Octavia Virginia VIRNELSON^{[1, 2]}

1849 - 1916  (66 years)

• Name	Octavia Virginia VIRNELSON
  Nickname	Ocky
  Birth	19 Dec 1849	Portsmouth, Norfolk Co, VA   [1, 3]
  Gender	Female
  birth2 (conflicting)	Ocky consistently misstated her age.  [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
  	Octavia was 66 years old at the time of her death. She would have turned 67 in December of 1916. The information concerning Octavia's age given by her husband, John C. Herbert, to both Snellings Funeral Home and to the Portsmouth, VA Registrar of Deaths was false. John Herbert reported that his wife's birth date was 12 Oct 1863, making her 14 years younger than she actually was. Octavia was enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 censuses. Had she been born in 1863, she could not have been counted in either of these enumerations. More importantly, her father, William S. Virnelson, had died in June of 1851. By the 1870 census Octavia had dropped a year from her actual age. The information on her marriage license reflected this age change. By 1880 she had reduced her age by another year, making herself 28 years of age. She stated her birthdate as Dec 1856 for the 1900 census taker, but in 1910 reverted to a birth year of 1850, suggesting an age in 1910 of 60 years.
  Death	25 Aug 1916	Portsmouth City, VA   [10]
  	Octavia died at her Portsmouth home, 746 Emmett Street, at 7:15pm of a "cerebral hemorrhage".
  funeral	27 Aug 1916	Portsmouth City, VA   [11]
  	Her funeral service was held at Park View Methodist Episcopal Church on Sunday, 27 Aug 1916. Rev. W. T. Haynes preached the 3:00PM service. Octavia's nephews, Clerwoode L. Virnelson, Leon H. Virnelson, Winston C. Virnelson, Columbus W. Virnelson, Robert F. Virnelson, Calder H. Herbert & Richard A. Herbert, served as seven of the nine active pallbearers.
  Burial	27 Aug 1916	Portsmouth City, VA   [10]
  	Burial followed at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth in the J. L. Hatton family plot.
  Person ID	I466	mason
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Father	William S. VIRNELSON,   b. 23 Nov 1806, Virginia d. 15 Jun 1851 (Age 44 years)
  Mother	Telitha Bacon JAMES,   b. 4 Jan 1813, Norfolk Co, VA d. 31 Jan 1888, Portsmouth City, VA (Age 75 years)
  Marriage	29 Dec 1831	Portsmouth, Norfolk Co, VA   [3]
  	The couple was married in Portsmouth, Virginia by the Rev. Thomas Webb on 29 December 1831.
  Family ID	F16	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	John Curle HERBERT,   b. 11 Nov 1849, Portsmouth, Norfolk Co, VA d. 29 Mar 1934, Portsmouth City, VA (Age 84 years)
  Marriage	7 Jun 1876	Portsmouth City, VA   [1]
  	The couple was married later the same day in Portsmouth by Rev. H.T. Mitchell.
  Children	1. Frank S. HERBERT,   b. 4 Sep 1877, Portsmouth City, VA d. 9 Jan 1878, Portsmouth City, VA (Age 0 years)   2. Mabel Telitha HERBERT,   b. 23 Jul 1879, Portsmouth, VA d. 21 Jul 1924, Portsmouth City, VA (Age 44 years)
  Family ID	F110	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

• Photos

  1900 US Census / Herbert, John C. Emmett Street, Portsmouth, VA

  
  

• Notes

  Resided: 22 Apr 1910, Portsmouth City, VA [S1031]

  
  

• Sources

  [S3897] John C. Herbert - Octavia V. Virnelson, Portsmouth, VA marriage license & minister’s return no. 1881 (1876). . [S4205] Telitha B. Virnelson will (1888), Portsmouth City, VA Will Book 2, pp. 58-59. [S3009] "William S. Virnelson Prescription Book". [S1030] 1900 US Census / Herbert, John C. [S1031] 1910 US Census / Herbert, John C. [S1052] 1850 US Census / Virnelson, Wm. [S1053] 1860 US Census / Virnelson, Telitha. [S1054] 1870 US Census / Virnelson, Telitha. [S4211] 1880 US Census / Virnelson, Telitha . [S1051] Octavia V. Herbert, Virginia death certificate no. 20748 (1916). [S2980] Octavia V. Herbert, funeral orders, August 1916, J.E. Snellings & Co, Portsmouth, VA.