Family farms for 320 years and counting
Published 9:55 pm Monday, April 25, 2016
Chuck Brothers, his wife, Wanda, and their son, Wyatt, spend a few moments together Friday on the family farm, which was granted to a Brothers ancestor in 1696. Brothers recently took over farming of the land from his uncle.
A tract of land that has been in the same family for more than 300 years will continue to be farmed by that family even after the owner’s retirement.
N.B. Brothers has “retired” from farming recently, even though he recently could be seen near a silo off White Marsh Road doing things that appeared suspiciously farming-related. He said he’d retire when those duties were done.
“It keeps you busy, keeps you young,” Brothers said.
Even so, he’s handing another 300-acre farm off Desert Road over to his nephew, Chuck Brothers. The 300 acres is the remainder of a 1,500 tract of land that was granted in 1696 from the King of England to John Brothers, who is several times Chuck Brothers’ great-grandfather — although he’s not sure exactly how many times.
Chuck Brothers, with the help of a distant relative he met on Ancestry.com, tracked down a microfilm image of the land grant in the Library of Virginia’s database. It describes the land as lying “dead west of Lake Drummond.” A good portion of the original land is now in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.
A farmhouse used to stand on the property, but it burned down more than 10 years ago. However, the farm has remained continuously in use.
Chuck Brothers recently started preparing the land for this year’s growing season. He plans crops of cotton, soybeans and grain sorghum.
“I’m kind of proud of the fact it’s remained in our family the whole time,” Chuck Brothers said, noting there is also a family cemetery on the property with at least six graves.
N.B. Brothers said he is pleased his nephew has taken over farming the land.
“I think it’s good somebody of his age wants to come up in farming — even though he’s no spring chicken,” he said in jest. “We need some young people to get in it.”
According to the Virginia Farm Bureau, the average Virginia farmer is 58.2 years old. Nearly 30 percent are 65 or older.
Chuck Brothers and his wife, Wanda, have two sons, Richie and Wyatt. Richie is a firefighter and emergency medical technician in North Carolina, while Wyatt is still a toddler — what his great-uncle would call a “spring chicken.”
Brothers said the farm will be available for Richie to take over one day “if he wants to.” “We hope it continues to stay in the family,” he said.
