I've written about my great-grandfather, William Steffel Tolbert a couple times in the past, but I suppose it's likely that I will repeat myself a few times if I'm going to keep this challenge going. I hope you'll check out those previous entries HERE and HERE.
William Tolbert was my mother's grandfather. He was born in Carroll County, VA, on and died in Fayette County, WV, on July 12, 1939. My mom lived with him and his second wife when she was a little girl on his land near Pax, WV. He's buried there in a tiny cemetery that once held only him and his wife, Anna (Larwood) Tolbert.
When I went there many years ago with my mom, we couldn't find the place, but with the help of someone who was originally from that area, I have been able to visit the graveyard a few times. My mom went with me once and pointed out the foundation of their old house, now overgrown with weeds. She lived there until she was five or six years old. The house had no electricity or running water and she remembered traveling to town in a horse-drawn wagon because they didn't own a car. It's so hard to imagine isn't it? That wasn't that long ago.
I'm very lucky to have lots of relatives who lived in West Virginia. Did you know that they have most of their birth, death and marriage records online? Their website is a wonderful resource! Back when I first received William's death certificate, I actually visited the WV Archive in person and had them print me out a copy. Now I can look at it and share it to the right. I ♥ the Internet!
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