My Families Old Plantation At Christmas

Once a year my family on my mother's side, gather together to celebrate Christmas
at my families old Plantation, Norwood, in Powhatan. The home was built in the 1800,
and my relatives, the Randolph's purchased it soon after it was built, 1812, I think. One
day I will post more pictures, it now belongs to my aunt, so I didn't feel right running
around snapping pictures of everything.

 My daughter, Ellie, helped snap the pictures. She say I really need to take a photography class.
Back to the house, this is were my grandfather grew up and raised his family. My children were
the forth generation to attend a Easter hunt there.
 The house is on several acres. There is the main house and several other buildings including a tenant
house, a kitchen, barns and a private cemetery with a tomb. The plantation backs up to the James
River. There is one main hall in the back of the house, upstairs and down stairs and an English
basement.

Here you see a picture of my Mother and my two aunts. My mom Elizabeth is in the blue,
my aunt Mary in the scarf and my aunt Connie in the Christmas sweater. Also known as
the Kennon sisters.

The adult table in the dining room. This house is like a museum, nothing has ever left
this house. It is always been the same since I used to spend my summers there as a
child. My mother was married there to my father and I was married there to my children's
father. For my wedding, they decided to re wallpaper the front and back halls. They stripped
it down to the plaster and found that it originally had been stenciled with a pineapple motif.
The sign of welcome!

Notice the wallpaper behind my cousin Russ's wife Ann Cabel, and there daughters Cabel
and Peyton.

My children, Ellie and Edmund McElroy.

All of the grandchildren, except my brother L.H.'s and cousin Peter's. A happy bunch
and a beautiful place to get together with family.