Tag: family-history

Hidden Histories: Family Stories Beyond Montgomery County

Hidden Histories: Family Stories Beyond Montgomery County

When researching local history, we often come across carefully documented African American family histories that have no direct link to Montgomery County, Virginia. These stories are too valuable to leave hidden.

This page will share those findings so they might reach descendants searching for their past. Even without local ties, they speak to the wider story of resilience, migration, and community.

If you recognize a name or place, we invite you to connect—your memory could help bring another family’s history to light.

BRUMMAGE FAMILY

Brumage-Brummage Family, They are the same family, Monongalia and Marion Counties, West Virginia, Virginia Brumage Wakeman. Montgomery Museum of Art and History, Christiansburg, VirginiaBook is in the possession of Montgomery County Museum of Art and History.
Passage transcribed below
Clarence Brumage
Clarence Brumage

During our research on the Brumage family, we visited with the Clarence Brummage family in Homestead, FL. We were warmly greeted and all the information he could recall was told to me. 

On our return to California, I stopped at the Morman Library in Salt Lake City to see what records could be found and how far back I could take the family. I will start with the family of Clarence.

Clarence Brummage was born 16 June 1920 in Cochran, Georgia. His father was Tom (Booten) Brummage and his mother was Josephine Clark. Clarence was in the army during World War II. He married Everlena Trammeall, 31 October 1950 in Collins, Georgia. Daughter of Roy Trammeal, Everlena was born 16 March 1926 and was killed in a car accident 3 November 1977 in Homestead, FL.

Clarence and Everlena had nine children: Clarence Jr., b. 3 October 1952, Jeanette, b. 17 January 1956, Evelyn Ann, b. 26 April 1957, Ina Mae, b. 26 May 1958, in Cochran, Georgia, Dwight Wayne, b. 16 January 1961, Decatur, Alabama, Dorothy Jean, b. 7 August 1962, Pensacola, Florida, Michael Anthony, b. 9 March 1964, Daytona Beach, Florida, Josephine, b. 14 September 1965, Miami, Florida, and Donald Lee, b. 1 March 1968, Miami, Florida.

Clarence said he was raised by Dornest (Donna) Grandhoun and that she gave him the name of Brummage. Tom (Booten) Brummage worked for John Anderson in Cochran and Clarence remembers him as being 7 ft. tall.

Clarence has a sister, Sarah Lee Brummage Kemp who lives in Cochran. His mother Josephine Clark died in Florida. Josephine’s mother’s name was Sarah Woodfork and they all attended the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Cochran.

On the 1900 census in Pulaski County (later changed to Beckley County in 1912 [Georgia]) Georgina Brummage, b. October 1854 is listed with sons Miles, b.March 1882 and Thomas, b. November 1890. I am assuming that Thomas is the father of Clarence. They were living in the Colhran district. Also in the same area is Hannah Jackson, b. 1867, her children were Wilson Brummage, b. November 1883, Lou Brummage, b. June 1885 and Charity Brummage, b. July 1888.

The family of Charley Brummage, born December 1877, his wife Zilla, b. June 1876, and their daughter Vinie, b. September 1899. This family lived Della Brummage, age 37, b. January 1863. Her children Anna Lee, b. April 1896. They lived in Hawkinsville.

1882, Lizzie, b. August 1885, John b. November 1887, Jeffries, b. November. In Ward County, Georgia, I found Amie Brumage with sons David, Henry, Bogene, and daughters Neppie, Nora and Lulu E. 

1990 census was burned so I next read the 1880 census. On this census I found the following. Trank Brummage, age 25, living in Pulaski County, he was working for Reuben Waters. Frank was single, a laborer, maimed, crippled or disabled, could not read or write, his parents were born in Georgia. There were no Brummages listed in Pulaski County in 1870 or 1860 so where Frank Brummage obtained the name of Brummage is a mystery. At least I found Tom (Booten) Brummage. I had hoped to find where this family, at one time, were slaves to a Brummage family but I could not find any proof of this.

I did call a James Brumage in Newport, Virginia and he was also black. He did not know where he obtained the name of Brumage.

Someone with the name of Brumage/Brummage had to be in the area during the Civil War or shortly afterward for the name to be taken by the families I found.

Montgomery County’s Changing Borders & the African American Story

The Formation of Montgomery County, Virginia and Why it Matters to Regional African American History

When Virginia’s earliest European colonial settlers first pushed westward beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, they entered the border lands already inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. As Europeans laid claim to these territories in the 18th century, Virginia’s county boundaries began shifting rapidly to keep pace and the need for local governance.

At first, all of western Virginia was considered part of vast counties based far to the east. Augusta County, created in 1738, stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Mississippi River—a landmass so large it was nearly impossible to govern effectively. As settlement expanded, Augusta was gradually carved into smaller counties.

Botetourt County was created in 1770 out of Augusta, and just two years later, in 1772, Fincastle County was formed to cover the far southwest. But Fincastle itself was short-lived: in 1776, it was split into three new counties—Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky (the latter eventually becoming the Commonwealth of Kentucky).

Thus, Montgomery County was officially established in 1776, named in honor of General Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War hero.

Like most early counties, Montgomery did not remain the same size for long. As population grew and communities demanded closer courts and local representation, Montgomery’s original boundaries were gradually reduced.

1790: Wythe County was formed from Montgomery. 1790: Parts of Montgomery contributed to the creation of Kanawha County (now in West Virginia). 1806: Giles County was carved from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell. 1806–1830s: Additional shifts continued, with Montgomery giving land to Floyd (1831), Pulaski (1839), and others.

By the mid-19th century, Montgomery County had taken on the approximate shape we recognize today.

Why this matters

Tracing these changing boundaries shows how the western border lands of Virginia evolved from a vast Indigenous landscape into the network of counties we know today. When we study Montgomery County’s formation and its changing borders, we are not only tracking political geography—we’re also uncovering how those shifts shaped the daily realities of enslaved people and freedmen. The “line on a map” often meant the difference between where families were recorded, where they could live, and how they could begin to claim freedom and opportunity.

County seats like Christiansburg were not only centers of trade and government but also the location of the slave market and the courthouse records that tracked the lives of enslaved people. After emancipation, those same courts became the places where freedmen registered marriages, secured contracts, and sought land. As county lines shifted, so too did the jurisdictions that controlled access to justice, opportunity, and community life.

The flip book of maps below is a helpful resource to understand how the boundaries changed with time. Virginia Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Begin on page 395.

Virginia Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Further Discussion on How Shifting Boundaries Change Lives

Laws & Records

When county boundaries changed, so did the courthouse where records were kept. For enslaved people, this meant that bills of sale, wills, deeds, and manumission papers might end up filed under different counties as the boundaries shifted. After emancipation, the same was true for marriage licenses, labor contracts, and land purchases by freedmen. This scattering of records makes it both complicated when tracing family histories.

Shaping Community, Labor & Education

County lines determined where enslaved people were forced to labor, where patrols were organized, and where courts enforced slavery laws. After emancipation, those same boundaries shaped freedmen’s access to work, land, and schools. For example, as new counties like Giles or Pulaski were created from Montgomery, Freeman might find themselves suddenly in a different jurisdiction, dealing with a new local power structure.

Education also reflected these divisions. Freedmen near Christiansburg had better access to schools supported by the Freedmen’s Bureau, while those in rural reaches of the county received little help.

Courts and Law

During slavery, county seats (like Christiansburg) were centers of trade, law, and the slave market. Enslaved people were taken to county courts for sales, trials, and punishment. After emancipation, those same county seats became the centers where freedmen registered marriages, secured legal recognition, and later sought protection under Reconstruction policies.

Land, Freedom, and Mobility

For freedmen, land ownership was key to independence. But access to land varied widely from one county to another, depending on who owned large estates, which lands were subdivided, and how local officials treated Black landholders. County boundaries thus shaped the possibilities of building self-sustaining communities after emancipation.

More Maps

Virginia Map 1810 found in Brumage-Brummage Family, They are the same family, Monongalia and Marion Counties, West Virginia, Virginia Brumage Wakeman. Montgomery Museum of Art and History, Christiansburg, Virginia
Virginia Map 1810
Virginia Map 1810 found in Brumage-Brummage Family, They are the same family, Monongalia and Marion Counties, West Virginia, Virginia Brumage Wakeman. Montgomery Museum of Art and History, Christiansburg, Virginia

Montgomery County Resources

Montgomery County, Virginia Resources and the Formation of the County Over Time

National Register of Historic Places Application – 1989

National Register of Historic Places Application – 1989

This searchable document is a rich source of information about the county and its wider connections. For example, it notes that the New River boatmen once lived on Kent Farm, where they were enslaved by James Randle and Margaret Cloyd Kent prior to emancipation (see page 13). Additional details about Kentland and these freedmen can be found in the following postings: Historic Kentland and Historic Wake Forest

The names of some of the black boatmen of 19th-century Montgomery County include Frank Bannister (who was a boatman on the James River before the Civil War), Calvin Bannister, Roland Stuart, George Brown, and Lewis Smith.

Montgomery County Reconnaissance Level Survey, 1986

This report that was written by Gibson Worsham, Dan Pezzoni, Charlotte Worsham, David Roenizer, and others. It addresses the following: 1) Overview of the county’s history, 2) A comprehensive inventory of significant structures and sites in the county and 3) Maps delineating the location of said structures and sites. Similar to the report above, this is a wealth of information about the county.

More information can be found on this website: Gatherings Blacksburg History

The Formation of Montgomery County, Virginia and Why it Matters to African American History of the Region

When Virginia’s earliest European colonial settlers first pushed westward beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, they entered the border lands already inhabited by Native peoples for thousands of years. As Europeans laid claim to these territories in the 18th century, Virginia’s county boundaries began shifting rapidly to keep pace and the need for local governance.

At first, all of western Virginia was considered part of vast counties based far to the east. Augusta County, created in 1738, stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Mississippi River—a landmass so large it was nearly impossible to govern effectively. As settlement expanded, Augusta was gradually carved into smaller counties.

Botetourt County was created in 1770 out of Augusta, and just two years later, in 1772, Fincastle County was formed to cover the far southwest. But Fincastle itself was short-lived: in 1776, it was split into three new counties—Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky (the latter eventually becoming the Commonwealth of Kentucky).

Thus, Montgomery County was officially established in 1776, named in honor of General Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War hero.

Like most early counties, Montgomery did not remain the same size for long. As population grew and communities demanded closer courts and local representation, Montgomery’s original boundaries were gradually reduced.

  • 1790: Wythe County was formed from Montgomery.
  • 1790: Parts of Montgomery contributed to the creation of Kanawha County (now in West Virginia).
  • 1806: Giles County was carved from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell.
  • 1831: Montgomery giving land to Floyd
  • 1839: Montgomery giving land to Pulaski
  • 1892: City of Radford

By the mid-19th century, Montgomery County had taken on the approximate shape we recognize today.

Why This Matters

Tracing these changing boundaries shows how the western border lands of Virginia evolved from a vast Indigenous landscape into the network of counties we know today. When we study Montgomery County’s formation and its changing borders, we are not only tracking political geography—we’re also uncovering how those shifts shaped the daily realities of enslaved people and freedmen. The “line on a map” often meant the difference between where families were recorded, where they could live, and how they could begin to claim freedom and opportunity.

County seats like Christiansburg were not only centers of trade and government but also of the slave market and the courthouse records that tracked the lives of enslaved people. After emancipation, those same courts became the places where freedmen registered marriages, secured contracts, and sought land. As county lines shifted, so too did the jurisdictions that controlled access to justice, opportunity, and community life.

The flip book of maps below is a helpful resource to understand how the boundaries changed with time. Begin on page 395.

Virginia Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Nellie’s Cave Community: The Demise of a Historic Black Neighborhood

https://hub.catalogit.app/8896/folder/entry/98929bc0-ef3a-11ed-a57e-bf9a788efd8b

Southeast of the Town of Blacksburg, on the eastern side of the Allegheny Mountains, a community of African American families took root in the early 20th century when the Mills family purchased 40 acres from the Hoge family. For generations, these families farmed the land, raised children, and built their lives in this secluded karst landscape. The unpaved lane that served them was not called Nellie’s Cave Road until the 1980s, when Montgomery County officially named it. Before then, the residents knew it simply as Grissom Lane. The old farm road began at the Slusher family’s farm—located at the southeast corner of South Main Street and Country Club Drive—and ended where the terrain became too steep for a wagon to pass.

More to be posted …

The Merry Tree

The Merry Tree, now a broken and weathered stump southeast of the Preston home, once stood as a silent witness to over a century of enslavement. It remains a sacred place where descendants return to honor their ancestors. We are gathering stories, photos, and memories connected to this tree. Let’s preserve its powerful legacy.

Help Us Tell the Story of the Merry Tree

For over a century, the Merry Tree stood as a silent witness to the lives of the 226 people enslaved by the Preston family at Smithfield, Blacksburg, Virginia. Planted near the time the Prestons built their home, this tree bore witness to generations of forced labor, family separation, resistance, and endurance. Though now reduced to a broken and weathered stump, the Merry Tree remains a place of deep meaning—especially for the descendants of those once enslaved, who return here to remember, honor, and reflect.

We are seeking to gather as much information, memory, and meaning as possible about this special tree. Did your family speak of it? Do you have photos, stories, or oral history connected to the Merry Tree? Whether you are a descendant, community member, or researcher, your voice matters in helping us preserve and understand the role this sacred place played in Black history in Montgomery County.

Please share what you know. Together, we can ensure the story of the Merry Tree—and those who stood beneath it—is never forgotten.

#MerryTree #BlackHistory #SmithfieldVoices #CommunityMemory #TruthTelling

https://themerrytree.vt.domains

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2022/03/unirel-merryoak.html

https://youtu.be/MRtNTU6f5Ao?si=M82B2-3mk2GNea19

https://fb.watch/Al2YW58dry/?fs=e

https://fb.watch/Al2_CTJG-s/?fs=e

https://news.vt.edu/videos/k/2024/08/1_tznvjyyu.html

https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/local-news/new-river-valley-local-news/merry-oak-tree-brings-dozens-together-to-remember-enslaved-families/

https://historicsmithfield.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/merry-oak/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLCMlZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHv0vjeN0Bf21sot8c_kdCGs34nl7HL1kqw3D79M5olBaYuk-obb_VAJ2ggBQ_aem_hTV02h4a8q1x_cCGxX_nBA

https://montcova.com/2024/08/02/historic-smithfield-dedicates-merry-oak-bench/

https://www.wvtf.org/news/2025-06-19/juneteenth-event-honors-226-people-who-were-enslaved-at-smithfield-plantation

https://virginiahumanities.org/events/2022/03/1872-forward-vt/

https://virginiahumanities.org/2022/08/more-than-a-fraction-the-power-of-the-merry-tree/

https://morethanafraction.com/uploads/1/3/2/3/132308734/drkmoseleyhobbs_cp.pdf

Witness Tree – Sycamore Guarding the Spring

This enormous sycamore stands just east of the spring that once provided potable water for the people living on the Smithfield property. The spring lies a considerable distance from the house and closer to the old Merry Oak. One can only imagine the countless gallons of water enslaved people carried from that spring to the white house on the knoll over nearly a century. Like the Merry Tree, this sycamore may have held significance for the men, women, and children forced to labor here—its presence a silent witness to their daily lives.

Crayon Enlargement Portraits – Lost Faces

Crayon Enlargement Portraits were popular between the late 1890s and early 1900s. They provided an affordable way to capture and display large-format portraits, offering an alternative to the more expensive painted portraits of the time.

Crayon Enlargement Portraits were popular between the late 1890s and early 1900s. They provided an affordable way to capture and display large-format portraits, offering an alternative to the more expensive painted portraits of the time. The process involved taking a negative made by a local photographer and sending it to a specialist who used a solar enlarger to expose the image onto specially processed salted photographic paper. Because the enlargement process often emphasized imperfections on the negative plate, an artist would enhance the black-and-white print with pencil and crayon media, sometimes adding color.

The unidentified African American portraits featured on this website have been donated to local museums or found in antique shops. They are presented here in the hope of eventually identifying the individuals and preserving their stories.

Portrait of an unknown man (Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Art and History)
Portrait of an unknown man (Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Art and History)
Portrait of an unknown man, found in a New Town house, Blacksburg, Va (Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Art and History)
Portrait of an unknown woman (Courtesy of Montgomery Museum of Art and History)
Portrait of an unknown man (Courtesy of Christiansburg Institute, Inc)
Portrait of an unknown man (Courtesy of Christiansburg Institute, Inc)

Resources

Genealogy of Slavery – Center for Studying Stricture of Race – Roanoke College

This website serves as an important resource for understanding the history and legacy of slavery in our region. It contains information collected from Roanoke County sources about more than 4,000 enslaved individuals.

https://www.roanoke.edu/a-z/center_for_studying_structures_of_race/projects_x71825

Genealogy of Slavery – Center for Studying Stricture of Race – Roanoke College

This website serves as an important resource for understanding the history and legacy of slavery in our region. It contains information collected from Roanoke County sources about more than 4,000 enslaved individuals. Many of the family names of enslaved African Americans recorded here also appear in neighboring Montgomery County, making this work deeply relevant to our local history. In addition, the family names of many individuals who enslaved others are found in the Roanoke primary sources.

The purpose of this page is to document and connect these shared names, with the hope of bringing to light the lives of those too often lost to history and deepening our understanding of the enduring legacy of slavery in Montgomery County and beyond.

More names will be added with time.

Family Names of Enslaved African Americans in Montgomery County

Brown

  • William Brown – enslaved by William Watts. “In IAS Book 4, the partition of the lands and other property of Edward Watts, William Brown is listed among the enslaved individuals that were bequeathed to Edward Watts’s daughter, Alice W. Morris. A value of $1,700.00 was placed on William Brown.”; Inventory, Appraisements, and Sales Book 4, Roanoke County Archives.

Calloway

Campbell

  • George Campbell – “George Campbell was listed in an indenture agreement: “…bind unto the said Lewis Zirkle a boy of colour named George Campbell until he arrives to the free age of twenty one which will be on the 25th day of June 1854.”
    In the Common Law book, it was ordered that the Overseers of the Poor bind out George, “a boy of color,” to Lewis Zinkle.”;
    Common Law Orders – A – May 1838 – May 1840, Roanoke County Archives.

Saunders/Sanders

Family Names of Enslavers in Montgomery County

Evans

  • Elizabeth Evans (List of first names of people they enslaved), “Elizabeth was listed in Michael Shepard’s property appraisement as having purchased enslaved people after Michael’s death. In the record, Elizabeth purchase” the enslaved people Joe, Nancy, and an unrecorded named child for $675.00.” She was possible daughter of Jonathan Evans. “Elizabeth’s son was William Evans and her husband was William W. Evans.”; Common Law Orders – B – June 1840 – July 1843, Roanoke County Archives

Kent

Kyle

Oliver

Wyatts

Alfonzo James: A Life Dedicated to Education and Community Service

Alfonzo James, born in 1904, was the eldest of three children to John and Mary Campbell James. He graduated from the Hill School in Christiansburg in May 1921.

His father, John James, was born in Pennsylvania and, according to the 1900 U.S. Census, lived as a boarder with Principal Charles L. Marshall of the Christiansburg Institute at the age of 15. This household also included Edgar A. Long, his wife and daughter, Louis Brown (16 years old), and William Gray, a teacher.

In the 1930 census, Alfonzo was recorded as a public school teacher. Over the years, he held various roles at the New Altamont Hospital in Christiansburg, working as a waiter and eventually as a nurse’s aide by the time of his passing in 1960. In 1946, he married Evie Lena Grogans. He was survived by his two brothers, Robert M. James and Alonzo McCoy James. Evie Grogans James passed away in 1977 and was a valued baker, recognized as Employee of the Month at Radford College.

Alfonzo’s diploma stands as a testament to his commitment to education and service. Preserving this certificate would honor his legacy and ensure that his contributions to the community are remembered.

Courtesy of Christiansburg Institute Digital Archive
Alfonso James Death Certificate
1900 US Census, John James, Alfonso’s father, in Charles L. Marshall Household
1910 US Census, Mary James with her children and sister, Daisy Campbell
1920 US Census, Daisy Campbell and her sister’s children: Alfonso, Robert and Alonzo
Alfonso James
Alfonso James
Alonzo James, brother of Alfonso James
Alonzo James, brother of Alfonso James
Alonzo James, brother of Alfonso James
Alonzo James, brother of Alfonso James
1950 US Census, Alonzo McCoy James
1950 US Census, Alfonso and Evie James
Mary Green Grogans, mother of Evie Grogans James
Evie Grogans James
Evie Grogans James
Wedding Certificate, Alfonzo and Evie
Evie Grogans James
Brother of Evie Grogans James
Brother of Evie Grogans James
Brother of Evie Grogans James
Brother of Evie Grogans James
Brother of Evie Grogans James
Mother of Evie Grogans James
Alfonso James Hill School, Christiansburg Industrial Institute, Diploma

Community of Independent Order of St Luke, St Frances Council, #235

On August 4, 1902, Maggie Lena Walker herself founded the St. Frances Council #235, a significant event as she typically delegated the establishment of local Councils in the Independent Order of St. Luke to others.

St Luke, Odd Fellows & Household of Ruth Hall, 203 Gilbert St, Blacksburg, Virginia (Courtesy of Jody Daniels)
Badge from the Blacksburg St Frances #235 Council (Courtesy of BMCF)

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site Connection

The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, located in the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond, is owned and operated by the National Park Service. Its archives house a wealth of information, much of which has yet to be digitized or made available online.

On August 4, 1902, Maggie Lena Walker herself founded the St. Frances Council #235, a significant event as she typically delegated the establishment of local Councils in the Independent Order of St. Luke to others. This raises the question: did she visit Blacksburg personally to work with the African American community there? While we currently lack direct documentation to confirm this, there are intriguing connections to consider.

In 1914, Mrs. Walker served on committees of the “Negro Organization Society of Virginia” alongside Edgar A. Long, and in 1932, she served with A.M. Walker on the “Better Home and America” committee. Both Long and A.M. Walker were principals of Christiansburg Institute in nearby Cambria. Furthermore, when the St. Frances Council was established in 1902, Charles Lives Marshal was principal of the school.

These links between Mrs. Walker and influential African American educators in the region suggest the possibility of her involvement with Blacksburg’s community. The search for documentation to confirm her visit continues, but her influence and connections remain an integral part of the story.

The Walton Act of 1894 and the 1902 New Virginia State Constitution – Tools of Voter Suppression

Dan Thorpe’s book, Facing Freedom, provides valuable historical context on how the state legislature curtailed the rights and freedoms of African Americans in Montgomery County. The Walton Act of 1894, presented as a measure to reduce election corruption, required localities to implement a secret written ballot system. This effectively disenfranchised illiterate voters, disproportionately targeting African Americans and many local white men, under the guise of reform.

Further voter suppression was codified in the new Virginia State Constitution, which went into effect in July 1902. It introduced literacy and tax-paying requirements for voting, systematically disenfranchising large segments of the local population.

Notably, this legislative shift coincided with Maggie L. Walker’s creation of the St. Frances Council in Blacksburg. The Council’s membership ledger shows that 60% of its initial members signed up on August 3, 1902, just one month after the new voting restrictions became law. Of these members, 55% were women. This timing highlights the Council’s potential role as a unifying force and a means of empowerment in a community grappling with the loss of political rights.

Uncovering Hidden Histories: The St. Luke Ledger and Its Legacy in the New River Valley

This invaluable ledger is preserved at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, it has not been digitized or made available online. The ledger includes the names of families residing in the Blacksburg District, which, at the time, extended east to Ellett Valley, south to Yellow Sulphur Springs, west to the New River, and north to Brush Mountain. As a result, it provides a rare and significant snapshot of individuals—primarily women—who may not appear in other historical records.

This document is more than a membership list; it is a record of people who signed life insurance policies, committing to monthly payments to secure financial stability for their families after their death. The majority of these members were women, demonstrating the critical role they played in building community wealth and hope.

The two pages of this ledger tell a hidden story of the region, preserved in the attic of the Independent Order of St. Luke’s building in Richmond since the organization disbanded in 1984. The ledger also contains information about other Councils established in the New River Valley. These Councils did not operate in isolation; they were interconnected through railroad travel, linking Blacksburg with Councils in Pulaski, Dublin, Christiansburg, Salem, and Roanoke.

The Friends of the St. Luke, Odd Fellows, and Household of Ruth are committed to uncovering and sharing the history revealed by these ledgers. Their efforts will honor the individuals who deeded property, designed, built, and gave meaning to the Hall at 203 Gilbert Street, preserving the stories of our shared regional history for future generations.

For more information about the history of the St Luke, Odd Fellows & Household of Ruth Hall, 203 Gilbert Street, Blacksburg, Virginia.

List of people living in New Town over time.

Sick Benefits of the Independent Order of St Luke

St Luke Penny Bank

Beatrice Freeman Walker oral history about Maggie L. Walker and her mother, Bessie Briggs Freeman

Maggie L. Walker Historic Site virtual exhibit and objects. Please ask for permission from the National Park Service if you wish to publish the images.

St Frances Council, #235, pages 361-362, Membership Roll 1897-1911 (Courtesy of Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site)
St Frances Council, #235, pages 361-362, Membership Roll 1897-1911 (Courtesy of Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site)
Transcription of Membership Roll from 1902 to 1911, page 2
Transcription of Membership Roll from 1902 to 1911, page 1

On the Hunt for the Grant United Order of Odd Fellows Lodge in Pulaski County

The Lone Light #3026 Lodge existed in 1888 as noted in the book and the stamp. Where was it? Perhaps you know? Photograph?

1920 Sanborn Fire Map of Pulaski City (Radford) VA (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

The lodge is listed in the Official History and Manual of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in … by Charles H. Brooks on page 192.