Boydton’s fire of 1909, damages over $100,000

Boydton 1909 fire, $100,000 damages

There are early Virginia Presbyterian records on FamilySearch, but I couldn’t find much about Boydton Presbyterian church. A note in the church history said there were two fires that caused record loss.

I looked through newspapers about possible fires that could have affected the Presbyterian church. There were a number of fires, leading to a neighborhood watch with a nightly patrol to watch for any sparks.

Boydton fire of 1889

One fire that may have affected the Presbyterian church was in October 1889. In addition to the sadness of so many businesses lost and lives affected, the archives of two newspapers, The Democrat and The Clipper burned. The Clipper newspaper had moved from Clarksville to Boydton two weeks earlier.

The Richmond Dispatch, Richmond VA, 23 Oct 1889

Boydton fire of 1909

The second fire that probably affected the Presbyterian Church was the fire of 1909. Two blocks burned, trains were delayed and telegraph lines were down. High winds fanned the fire. People feared the whole town would be destroyed. The students at Boydton Institute helped fight the fire.

(Above) Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mon 13 Aug 1962. This picture was part of an article about Boydton history.

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The new Boydton Presbyterian Church page is here. If you have anything to add, please comment on the church page or contact me.

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Enslaved individuals and other relationships in the community tree

The 1880 Census listed Sarah Hankins and Harriet Goode as African Americans employed by Captain Webb, in the same household as Percival Webb, pictured above. Percival’s father, Captain William Webb, was a merchant. There are “other relationship” options like apprenticeship, neighbor and relative. The other relationship option helps me hold Sarah and Harriet in their community in Boydton, by the Presbyterian Church, until I can find the rest of their family. Sometimes people are listed on the census as a relative and I can’t tell if it’s the husband or wife’s relative. So I do “other relationship” and choose “relative” to link the family members.

Thomas Greenwood had a number of enslaved individuals. Not everyone was named in his will, but names were given when the estate was divided. The list of people is longer than this screenshot was able to show. Scroll to the bottom of any page to see other relationships.

This example (below) of Rose, shows that she had two known daughters. I made an enslavement note on the right, under the notes section. I don’t know who Rose’s parents or other family members are. But it is possible she had more family at this estate.

I’m trying to add the names of all people who lived in Mecklenburg into the Mecklenburg, Virginia tree. There are currently about 3,100 people in the tree. I’m adding people and records several days each week. Everyone with an obituary on the Boydton Presbyterian Church page and articles on this page, have been added to the community tree, with the newspaper clippings added as a source.

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