My great-great-grandmother Alberta May "Bertie" Pafford Cormany was born on June 6, 1877 in Marion, Virginia to John Henry Pafford (1832-1913) and his wife Martha Ann née Hutton (1835-1923). She was the youngest of eight children, her eldest sibling Sarah being 20 years older than her, and she already had two nephews by her second birthday. She grew up on the family farm in Marion.
Shortly after her 21st birthday, Bertie married Alanson W. "Lanson" Cormany on June 26, 1898 in Marion, Virginia. He was a miner who also owned a farm. They became the parents of five children: Lizzie Kate (1899 - 1971), Rosco (1901-1978), my great-grandfather Marvin Denton, Sr. (1904-1989), Imon Gray (1906-1989) and Ruby Grethel (1909-1912).
Alanson, a miner, was killed in an explosion on December 19, 1909, rendering Bertie a widow at the young age of thirty-two, and her youngest daughter Ruby died suddenly three years later. Despite these great tragedies, Bertie persevered, and raised her four remaining children on her own. She never remarried. My grandmother Phyllis Blackhurst (1933-2014), Marvin's daughter, had many fond memories of Bertie. She said that her grandmother was a very tall and imposing woman, standing around 5'10", with steel-blue eyes, and very long black hair that she kept wrapped up in a large bun. During my grandmother's childhood, Bertie lived in a little cottage behind Marvin's house, so they had a very close relationship. There was a field of wild blueberry bushes nearby, and Bertie would take Phyllis there, and the two would fill baskets of them to use for pancakes the next morning. Bertie eventually died on August 15, 1966 at the age of eighty-nine, and was survived by nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
Shortly after her 21st birthday, Bertie married Alanson W. "Lanson" Cormany on June 26, 1898 in Marion, Virginia. He was a miner who also owned a farm. They became the parents of five children: Lizzie Kate (1899 - 1971), Rosco (1901-1978), my great-grandfather Marvin Denton, Sr. (1904-1989), Imon Gray (1906-1989) and Ruby Grethel (1909-1912).
Alanson, a miner, was killed in an explosion on December 19, 1909, rendering Bertie a widow at the young age of thirty-two, and her youngest daughter Ruby died suddenly three years later. Despite these great tragedies, Bertie persevered, and raised her four remaining children on her own. She never remarried. My grandmother Phyllis Blackhurst (1933-2014), Marvin's daughter, had many fond memories of Bertie. She said that her grandmother was a very tall and imposing woman, standing around 5'10", with steel-blue eyes, and very long black hair that she kept wrapped up in a large bun. During my grandmother's childhood, Bertie lived in a little cottage behind Marvin's house, so they had a very close relationship. There was a field of wild blueberry bushes nearby, and Bertie would take Phyllis there, and the two would fill baskets of them to use for pancakes the next morning. Bertie eventually died on August 15, 1966 at the age of eighty-nine, and was survived by nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
My great-great-grandmother Alberta May "Bertie" Pafford Cormany was born on June 6, 1877 in Marion, Virginia to John Henry Pafford (1832-1913) and his wife Martha Ann née Hutton (1835-1923). She was the youngest of eight children, her eldest sibling Sarah being 20 years older than her, and she already had two nephews by her second birthday. She grew up on the family farm in Marion.
Shortly after her 21st birthday, Bertie married Alanson W. "Lanson" Cormany on June 26, 1898 in Marion, Virginia. He was a miner who also owned a farm. They became the parents of five children: Lizzie Kate (1899 - 1971), Rosco (1901-1978), my great-grandfather Marvin Denton, Sr. (1904-1989), Imon Gray (1906-1989) and Ruby Grethel (1909-1912).
Alanson, a miner, was killed in an explosion on December 19, 1909, rendering Bertie a widow at the young age of thirty-two, and her youngest daughter Ruby died suddenly three years later. Despite these great tragedies, Bertie persevered, and raised her four remaining children on her own. She never remarried. My grandmother Phyllis Blackhurst (1933-2014), Marvin's daughter, had many fond memories of Bertie. She said that her grandmother was a very tall and imposing woman, standing around 5'10", with steel-blue eyes, and very long black hair that she kept wrapped up in a large bun. During my grandmother's childhood, Bertie lived in a little cottage behind Marvin's house, so they had a very close relationship. There was a field of wild blueberry bushes nearby, and Bertie would take Phyllis there, and the two would fill baskets of them to use for pancakes the next morning. Bertie eventually died on August 15, 1966 at the age of eighty-nine, and was survived by nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
Shortly after her 21st birthday, Bertie married Alanson W. "Lanson" Cormany on June 26, 1898 in Marion, Virginia. He was a miner who also owned a farm. They became the parents of five children: Lizzie Kate (1899 - 1971), Rosco (1901-1978), my great-grandfather Marvin Denton, Sr. (1904-1989), Imon Gray (1906-1989) and Ruby Grethel (1909-1912).
Alanson, a miner, was killed in an explosion on December 19, 1909, rendering Bertie a widow at the young age of thirty-two, and her youngest daughter Ruby died suddenly three years later. Despite these great tragedies, Bertie persevered, and raised her four remaining children on her own. She never remarried. My grandmother Phyllis Blackhurst (1933-2014), Marvin's daughter, had many fond memories of Bertie. She said that her grandmother was a very tall and imposing woman, standing around 5'10", with steel-blue eyes, and very long black hair that she kept wrapped up in a large bun. During my grandmother's childhood, Bertie lived in a little cottage behind Marvin's house, so they had a very close relationship. There was a field of wild blueberry bushes nearby, and Bertie would take Phyllis there, and the two would fill baskets of them to use for pancakes the next morning. Bertie eventually died on August 15, 1966 at the age of eighty-nine, and was survived by nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.
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