Leroy Pope III His great, great grandfather owned this farm. 5 generations have lived on this farm. The first one was prior to 1860. Leroy was born in 1941.
Main crops were peanuts and corn. Pull the corn by hand and then fence it off for the Hogs (Hogged Off).
Possibly the oldest home place in Sandy Bottom.
Leroy’s dad worked for Sam Chapman. He has a rifle that he worked for 9 Saturdays for that gun.
Farm is 103 acres. Great, Great Grandfather was married to Emma Godwin, a sister of Mills Godwin. ???? Might be Great Grandfather.
9:30 Good discussion on a visit to the farm by Leroy from Richmond.
Herbert Pittman worked for his granddad.
House had 11 foot ceiling downstairs and 10 foot ceilings upstairs.
13:00 Good discussion of building a house in the old days.
15:30 A discussion of additional houses which were tenants and might have been slaves, but not sure.
Married in June of 1968. Lived in Holiday Point estates, worked in NNSB and Dry Dock. Moved to their new home in 1974 on the creek. Leroy’s dad passed in 1991, Mom in 1986.
His mom and dad graduated from Chuckatuck.
Millard Winslow worked in the store at Sandy Bottom. They always put the cost of groceries on a paper bag.
23:00 talks about visiting the stores and pumping gas. 24:00 good comparison on living in Richmond and visiting the farm.
Sallie Corbell Cotton who married General Pickett is Leroy’s Great Great Aunt.
28:30 Talks about the siege of Suffolk and the smuggling of Sallie Corbell to Petersburg to get married.
Long time member of the Ruritan club.
33:00 Talks about his family.
36:00 His grandfather ran a buy boat taking products to market. Most every farm had a form of wharf to get their products onto ships.
38:00 discussion of chopping peanuts and how much the hands were paid. Women at $5.00 per day and Men $6.00 per day.
Talks about the Fulghams who had a truck and would carry hogs to Smithfield for his dad.
43:00 What is your most memorable moment of having lived or visited Sandy Bottom.
Having a picnic up the James just short of Burrells Bay and going up on Sam Chapman’s oyster boats.
Mr. Pope leased his land. Normally got so much per acre. In the last 8-10 years cannot lease it for enough to pay the taxes.
66:20 Leroy is a Patriot and tells some of the things he has done. (WORTH LISTENING TO).