Buckingham County: Two Weddings and a Funeral

Chestnut Grove Baptist Church. Courtesy Historic Buckingham.

From time to time, all of us who save scraps of paper bearing important pieces of information fail to note the source and date. This is the case with the news clipping transcribed below. Instead of holding it forever unposted, I decided to post it for the readers of Slate River Ramblings as a puzzle. Can anyone identify what year the O’Bryant family experienced two weddings in the burial on the same day?

Note:  Many thanks to Slate River Ramblings follower Fran Harris-Hill who identified the date as November 4, 1902.

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TWO WEDDINGS AND A BURIAL THE SAME DAY.

Interesting Events in the O’Bryant Family at New Store, Buckingham County.

NEW STORE, VA., November 5. — (Special.) The remains of Mrs. Francis O’Bryant were interred yesterday afternoon. She was the widow of Francis O’Bryant, deceased, whose father, Glinn O’Bryant, lived with Peter Francisco as overseer on the farm adjoining his place upon Williams Creek. It was interesting to hear her tell of what happened upon the farm when he was a boy — about the rolling of tobacco to Manchester. Peter Francisco’s exploits, fights and almost super human strength.

Mr. Louis Napoleon O’Bryant, a young ship carpenter of Newport News, and Ms. Nannie Wooldridge were married by the Rev. Mr. Pat Warren. Miss Theodosia O’Bryant, a sister of the groom mentioned above, was married to Mr. Joseph Cook, a prosperous young farmer of Arcanum post office, in this county, by the same minister.

Mr. and Mrs. O’Bryant are grandchildren of Mrs. Francisco O’Bryant, who has just died. Assuredly it is an unusual thing to have two marriages and a burial in one family on the same day.

Other Buckingham County news reported on the same day, “Mr. Pat Warren, the well-known Baptist minister, and pastor of Chestnut Grove church, assisted by Mr. Warren, the evangelist, is carrying on a revival meeting at Chestnut Grove this week.”

Want to learn more about Peter Francisco and his “supper human strength?” Please consult “From Waif to Legend: Peter Francisco” in my book, “At A Place Called Buckingham”.