Resident of Same Block in "Fulton"
For 78 Years Recalls Incidents of Past

Gen. Lee visited Father's Store.

Margaret and Her Mother Gave Bread to Libby Prisoners

By Robert B. Munford, Jr.

Memories of an older day in Richmond and of one of the city's historic sections are recalled in an interview given the News Leader by Mrs. Margaret D. Cavedo, widow of Raphael A. Cavedo, who for seventy-eight years has resided on the same block in "Fulton." Her home is now designated 4529 Lester Street and from its windows Mrs. Cavedo has had opportunity to see much of the city's life both on its historic nearby hills and its equally historic water front.

Her husband, who is remembered by many Richmond people, opened a store half a century ago on Lester Street and he was for more than thirty years "registrar" for old Jefferson ward.

Mrs. Cavedo was before her marriage Miss Margaret Destler, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Destler, and her father who was a native of Bavaria, Germany, where he was born in 1815, came to this country when he was 21 years of age and opened a small store on Main Street, opposite the present site of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway station. Mr. Destler married here the widow of John Miller, and they had three daughters and one son. All of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Destler are still living.

Referring to Mr. Destler, Mrs. Cavedo said, "In 1851 my father opened a store at 3750 Lester Street in "Rocketts," buying a small building and adding to it until at the time of his death, in 1879, it covered a large area. He was also engaged in the co-operate trade and his old shop on Louisiana Street, which in later years was converted into four dwellings, stood intact until the past year, when two of the dwellings were torn down."

Prizes Old Candlestick

"One of my prized possessions," said Mrs. Cavedo, "is a brass candlestick which as a small child I held to give light while my father used a pumice stone on skins that were to be used on cannon rammers for the Confederate army."

A sketch of Mr. Destler written at the time of his death stated that he had "made quite a fortune in shipping barrels to foreign countries and that early in his career he conceived a passion for collecting articles of all kinds." His place on Lester Street was called a "Noah's Ark," and was visited by many strangers who came to the city.

One of Mr. Destler's curios was said to have been a "hack" that had once been owned by President Tyler, and Mrs. Cavedo recalls that it was in this vehicle that she, as [section missing]

Continuing her interesting story of the past Mrs. Cavedo said, 'my father had a number of farms between Lester Street and the present Government Road and I can Remember the soldiers on top of Fulton Hill and their taking fruit from the farms below.

I can also remember so well my father placing tubs and buckets of water on the street when the soldiers were passing and I recall that General Lee came into our store and also General Johnston. My mother would bake a large pan of bread and take me with her on Sundays and give the bread to the soldiers in Libby prison.

"I remember, too, " said Mrs. Cavedo, "That when the Yankees came my brother placed me on the roof of one of the buildings and prompted me to yell, "pickled Yankees' and then dropped down so they couldn't see me. I thought I was having lots of fun, not realizing seriousness of war."

"The captain of one of the boats in the river came to my father and told him he didn't want to damage his place more than might be necessary and so he floated the boat down the river about a mile. But the next morning when the boat was blown up I remember distinctly that the explosion was so great that it caused the panes of glass to fall out of our windows and some of them fell on the table that had been set for breakfast."

Marvelled at "Thee, Thou."

"Adjoining my father's was Parr's pottery that was run by Dave Parr. Mr. Parr had two daughters, Miss Mag and Miss Lou Parr, and they taught school first on Lester Street in a little brick house and later they opened a millinery store at 1515 East Main Street. They were Quakers and as a child, I used to marvel at their ways of saying "thee and thou." They were wonderful friends to me.

"Between Lester Street and the river was A. Y. Morris' sugar refinery and not far from that was the "Sail Loft" where sails and tents were made.

"Below Richmond, or 'Rocketts,' rather, was Gibson's brickyard, the glass factory, the brewery, and Brimmell and Burn's distillery.

Mrs. Cavedo went on to say that the recent ice jam in James river here had served to vividly recall to her mind other similar ones and specially the one of 1879.

She said, "I remember a hole was made in the ice at a place about opposite the present Buxton Line wharf and a long rail was put in it in some way and sleighs tied to a strip of wood and swung around--giving the venturesome a thrill and a long ride on the ice. The ice did not break so the sport had no mishaps to mar the pleasure.

I also recall another ice jam and break when I watched the huge piles of ice coming down the river and crushing the boats--especially the lovely little launch called "The Nat." This break carried the government boat, the Robert Leslie, which was always anchored opposite my home, down the river. It broke windows and wrecked boats generally."

Friend of Miss Van Lew

Mrs. Cavedo as a girl attended a school at Twenty-third and Franklin Streets, and later was a pupil at a school at Fifth and Duvall where she recalls that she was taught German by a Mr. Blenner. She said "I was attending the school at Twenty-Third and Franklin when I first met Miss Van Lew, the postmistress of Richmond, and the so-called Yankee spy. She was a friend of our family and was always so nice to me. I have heard my father say, "She was too smart for those who tried to condemn her.'

"I failed to mention Hiram Tyler, who lived a block below 'The Ark,' next to a small graveyard. He married a sister of Captain Smith and Tyler's old home was torn down about a year ago. There are only two stones left in the graveyard now although when my children were small there were many more and the boys dug human bones out of the side of the hill on which it now stands.

One of the stones has the inscription, "Sacred to the memory of John Prosser, late of the city of Richmond, who departed this life Oct. 25, 1810, in the 38th year of his age."

"My husband, the late R. A. Cavedo, attended James Howard Peay's school with E. A. Saunders, Dave Richardson, and others who have passed away. He was registrar for thirty-five years until his death, and put more young men voters' names on the books in this ward, Jefferson, than any other man. We opened a store in 1886, at 3822 Lester Street, present number 4529, the store being only one hundred feet from my childhood home, part of which is still standing. When the street was lowered it left the old home high in the air, and in pulling it down after my father's death we saved part of it and that part is still standing at 4521 Lester Street.

On Same Block 78 years

"I have been living on the same block for seventy-eight years and am the mother of ten children, of whom six sons and three daughters are living.

I had a wonderful father, and after my mother died, when I was 12 years old, he was both mother and father to his children"

Mrs. Cavedo referred to the fact that "Fulton" was originally known as "Port Mayo," being so named for the family of the Mayos of "Powhatan," the ancient seat of the the family nearby. She said of "Powhatan," "This was a beautiful place and the grounds were beautiful."

"Fort Erin," she also recalled was the title of the large and beautiful place "upon Fulton Hill where the playground is now--a large brick house in a grove with all kinds of flowers. This house was latered burned to the ground. Mr. Fulton had married Miss Mayo, of Powhatan, and this was the home. Later 'Port Mayo' was given the designation 'Fulton' for Mr. John Fulton.