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August 14, 2015 (Friday)

Today we headed to Petersburg which is about 40 minutes south of Richmond.  Our goal was the Old Blandford Church and the Farmer’s Bank building.  We arrived at Blandford Cemetery and set up the John Herbert tombstone for a grave rubbing.  The tombstone is from 1704 and commemorates one of my first ancestors to come to America.

Old Blanford Church, Petersburg, VA

His original grave site was about 3 miles out of Petersburg on his plantation, Puddledock.  About 1895, the family had the tombstone moved to the churchyard.  If you leave town headed toward Fort Lee you will pass Puddledock Road which used to lead to the estate.  Near his tombstone are the graves of an American General from the Revolution and a British Maj. General from the Revolutionary War.  As you might imagine you won’t find this elsewhere.

Sarah did the rubbing while I took the children around the graves nearest to church.  They offer tours that focus mostly on the stained glass windows in the church and have a nice office with friendly people.  It took about an hour to complete the rubbing.

John Herbert Tombstone, Old Blandford Church

Gen. Joseph Jones Grave (Revolutionary War General)

Maj. Gen. William Phillips Grave, British General during the Revolutionary War

John Daly Burk’s Grave. He published the first comprehensive History of Virginia

After we had packed everything up it was noon, so we headed to Lee Park for a picnic and a playground.  I chose this park because it has a picnic area, playground and restrooms.  This part of the park wasn’t fancy, but was okay.  We were able to eat our picnic at a table in the shade and the kids were able to play on the equipment with some local children.  We used the restrooms on our way out, and they were basic but clean.  We were all a little tired, so we headed back to the hotel to relax.

Lee Park

For dinner tonight, the kids asked for Chinese.  So, we ordered take out from Hunan East about 7 minutes south down Broad Street.  We ordered Hot & Sour Soup, Egg Drop Soup, Chicken & Broccoli and Teriyaki Chicken.  The soups were good, the chicken and broccoli was good, but Sarah and I weren’t crazy about the teriyaki (we had never had it before).

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