Burt and Della Hunter

Deed records form the backbone for much of the research found in these posts. But there is so much that a deed does not say: were these people good neighbors, well liked in the community? Were the grantors friends of the grantees, or family; or did the transaction take place between anonymous persons who never met?

I really enjoy finding connections that extend beyond mere real-estate transactions. I was gratified to learn that the Olivers, Harrisons and Steeles were not merely neighbors, but family [1]. I received similar good news when I met recently with sisters Debbie Yancey and Ruth Barrett to look through their old photo albums. Debbie and Ruth are daughters of Perry and Helen Kight and former Walker Road residents. Debbie contacted me after reading this blog to let me know that Burt and Della Hunter were her grandparents.

My first introduction to Burt and Della, beyond the 1941 deed for their property on the south side of Walker Road, was from my interview with Mary Anne Harrison Smith. Della was the neighborhood gossip who kept Mary Oliver from her chores; Burt was the Jack-Sprat-ly fellow who was falsely accused of leaving Della's undergarments on the clothes line (they had actually been pranked by the Harrison children). Thanks to Debbie and Ruth, I learned much more about Burt and Della; and they passed along some photos of Woodstock from the 1930's to the 1970's that I am pleased to share with you now.

In the 1930's Burt and Della Hunter were tenant farmers on the Perdue (later Walker) farm along what is now Sterling Road. When Jesse Parkerson purchased the 150 acres of woodland along the east side of Woodstock Road in 1940, he enlisted Burt Hunter to show the 4 and 8 acre parcels to potential buyers; identifying plots and pointing out property boundaries. In exchange for his services, Mr. Parkerson conveyed a 1 acre plot along the south side of Walker Road to Burt. As a result, Burt and Della became the first homeowners on the east side of Woodstock Road.

 

This house, located in what is now the front yard of 501 Sterling Road, was first made known to me as the Perdue home from the 1920's. Burt and Della occupied this home as tenants of the "Walker house" (as it came to be known) in the 1930's. That's Burt and Della's daughter, Helen Kight. That's the river on the other side of the house.

 

Della, tending chickens on the Walker farm, pre-1941. She is probably standing about where 512 Sterling Road is now, and we are looking southwest, toward where Sterling Court is today.

 

That barn is behind what is now 524 Sterling Road, in the east-bound lane of I-64. Burt and Della were the last tenants to farm the land along Sterling Road. Subsequent owners kept cows and horses until the mid-1960's.

 

The Hunters' new home after 1941, at the corner of Woodstock and Walker Roads. The house was of modest rural construction, with some of the roof joists still covered in tree bark. Bathroom facilities were outside. The house was torn down in the mid-1970's, and today that plot of ground is 5881 Walker Road.

I date this photo prior to 1945 because the Jimmy Steele house (now 568 Woodstock Road) doesn't appear to have been built yet. It should be on the other side of the car. The farm beyond is the Oliver farm at this time, or the 500 block of Woodstock Road today.

 

This is Helen "Snookie" Kight (elder sister of Debbie and Ruth, daughter of Perry and Helen Kight). If we take a guess at her age (I'll say 3?) then this picture is ca. 1946. That is the Jimmy Steele house to the right, and the former Oliver farm beyond. The Olivers (in their late-60's by this time) sold their farm the year before and bought Jimmy Steele's house.

 

 

Snookie again, with Woodstock Road behind her and the former Hastings farm on the other side of the road (E.V. Williams Construction owned it at the time this picture was taken; ca. 1958). During the E.V. Williams years, this property was used as a borrow pit and a trash dump. Today the land in view here is 613 Woodstock Road, Woodstock Cove Park, and a lake.

 

Walker Road, ca. 1970. Note the vehicle travelling on I-64 in the distance. The Kight house is on the right, occupying the eastern half of the Hunter property. The Kight house was demolished in 2011 and 4 brand new homes occupy that land today.

 

Neighbors: Mary and John Oliver, with John surrounded by his grandchildren, Mary Craddock (on his left) Joan Craddock (on his right) and an unidentified little one in front of him; The Olivers' daughter Elsie Craddock is front row left, with Burt and Della Hunter on the right. That structure in the background is the garage for the Jimmy Steele house, which still faces Walker road today.

 

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ENDNOTES:[1] I may be making references that newer readers are not familiar with. For a good overview of Woodstock's history, including notable names and dates, see my PowerPoint presentation.

 

 

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Perdue

 

The property along Sterling Road, including the stretch of I-64 that runs parallel to Sterling Road was, for just a few years (1924-1928), home to Robert and Laura Perdue. Robert's "day" job was with the Pennsylvania Railroad, as Senior Purser aboard several ships that made the ferry run from Cape Charles to Norfolk. Robert wanted to try his hand at farming, so he moved to Princess Anne County from the eastern shore of Maryland and purchased the 34 acre Walker Farm.

 

Through Ancestry.com (and the phone book) I was able to track down Robert and Laura's son, Robert Perdue Jr., who was actually born on the farm in 1924. I received an e-mail response from Robert's wife, Georgia Perdue, informing me of Robert's sudden passing in 2011. Since that time I've had the honor of learning a bit about the farm boy turned reluctant warrior turned scientist through the memoirs that he gathered together just a few years before he died. The life story of Robert E. Perdue, Jr. is wholly deserving of a separate post, which I hope to write at another time. Until then, you can check out some links that I've included at the end of this post.

 

Although he never knew me, Dr. Perdue did me a great service. A researcher by training and by nature, he retraced his childhood journey that started here in Woodstock, then continued on to Norfolk, and then Maryland, and then Holland (where he earned a Purple Heart), then Germany (where he earned another Purple Heart and a Bronze Star), then Harvard (where he earned a Ph.D. in Botany), Texas, Africa, and back to Maryland. He gathered and documented photographs from his childhood which Georgia has graciously passed on to me.

 

A 1928 map of Princess Anne County indicates the location of the Perdue farm. Note the triangle toward the bottom-left formed by Providence Road, Indian River Road, and not Reon Dr., but rather Centerville Turnpike, at its terminus prior to I-64.

 

Laura, Robert Sr. and Robert Jr. on the farm, ca. 1926

 

The Perdue farm house ca. 1926, located in what is now the front yard of 501 Sterling Road. The house faces west, with the river just beyond.

 

The Perdues on the left, Alison and Ella Parsons on the right; a 1925 Ford "New Model-T" Tudor sedan parked in front of their farm house, ca. 1926

 

The Roberts Perdue, ca. 1926. The house in the background belonged to the Williams family, who were relatives of the Perdues. It was located at the north end of what is now Sterling Rd. According to John Williams, who was born there in 1924 and still lives in Virginia Beach, the house was visible from I-64 until the mid-1970's when development began along Sterling Rd.

 

Looking west down the Elizabeth River, ca. 1926. I'm guessing that illuminated structure in the distance is probably Sunnyside, home of the Herbert family for nearly 150 years. Directly north, across the river, is the Bachus farm. Robert's memoirs indicate that since they did not own a telephone, calls for the Perdues would be made to the Bachus home. Mrs. Bachus would shout across the river, "Laura!" and Laura would pack Robert Jr. into a rowboat and cross the river to take the call.

 

The staff of the PRR Pennsylvania, one of several ferry boats that made the Cape Charles to Norfolk run for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Robert Perdue Sr., the ships Purser, is 5th from the left.

 

An exterior view of the Pennsylvania

 

The PRR Virginia Lee, another ferry boat traversing the Chesapeake Bay from Cape Charles to Norfolk. Because Robert Sr. was the ship's Purser, little Robert Jr. had run of the entire vessel and was treated like royalty -- including free ham sandwiches in the dining room.

 

The Virginia Lee, docked at Riverview Avenue, Norfolk

 

For additional reading on the life of Dr. Robert E. Perdue, Jr., check out these links:

Behind The Lines In Greece: The Story of Operational Group II

Speech at Ft. Stewart, GA

Washington Post Obituary

 

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Elizabeth Mae "Lizzie" Sawyer Walker

Lizzie M. Walker purchased 34 acres of land along what is now Sterling Road and I-64 from Junius T. Sheets back in 1917. She sold the property to brothers Robert and Samuel Perdue in 1921, but she re-aquired it in 1938 when Robert moved his family back home to Maryland. The private drive that served that property became Walker Road in the 1940's, and so the Walker name is now permanently etched into the Woodstock landscape.

By 1917, Lizzie was a busy mother to 6 young children, ranging in age from 4 years to 15 years old. Her Husband, Pealedge P. "Pete" Walker was a tugboat captain. There is some question as to whether or not the Walkers actually maintained a residence on this property, or if it was held as an investment. What is certain is that their primary residence was in Norfolk.

Lizzie's grandson James Walker sent me this photo. The date is uncertain; but if Mrs. Walker was born in 1885, and we assume she is in her early 20's in this photo, that would date the photo around 1905-1910.

There is one bit of historical-geographical irony here: James built one of the houses on Woodgrove Court in the early 1980's and lived there for more than 20 years, unaware that his grandparents at one time owned land just down the street.

 

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