"Mama Lou" Louise Frances Bryant

When Louise was only six her mother died. Her father never remarried. Her sister and brothers, in particular Bradley looked out for her while growing up. The 1920 census again shows the family in Richmond county, but no road is given. The only children remaining at home were Emory, Bradley and Louise. She was marked as attending school that year. In 1924 her brother Bradley died in a buggy accident when he got caught in the reins and drug along by the horses. He was taken home after the accident but never regained consciousness and died the following day. Louise took his death very hard and often talked of him later in her life.

On April 29th, 1925 Louise married Elton Ralph Dameron. He was the son of Richard Christopher Dameron and Mildred Cleopatra Fallin. They were married in Richmond County at the Baptist Parsonage by Rev. S.S. Robinson and honeymooned in Washington D.C.

Hilda was born in 1926 and Margurite in 1927. The April 1930 census lists the family living on the "Road from Haynesville to Totuskey P.O." Elton is listed a farmer, he is shown as owning the home. Elton Ralph Dameron, Jr. was born just after the census in June of 1930. While Elton and Louise lived in Haynesville they were members at Totuskey Baptist Church. During the 1930s Elton began driving a truck to Richmond City to buy fruits and vegtables to supply a number of stores in the Northern Neck.

The 1940 census listed Elton's occupation as a wholesale fruit and vegetable merchant, he reported working 48 hours a week. Their home was valued at $2,500. Their fourth child Mabel was shown as being born in 1934. Louise was listed as finishing 7th grade.

In the 1950 census Elton and Louise were still living in Haynesville. Elton was listed as a farmer and reported that he had worked 70 hours the previous week. Mabel, 15, and Ralph, 19, were also still living at home. Ralph reported working 50 hours as a farmer the previous week. Their last child, Anne, was born in 1950. Around 1952 Elton bought Enon Hall farm on Antipoison Creek near White Stone and the family moved down to the lower end of the Northern Neck. At first Louise and Elton lived in the Enon Hall farm house. Elton farmed and subdivided some lots off of the farm. For a while her uncle, Philip Reamy Bryant lived with them.

While they lived in White Stone, Louise and Elton were members of White Stone Baptist Church. In 1963 they began building a new home on the east side of the Enon Hall Farm. This is where they lived out the rest of their lives.

Elton passed away on April 18th, 1987 due to cardiac arrest. He was buried at Totuskey Baptist Church in Haynesville.

Louise developed some problems with her toes and eventually had to have more and more of her leg amputated. Eventually she was no longer able to live at home and moved back up to Richmond County to live in a nursing home near her daughters Hilda and Mabel. Louise died May 12th, 1993 at Riverside Hospital in Tappahannock. Her cause of death was given as a stroke. Her funeral was held at White Stone Baptist Church with burial at Totuskey Baptist Church on May 15th. At the time of her death she had 18 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.