This was not an easy search. I verified the names in the photo by using the 1910 census. I found the death record of one of the boys and obtained his obituary from the library in Petersburg, Virginia. When I saw the name of the funeral home, I called them, and a very nice man looked in his records and found a number of other deaths for the Purdy family. Then I got their obituaries, but almost all of the survivors have since died, or I can’t find them. Another problem was that the records did not reflect a consistent spelling for Purdy. Earlier records tended to be Purdie or Perdie; later records Purdy. I never was able to establish which spelling was historically correct. For this site, I will use Purdy.

The five children in this photo were the sons and daughters of William and Mary Purdy. Mr. and Mrs. Purdy were born in Virginia, and married around 1890. They had 10 known children: (oldest to youngest) Walter, James (or Harry), William, Lawrence, Joseph (or Early), Edward, Huser (daughter), Agatha (daughter), and Millard.

Both parents and most of the children worked at the Matoaca Cotton Mill. By 1920, Lawrence had married Nevie Perkinson, and they were living with his parents and working in the cotton mill. By 1930, Joseph (Early) had married Florrie Kersey, had baby daughter Bertha, and were living with Florrie’s parents, in the same Matoaca neighborhood as other Purdys.

Florrie’s sister, Marinda, later married Edward Purdy, and in 1930, Edward and Marinda were still living in Matoaca, and had two sons and two daughters. Edward worked at Seward Luggage Co., in nearby Petersburg. Lawrence also worked at Seward Luggage, and he and Nevie lived in Matoaca. They had no children, and were to remain childless. I was unable to follow the paths of the other children.

Lawrence Benjamin Purdy was born July 13, 1896, in Richmond. He worked at Seward Luggage Co. and American Hardware. He died in 1958, in Matoaca. His wife, Nevie, died in 1972, in Matoaca.

Joseph Early Purdy was born about 1898. His wife, Florrie, died in 1978. They had six children. I contacted the last surviving child, who said that she was very young when her father died, and she can’t remember what year it was, or much else about him. She was the only descendant I was able to track down.

Edward Purdy was born about 1900, and died in 1976, in Matoaca. His wife, Marinda, died in 1976. They had at least eight children.

Finally, the link below (History of Matoaca Cotton Mill), has amazing photos and a lot of historical information about the mill. It is a very large PDF file, and may take a lot of time to load if you have a dial-up connection. Thus, it is recommended for high-speed connections only. After you access the page, click the link: The Matoaca Cotton Factory.