A Brickey-Britts Family Story

I'm looking for prior info for the people discussed below, or branches of their subsequent families. (See my questions at the end.)

Jarrad Brickey (a descendent of Jean Bricquet, born in Artois, France) married Mary Hall, Craig County, Virginia, had a daughter named Jailey (Many family trees spell her name "Jaiby", but I have a copy of her marriage license with her signature, and it says "Jailey" in every blank. I also knew several of her children who said her name was Jailey. I can't account for such a widespread error in spellng her name with a b.) E Mayflower Brickey in 1862. They nicknamed her Dixie. They had other sons and daughters, including Philmore and John Monte (Ray). Most of that generation ramained in Craig County (Roanoke Valley). Jailey/Dixie grew up and married a boy one year older than she. His name was John William Britts, the son of Samuel Britts (descendent of Adam Britz and Margaret Stover). They started a family when Jailey was about 20. Altogether they had 14 children. She was 42 years old for number 14, Raymond, and was always weak and sick after he was born. The older daughters ran the household from then on.

Jarred Brickey served in the Civil War as a guard at a salt mine, an important resource to the armies. After his tour of duty, he walked home, having been in the same state, about 80-100 miles away. No one recognized him in the family, except for one person. He announced on arriving home that he was "all tuckered out" and went to sleep. I was also told, that in addition to farming (they all farmed), his occupation was blacksmithing. He had failing eyesight in his 60's and died of 'dropsy'. Dropsy is the old term (from the French "dropsie") for swelling caused by heart failure.

Some older folks claim they heard that Jarrad's wife Mary Hall was part Indian, but the ones that told them have passed on and they don't know the truth. So far, none of us have substantiatied that. Her mother's name was not listed on her marriage certificate, so possibly or mother was Indian or half-Indian. Only the Algonquian tribes were in Virginia. They did not have birth certificates or christenings to record births. In the 1800's, their names would have been left off the marriage license.

John and Jailey Britts moved to Louisa County, when the children were teens. Legend has it that they moved to escape a family scandal. They bought a farm with many acres, but left a lot of relatives in Craig, near New Castle. (Craig, Bedford, and Botetourt Counties were all one county of Botetourt at one time, so records may show that even though the physical location may be one of the others today.)

On this new farm, with its fresh springs and acres of pine trees, they raised apples and horses, chickens and vegetables. The children grew strong and healthy. Some of the sons took jobs traveling around the country building bridges, mostly in the midwest. Two of them, Edgar, age 42, and Carl, age 34, died from fatal falls in Missouri doing bridge construction. Neither had married. John died in Richmond, age 30; no reason is recorded.He also remained unmarried.

One of the boys, Sydney, left mysteriously, supposedly to Oregon, and was never seen again. Possibly he was attempting to reach distant relatives, but they never saw him. (His aunt Oregan Brickey Barr went to Oregon.). The census shows he was still alive and at home at age 20.

One of the sisters, Irene [Edith Irene, 1888-1948], went to the capitol and got a job in a large bakery, married Alexander Washington Heggamayer, and settled there. She was beautiful with an upswept hairdo. She had one step-daughter, Helen, who married a milkman, Stuart Hamilton, son of Dr. Rufus Hamilton, of Richmond. There were five others from Heggamayer's first marriage, but only Helen remained close to the Britts.

An older sister, Effie [Mary Effie, born 1887], married a farmer, Henry Washington Spencer, who bought the neighboring dairy farm of 500 acres. He died early and left her alone with a lot of hard work and few luxuries. She milked the cows and sold cream to the local dairy until she died way before her time, too. She also raised hogs, but just for their own use. Despite being a dairy farm, it had no refrigeration and no motorized vehicles. Even in the late 30's, they still used mules and carts to haul the milk in big galvanized cans out to the road for dairy pick up. The cream was kept cool in a pool of water. She had one son, Leslie, but at various times, nephews, and brothers helped her with duties.

Jesse James Britts married May Mahanes and had three sons. One, John Calvin 1930-2000], swore like a sailor at age 10. But he did a great job of plowing with the mules. He grew up and married Eleanor Green. Jesse's other son, Mason [J,ames Mason, born 1927], as an adult, was the religious one in the extended family. His wife was Mary Anna. Mason passed in 2011. The third one was Tom [Thomas Otis 1932-1996], who married Dorothy Millway [1931-1992].

Another sister, Maggie [Muriel Margaret, Nov. 29, 1900- Jun. 16, 1967] married a farmer, Russell Vivian Walker [Oct 20, 1896-Mar.30, 1967]. She learned to shoot and hunt and fish. She farmed, cooked on a wood stove, heated with a pot-bellied stove in the bedroom/living room. She was a great cook and generous to a fault. They raised turkeys, pigs, chickens, and farmed a huge garden, canning all they could on the wood stove, where she also washed dishes until she died. They ate deer meat, squirrel, and whatever they grew. He was the caretaker of the Episcopal church just off the property. They had two sons, Thomas Russell [Tom] and John Vivian [Pete], and two grandchildren, Nancy and Bradley. Russell passed away first. Three months later Maggie died, inseparable to the end. He always carried a picture of Maggie at 18 in his wallet.

Another sister, Bessie [Bessie Blythe, 1896-1971], who did not hunt or fish, married a farmer, Harry Gordon Gooch, raised animals, gardened and cooked. She made the best lemon meringue pies and pineapple upside down cake. Her voice was raspy, but children loved her. Her children went to college and were all successful. One daughter, Michie (Mildred Katherine), became an RN and married a minister, Paul William Parker (Bill); they had 2 children. Margaret was a piano teacher and married a school administrator, Ben Turner, with whom she had Blair and Paige. After Ben's death, she married Charles Schoolcraft. Bessie's son Pete (Harry Gordon, Jr) married a beautiful redhead, Ann Laymon; they had Della Ann, Anita, and Neil.

Another Britts sister, Clara {Clara, 1881-1959], had a sixth grade education, but in the early 1900’s, that qualified her to be a teacher and so she taught. She never married. She worked hard all her life, tending to other people’s children, keeping house, and ironing clothes after the school systems changed. She cared for a sick father, a mentally disabled brother, and later an alcoholic brother. She died in her late 70’s, while living with her baby sister in Charlottesville.

One son never married, Hubert, but remained on the “home place” all his life, finishing out his years as a guide for horse trails. He was a heavy drinker. He hunted, worked mules, or whatever dirty work was needed. He helped with the yearly apple butter makings, after they all grew up. The apple butter was distributed among themselves and not sold. He ended up living in the “kitchen”, a separate building from the main house, the old way of keeping odors and heat out of the main house. This main house remained empty most of their adult years.

One sister, number 13 in the group, Kathleen [Kathleen Louise 1905-1989], but nicknamed Dixie after her mother, married a man 10 years her senior, Harry J Smith, an electrician. They lived in the town of Charlottesville, and had 3 children, one of whom became a lawyer, Carroll Eugene Smith [1939-2006]. He had three children with Marily Modugno Smith: Susan L, Ann Robyn (Rob), and Alexander Carroll. Dixie's oldest son, Harry Jr, [born 1928] became a butcher, married Doris M Marshall [1931-2007] and had four children: Sharon L, Harry, III (Jack), Gary Scott, and Robert Jeffrey. Gary had two daughters: Courtney, who married Sgt Billy Hall, and Allexandra Hope (Allie), who married Eric Payne and had London Riley Payne and Sydney Scott Payne (both daughters). Dixie's daughter, Juanita Faye [1932-2000], was a bookkeeper, who married R L Fitzgerald, and had 4 children of her own: Kathleen Utterback, and with Bill Utterback had Billy, Carolyn married John Collins and had Travis Collins, Ralph Fitzgerald remained unmarried, Jackie (Jacqueline) Guthrie had a step-daughter. Dixie also had a son Dan, who lived 3 years and died of spinal neningitis.

The baby, #14, Raymond, [born 1908, deceased], married a pretty woman, Evelyn Hicks, and had five children. Two died in infancy, A R and Evelyn; another, Arthur Stewart, died at age 8. He also had Stuart F Britts unknown dates]. Raymond died while his daughter Betty Ann [unknown dates] was very young.

Frank [Frank Pendleton, 1903-1948] was one of the younger sons of Jailey and John Britts. He was slightly incapacitated, from a childhood accident, and led a quiet adulthood before dying at age 45. He remained on the old homeplace with Hubert and Clara.

Sons Edgar [Edgar Lee, 1884-1926], Carl Leslie[1891-1925], and John [1892-1914] died as single men. Particulars are not known. Edgar, or Edd, died in a work accident, building bridges in Missouri.

Inquiry:

1_Does anyone have additional data on Jarrad Brickey or Mary Hall Brickey? Court records, old family Bible records?

2_I have a lot of background on John William Britts. if anyone needs it.

3_Anyone know personal stories of brothers or sisters to Jailey (Dixie) Brickey?

4_Anyone know of Sydney Britts, 1920's, possibly Oregon?

6_How about the Hall family? To share or exchange info, contact: Harry at [e-mail]

7_How about Shrewsbury, Roda daughter of Ruel Shrewsbury? She married John Brickey. I have only names, conflicting dates, and nothing personal.

Also looking for Henry and Catherine Campbell, parents of Mary Campbell, born in 1858 in Craig County or thereabout.

Looking for family of Mary Catherine Frantz, circa 1800, married to Henry Britts (PA or VA). Some descendants still live between Roanoke and Wise.

And parents of Bertie Brickey Abbott; her father is Jailey's brother, Ray (John Monteray) Brickey. Bertie had a brother Coleman and sister Eula Belle (married to Hale). Litha Brickey Abbott, niece to Bertie, is daughter of Coley Brickey, all from Craig County. I have a snapshot of Bertie Abbott, Coleman Brickey, and Allie Carper. I believe they are all Brickey relatives. Ella Britts, age 91, is also in the photo, taken about 1961. Ella was Louella Anderson, sister of Monteray's wife. Ella married Bal Britts, brother of John William Britts, so she was aunt to the Brickey's and to their first cousins, the Britts.

Jean Brickey (Bricquet) is an enigma. There must be a generation missing between him and son Peter or he did not start siring children until he was an old man, only years before his death. Was there a second wife? Alce Crabbe, the mother of his first children, would have been way beyond child-bearing years for Perter and the others. Those first American Brickey's are confusing, because names are similar. Uncles, nephews, brothers, all have same names, and it's hard to tell, who belongs in which order. There are a lot of apparent mistakes in some researchers' reports.

Other names marrying into Jarrad Brickey's direct ancestors: Hutchinson, Letchworth, Smith, Crawford, Ledgerwood, Sinclair (or St. Clair), Crabbe, Poindexter, Lucas, Batzenschlager, and D'Aubigne (Dabney), mostly from Germany or the Channel Islands. If our trees share a few branches, please share what you can.

I do feel it's safe to say Jean Brickey (de Bricquet) was a Hugenot who came here for religious freedom, and the safety of his family, since they would not submit to the French Catholic powers of the time. They were a part of the historic evacuation from France.

To share info or make inquiry, check www.MyHeritage.com for futher data.