Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Newspapers.....Rountree family, 1928 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 5, No. 201, Sat., Feb. 25, 1928, p. 1 WOMAN SEEKS HER RELATIVES Carrie Rountree, Now of England, Says She Was Adopted Here By Family and Taken To That Country. Carrie Rountree, now of England, but who was born presumably in Suffolk where she was adopted by an English family and later taken to England, is seeking to locate her brothers and sisters in this country. In a letter to this paper she states she was adopted in 1891 or 1892 by Mr. and Mrs. William W. Baldock and after the former's death in 1893 she was taken to England. In a letter addressed to The News-Herald requesting that it be given space she gives the address of 42 Bedford Place, Park Lane, Leeds, Yorkshire, England. The text of the letter follows: "I, Carrie Rountree, was adopted in Suffolk, Va., in the year 1891 or 1892, by Mr. and Mrs. William W. Baldock (or Balclock) and after his death in 1893 I came to England with my adopted mother. I would like to find my brothers and sisters. Will you please help me through your paper?" She fails to give the first names of her brothers and sisters or to state who her parents were. If any of the older residents of Suffolk or Nansemond recall this woman's name they are requested to notify The News-Herald and to write to the address given above. ****************************************************************************** "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 5, No. 202, Mon., Feb. 27, 1928, pp. 1 & 8 HEARS SISTER IS ALIVE AND IN OLD WORLD Individual Joy Is Brought to Suffolk Homes By Letter in Suffolk News-Herald Telling of Miss Carrie Rountree Being Alive Today. ENGLISH WOMAN HAS SISTERS IN SUFFOLK Mrs. Fred Pierce and Mrs. J. L. [sic; L. J.] Johnson of This City Read Letter in Paper and See That Long Lost Sister Is Living in England. A few minutes after the News-Herald appeared on the streets Saturday afternoon, Miss Carrie Rountree, of Yorkshire, Eng., had located her long lost relatives in Suffolk, and in an hour a cablegram was on its way across the Atlantic carrying the information she sought and telling of the joy of her sisters, Mrs. Fred C. Pierce, of 804 Highland avenue, and Mrs. J.L. Johnson, of Pinner street, at the glad tidings that she was alive. A reply was expected today and a reunion of the long-separated sisters is now thought to be only a matter of months. This newspaper printed a letter Saturday received from Miss Rountree in which she asked assistance in locating her brothers and sisters. It was not long until the telephone began to ring and The News-Herald had learned that it had been the instrument of bringing joy to many hearts, for neither Mrs. Pierce nor Mrs. Johnson had heard from their sister in 20 years, and then only indirectly, and they had given her up as dead. Therefore, one can imagine the gladness with which the relatives here received the news that she was alive and apparently well. Miss Rountree was only six years of age when she left the United States with her foster mother, Mrs. William W. Boldock. The Boldocks lived on Wellons street and are well remembered here by many older residents of the city. Mr. Boldock died in 1893 and his body was buried in Cedar Hill cemetery. His widow returned to her old home in England, taking her adopted daughter with her. Then she dropped out of sight and the other members of the Rountree family were unable to find trace of her. Her mother had died when she was only a few months old, the youngest of a family of seven brothers and sisters, all of whom survive. Her father later died, her sisters married and the brothers found homes in other parts of the country. Little Carrie had not been forgotten and her probable fate was often discussed by brother and sisters, her long silence leading them to fear she had passed away. One of the saddest features of this case is that Miss Rountree's father, J.H. Rountree, who died here about two years ago, never knew what had become of her and had mourned her as dead. Besides the sisters living in Suffolk, there are four brothers suriviving, R.H. and J.F. Rountree reside in Newport News; W.Q. Rountree in Georgia, while J.E. Rountree makes his home in Florida. When Mrs. Pierce read the letter from her sister in this paper Saturday it came like a message from the dead. She was so overwhelmed with delight that she was almost prostrated by the news. Friends and acquaintances from all over the city called up to ask her if she had read the letter. Probably a hundred who knew the family and of the adoption of the little motherless Carrie Rountree and girls who had played with her at her home on Pinner street showed their interest by calling the Pierce home since the publication of the letter by The News-Herald Saturday, a member of the family stated today. Carrie, when she left Suffolk, was too young to remember the names of her brothers and sisters and evidently her foster mother, who has probably recently died, kept the information from her unless she too had forgotten. The finding of their long lost sister after all these years reads like fiction rather than fact but "all's well that ends well." ****************************************************************************** "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 5, No. 307, Thurs., Mar. 15, 1928, p. 2 Receive No Advices From English Sister Relatives of Miss Carrie Rountree, of England, the former Suffolk girl who inquired through this newspaper for the whereabouts of her brothers and sisters, are at loss to know why they have not heard from her. Although a cablegram was sent to Miss Rountree on the day of the publication of her letter giving her address, there has not been one word from that end of the line. Mrs. F.C. Pierce and Mrs. Johnson, both residents of Suffolk, are anxiously awaiting a letter from their sister whom they have not seen for 35 years and whom they had given up as dead until the letter to this paper appeared in print. Naturally they cannot account for her silence unless she is preparing to return to this country to look up and visit her long lost relatives. Miss Rountree was adopted by an English family in 1892 or thereabouts, when she was only 18 months old. Before she was six she had been carried to England by her foster father who died only a few years ago and it is said that he thought his youngest child had preceded him to the grave. ****************************************************************************** "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 6, No. 2, Fri., Mar. 23, 1928, p. 1 LETTER COMES FROM MISSING SISTER AGAIN Mrs. F. C. Pierce of Suffolk Has Received a Letter From Her Sister in England Who Has Been Lost To Her Up To Short While Ago. LOCAL WOMAN'S SISTER LEFT HERE AGED TWO Mrs. Somerscale Is Long Lost Sister Who Located Her Relatives Through the Medium of the Suffolk News-Herald With Funeral News. Mrs. F.C. Pierce, of Suffolk, is at last in receipt of a letter from her long missing sister, Carrie Rountree, whose whereabouts after 35 years of mysterious silence was revealed through a letter printed in this newspaper, in which Miss Rountree, now married and the mother of three children, asked assistance in locating her brothers and sisters. Upon learning the address of her sister in England Mrs. Pierce cabled her, but nothing was heard until this letter, dated March 12, arrived. Miss Rountree is now Mrs. G. Somerscale and lives at Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Mrs. Somerscale tells how she was led to write to this newspaper and also gives an account of her movements in a general way. She says in part: "I am delighted to hear from you after all these years of trying to find some of my brothers and sisters. I will tell you how 1 got the address of the paper (The Suffolk Herald.) Mrs. Boldock sent this newspaper at the time of the death of her husband, which gave an account of it, to her sister who lives in Doncaster, not far from Leeds. She lost the paper and just lately found it so I thought I would write them. Just two weeks afterwards your cable came. "Mrs. Boldock, I am pleased to tell you, is still living with me. Her age is 77. I am married and have three children, 17, 14 and 5. I married here at Leeds and sailed for Canada in 1910. So you see I have been nearer to you all than I thought. I left after the Great War was over for England, in 1920. My husband was over with the Canadians and got wounded and so when he came back to me we decided to come back to England. "x x x x I still wear beads to cover small scars on my neck you mention in your letter so there is no mistake that I am your sister. I should liked to have seen my father again. Just fancy, just two years ago and at the grand old age of 84." The remainder of the letter deals with members of her family, and other personal matters. Mrs. Somerscale sent photos of her husband, three children and herself. The mother's picture favors her relatives here. Mrs. Pierce and her sister are delighted to get in touch again with the baby member of the family so long separated from the rest of her kith and kin. Additional information: Her sisters are buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Suffolk. Lelia (ROUNTREE ASKEW; Mrs. Lemuel Jackson) JOHNSON (1875 - 1963) is buried in Block I, Lot 28. Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_j.txt Addie Ophelia (ROUNTREE; Frederick Clarence) PIERCE (1877 - 1972) is buried in Block Y, Lot 16: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_p.txt Addie's obit ("Suffolk News-Herald," Dec. 6, 1972, p. 16) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/p620a8ob.txt Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/newspapers/19280225nh.txt