Last week, we began exploring the story of the Anthony family, one of the early pioneer families who settled in Patrick County during the 1830s. When we left off, John “Virgil” Anthony—the second generation to reside in the county—had returned home after enduring a long and arduous service in the Civil War. Shortly after his return, he married Felicianna Nancy “Nannie” Jones Anthony, daughter of Abner Anthony and Almira Arthur of Bedford County.
Virgil returned from the war in late 1865, but he and Nannie did not marry until 1876. At the time of their marriage, Virgil was thirty-six and Nannie was twenty-nine. Nannie was actually Virgil’s father’s first cousin. The war had clearly disrupted every facet of life, and it’s likely that those intervening years were focused on rebuilding the farm and constructing a home.
Together, Virgil and Nannie had seven children:
Arthur Abner Anthony, born August 27, 1877
Martha Susan “Mattie” Anthony, born April 17, 1880
Almyra Virginia Anthony, born November 5, 1883
Charles “Charlie” Graves Anthony, born June 1884
John Virgil Anthony, Jr., born March 5, 1886
Nannie Jane Anthony, born June 1, 1888
Mary Annie “May” Anthony, born October 12, 1890
The family experienced both great joy and deep sorrow. On February 14, 1891, little Nannie Jane tragically died after accidentally rolling into a fire. Patrick County death records list her age as three. Her brother John Jr. never forgot the heartbreak and would tear up whenever he spoke of her.
Patriarch Virgil passed away on Christmas Day, 1900. His son John Jr., just fourteen at the time, visited him that night. He recalled his father saying, “I prayed so many times during the War for God to let me live, but I never prayed as hard as I’ve prayed tonight for Him to let me die.”
Tragedy struck the family again in August 1902 during peach-picking season. Cousins were visiting the Anthony home, and one brought a gun. Curious little May picked it up, and it accidentally discharged—fatally wounding her sister, Mattie. She lingered in terrible agony for three days before passing away at just twenty-two years old.
Another devastating loss came on November 13, 1908, when Charlie died of what was likely typhoid fever at the age of twenty-five. The 1903 Civil Service Index of Rural Free Delivery lists both Charlie and his brother Arthur as employees.
Despite these hardships, life continued. On January 3, 1908, Arthur Abner Anthony married Miss Annie Sue Bowles, daughter of popular Methodist minister and schoolteacher Henry Chapman Bowles and his wife, Susan Cobbs. Arthur and Annie raised a large family of eight children in the Stella community. Interestingly, Reverend Bowles’ 1888 teacher report listed Arthur and Charlie as his first two students—long before one would become his son-in-law.
Almyra Virginia Anthony married Larkin Benjamin Foster on May 31, 1913. Larkin was the son of Abraham Penn Foster and Sarah Dalton of the Mayo Forge Mill area. Almyra and Larkin raised four children in the same community. Tragically, the couple also lost a child from being burned near a fireplace. Her name was Edyth, and she was only six months old when she died. Almyra passed away at the age of fifty-two after a six-year battle with breast cancer.
Mary Annie “May” Anthony married John Daniel “Jack” Anthony on November 27, 1919. John was the son of Mark Anthony and Roberta Mitchell of Campbell County. The couple settled in Winston-Salem, where John worked as the manager of a tobacco factory.
John Virgil Anthony, Jr. married Miss Hallie “Ethel” Foster on February 23, 1913, at Cedar Hill—the Anthony family home in Stella. And this is where we will pause for now, because next week, we have a big story to tell about the seven sons of John and Ethel Anthony!
I am so grateful for the wonderful photographs and research provided by Anthony family historian, Joy Anthony Branham. For questions, comments, or to share your own family memories, Woody can be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or (276) 692-9626.
