The Bouldin-Bagby House, 130 Chestnut Street

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On the 5th of January 1904, F.X. Burton sold the undeveloped lot at 412 Chestnut Street (now addressed as 130 Chestnut Street) to James W. Bouldin, “upon which lot said Bouldin built improvements”. By 1909, when Mr. Bouldin sold the property to J.L. Bagby in order to pay a debt to Ida Myer, the house had been constructed.

James Wood Bouldin was born in Danville on the 15th of November 1871, the eldest son (of eight children) born to Edwin Edmunds Bouldin and Lucy Lyne Edmunds Bouldin (his parents were second cousins). He was educated in private school locally and then went on to attend Eastman National business College and Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Following his education, he went to China where he served as a missionary for 18 months and happened to be there during the Boxer Rebellion of China (1899-1901) when anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiment amongst the Chinese resulted in violence against foreign nationals and Christian missionaries whose efforts were seen to be exploitive and imperialistic in intent.

In 1901, James married Janie Scott Howard of  Caswell, North Carolina.

Mr. Bouldin became a Methodist Minister, and, during his 49 years in the Virginia Methodist Conference, had served “12 charges”, including Halifax, Rustburg, Charlottesville, and Danville. At the time of his death he was serving his last of these charges at the Hampden-Sydney Methodist Church where he died on the 3rd of March 1949 at the church parsonage.

Jechonias Lovelace Bagby (he understandably went by his initials, though sometimes by James), to whom Rev. Bouldin sold the home in 1909, was born in Halifax County in 1874 to James T. Bagby and Edith Mildred Overby (who coincidentally had a brother named Jiconias). In 1900, while still living in the Red Bank district of Halifax County, “James” was working as a music teacher. He met Rosa Ballou about this time, and the couple married in 1907. Born in Bannister, Virginia (Halifax County) in 1876, Rosa was the youngest of five children born to Edward Branford and Josephine Keith Wilson Ballou. Her father, Edward, and Charles Anderson Ballou who gave us Ballou Park were brothers.

The home at 412 Chestnut Street was very likely the couple’s first home, In 1918, the Bagbys sold the house to A.N. Gardner and moved to their new home at 130 Sutherlin Avenue where they would remain for the remainder of their lives. Mr. Bagby, who was employed by this time as a teller (and later as a clerk) for First National Bank maintained his association with that bank for 45 years. Rosa died in 1957, and Mr. Bagby four years later.

Abner Nathaniel Gardner was born on the 30th of June 1879 near Kentuck in Pittsylvania County, the youngest child and only son (of five children) born to Samuel Isaac Gardner and Mary Cynthia Sparrow Gardner.

Abner married Kathleen Elizabeth Shelton, also of Pittsylvania County, in 1907. The couple had two children, Abner, Jr. and Kathleen.

According to Mr. Gardner’s 1950 obituary, he was “among the first Danville men to engage in the automobile business”.  By 1925, when he sold the home to Fannie Howard, he moved his business and his family to Winston-Salem. He remained in North Carolina where he passed away in 1950, having survived his wife by six years.

Fannie Howard was born Fannie Elizabeth Covington on October 21, 1881 in Danville to John Grasty Covington and Sallie Elizabeth Barksdale Covington. She was the eldest of two daughters born to the couple. She married Turner Blackwell Howard in December of 1909, a tobacco buyer for the J.P. Taylor Tobacco company.  While in Ohio on business in November of 1911, he suffered a hernia and was admitted to the hospital. He underwent surgery, but passed away on the 12th of that month leaving Fannie a widow. The couple had no children.

During World War I, Fannie served in the Red Cross as secretary of the regional director. In 1920 she was working as a stenographer. According to her obituary of September 21, 1964 (she died on the 19th) Fannie was a charter member of the Business and Professional Women’s club.

In 1934, Fannie sold the home to W.T. Slade and his wife Bertha.

William Thomas Slade was born on the 29th of June 1878 in Dan River Township in Caswell County, North Carolina, the second eldest (surviving) child (of 16) born to John Wesley Slade and Alice Susan Hodges Slade.

In 1902, he married Bertha May Woods, also of Caswell County. Born July 29, 1880, she was eight years his senior. Mr. Slade was employed by Central Warehouse (and others) as a bookkeeper. In 1934, at the time of purchasing the Chestnut Street home, Mr. Slade was 56 years old and newly retired after suffering a srvere illness that almost ended his life.

In September of 1938, just four years after purchasing the home, the couple were returning from visiting family in Caswell County. Their route took them along South Main street. Travelling south in the opposite direction and at the intersection where Danville Military Institute used to be (Industrial Blvd opposite Danville Community College), a 17 year old driver of a 1 1/2 ton truck made a left and collided with Mr. Slade and his wife who was riding as passenger. Mr. Slade suffered a broken back, while Mrs. Slade sustained injuries to her side and forehead. The following morning, Mr. Slade died of his injuries, though Mrs. Slade was not told for some time. Meanwhile, the 17 year old resident of Almagro was immediately jailed and charged with manslaughter. Bail was posted by his father, but release was denied. He only served a year in jail, but in the years that followed he appeared in the paper for infractions with the law over alcohol possession and consumption. The weight of his guilt, compounded by racial tensions at the time, must have left him with lasting scars from the incident.

Mrs. Slade, now a widow, inherited her husband’s estate, including the house. She never remarried and lived in the house until 1964 when she moved to Roman Eagle having sold the house to Joe and Nettie Cannon.

The house almost immediately changed hands again when, four months later, the house was purchased by Frank and Sallie Horseley Blackwell.

Frank Young Blackwell was born on the 19th of September 1927 in Marion, South Carolina. He spent his school years in South Carolina and attended The Citadel where he graduated with a bachelor’s of Science in business management. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. In 1955, he married Sallie.

Shortly after Frank died on the 29th of November 1991, Sallie sold the home to John M. Francs III and his wife Linda Ann Christefano who resided here until 2001 when it was sold to Gary and Janet Leake. Today it is one of the many properties owned by Mader Restorations.

 

 

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