~with his children Blanche, George & Edythe~
We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break.
~Marquise de Sévigné
My fraternal great grandfather was named Flavius Wise Tavenner. He was born on August 1, 1859, the illegitimate son of Lucy Amanda Tavenner. My dad says it was rumored that his father’s last name was Plaster but I don’t know any details beyond that fact that he was raised by his single mother.
He was born and grew up in Unison, a tiny town just west of Leesburg, Virginia. The only details I know about him were told to me by my father, his grandson. Here are some of the things I’ve learned about him.
• He lived in Herndon, right across the street from my father when Dad was a young boy. He was a carpenter by trade and built a house with an outbuilding, then rented the house and converted the little building into a shop and home for himself. In that shop he had many hand tools and did work for local folks. He was also a wheelwright in those horse and buggy days which means he made the wooden wheel and then the blacksmith attached an iron rim.
• His house had neither running water, plumbing nor electricity. He never drove a car or used a telephone. I’m certain his schooling was minimal but he could read and write. He liked the little comic books that were popular in the 1920’s and especially loved the antics of what he called “Micey Mouse” [Mickey Mouse].
• He smoked a pipe and used Victory smoking tobacco. In his golden years he lived with his daughter, my grandmother, and used to drive her crazy when he filled his pipe then brushed excess tobacco on the floor.
• His usual attire consisted of blue denim work clothes. My dad remembers that the collars on his shirts always looked too big for his neck.
• In his later years when he lived with my grandmother and dad, he would often get up in the night and use the corner of his bedroom as a urinal. Dad is not sure if he was confused or just ornery. I’m sure my grandmother fussed at her papa over this!
• When Flave was a child he had a pet cat that he would hook up to a wee cart. One day a soldier came through town and shot that cat right off a fence post.
• He married in 1893 at the age of 34 to Virginia Lee Darnes, age 28. They had three children: George Turner, b. Jan. 25, 1895; Blanche Amanda b. May 12, 1896 (my grandmother); Edythe Mary, b. Mar. 6, 1898. His wife died suddenly on Sept. 17, 1898 when their youngest child was only 6 months old. He never remarried and I wish I knew how he cared for his children when his wife passed away, leaving him a widower at age 39.
• Grandpapa Flavius lived all his life in Loudoun, Fairfax or Arlington counties. He died on January 2, 1948 at the age of 88 while living at the home of his younger daughter Edythe Mills, located at 4415 13th St., N., Arlington, Virginia. He was buried two days later in Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Herndon, Virginia.
