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Roland's Obituary and biographical notes:
Mathews Journal
Thurs, Nov 9, 1922
p1, c2
Mr. Roland Crowder Anderton, well known citizen of Bohannon, died at his home near that place last Saturday evening, after a long and painful illness.
The funeral services took place Tuesday afternoon at the home and interment made, after appropriate ceremonies by the Mobjack Lodge of Odd Fellows, in Providence Cemetery. The services were conducted by Rev. D. W. Jackson.
Mr. Anderton was 35 years of age, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Columbus Anderton, and a native of Mathews. He was some years engaged in the merchantile business at Bohannon...
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Roland's Obituary and biographical notes:
Mathews Journal
Thurs, Nov 9, 1922
p1, c2
Mr. Roland Crowder Anderton, well known citizen of Bohannon, died at his home near that place last Saturday evening, after a long and painful illness.
The funeral services took place Tuesday afternoon at the home and interment made, after appropriate ceremonies by the Mobjack Lodge of Odd Fellows, in Providence Cemetery. The services were conducted by Rev. D. W. Jackson.
Mr. Anderton was 35 years of age, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Columbus Anderton, and a native of Mathews. He was some years engaged in the merchantile business at Bohannon and was widely known throughout the Mobjack section. He was a man of upstanding integrity and clean life who commanded the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He was for many years a member of Emanuel Church and also of the Mobjack Lodge of Odd Fellows and the Piankitank Encampment of Odd fellows. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Bertha Anderton, three small children, three brothers, Messrs. C. B., H. E. and S. G. Anderton, and one sister, Mrs. Dora White.
One of the sad features of his death was the fact that his wife was in a hospital in Norfolk recovering from an operation at the time.
Please read on from this biographical note written by Roland's granddaughter, Gayle Bradley Weiss in an unpublished (except on Ancestry.com family tree, Most Recent Bradley/Anderton Family Tree) family history:
Roland Crowder Anderton, my maternal grandfather, was born March 24, 1887 in Mathews County to Columbus and Lucy Gayle Anderton. Nothing is known of his childhood, except that he was raised on North River in Mathews County. At age 23, he is listed in the 1910 census as living with his parents and having the occupation of "sailor on a gasoline boat". Roland married Bertha White, his third cousin, on Thursday, March 20, 1913 at 9:00 in the morning at the home of Bertha's mother, Bettie Wise Gayle White, on Godsey Creek, off North River (later called "Bloomsdale") -- very near to where Roland had grown up. Bertha's father, Bennie White, had died in 1910. The time of day for the wedding was so chosen as they were to board the steamer "Mobjack" at Hick's Wharf at 10:30 AM for a honeymoon trip to Norfolk and Richmond. Lohengrin's Wedding March was played on the piano by Virginia Billups, a cousin. Bertha wore a "traveling suit of dark blue serge with hat and gloves to match." Roland and Bertha's first home was at Locust Shade on North River, now called the "Thacker Place". Roland had purchased the house and land in 1912 from Mr. and Mrs. E. K. Thrift. It was very close to the home of his parents, Columbus and Lucy Anderton, where Roland was born and raised, and a mile or two from Bertha's mother. It is assumed that Roland and Bertha knew each other through family/neighborhood and possibly school connections. And, his younger brother Stanley married Bertha's younger sister Elizabeth (Baby) in 1917. In June of 1914, Bertha gave birth to a son. He was born prematurely and despite efforts to keep him warm in the oven, he only survived a few hours. Their next child, also a boy -- Roland Crowder Anderton, Jr. -- was born September 3, 1917. Another son, James Christopher, called "Bubber", was born January 20, 1919. Both boys were born at Locust Shade. In June of 1917, Roland filled out his WWI draft registration card. It reads as follows: Roland Crowder Anderton, age 30. Home address: Bohannon, Virginia. Born March 24, 1887, a natural born citizen, in Bohannon, Virginia. He lists himself as a self-employed farmer at Bohannon. He is married, Caucasian and has never had any military service. He requests exemption from duty because of rheumatism. He describes himself as being tall and having medium brown eyes and dark brown hair. He is not bald and has all of his limbs.
Probably because of his disability, Roland was not able to keep farming and soon he became a merchant and "kept store" at Bohannon, which was on East River, some distance (a couple of miles) from their home on North River Road. In February of 1921, he and Mr. Howard Hunley, who had a home at Bohannon right next to Roland's store, worked out a trade. Mr. Hunley, who was a house painter, coveted the waterfront property on North River, and Roland, who wasn't well, wanted the convenience of living next door to his business. The Bohannon house, known as "Perkins Spring" after the original owners and the presence of a spring on the property, was where my mother, Elizabeth Gayle Anderton, called "Baby Sis" by her father, was born on March 5, 1921.
Not long after the move to Bohannan and Elizabeth's birth, there was a disaster with the store – a new one he had just moved into. In an article on the front page of the Mathews Journal on May 26, 1921 entitled "Store Building Burned", the story goes as follows: "The storehouse of Mr. R. C. Anderton at Bohannon was burned to the ground early Sunday morning. The fire was well under way when discovered and there was no possibility of saving anything. Nothing is known about the origin of the fire. Mr. Anderton stated that there was no evidence of fire when he left the building late Saturday night and other persons passing even later also saw no evidence. Thinking it possible that the fire might have been of an incendiary origin, Mr. Anderton made an effort to obtain bloodhounds to search for trails around the building but he failed to secure them. The building was a new one, completed only a few weeks ago and the stock, likewise new, as the owner had been doing business only three weeks." Upon finding this article, it makes me want to revise my thoughts about Roland's change in professions. Perhaps he had been farming up until the "swap" of houses and had just started "keeping store" in the three weeks before the fire. – and the swap occurred because he wanted to begin a business near the post office where there was already a center of population.
As stated before, Roland was in poor health for a young man (which is probably why he didn't serve in WWI), and also probably another important reason for their move to Bohannon. He was stricken with tuberculosis of the bone (?? bone cancer??) and consequently was so stooped that if you saw him from behind, his head would not be visible. He had been 6'3" -- tall and lanky like his brothers-- before the disease took its toll. Bertha was a tiny woman, only 4'11" -- especially so next to her tall husband. Perhaps this was why she called him "Daddy" and he called her "Baby Girl".
In October of 1922, Bertha was hospitalized at Sarah Leigh Hospital in Norfolk for an operation – I didn't ask the question soon enough – no one alive today knows what kind of operation she had – perhaps a hysterectomy??? She was away from home for about a month and Roland was so lonesome that he wrote to her most every day. As he himself was not well, the three children (ages 5, 3,and 1) were being cared for by their grandmother (Bettie Wise White) and aunt and uncle (Baby and Stanley Anderton) through the woods at Bloomsdale on North River. Little "Rollie" (Roland, Jr. who was 5 years old) also spent quite a bit of time during this ordeal with his aunt, Dora Anderton White, Big Roland's sister, who lived just across and down the road. Rollie would spend some time each day with Roland, keeping him company and cheering him up. Other times, if Roland could get a ride, he would go to Baby and Stanley's and see the younger children. "Baby Sis is looking fine and just as lively as a cricket. Bubber is looking fine too and all of them have good appetites, so don't you worry about them," Roland wrote to Bertha. In the one letter that survives from Bertha, she goes on and on about a visit from Dora (Roland's sister) and little Rollie. "Well, I have seen our darling boy. I can't tell you how happy I was to see him. He was the sweetest thing I ever saw with his new clothes, cap, overcoat, shoes and all. I grabbed him around the neck and felt like I could never let him go and he was glad to see me too. . . . I asked Rollie how he liked the streetcar and he said ‘Mamma, the crank ain't on the outside, it's on the inside.' Ain't that just like him to notice everything!" And in the same letter, "Anne sent me some little pictures of the children that she took last summer and I have been looking at them all day and showing them to everybody who comes in. They are darling. I can't send them to you yet – I will have to look at them while you have the originals". She speaks about feeling better but still "sore. I think of you when I turn over in bed – it hurts so and I think how you must suffer." (Roland's condition was very painful.) She reminds him to take his "Hypophosphate and try to get some appetite."
Roland's nephew, Bernard Anderton, Jr., would come by every morning and evening to feed the chickens and pigs for him, and quite often Roland spoke of Ora or Lillian, his sisters-in-law, sending him supper. If they didn't send it in, his brothers would come get him and take him to their house for a meal – they lived close by but Roland wasn't able to walk far. One night at Bernard's, they had butterbeans, potatoes, fried chicken, roast beef, biscuits, cornbread, apples and cake. Another time, Ora sent pork sausage, hot rolls, butter and a bottle of hot coffee. On October 30th, he wrote of Ora also bringing him still another lunch -- the third one brought in that morning! -- "and she made my bed and washed up everything and swept up too. She is so good and kind -- always the same." He was certainly well taken care of in all respects by his family.
Roland enjoyed sitting out on the front porch in the warm sun much of the time, as he was too weak to work. The nights were beginning to become crisp, so in the evenings, he would sit in front of the fireplace in the dining room. His brothers, Bernard, Sr. (who was his partner in the business since Roland became ill) and Harry, were helping him out over at the store. One Saturday they did $98.00 worth of business and another, $80.00, which pleased Roland very much.
In his letter to Dr. Raines of Wednesday night, November 1st, Roland says "But Doc, for the last two weeks off and on I have had the worst sore throat I ever had and I am still hoarse. Sometimes I can hardly make a sound. Last night my throat was sorer than it has ever been but it is better this morning. The hoarseness in my throat is just above my collarbone in that little hole you know. I can't think my cough is any worse but I haven't much appetite. I think you can fix me up all right when you come home. I think my hip is better. Now I think I have told you everything so will close for this time. Hoping to see you both Monday, I am always your friend, Roland." Dr. Raines was also Bertha's doctor and would deliver news about her whenever he would return from Norfolk after examining her. This time there was good news -- Dr. Raines would leave on Saturday, November 4th, and bring Bertha home on Monday, the 6th, by steamer! "That was some good news. I will try and be patient as I can be until Monday comes. I am going to close now, as I haven't a bit of news to write my Little Girl this time. Goodnight with a heart full of love, I am always your own, Daddy."
On Saturday, Dr. Raines delivered a letter to Bertha written that same morning by Roland's sister Dora, saying that Roland wasn't feeling well enough to write himself -- it was hard to write when he couldn't sit up -- but he wanted Bertha to know how much he was looking forward to seeing her on Monday. Well, when Bertha stepped off the steamer that Monday, she was greeted with the news that her poor, sick, lonesome husband had died on Saturday, November 4th, 1922 -- of tuberculosis of the throat (?? Throat cancer? – he WAS a smoker!) -- only 35 years old! I weep every time I think about it. How I wish to have known him.
Now a widow with three small children, Bertha had to struggle to care for her family. She took in boarders -- salesmen who were traveling in the area -- and continued to raise chickens, selling their eggs. I'm not sure what happened to the store – if brother Bernard continued to run it for a while, I can't say. I would guess that he did. The physical building was eventually bought by Jack Clements who moved it across the road to house Jack's appliance business.
Sometime within the next five years, Bertha developed diabetes and was totally dependent on that same Dr. Raines for her supply of the new drug, insulin. Early in October of 1927, Dr. Raines was not available (the family's conjecture is that he had gone to the horse races) to administer her insulin injection and she fell into a diabetic coma. A few days later, on October 14th, she died, regaining consciousness only long enough to instruct little Rollie, now ten years old, to "be a man" and take care of his brother and sister.
Such a sad time -- and now those three children (ages 10, 8 and 6) were orphans. Elizabeth (my mother) remembers the funeral and how the adults had to scold Rollie and Bubber for playing noisily out on the porch during the service They were brought in to kiss their mother goodbye, the first time Elizabeth had seen her mother since early into her coma.
After the funeral, the children were taken to their grandmother's (Bloomsdale). They were supposed to be upstairs in bed but sneaked onto the stairs outside the parlor, where the adults were discussing their fate. An orphanage was contemplated, but, thankfully, it was decided that Bertha's three sisters (all married but with no children) would each take a child. Ruby and Baby thought it best that they each have a boy as the boys could help out on their farms. So Lilly, a teacher in North Carolina, and her husband, Lawrence Trevathan, took Mama. Lawrence, a civil engineer, had always wanted a daughter, so it worked out well. Roland, Jr. went to live with Baby and Stanley and his grandmother at "Bloomsdale". Bubber went with Ruby (Arboo) and her husband, James M. "Bud" Shinault, a building contractor, near Mathews Court House to their home, "Sunset Villa" on East River, about six miles from Bloomsdale; and Mama went with Lilly and Lawrence to Wilson, North Carolina, some 200 miles distant. It was such a shame that the children had to grow up apart. One consolation though -- Mama came up to Mathews County to spend the summers with them every year so they were together then. And, the boys later attended high school together at Lee Jackson High School.
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