Figure of the Week

Robert Lawrence Flatford (1852-1898) was the son of Robert Flatford (c.1810-1892) and Eliza Jane Harding (c.1812-after 1892) of Loudoun and Stafford Counties.  The elder Robert was a blacksmith by trade and lived in a log house across Garrisonville Road from modern North Stafford High School.  That house remains standing, though it has been covered with siding.  Robert L. Flatford married Frances “Fannie” Edmonia Gill (1852-1936), the daughter of his neighbors Charles Edward Gill (c.1818-1890) and Elizabeth Virginia Homes (1822-1861).  R. L. Flatford was a merchant and also conducted a thriving timber business, shipping vast quantities of cordwood, lumber, and railroad ties from Coal Landing where he also ran a store.  His home stood on a hill that was cut away to make room for North Stafford High School.  Robert died of typhoid fever.