Hillcrest Ancestors
The Painter Family
Come meet the Painter Family
The cemetery at the Hillcrest homesite is the final resting place for members of the Painter family, who lived at Rocky Mount during the mid to late 1800s.
Hillcrest Cemetery
In memory of Alfred M. Painter
Died May 31, 1889
Yes, All is O'er -
His Form Is Laid Beneath The Sod,
His Life Was Such No One Could Blame;
He Finds A Home In Heaven With God,
Archangels Shout And Sing His Name,
While Christ His Lord Doth Give Him Fame.
Rocky Mount
A family connection
The cemetery on the Hillcrest homesite is the final resting place for three of the Painter Family, a family that lived at Rocky Mount during the mid to late 1800s. I had the pleasure of meeting in person one of the descendants of Sarah and Alfred Painter, a great-great-granddaughter, Jana Burch, who happened to visit us on several occasions.
During those visits I was thrilled to see a handmade rolling pin, crafted by Alfred from a Rocky Mount hardwood, that Alfred gave to his daughter as a wedding present. In commemoration of this, I had Dr. Richard Binns craft a rolling pin from a cherry tree on the Hillcrest and presented it to Jana during one of her visits.
Family Letter
From Jana Burch
John,
First, let me say how grateful I am that you are so willing to share. I was literally dancing back to my husband with the news that you would allow us to come see Rocky Mount. Please know that you are welcome to come and wander Studley when you are available.
My excited brain finally cleared enough to begin to remember names. Alfred and Sarah Painter's daughter, Mary Alice, married Nick Goodman. When he died, she married Ethelbert Miller Goodman. Miller's father, Joseph Noton Goodman, owned Woodlawn Plantation just south of Columbia, Virginia on the James. Miller married Mary Frances Woodfin and had a gaggle of kids with her. She died in 1881. In 1884, Miller married Mary Alice Painter. Miller's children with Mary Woodfin called Mary Alice Painter "Cousin Alice" as she had been married to Nick Goodman previously.
So, Miller Goodman and Mary Alice Painter married at Rocky Mount in 1884 and their first child was born in Texas in 1885. Miller's brothers had all moved to Texas and he went to join them. I have the pie safe that they brought with them. Miller traveled ahead and Mary Alice followed three months later with all of his children by train.
My great-grandfather, Frank Cecil Goodman, was born in 1897. He died in 1937 when my grandmother was only 11. While she never lived with Mary Alice Painter Goodman, Mammy Goodman, as we call her, was a great support and presence in her life. Mary Alice Painter Goodman died May 26, 1953 and is buried in a cemetery near Mertens, Texas. My grandmother's maternal side of the family, Jesse and Mary Ann Thomas, donated the land for the cemetery and my family has been buried there for generations. Miller is also buried there.
I wish that I knew more about Alfred and Sarah: who they were, what they liked. I asked my grandmother to tell me about different people and when I asked about Mammy Goodman's mother, Sarah Painter, my grandmother told me that Mammy Goodman told her that her mother loved flowers and that she had flower gardens around her house in Virginia. Indeed, I have a blurry black and white of an older Sarah outside with a picket fence that surrounds what I hope are her flower gardens.
Jana (Jana Burch)
Family Record
Alfred Martin Painter and Sarah Catherine Huffman Painter
Alfred Martin Painter was born in Rockingham County in the Shenandoah Valley. He died in Cumberland County and is buried at Rocky Mount. Sarah Catherine Huffman Painter was born in Augusta County on October 16, 1835. She died on September 30, 1917 and is buried at Rocky Mount.
The Painters moved from Rockingham County to Fluvanna and then to Cumberland, Rocky Mount, subsequent to 1866.
Children: James E. Painter, born October 27, 1862; Mary Alice Painter, born February 17, 1864; Jennie Rebecca Painter, born January 26, 1866; Mattie E. Painter, born November 21, 1868; Hettie F. Painter, born February 18, 1871; and Ida J. Painter, born August 1, 1877.
Hettie Painter married Jeff Davis of Cumberland, who owned property to the east of Rocky Mount. Jennie Rebecca Painter married Edmund Pierce Woodfin on May 26, 1886 at Rocky Mount; she was 20 years old. Their children included Pearl Edward Woodfin, Ray Alfred Woodfin, Charlie Witt Woodfin, Ida Maude Woodfin, Sarah Lena Woodfin, and Meade Painter Woodfin.
Meade Painter Woodfin married Iva Ford of Cumberland. Iva Ford Woodfin lived at Rocky Mount until she married and moved to Cumberland to a small home called Montrose. One of their children is Agnes Woodfin Matthews.
Douglas Painter died at age two and is the third gravesite adjacent to Sarah and Alfred.
Records
Painter Family Cemetery Registry Documents
