A Merry Christmas To All

No news here this season.Planning a quiet holiday and a short visit to Florida in January to mark the new year.Best wishes to all.

Uncle Steve Childrey

The last of the nine children of Eva and Edgar died yesterday , September 18,2009, at age 94.

Services will be held in Chase City and at Emmanuel in Richmond.

Dr. Childrey will be sorely missed by all and will be remembered as a great husband, father, doctor and was a favorite uncle to all us cousins.

An Era

Pharaoh’s ailments overwhelmed him ( and us) and yesterday we took the inevitable step and put him down.
Neptune’s friend and ours too but there was no option.Pharaoh had lost a lot of weight and the mass cells could not be slowed or stopped due to his diabetes.He was not eating and was in great discomfort with no hope of recovery.

Becky is recognized

The Roanoke Council of Community Services recognized Beck as The Volunteer Manager of the Year. Kudos to a hardworking manager at Good Samaritan Hospice.

Pharaoh has developed diabetes but can be treated with insulin.We began that daily regime today and will continue to monitor developments.

The Harris Coin

The following is a bit of family trivia.I have posted photos of the coin before I place it in our lock box but that remains a challenge to get a clear image of this coin.The photos were taken on a box which also contained an 1879 silver dollar..hence the apparent legend...which refers to the second coin.
The Harris Coin

Among the personal effects of my father I discovered a 1809 half dollar with the name Harris scratched in the face of what is a called a capped bust 50 cent piece. Current Ebay prices suggest a value of $100 to $200, but the scratched name likely destroys that extrinsic value.

A description was found in a volume of Harris genealogy with the addition of Dad’s note as follows:

“I (Edward Bledsoe Harris) have inserted this copy of a note from Norman Bond Harris, older brother of John Augustus Harris, showing descent from the Earl of Shrewsbury. I have the coin.”

The copied note of Norman Bond Harris recites the following history:

“This half dollar (American of 1809) comes down to the head of the Harris House as (I suppose) a lucky coin. My father ( Henry C. Harris) gave it to me, saying his father Wilmond Pitman had given it to him; and, I believe, his (illegible) , Col. Edmond Harris, had given it to his father; and so far as I know it may come from one generation farther back.
“I was brat and do not remember all my father’s words—let the coin pass to my oldest boy and thence to his oldest boy, and so on down. But let it remain with the Harris House, if all the boys be girls then let it pass to the next in order of the Harris House.
“If I die therefore without male issue let the coin pass to the oldest son of the brother next me (sic) (Adams) and so on down Augustus the line. Let no member dare dispose of the coin, save in case of absolute & dire need of food.


“This is my will--& I believe it was my father’s will this eighth day of July A.D. 1888.
(Rev) Norman Bond Harris first son of
(Rev) Henry Canova Harris first son of
Wilmond Pitman Harris first son of
Col Edmond Harris second son of (1st son died at 16)
Henry Harris (officer in King’s Army) son of
Eldred Harris, Earl of Shrewsbury”
There appears to a marginal signature of possibly a witness, Madison Glorida, dated July 8th, a888.

Transcribed by Bayard Easter Harris in Roanoke ,Virginia on the 5th day of April, 2008.

Latest from Eva Layne Johnson:

"Latest news from Tappahannock, Ann Layne is marrying Daniel Mathew Wygal on June 6, 2009, at Emmanuel Church. They are currently living in northern Virginia where they both work for Medimmune, a drug company that makes specialty pediatric drugs.

'Childrey and Jeff live in Mechanicsville with their three boys and new baby girl (Elizabeth Garnett Langford) born March 21, 2008. She quit her job in probation and parole a few years ago and went back to nursing school full-time at MCV. She now works in the surgical-trauma ICU at MCV.

'Robert and Shannon are in Melbourne, FL where he is an in-house attorney for the Harris Corporation. Shannon is at home with their three children, Walker 5, Callahan 2, and Mallory Layne born July 24, 2008.

'Bob and I continue to work and are not really ready to retire just yet, as long as we have time to do the things we want to do. Look forward to hearing from everyone. Love, Eva"

Old news

This posting will be old news to most readers but it seems fun in my new role as blogmaster to add some routine updates to the first posting?

Beck continues her work as Director of Volunteers for Good Samaritan Hospice... a big job which she does very well.
I still practice law some but enjoy my real job as a professor at Roanoke College in the Business Dept.

Nic is with the local SPCA and well.
Ellen and Alex are working for Verizon in Richmond and also well and there is no exciting news ( for which I am thankful).

Two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers (Pharaoh and Neptune)for company along with our three cats, an African Gray parrot ( The Boss) and assorted fish and cockathiels.

Just recovering ( slowly as expected ) from my second knee replacement surgery ( a good Christmas present) and I anticipate long pain free walks in the spring.

So you will see there is nothing of note report.
Send me your news and I will see if I can get it added here .
Great fun to see if we can do better staying in touch this way?

Loss to Uncle Steve

Dear Phyllis dies quietly this week at age 84.She will be buried with her family in Hendersonville NC.
Steve at age 94 is sure to be very lonely.He does not have email and is deaf
( phone is impossible ) but you can write him a note To Dr.Steve Childrey ,2592 Brankley Road, Chase City, Va. 23924