Esther Virginia (Herzig) Spurlock (1895 - 1996)

Born 31 Dec 1895 in Anderson, Kansas, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Chatmon Lewis Spurlock Sr. — married 29 Jul 1914 in Anderson, Kansas, United States

Descendants

Died 13 Jul 1996 at age 100 in Hanover, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Esther Herzig was born, December 31,1895, in Kansas. She was the mother of eleven children. Esther Herzig died July 13, 1996 in Hanover, Virginia. She is buried in the Meherrin Methodist Church Cemetery. I was at the funeral.

Sources

• Birth Notice-https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/clip/22045181

• United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VMBL-8TY : 20 May 2014), Esther H Spurlock, 13 Jul 1996; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMTM-WW4 : accessed 6 December 2019), Esther Herzig in household of Fred Herzig, Welda Township, Anderson, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 28, sheet 4B, family 62, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,470

• United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPGG-9ZB : accessed 6 December 2019), Esther Herzog in household of Fred Herzog, Leigh, Prince Edward, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 104, sheet 10A, family 176, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1642; FHL microfilm 1,375,655.

• United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJNB-CTN : accessed 6 December 2019), Ester Spurlock in household of Chatman Spurlock, Leigh, Prince Edward, Virginia, United States; citing ED 99, sheet 3A, line 44, family 44, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1906; FHL microfilm 1,821,906

• United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CXXB-RZM : accessed 6 December 2019), Ester Spurlock in household of Chatman L Spurlock, Pleasant Grove, Lunenburg, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 8, sheet 4A, line 38, family 75, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2449; FHL microfilm 2,342,183.

• United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRB6-2ZP : 26 July 2019), Esther Spurlock in household of Chetwood L Spurlock, Pleasant Grove Magisterial District, Lunenburg, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 56-10, sheet 2B, line 63, family 30, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4275

• https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XL5-HWPR (1950 US Census)

Attendant helper at her husbands gas station/garage

• Kansas Marriages, 1840-1935", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MY-S6KC : 14 January 2020), C. L. Spurlock, 1914.

• News articleThe records of the Home Improvement Clubs in Prince Edward County (Accession 50011) were recently donated to the Library by Eunice Mottley of Burkeville. The collection, covering the years 1926-1982, gives a unique look at how the women of that county adapted as their way of life changed from rural to suburban.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157236086/esther-spurlock: accessed 31 October 2023), memorial page for Esther Herzig Spurlock (31 Dec 1895–13 Jul 1996), Find a Grave Memorial ID 157236086, citing Meherrin United Methodist Church Cemetery, Meherrin, Prince Edward County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by JaDe (contributor 46638714).

The history of the clubs begins early in the 20th century. In the summer of 1910, Ella G. Agnew (1871-1958) was made "State Agent for Girls' Tomato Clubs" by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp (1831-1911) under the auspices of the General Education Board. Agnew began to work with girls in Halifax and Nottoway counties who planted tomatoes, cared for them, and preserved their fruit-laying the foundation for home demonstration work in Virginia. The tomato clubs later became known as canning clubs and gradually began to influence other phases of homemaking.

In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act was passed by Congress, providing funds for cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics. Home demonstration work grew steadily in Virginia from 1914 to 1917 with expanded programs and an increase in agents employed and counties affected. In Prince Edward County, Claudia Hagy was the first home demonstration agent, with an office at Hampden-Sydney College. By 1923 there were four clubs in the county.

As Farmville developed into a shopping and business center, the clubs established a "rest room" in the basement of the county courthouse where women could obtain daycare while they shopped or relax, read, eat, and enjoy other comforts. During the Depression, curb markets, where farm women could sell their surplus fruits and vegetables, provided a needed source of income. Over the years, other programs were developed and were workshops held in the areas of canning, gardening, meal preparation, health and nutrition, home repair, home furnishings, clothing, crafts, and financial and legal matters.

The number of clubs in Prince Edward County eventually grew to 12. They were organized locally, but depended on the Virginia extension service for program support. The home demonstration clubs ceased operation in 1975. Some, including the Serendipity Club, continued to exist as independent organizations.

The collection of records of the Home Demonstration Clubs in Prince Edward County includes clippings; correspondence; photographs; yearbooks; financial reports; extension agents' monthly and annual reports; and lists of members, committees, and attendees at various programs and workshops. Also included are constitutions and by-laws and minutes of the Advisory Council, Home Demonstration Club, Home Making Board, and Program Planning Committee. There are also histories of home demonstration work and a national directory and handbook (1964).

Esther Herzig Spurlock (1895-1996) of Meherrin wrote in her history of the clubs that throughout their existence, "the clubs' group activities and programs have helped rural women develop their potentials, broadened their outlook, given them new interests and insights, [and] made them more aware and appreciative of their surroundings, as well as their duties and their contributions to the well-being of their families, their neighbors in the county, and indeed the whole world."

–submitted by Jim Greve, Archival and Records Management Services