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James Edward "Ned" and Josephine (Lightfoot) Parsons
James Edward "Ned" Parsons was born to Isham Jones and Peggy Parsons circa 1840. He used his mother's surname throughout his life.
Ned Parsons married Josephine Lightfoot on Februrary 18, 1868 in York County, VA. Josephine was born circa 1840 to William and Amelia Lightfoot in James City County, VA.
Ned and Josephine Parsons had eleven children, five boys and six girls:
George W. Parsons
James E. Parsons
John S. Parsons
William Abram/Abraham Parsons
Alzena Parsons
Geneva (Parsons) Hundley
Josephine (Parsons) Smith
Lucy Ann (Parsons) Byrd
Sophie (Parsons) Purdie
Mary E. Parsons
Eastwick Parsons
Edward and Josephine (Lightfoot) Parsons Family Tree
Courtesy: Julia Wallace, daughter of Fannie Lee Dixon
Josephine Parsons and children recorded on the 1900 Federal Census
Courtesy: Bernie Vaughan
Source: Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Ned Parsons appears to have passed away before the turn of the century. On the 1900 Federal Census, Josephine is recorded as the head of the household alongside five of her children. She reported her occupation as a farmer.
Ned and Josephine's Children
Ned and Josephine's descendants authored the following information on four of the couple's children through the Parsons Family Reunion Booklet. We invite family members to share details on the remaining children: John S. Parsons, William Abraham Parsons, Alzena Parsons (died 1983), Josephine (Parsons) Smith, Lucy Ann (Parsons) Byrd, Sophie (Parsons) Purdie, and Mary E. Parsons (died 1899).
James E. Parsons (March 30, 1875-March 5, 1941)
James was the son of Ned and Josephine Parsons. At this time, there were few schools to attend. His education was limited to a few grades of elementary education. This did not stop him in later years as a carpenter, to be able to figure a bill for materials to build a home. As a young man he worked on various jobs. He married Bertha Byrd and from this marriage one son was born named Milton. James worked on Penniman on a dairy farm for several years. Some of the work on the farm he performed was caring for cows and handling large quantities of milk.
In 1902, the family met experienced tragedy. James' wife Bertha died in 1912. He was now left with a 6 year old son for two years. He decided to get married. In 1913 he married Eliza Burnell Byrd. She had two children from a previous marriage, James and Edith Byrd. Later from this union, four children were born - Gertrude, Clinton, Gladys, and Dorothy.
James began to work as a carpenter. One of the first houses he built was a home for his family on Penniman Road. He worked in the Williamsburg area building homes thereafter.
When the U.S. government pushed Black families off the Reservation, many families bought land in the community on Penniman Road. James began to build homes for people moving from the Reservation. At this time, with children in school, times began to get rough. Jobs were very few. There was a time when James was without a job. With the money he had saved, he struggled along until the depression ended and jobs were once again plentiful.
One job James worked on was the building of the C.C.C. camp on the campus of the College of William & Mary. The camp included a large mess hall, a kitchen, five barracks, a recreation building, a shower, and an adminstration building.
With jobs becoming more readily available for everyone, he gained work as a carpenter on Penniman Road. After years of working as a home builder, his health began to fail and he was unable to do large jobs. One of his last jobs was to build a home for his daughter, Gertrude, and son-in-law, Corwell. He continued to do small jobs at home for himself until he died of a massive stroke on March 5, 1941.
Aerial View of Civilian Conservation Corps Camp at William & Mary
Courtesy: William & Mary Special Collections Research Center
Geneva (Parsons) Hundley-Smith (March 7, 1886-December 25, 1953)
Geneva was the daughter of Ned and Josephine Parsons. Geneva married Anthony "Dink" Hundley at an early age. They had no children of their own; however, they adopted two children, Mamie, who died as an infant, and a 3 year old, Sarail. Geneva and Dink also raised Geneva's brother George's two daughters, Josephine and Queen Esther, as their own after the death of George's wife, Jessie.
Geneva was crippled from an accident at an early age, causing her to have one short leg and therefore she limped. This did not stop her from getting involved with life, for she was a very active person.
Geneva always owned and operated her own car, so for a number of years, she prepared noon-day "hot" lunches for men working on the railroads in the local area. She delivered those lunches to work sites each day.
Geneva took an active part in her Church, neighboring churches in the community, and other community activities, as well as always helping and being of service wherever she was needed. She was a member of St. John Baptist Church, a member of its Ruth Missionary Circle, Deaconness Board, and the Edwards Memorial Club. Geneva also joined the Household of Ruth No. 137, and often played the organ for worship services as well as singing in the Church Choir.
After the death of her husband, Dink, on August 2, 1936, and Josephine and Esther were married, Geneva took a foster son, 4 year old Henry Lee Goodman. In the early 1950s, Geneva married her second husband, James "Bootsie" Smith. She raised Henry into his teens, and at her death, Henry went into the Armed Serivces and moved away.
Geneva was a devoted mother/aunt who taught Christian love and respect in the family and the community. The children she raised called her "Mama" and she was, in every sense of the word.
Photo: St. John Baptist Church
Courtesy: The Lee Family
George Washington Parsons (November 22, 1888 - February 22, 1946)
was the son of Ned and Josephine Parsons. George married Jesse Williams, and they had four boys and three girls: Raymond, Winthrop, Everett, Josephine, Ruth Ann, Queen Esther Mae, and George Benjamin. George Benjamin and Queen Esther were twins. During this time, George was employed in Magruder, where Camp Peary now stands, where he worked on a large farm called Porter Bella. Family oral history recalls that he could pick up a 100-lb. bag of grain with his teeth.
Jesse passed away, and George moved to New York for a few years. The surviving children were separated. They were reared by aunts and a grandmother.
George returned to Virginia, and in 1926, he met and married a widow, Fannie (Lee) Washington. Fannie was the daughter of James E. and Nancy Lee, and she had three daughters by her previous marriage: Marian, Elizabeth, and Lucille. They purchased property, built a house, and settled on Penniman Road. To this union, four daughters were born: Catherine, Alzinia, Julia, and Thelma.
George and Fannie (Lee) Washington Parsons
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Sisters Esther and Josephine Parsons
Courtesy: The Lee Family
In the oral history clip below, Fannie's daughter, Lucille, recalls losing her father, Phillip Washington, when she was just 9 months old and speaks of what a wonderful step-father she had in George Parsons.
Descendants Mrs. Redell King, Mrs. Everlean Thompson, and Mrs. Lucille Minkins
Source: Oral History collected by Molly Robinson, April 26, 2022, The Village Initiative Collection.
Lucille (Washington) Minkins, daughter of Phillip F. and Fannie (Lee) Washington, stepdaughter of George Parsons
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Marian (Washington) Howlette, daughter of Phillip F. and Fannie (Lee) Washington, stepdaughter of George Parsons
Courtesy: The Lee Family
The family stayed close together. George's daughter, Queen Esther and her husband, Mervin Lee Piggott Sr. (September 1, 1918-August 10, 2009), son of Charles and Laura James Piggott of Croaker, also settled on Penniman Road. Mervin and Queen Esther shared 60 years of marriage and had two children, Barbara Piggott, who married Harold Brown Jr., and Mervin L. Piggott Jr.
The home of Mervin and Queen Esther (Parsons) Piggott in the Penniman neighborhood
Courtesy: The Lee Family
Mervin Lee Piggott Sr., husband of Queen Esther (Parsons) Piggott
Courtesy: Legacy.com
Barbara Lee (Piggott) Brown, daughter of Mervin and Queen Esther (Parsons) Piggott
Courtesy: Whiting's Funeral Home
During this time, George found work as an Interpreter with Totts Brown, Inc., which was later taken over by Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. George possessed a talent for weather forecasting, and the tourists visiting Williamsburg always enjoyed his skills, for he was consistently accurate in his weather predictions. Visitors would always return to see him on their next trip to Williamsburg and let him know how right he had been with his predictions.
Photo: Capitol Building, Colonial Williamsburg
Courtesy: Billy Wilson
George worked for the Williamsburg Restoration until the beginning of WWII, when he joined the workforce at the Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, and remained there until his unexpected death of a massive heart attack on February 22, 1946.
George W. Parsons, St. John Baptist Church Cemetery
Courtesy: Ron Stewart
As his family writes of "Poppa George" as he was known:
"George was a devoted father. He never forgot any of his children and did all that he could to instill in them that they were all one family - all sisters and all brothers, showing love and respect for one another."
Queen Esther and Josephine, daughters of George and Jessie Parsons, with Alzinia, daughter of George and Fannie Parsons
Courtesy: The Parsons Family
Standing - daughters of Fannie Lee Dixon: Marian Jackson Howlette, Alzenia ?, Lucille Minkins, Catherine Washington, Julia Wallace
Seated - daughters of George and Josephine Parsons: Josephine Lee, Esther Piggott
Courtesy: The Lee family
Eastwick Parsons (January 21, 1890 - June 25, 1968)
Eastwick Parsons won a lasting place in his family as the youngest of eleven children born to Ned and Josephine Parsons. As a young man, he was sober, quiet, attentive, skilled, and dignified. His respect for religion and his dependability made him greatly admired. He had a deep love for music, which inspired him to work with and finally direct a Church Choir for many years.
At the age of 21, Eastwick and a brother, William Abraham Parsons, moved to Newport News seeking employment. There he met Harriett C. Locklair. They were married after a few years of courtship, and they became proud parents of nine children: Lorenzo, Daniel, Eloise, Alexander, Bonnavetta, Vincent, LaPearl, Elaine, and Joan.
Eastwick loved nothing more than providing for and seeing that his children received an education.
Back row: Alexander Parsons, Daniel ”Hank” Parsons, Bonnavetta (Parsons) Greene, Eloise "Kitty” Parsons, Lorenzo "Larry” Parsons, Vincent "Ham” Parsons
Front row: Joan (Parsons) Silver, Eastwick Parsons, Harriet (Lockliar) Parsons, Elaine (Parsons) Silver
Courtesy: Sharon Banks
Eastwick was employed by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company for 46 years as a Driller. His expertise won him great recognition by his employers, as well as all who knew him. After his retirement in 1956, Eastwick's health failed, leaving him semi-paralyzed until his death in 1968.
Postcard of Newport News Shipbuilding and D.D. Co.
Courtesy: Virginia Beach Public Library
As family historian, Rosa Lee, writes, Eastwick and Harriet Parsons began a legacy for their family:
"For certain, this generation of Parsons’ children were workers and entrepreneurs. They valued education and reared children who went out into the world and made positive contributions to society. One of Eastwick’s descendants (grandchild) Richard Parsons was the CEO of Time Warner/AOL as well was the highest ranking Black person at one time when he was appointed head of the Dime Federal Savings and Loan Company in New York City."
For the Parsons family, a common belief has been shared through the generations:
"The family is the most important institution and that family comes first."
Source: Parsons Family Reunion Booklet
Sources
Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2014.
Lee, Rosa E. 2022. The Family Tree of the Parsons: Edward "Ned" Parsons and Josephine Lightfoot Parsons. Prepared November 12.
Legacy.com. 2009. Mervin L. Piggott Sr. Obituary. August 10.
The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States Colored Troops: 1st through 5th United States Colored Cavalry, 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (Colored). Accessed via: Ancestry.com
Parsons Family History Reunion Booklet, compiled by Julia Parsons Wallace.
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