In October of 1924, Patton, Temple, and Williamson, real estate and insurance agents, purchased two slivers of land from each side section of John T. Watson’s triangular corner lot on Chestnut and Pine streets from Nanny G. Watkins who had acquired the undeveloped land from the estate of John T. Watson three years earlier.

The Pine street fronting section, what would become 895-897 Pine Street, was sold to Nancy Lorraine Clarke and Reginald Gray Clarke, in November of 24 for a price that included the construction of a home there.

Nancy, who went by her middle name, Lorraine, was born Nancy Lorraine Arey on the 11th of July 1906 to Ernest C. And Martha Rose Fink Arey. She married Reginald “Brick” Clarke in 1923.

Reginald Clarke was born on the 13th of August 1903 to Lewis Herbert and Gracie Clark Stokes.

The couple had one daughter, Nancy Clarke Suttle, who predeceased her mother by about six weeks. The two women died in 1999.

For reasons that are unclear, Nancy, the primary deed holder, transferred the property in 1926 to Lewis Herbert Clark, her husband’s father, for the “natural love and affection” she bore her father-in-law. In August of that same year, for the same natural love and affection, etc., Mr. Clarke transferred the home to his son and Reginald’s brother, Allen Stokes Clarke.

Allen Stokes Clarke was born on the 1st of May 1899 in Danville. Allen was a veteran of World War II, a member of the U.S. Army signal corps. He was involved with the National Defense Research Committee and worked in the development of projectiles. He was decorated for his work as a civilian and received the Presidential Certificate of Merit and the Naval Ordinance Department Award for his work which was inherently high-risk.

After the war and, indeed, before it, Allen worked in electronics. He was an engineer who worked for radio stations all across the country and here in Danville, where he built and managed WBTM.

According to his obituary of March 31, 1993, Mr. Clarke “also served as a consultant to the National Bureau of Standards and later organized and sold three electronics companies, all of which were concerned with the design and development of receiving equipment for use in the space program as well as for intelligence gathering reconnaissance and counter measures.”

Allen married Blanche Hodges Clarke in 1925. The couple had no children. At the time of his death in 1993, he was the last surviving member of his family.

Allen and Blanche held onto the home until 1974, residing in it from the time of their acquisition in 1926 until sometime after 1930 (but before 1935) when they used the property strictly as rental income. From at least 1940 until the Clarkes sold the home in 1974, the unit addressed 897 Pine Street was the home of Winston Edwards and his family.

Winston Fuller Edwards was born April 28, 1892 in Danville. He was the only son (second child)  of Thomas Coleman Edwards and Victoria Fuller-Keen Edwards. Mr. Edwards worked for the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia and was employed by them for 42 years. He married Ann Lavinia Gravely in 1917. The couple had two children.

Ann was born January 24th, 1892 in Henry county, Virginia.

The timing of the home’s sale in 1974 was timely for the Edwards. Mrs. Edwards who had been battling uterine cancer for some time, was in a Richmond hospital in November of 1974. She died on the 17th. Just over a month later, Mr. Edwards died of acute bronchopneumonia on the 23rd of December in Petersburg.

The house was sold on the 5th of November.

Since both death certificates give the 897 Pine Street address, it’s possible they did not know the home was sold, or perhaps the new owner, James E. Dodd meant to retain the property, along with its tenants, as rental property. Whatever his plans, he only retained the address for two years before selling it to Aston A. Schroeter and his wife Lorraine B. Schroeter.

In August 2006 Aston A. Schroeter sold the home to Micah Robinson

In March 2020, Micah sold the home to Srinivasaiah Mahesth and Srinivasalu Sangeetha, the present owners.

Sources:
Census and Vital records found at Familysearch.org
Images and vital information, including biographical sketches found at FindaGrave.com
Death notices and other information found in the Danville Register, Danville Bee and other newspaper archives at Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank.com
Census, Directory, Newspaper, and other information compiled by Paul Liepe