Families and Houses of  Mannboro  – A Genealogical Look Into the Families of Amelia County and Surrounding Areas

Saturday, April 29th, 2023, 2:00 PM, Amelia County Administration Building Conference Room, 16360 Dunn Street, Amelia VA 23002, which is at the corner of Dunn and Washington Streets (old Amelia High School).

James Coleman will be presenting a fascinating genealogical presentation about the Mannboro area of Amelia County. He will be showcasing information and showing pictures from his book, Robert Coleman Of Charles City Shire.

Since the soul of architecture is closely integrated with the souls of the inhabitants who interact within the space they occupy, pictures of Amelia County homes, past and present, are to be presented during this presentation.  Many of these photographs were taken by Judge Valentine W. Southall, and can be found in Collection of Photos of Amelia County Homes, at the Amelia County Historical Society.

Following the presentation, there will be an informal discussion on genealogical research with emphasis on Amelia County. The discussion will be moderated by the author and will draw upon his twenty years of research for the book.

The Coleman brothers’ American odyssey began in 1637 with the arrival of Robert Coleman from England.  Robert was named as one of forty headrights of Colonel William Farrar II.  These indentured servants would develop Farrar’s Island of present day Chesterfield County.  After completing his servitude Robert would move to an area of Charles City Shire which became Amelia County.“Family genealogical histories can range from fanciful collections of myth and supposition to detailed works of historic research.  James M. Coleman’s book is clearly in the latter category” was written by Robert P. Winthrop, a partner at Winthrop, Jenkins, and Associates, a Virginia based architecture firm specializing in historic renovation.  Historic buildings have been Mr. Winthrop’s focus in numerous writings and lectures.

Growing up in Richmond, Coleman has strong family ties to Virginia.

Coleman became interested in researching his family and its ties to Amelia County, Virginia, through his father. The elder Coleman worked for his great-uncle, Lee Paschall, who founded Wise Construction Company of Richmond, and would share stories about Virginia and North Carolina with his son.

The author earned an undergraduate degree in engineering operations from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and began his research on the Coleman family in the year 2000.  He utilized the libraries at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, the Library of Virginia in Richmond, the Richmond Public Library and The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Coleman also gathered more than 400 photographs of Coleman family members, homes, businesses and other structures connected with the family. Some photographs going as far back as 1865 were found by members of the family, while others were taken by Coleman, other family members, and Judge Southall.

Families and Houses of Old Merry Mount

Genealogical researcher James Michael Paschall Coleman of Louisiana will present the program, “Families and Houses of Old Merry Mount,” at Warren County Memorial Library at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Born in Richmond, Va., Coleman has strong family ties to the region of Warren County formerly known as Merry Mount and often referred to as Paschall today.

Coleman became interested in researching his family and its ties to the Wise and Paschall areas of Warren County through his father, James Michael Paschall Coleman, Sr. The elder Coleman worked for his great-uncle, Lee Paschall, who founded Wise Construction Company, and would share stories about Paschall, Wise and the surrounding area with his son.

“Listening to stories beginning when I was a kid, I always had an interest in one day writing a book about my family, Wise and Warren County,” the author said.

Coleman, who earned an undergraduate degree in engineering operations from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, began his research on the Coleman family in the year 2000. He utilized the libraries at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, the Library of Virginia in Richmond, the Richmond Public Library and The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Coleman also gathered more than 400 photographs of Coleman family members, homes, businesses and other structures connected with the family. Some photographs were found by members of the family, while others were taken by Coleman or other family members. Among those collected are an 1862 photograph of Capt. Levi Coleman and a family photograph taken in the 1870s.

He said that the family’s ancestors arrived in Virginia from England in 1655 and remained there for about 100 years before they traveled down a Native American trail and crossed the Roanoke River into North Carolina.

Coleman said that almost all of the photographs he gathered show the direct descendants of these family ancestors.

In 2006, he retired after 32 years in the pulp and paper business, and, last year, Coleman published the results of his research in his book, “The Coleman Family of Warren County, North Carolina, An American Odyssey, 1655-2015.”

The photographs and genealogical history in Coleman’s 462-page book will form the background for his presentation at the library. In addition to the information illustrating the family history to present day, the book includes copies of a number of family documents and signatures.

A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase.

Following Coleman’s presentation, he will moderate an informal discussion on genealogical research in Virginia and North Carolina, with a focus on Warren County.