictures.
ReplyDeleteMe too -- maybe it was Easter. Thanks for reading.
DeleteHow fun to do an A to Z on your family history!
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the A to Z: www.marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com
Thanks -- I enjoy family history so AtoZ lets me do random stories about people that are not family and/or have only brief stories since I am not invested in spending lots of time on them. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
DeleteI love how ladies used to wear hats back in the day. A few years ago I finally started wearing a hat because I realized these are great for keeping the sun off your face.
ReplyDeleteMy sister can rock a hat -- I just look ridiculous.
DeleteI am just amazed as always at all that you have for your family and you do such a beautiful job at bringing it all together in your posts about them. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteYou're just being kind. I'm afraid these AtoZ stories are very thin.
DeleteI love the picture of Lewis with the ladies, those sunglasses look snazzy almost for the time. I do marvel at your research and the info you have on the various people in your family or attended the funeral (I know I'll probably say that a lot but I do marvel). I had an aunt who did a lot with ancestry, etc., but I think when she passed no one picked up the sword so to speak to carry on. It is fascinating to learn about the past.
ReplyDeletebetty
I love those sunglasses -- he has a Blues Brothers vibe.
DeleteI don't know what it is about that picture that interests me so much. Maybe the eyes?
ReplyDeleteOops, should say the LAST picture.
DeleteElta looks a little bug-eyed to me. The picture makes me wonder where the other sisters were.
DeleteI guess Lewis and Granddaddy were electricians in the shipyard together. Another great post!
ReplyDelete