The Fleming and Bettie (Hundley) Brown Family

Fleming Brown II 

Fleming Brown II was born in 1859 in Hanover County, VA to Fleming Brown I (1830-1869) and Rachael Brown (1830-). He grew up in Hanover County with his siblings, Mary Brown (1856-), Julia Brown (1862-), and Lucy Brown (1865-).

The family was living in Hanover County when Fleming Brown I died of consumption on March 25, 1869.

Following Fleming I's death, the family moved to Henrico County where his sister, Mary, began to work in domestic service. Fleming II later moved to York County, VA. He appears to have been baptized at the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg upon moving to the area.

Fleming Brown I recorded on Hanover County Death Records, 1869.
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912, [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Fleming Brown II, his mother, and sisters recorded on the 1870 Federal Census in Henrico County
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912, [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

 Bettie Hundley

As great-grandson Kenneth Haywood wrote, Bettie Hundley "lived a very ordinary, yet...memorable life. Born April 9, 1865, she began life as a free Black woman. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed in 1863 and the Civil War ended the year of her birth." Bettie (sometimes reported as Betsy) was the eldest child of Anthony and Octavia (Redcross) Hundley.

Source: Kenneth Haywood (2018)

Bettie (Hundley) Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family 

On August 23, 1883, 

Fleming Brown II and Bettie Hundley were married.

Fleming Brown II was a farmer and oysterman, and Bettie cared for their home and family. In 1900, the couple was renting a home in the Reservation. They later came to own 23.55 acres of land and lived in the two-story home pictured here.

The family lived in the Mint Hill area of the Reservation community. Great-grandson Kenneth Haywood recorded recollections of Bettie and Fleming shared by a Mint Hill neighbor, Mrs. Lula Lee. Mrs. Lee recalled that Bettie "was a devoted church worker and was quite active in community affairs." Bettie and Fleming "were highly respected and were renowned for their generosity. Mrs. Lee remembers that they both frequently visited the sick and they never hesitated to help anyone in need." Bettie was "a happy woman and always encouraged others she knew."

Source: Kenneth Haywood (2018)

Fleming Brown II and Bettie (Hundley) Brown's home
Courtesy: Navy Mine Depot, Yorktown: Photographs of Buildings, ca. 1919; Box 90; Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Navy), 1799-1950, Record Group 125; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. 

Map indicating location and quantity of land owned by Fleming Brown II in the Reservation
Source: Booth, C.E. July 1919. Official Atlas of Navy MIne Depot. Compiled from official data and surveys. Yorktown, Virginia.

Together, Fleming and Bettie had five children, two of whom died at birth or in infancy:

On April 22, 1905, their eldest child, Rachel, married John S. Dabney in York County. They lived in Williamsburg and had six children. 

A year later, Fleming Brown II died on February 2, 1906 and was buried in Cheesecake Cemetery in the Reservation. 

Fleming Brown II's grave in the Cheesecake Cemetery in the Reservation
Source: Findagrave.com

After her husband's death, Bettie Brown secured legal documentation, as was required at the time, of her guardianship of her son, Fleming Brown III, who was still considered a minor.

Record of Bettie Brown's payment of $200 to cover costs associated with settling her husband, Fleming Brown II's estate at the Circuit Court of York County, 1906
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com, Virginia, U.S. Wills and Probate Records 1652 - 1900, Will Book, Vol 15, 1889-1897; Will Book, Vol 16, 1897-1909.

Record of Bettie Brown's payment of $25 to qualify as guardian of her son, Fleming Brown III, 1906
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com, Virginia, U.S. Wills and Probate Records 1652 - 1900, Execution and Fiduciary Bonds, 1891-1907

Bettie Brown remarried to William Taliferro, son of James and Patty Taliferro. Annie and Fleming III were living with the couple in 1910. William was a farmer and owned a farm in the Reservation. 

Taliferro/Brown family recorded on the 1910 Census
Source: Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

At this time, Fleming II and Bettie's daughter, Annie B. Brown (later Annie Jones), studied to become a public school teacher. As Alexander Lee recalled in a news article, the whole community pitched in to send her to Hampton Institute to study. She then returned to teach in the Reservation community. 

Clipping from 1988 article by Martha Bell in which Alexander Lee describes a one-room school constructed on the Reservation in 1914

Clipping from 1988 article by Martha Bell in which Alexander Lee describes a one-room school constructed in the Reservation in 1914
Courtesy: The Lee family

Annie B. Brown may have taught at the Mill Pond School, which was located in the Charles Corner neighborhood. Annie married Allen Jones on August 8, 1918 in York County. Allen was the son of Peyton and Sarah Jones and grandson of Eastman Isham Jones. 

Annie Bell Jones
Courtesy: Obituary, New Journal and Guide, September 19, 1970

Photo of school, possibly Mill Pond School, believed to be on the Reservation

Possibly the Mill Pond School
Courtesy: Mary Lassiter

As Fleming III came of age, he began working as a coachman for a private family, according to 1910 census records.

He then began to farm. In 1910, Fleming III purchased 13 acres of land from his sisters, which they appear to have inherited from their father when he died and Fleming III was still a minor. It was considered a family transaction and he paid just $50. He began cultivating this land. In 1919, he purchased another two acres from Junius Byrd, paying $100 an acre cash.

On January 4, 1916, Fleming III married Susie Brown (August 16, 1893-May 31, 1983) in York County. 

Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family Guide, September 19, 1970

Together, Fleming III and Susie had seven children, two of whom died very young:

Just as Fleming III began to make his mark as a farmer, in 1918, the U.S. government announced that it would be commandeering the land in the Reservation to build the Navy Mine Depot. Residents of the Reservation circulated a Prayer Petition, asking the government for more time to relocate. These signatures on the petition appear to be those of Fleming Brown III, on behalf of his wife Susie and one living child at the time, Gladys, and his mother Bettie's husband, William Taliferro.

Source: Roberts, John A., Moses Lee, Annie E. Roberts, Cyrus Jones, and L. Redcross. 1918. Petition submitted to Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, by residents of York County threatened with eviction by Presidential Proclamation #1492 dated November 15, 1918. General Correspondence, Records of the Bureau of Ordinance 1818-1967; Record Group 74; National Archives Building, Washington D.C.

Bettie Brown Taliferro and her son Fleming Brown III also gave testimonies to the U.S. government's Board on the Valuation of Commandeered Property, regarding the value of their property in the Reservation. Below is an abstract of their testimony.

Source: Board of Valuation on Commandeered Property. 1920. Abstract of Testimony In Vols. 1 and 2 of Hearings Before Board On Valuation of Commandeered Property at Yorktown, VA. Box 42, Records of the Board on Valuation of Commandeered Property 1918-1922, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Navy) 1799-1950, Record Group 125; National Archives Building, Washington D.C. 

As the family awaited the news of when they would be displaced from their land, Bettie Brown Taliferro faced another loss. On April 16, 1919, her second husband, William Taliferro, died. Bettie was working as a washerwoman at this time.

Bettie rebuilt her life again as she was pushed off the Reservation. She married Billy Washington and was employed in domestic service for a family in Williamsburg. 

As great-grandson Kenneth Haywood wrote, "widowed three times, Grandma Bettie spent her last years in a house built for her beside her youngest child, Fleming. She lived in the "Little House", as we now call it, until her death on June 11, 1939. Ironically, her life began at the end of one war (Civil War) and ended at the beginning of another (World War II)."

Source: Kenneth Haywood (2018)

William Taliferro, death certificate
Source: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Upon leaving the Reservation, Annie continued her parents' legacy of service to the community through her career as a public school teacher. She taught in the Williamsburg public schools for many years before joining the faculty of the Virginia State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Hampton in 1943. She also furthered her education, receiving a bachelor of science degree in 1939 and a master of science degree in special education in 1950, both from Hampton Institute. 


Her work as an educator at the Virginia State School was so revered that a new girl's dormitory was named in her honor, dedicated in 1964 as "Annie Bell Jones Hall."


She also was a leader in the community, heading the Baptist Interracial Group and vacation Bible schools in Williamsburg and surrounding communities and serving as church organist and Sunday School teacher and program director.

Scroll through these images to see news coverage of Annie's career as an educator:

After the family was forced to move off the Reservation, Fleming Brown III came to work for Colonial Williamsburg. He served as Head Custodian in the most famous historic building, the Governor's Palace.

The Governor's Palace, Colonial Williamsburg
Courtesy: Media Services, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Fleming Brown III became a well-known figure in Colonial Williamsburg and was chosen to represent the organization for many events, from radio broadcasts to the Governor's Conference. In 1941, Fleming Brown had the distinct honor of posing for renowned artist Salvador Dali when he came to Williamsburg to work on a composition incorporating the Governor’s Palace as part of a design for the cover of Town and Country magazine. An article in the September 1941 issue of the Colonial Williamsburg News relates that Mr. Brown handled the unique assignment well as he was “…the only person in Williamsburg who wasn’t slightly confused by the Surrealist painter…” and “…posed twice for Dali with his usual aplomb.”

Fleming Brown is interviewed by host, Parks Johnson, during a Vox Pop radio show broadcast held in the Colonial Williamsburg Reception Center, May 12, 1948

Source: 1948-W-474, Visual Resources, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Fleming Brown posing in front of the Governor’s Palace, 1948

Source: 1948-W-1510, Visual Resources, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Fleming Brown and hostess, Mrs. Sneed, lead a tour of the Governor’s Palace for a group of Antiques Forum participants, 1949

Source: 1949-W-349, Visual Resources, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Fleming Brown and Colonial Williamsburg President, Kenneth Chorley, greet guests at the Governor’s Palace during the Governor’s Conference, 1957

Source: 1957-RV-2085, Visual Resources, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

CW’s Fleming Brown Celebrates 20th Year, Colonial Williamsburg News, May 1954, page 2.

Source: Corporate Archives, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Fleming Brown with Sergeant Scott and his mother, Pauline Scott, in the Governor’s Palace garden during a Mother’s Day visit to Colonial Williamsburg on May 9, 1942

Source: D2020-COPY-0507-0006, Corporate Archives, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

“Antiques, Art, Arrangements, Acquisitions, and Accessions…Curator’s Department,” Colonial Williamsburg News, April 1951, page 4.

Source: Corporate Archives, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Fleming Brown III retired after 25 years of service as major-domo at Colonial Williamsburg's reconstructed Governor's Palace.

"Palace Custodian Retires After 25 Years of Service", Daily Press, Sunday, September 7, 1958

Source: The Brown Family

Fleming III's wife, Susie Brown, also had a lengthy career at Colonial Williamsburg. She began her employment as a Janitress in the Curator's Department. In 1953, she joined the Department of Operating Service as a Custodian. After 22 years of service, she retired as Custodian of Architechture, Construction, and Maintenance.

"Brown, Tudor End Service With CW After Completing Total of 35 Years," Colonial Williamsburg News, volume 13(7), December 1959

Source: Corporate Archives, Colonial Williams

Fleming Brown III was also a committed member of St. John Baptist Church. He served as superintendent of the Sunday School and president of the Baptist Student Union of Warwick. He also participated in the P.T.A., the Civil League, and other organizations.


Fleming Brown III died on December 29, 1958 at the age of 68 in Williamsburg, VA. 

Fleming Brown III, obituary
Courtesy: Mary Lassiter

Fleming Brown III, death certificate
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown's Children

Fleming and Susie Brown's children carried on the legacy of their parents and grandparents first forged in the Reservation community.

Fleming and Susie's daughter, Gladys Brown (October 15, 1917 -September 26, 2015) graduated from the James City County Training School, continued her education at Virginia State College, and received an undergraduate degree from Hampton Institute. She later completed a Master's Degree in Reading Instruction from New York University. 

Gladys became an educator, first teaching in Charles City County and then in the Williamsburg-James City County (WJCC) Schools, primarly at the Bruton Heights School. It was here that she met Wilbur L. Hunter (May 2, 1921-August 31, 2019), son of Efner and Ethel Hunter. Wilbur began teaching at Bruton Heights in 1952 as a 7th grade teacher, assistant coach in football and basketball, and head baseball coach. In 1954, the Bruton Heights baseball team won the only state championship in the school's history, under Wilbur's leadership. In December 1954, the couple married. 

Gladys (Brown) Hunter, daughter of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: O.H. Smith and Son Funeral Home

Wilbur L. Hunter, husband of Gladys (Brown) Hunter
Courtesy: Daily Press

In 1964, before full school integration began in WJCC Schools, Gladys was chosen to forge faculty integration through a team-teaching experiment at Rawls Byrd (now Laurel Lane) Elementary. In 1965, Gladys was selected as an educator for a new reading program in the Newport News City School System, where she stayed until her retirement in 1979. 

When full integration began in Williamsburg-James City County schools in 1968, Wilbur was promoted to assistant principal of James Blair High School. In 1969, he returned to the now integrated Bruton Heights School as principal.

Bruton Heights School, where Wilbur and Gladys (Brown) Hunter taught
Courtesy: Media Services, The Colonial Willimsburg Foundation

Upon her retirement, Gladys and Wilbur moved to Karlsuhe, Germany. Wilbur took a position as Education Services Officer for the U.S. Army, and Gladys set up the first reading program in an American High School for the Department of Defense Dependents School. The couple also travelled extensively in their retirement, to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. 

At home, the couple were members of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church. Gladys was an appointee to the Newport News Sister Cities Commission (now Sister Cities of Newport News, Inc.) and an emeritus member of the Hampton-Newport News Chapter of Chums, Inc. Wilbur continued to work for a few more years as an Education Specialist, developing an enhanced learning program for 21 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that host Reserve Officer Training Corps programs. 

Wilbur and Gladys (Brown) Hunter
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Fleming and Susie's daughter, Edna Mae Brown (1920 - December 23, 2001), attended the James City County Training School and Virginia State College (University). She married John F. Haywood Sr. (November 29, 1916-March 19, 1997) on March 3, 1943 in Williamsburg, VA. 

John was born in Gary, Indiana to Essie and John H. Haywood. He grew up in Whaleyville and Portsmouth, VA before moving to Williamsburg in 1937. He attended Hamption Institute (now University) and was sent by the Institute to Williamsburg where he served as a counselor in the Civilian Conservation Corps. John also served his country honorably as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army.

Edna and John had three children: Linda M. Haywood, John F. Haywood Jr., and Kenneth O. Haywood.

Edna Mae (Brown) Haywood, daughter of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

John F. and Edna Mae (Brown) Haywood
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Edna Haywood played an important role during the Civil Rights era in Williamsburg. She broke the color barrier in a number of segregated businesses. She first worked at Hall's Drug Store and then was the first Black sales clerk at Rose's Department Store on Duke of Gloucester Street. She also was a pioneer in integrating the Williamsburg banks. She was employed as a teller by Peninsula Bank and Trust (SunTrust) and was promoted to head teller. She faced racial bias as she broke these barriers but was determined to succeed. 

She later became an entrepreneur. She taught herself to be a seamstress and designed 18th century bonnets to sell at a local drug store. She also put these skills to work as a member of a quilting club. The club and its work were featured in the book A Communion of Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories by Ronald Freeman and in an exhibit featured at the Arts and Industries Building at the Smithsonian Institute and at Hampton University Museum in 1999.

Cover of the book, A Communion of the Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories by Roland L. Freeman, that features Edna Haywood and her quilting club

As his family writes, "Known to most as Chef Haywood, John retired from Colonial Williamsburg after thirty-nine years of service. While at Colonial Williamsburg, he served in many capacities within the hotel and restaurant division, among them Executive Chef at the Motor House Cafeteria. He retired in 1980 as Personnel Coordinator for hotels and restaurants. He was also instrumental in developing the two-year Apprentice Cook's Program in 1962, where he served as its first director. The first graduating class of this program was in October of 1964."

John was an active member of St. John Baptist Church and served on its Trustee Board and several Committees. He was also a member of Maceo Consolidated Lodge No. 124, life member of the NAACP, and member of the Virgina Chefs Association.

He passed away on March 19, 1997.

Source: John F. Haywood, Sr., obituary, courtesy the Haywood family

John F. Haywood Sr., recognized for 15 years of service in Colonial Williamsburg News
Courtesy: The Hundley Family
Source: Colonial Williamsburg News, Volume 14(9), February 1961

Fleming and Susie's son, Walter Lewis Brown (1922 - 2006) served his country honorably in World War II during which he was stationed in the Philippines. He later provided many years of dedicated service to the Fort Eustis Transportation Center until his retirement. Walter married Sadie Marie Crup on December 2, 1958 in Williamsburg, VA. The couple had two children, Lois and Walter Jr.

Following his retirement, he used his transportation skills to serve others as a driver for a community service agency in Williamsburg. In his retirement, he found joy in cooking for his grandchildren, playing dominoes, and constructing jigsaw puzzles.

Walter Lewis Brown, son of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Walter Lewis and Sadie Marie (Crup) Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Fleming and Susie's daughter, Marian Elizabeth Brown was born on May 17, 1929 in Williamsburg, VA and departed this life on August 29, 1989, in Willingboro NJ. 

Marian was the middle child born to Fleming Brown and Susie Brown. At an early age, she joined Saint John Baptist Church in Williamsburg. She participated in various church activities throughout the years. 

Marian was a graduate of Bruton Heights High School in Williamsburg. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Virginia Union University in Richmond, VA. 

She married Walter King on August 9, 1954, and this union produced a son Willard King (Willingboro NJ) and a daughter Debra (King) Rice (Edgewater Park NJ), and several grand/great grandchildren. Marian and her husband Walter, who had a career with the military, had an opportunity to travel the world and live in several different states. After being stationed at the Fort Dix Army Base in Ft. Dix, NJ, they finally established residence in Willingboro, NJ in the mid-60s.  

As a lifelong resident of Willingboro, NJ, Marian was an active member of the Parkway Baptist Church where she served as a Sunday School teacher and lent her gifts to other youth-oriented activities.

Marian was also a teacher at Howard L. Emmons School in Pemberton, NJ where she taught kindergarten for twenty-three years.  She enjoyed her profession and made every effort to meet the needs of the many students she was blessed to teach.         

Marian E. (Brown) King, daughter of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Marian E. (Brown) King, daughter of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Fleming and Susie's son, Charles Fleming Brown, received his early education at the Springfield School in York County before graduating from the Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg in 1947. He went on to attend Hampton Institute (now University). He served in the U.S. Army and was a Civil Service employee at Fort Eustis, VA for several years. 

He married Bertha Thelma Taylor on December 4, 1953 in Williamsburg, VA. They had one child, Carol D. Brown. Charles later became a small appliance repairman at Howard and Roberts in Hampton before joining Anheuser Busch where he worked for 16 years, retiring as a shift supervisor. He then went on to work as a sales representative at Williamsburg Motors for another 20 years. He was known as "the salesman with the hat" and earned numerous outstanding service awards. He was a lifelong member of St. John Baptist Church and the NAACP.

Charles Fleming Brown, son of Fleming Brown III and Susie Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Charles Fleming Brown and B. Thelma (Taylor) Brown
Courtesy: The Hundley Family

Sources: