Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Deford, Claudine V., 1963 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ CLAUDINE VIRGINIA DEFORD Miss Deford Rites Friday Funeral services for Miss Claudine Virginia Deford will be conducted Friday at 2 p.m. in the Hill Funeral Home by the Rev. Robert B. Marr, pastor of the Suffolk Christian Church. Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Miss DeFord, 56, died in Patrick Henry Hospital. She was a member of the Suffolk Christian Church, and the West Memorial Bible Class of the church and was the daughter of the late James H. and Mrs. Belle Bradly Deford of Suffolk. She is survived by an aunt, Mrs. Myrtle Weaver of Cincinnati, Ohio, and an uncle, Clarence DeFord of Suffolk. ****************************************************************************** CLAUDINE VIRGINIA DEFORD SUFFOLK - Miss Claudine Virginia DeFord, 56, of Jackson Street died Monday in Patrick Henry Hospital for the Chronically Ill after a long illness. ****************************************************************************** Claudine DeFord Is Buried Friday Funeral services for Miss Claudine Virginia Deford were conducted Friday at 2 p.m. in the Hill Funeral Home by the Rev. Robert B. Marr, pastor of Suffolk Christian Church. Burial was in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Pallbearers were W.S. Felton, J.C. Ramsey, Jr., L.G. Cones, Sr., W.T. Bolton, Jimmy Wilkins, Arthur Herrick and B.F. Jernigan. Claudine Virginia DeFORD, b. 1907*, d. 20 Dec 1963, Newport News, interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery (Block D, Lot 76*), Suffolk, 27 Dec 1963, "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 41, No. 308, Thurs., Dec. 26, 1963, p. 6; "Ledger-Star" (Norfolk, VA), Fri., Dec. 27, 1963, p. 21; "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 41, No. 310, Sun., Dec. 29, 1963, p. 2 *Additional information: Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_d.txt A photo of her gravestone - added by Jake Dog - is posted with Find a Grave Memorial #108571990. Her adoptive parents are buried in the same lot. D.Cert. 33286 (Newport News #1013) gives b. 3 Oct 1907; she was adopted, not b., then. Her mother's obit, ("Suffolk News-Herald," Jan. 26, 1948, p. 3) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/d163b1ob.txt The 1920-50 Census - Suffolk, Nansemond Co. - gives b. VA. "Times-Dispatch" (Richmond, VA), No. 17702, Fri., Oct. 4, 1907, p. 10 LEFT ON THE DOORSTEP Little Girl Left at Home of Suffolk Couple is Adopted In Court. (Special to The Times-Dispatch.) SUFFOLK. VA., October 3. - Attired only in a night dress, but tucked in a burlap bag, and with a newspaper covering all, a five-weeks-old female white infant was found early this morning on the doorstep of Captain and Mrs. M. Dail, on Virginia Street. The police were notified. So was Mayor Norfleet, but neither knew what to do, since there is no existing applicable ordinance. The child was cared for during the night by Mrs. Dail, and to-day, in the Police Court, the little one, the youngest defendant ever in court here, was adopted by James Deford and wife. The police believe that the waif was brought here on a late train. A half-empty bottle of paregoric was in the basket. A newspaper printed in Raleigh, N.C., and bearing a printed label with a North Carolinian's address, also was in the basket. "News Leader" (Richmond, VA), No. 4960, Fri., Oct. 4, 1907, p. 5 DESERTED BABE YOUNGEST DEFENDANT IN POLICE COURT SUFFOLK, VA., Oct. 4. - Undoubtedly, the youngest defendant that ever appeared in the police court here was the pretty little baby which was found in a basket on the doorstep of the home of Captain and Mrs. M. Dail, who cared for the child during the night. When the baby was brought into court Mayor Norfleet seemed puzzled to know what to do with it. It was later adopted by Mr. and Mrs. James Deford. A half-empty bottle of paregoric was in the basket. A newspaper printed in Raleigh, N.C., and bearing a printed label, with a North Carolinian's address, also was in the basket. "Norfolk (VA) Landmark," Vol. 67, No. 27, Fri., Oct. 4, 1907, p. 10 SUFFOLK BABY FOUND ON STEPS. Suffolk, Va., October 3 - An infant of about three weeks, female, was found last night a short while after midnight on the front porch of Captain Dale [sic; Dail], section foreman on the Southern, who lives on Virginia street. The authorities were notified, but the child is still in charge of the kind family with whom it was left. The baby was in a large market basket wrapped with burlaps. It was stated tonight that Mr. John Deford had spoken of adopting the little waif. It is believed that this child was brought to Suffolk on the train, the location of its deposit leading to this supposition. "Norfolk (VA) Journal of Commerce and the Twice-a-Week Virginian-Pilot," Vol. 5, No. 72, Tues., Oct. 8, 1907, p. 3 NEWS THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA LEFT GIRL INFANT ON DOORSTEP IN THE NIGHT Suffolk Mayor and Police Have Clue and Kind Family Has Taken the Waif and Will Seek to Legally Adopt It Suffolk, Va., Oct 3. - Attired in a night gown and neatly tucked inside a burlap bag, a pretty little girl baby was found early this morning on the door steps of Mr. and Mrs. M. Dail on Virginia street, near Hall avenue. The child had been out in the cold something like an hour before it was rescued. The family heard faint cries of distress and so did the neighbors, but at first no one had an idea of the origin of the trouble calls. Finally a neighbor made the discovery and notified Mr. Dail of the nature of the strange little visitor, who was crying for relief. The police were notified and so was Mayor Norfleet. The police didn't know what to do about it. Neither did the mayor. There was nothing in the ordinances covering the disposition of a foundling, and the mayor did the best thing possible under the circumstances. He used his own judgment. Mr. and Mrs. Dail consented to care for the child during the night, and this morning the infant was in police court. She was the youngest person who ever appeared in that tribunal. Mr. and Mrs. James Deford of Market street asked to have custody of the child, and this permission was granted by the mayor. Steps soon will be taken by Mr. Deford to have the baby legally adopted. The child is a month, perhaps five weeks old. It has very dark hair and beautiful dark eyes, which appeal for comfort and sympathy. In the basket with the baby was a half-empty vial of paregoric. It is believed that the infant was under the influence of that drug when first left on the door step, and did not make an outcry until the effect wore off. The police have a clue, but as yet are unable to fix the responsibility for the baby abandonment. It is thought that the infant was brought to Suffolk on a train. Inside the basket was a Raleigh, N.C., newspaper on whose printed label was the address of a man living in North Carolina. There was a printed reference to the man in the news columns. Mayor Norfleet does not believe the man whose name appears on the label is responsible for the child's presence here. A man with an object like that in mind would hardly use a paper bearing his own name and address. The man though will be investigated in order to find if he really knows anything about the case. The police force is actively at work on the matter and hope to solve the mystery and punish the persons responsible for the desertion. KNOW THE PARENTS OF FOUNDLING IN SUFFOLK Suffolk, Va., Oct. 4. - The police force, under the direction of Police Chief Brinkley, today learned the identity of the parents of the little girl baby left last night on Captain Dail's doorstep. The chief is able to say with authority, much to the gratification of Suffolk people, that the child was not born in Suffolk. The girl's mother, according to the police, is a resident of North Carolina. She used to live in Suffolk, but has been gone at least seven months. The father of the child is a married man. Its mother is single. This information is official. The baby is being well cared for by Mr. and Mrs. DeFord. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/d163c1ob.txt