Notes for Charles Edmund Borum




			The Ancestors of H A R R Y F E R G U S O N J O H N S O N of North Carolina

Notes for Charles Edmund Borum

The Borums of Burnt Hill

The Borums were a big happy middle-class family who lived on Dutchtown Road otherwise known as Route 628 in the Haytokoh District of Nottoway County, Virginia. This home is located four and a half miles north of Burkeville.
Charles Edmund (Edmond) Borum married Mildred Haynie Carter on July 16, 1890. They had ten children, all of whom lived to be grown and with the exception of Rob, had children of their own. This is the family of twelve whose descendants I wish to make acquainted. Charles Edmund was called Papa by his children and Mr. Borum by his wife. Mildred Haynie was Mama and Millie. I shall refer to them as Papa and Mama.
Pictures are scarce. One picture of Mama and Papa has hung in the same place for the forty-one years that I've been in the family. There are large pictures of each of them made when Papa was twenty-one years old and Mama was nineteen. Papa usually wore a hat, even when pictures were taken, so one learns little about his features. He was about 5 ft. 8 in. tall and weighed about 155 pounds. Mama was a little woman. She was quick of step. Her family said that she ran about her duties. She taught school before she was married.
All of the children had nicknames except Florence who sometimes was just called Flo. Albert was nicknamed Sigh, Haynie - Jiggs, Bernard - Duck, Asa - Shine, Rob - Giles, Louise - Rya, Jeffress - Flip, Walter - Hawk, and Emily was Mary Ann.
The farm where they lived was and is called Burnt Hill. Just how if got that nickname is somewhat vague. The most reasonable explanation is that farmers used to burn over their land, especially if broomstraw was prevalent, and if sheep had been pastured.
Grandpa owned large acreage, even to Flat Creek. This farm was a part of that homeplace. Papa bought additional acres from his sister, Mrs. Walter Johns, Aunt Jenny. The average price per acre for that purchase was $1.80. That land now belongs to Robert Asa Borum and is called the Clover Lot. At the present time Burnt Hill consists of one hundred seventy-three acres. This acreage is in two tracts although there is no separation. At Papa's death he willed Mama one hundred acres and the house her lifetime. An auction was held in 1939 to make it legal, that the property would be Rob's and Jeffress'. The family had already agreed to this arrangement as Jeffress was the only one who remained at home and Rob contributed financially.
The dwelling built in 1890 consisted of four rooms and a hall. This structure was a story and a half high. One daughter remembered an entrance which is now the south window of the dining room. There was a front door at the end of the hall. The kitchen was a separate building located ten or twelve feet from the house on the north side.
Mr. Louis Cook, a neighbor, built a kitchen adjoining the house in about 1909. Mama inherited some land from her aunt. Today that land is part of the City of Roanoke, Virginia. She sold the land and with the money the front part of the house at Burnt Hill was built in 1912. It consisted of a living room with a full story bedroom over that, a hall, and another small room upstairs. The walls of the older structure were not disturbed so that today the house has distinctly a back portion of five rooms and a front portion of three rooms. A fifteen inch door facing shows this add on. Separate stairs lead to the front upper level and back upper level. Three porches were built, too, one south, one north and one east. This addition was built by Emmett Toney and Joe Berry.
Changes have been made in the interior of the house but the floor plan has remained the same. Rob and a friend, Harry House, replaced plastering with (gypsum board) in the back portion of the house in 1932. Plastering remained in the front portion until 1956 when (gypsum board) was installed, one window was added and a wall removed to include the hall; thus making a large living area. Parrish Construction Company began this project on December 26, 1956. Since that time, new windows and storm windows have been installed, and some new flooring has replaced the original. A bathroom was made from part of the north porch in 1951. The house was totally insulated and vinyl siding added in 1985.
Rural electrification came into the area in the 1940s. The house at Burnt Hill was wired in 1944. Rob drew up a plan for ceiling lights and outlets. This soon brought the blessing of the refrigerator. The old smokehouse still stands where ice was packed before there was available electricity.
When Florence moved here she had a washing machine. This house had not been wired for electricity at that time. Albert put a gas motor into the electric machine.
The blessing or curse of the telephone reached Burnt Hill in 1963. It began as a four-party line.
When I came to live at Burnt Hill seven stately oaks shaded the house and yard. Other family members remember as many as eleven. Many reunions have been held in their shade. Sometimes more than a hundred relatives and friends attended. Lighting has struck all the oaks at one time or another. Only three large ones remain. In 1984 we lost the biggest one, which was located on the north side of the house. The County Forester, Mr. Starnes, who came to assess the damage, estimated the tree to be four hundred years old. There is a small young oak at the front that came up voluntarily in a flower bed. In 1979 that measured 13 inches in circumference at 14 inches from the ground. It will be interesting if some reader measures it fifty years hence. Jeff planted a pine seedling in 1969. At this time, it towers above the house. There is a black walnut tree in the back yard. Most years there is a bumper crop of walnuts.
Each lady of the house planted flowers and shrubs to suit her fancy. At the present time there is one pink dogwood. There are several large hydrangeas near the porches. These were potted plants given to me as Mother's Day or Easter gifts.
Papa had apple, peach, pear and damson trees. Asa planted two fig bushes which flourished for many years. Louise remembered that relatives would come for a week at a time in the summer to can and preserve fruit.
The road into the house from Dutchtown Road came by the Cook home until 1949 when a more direct driveway was built. It has hills but many of my readers will remember getting stuck on the old red hill, or rather than to take that risk, they walked in. In May 1989 part of the driveway became a dam for a newly constructed farm pond.
The first automobile at Burnt Hill was a 1939 secondhand Chevrolet named Luxurious. Even after Jeffress made that purchase, travel was often on horseback or foot in order to conserve gas.
As adults, the family represented many religious denominations. However, while at Burnt Hill they attended a small Presbyterian Church, Fairview, located within sight of the house. Preaching was held on Sunday with summer revival services lasting a week. Bethel Methodist Church was in buggy distance, also. Some of the family sang very well and their voices were an addition to the congregational singing. Church attendance not only provided worship experience but sometimes social ones as well. On one occasion Louise helped Jeffress to dress as a woman and he attended a box supper as Louise's cousin.
All of the children attended a little one-room school located on the farm about a half mile from the house. When this was closed, several neighbors together provided transportation to Burkeville by horse and wagon. One family furnished horses one week and another family furnished horses the next week. Louise and Emily graduated from high school. It was Haytokoh Agricultural High School, which had become Burkeville High School when Emily graduated.
As in all families, the Borums had their heartaches. Albert, Haynie and Asa served in World War I. Although they returned home without physical injury, Asa's death was believed to have been a direct result of gas in the war. Walter served in World War II and six grandsons were in World War II. They were Dick Webster, Jack Howell, Jr., George Webster, Jr., Carter Borum, Jr., M. J. Borum and Haynie Borum, Jr. Haynie Jr. lost his life at Anzio beachhead.
All of the stories that I can relate were handed down by children and grandchildren who lived here. It seems that summer, when school was out, brought many of the grandchildren "to help" Uncle Jeff or "Flip." The usual fun of damming branches, skinny dipping and playing pranks made the work day a fun day.
Papa liked to play pranks. A schoolteacher, Gladys Garnett, who later married a cousin, boarded here. She and Florence roomed together. One night, Papa met visitors at the front door. They were invited in and a fire was made in the living room. This was done because Papa knew that Gladys and Florence were listening. They dressed and came downstairs to receive beaus, who turned out to be Duck and Shine.
Once a traveling eyeglass salesman came by. At the time, glasses were little more than poor magnifying lenses. When asked if a pair improved his vision, Papa replied, "Well, yes! I can see a gnat over there on Henry Cook's barn!" It is not known if a sale was made.
Mama got into the fun times too. She loved to throw water on unsuspecting people. This was from the bucket and dipper which were always on the back porch. The water had been brought from the spring.
Watermelons used to be pulled and left in the upstairs hall until it was time to feast on them. When Albert was small, he pushed several melons down the steps.
Walter teased Emily one day until she took action. She was busy in the kitchen with a rolling pin in her hand. She threw the rolling pin and hit Walter in the middle of his back. He said that his back always hurt after that.
Each child had assigned chores. The front walk was to be clean, meaning bare. Louise had to see that no grass grew there. Emily and Walter had to clean under the porches which were not underpinned. Robert Asa remembers scrubbing the kitchen floor every Saturday. He came here to live in 1936.
One by one all married and/or moved from home. Death claimed some family members at an early age. Seven children, two grandchildren and Mama and Papa are buried in Sunset Hill Cemetery in Burkeville. Rob is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Maryland. Louise is in Fort Hill Memorial Park Mausoleum, Lynchburg. Of the family of twelve only Emily is living.
By 1943 only Mama, Jeffress and Robert Asa lived at Burnt Hill. Mama's health was poor. She died in 1945. Florence was widowed. So, Florence and two of her children, Wrenn and George, Jr., moved here from Victoria, Virginia. In 1948 three things happened to change this arrangement. Wrenn graduated from high school and she and her Mother moved to Richmond. Robert Asa married and moved. Jeff and I were married. The house stood empty for twelve months except for an occasional week-end when Rob and Laura camped here. In 1949 Burnt Hill became home to me.
I appreciate the memories contributed by Louise, Emily, Jeffress and Robert Asa. My thanks to each of you who sent data on family members and to my daughter, Anne, for encouraging, typing and editing.
This paper is dedicated to Jeff's memory. He loved his family dearly and he loved Burnt Hill almost as much.

Julia Smith Borum
February 1990

I dedicate this to my parents and to all the descendants of Charles Edmund Borum and Mildred Haynie Carter who were lovers of good character, devoted to God and who claimed a place called Burnt Hill in Nottoway County, Burkeville, Virginia.
A loving daughter -
Emily Borum Anderson
February 1990

"Charlie Borum was known for his gift of gab. The blessing uttered at the table would not even be punctuated by a period. "Lord bless the bounty we are about to eat Shirley what's your Pa paying for hay?" [Roxanna Rosel, research, 13 Feb 1999]

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