Letter to Santa written in 1918: What became of orphan boy who lost parents to Spanish flu

The late Henry Mutt Partin strikes a pose in front of his childhood home in Matoaca, Va.

MATOACA — The late Henry Munt Partin, an orphan who grew up in Matoaca, reached out to Santa Claus 105 years ago. Colonial Heights native Chris Barham of Rodanthe, N.C. came across the five-year-old’s emotional, special request while digging through old news clippings.

The letter to the jolly, gift giver was dated December 14, 1918 and published on December 17, 1918 in the now defunct Richmond Virginian newspaper.

Young Henry had recently been orphaned along with his little brothers Charles Jr. and Joseph and older brother Claggett. Their parents Charles Frederick Partin Sr. [1878 – 1918] and Martha Eleanora [Clayton] Partin [1878 – 1918] died during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.

“This young lad was concerned about whether or not Santa Claus would be able to find him and his little brothers who had been forced to recently relocate to the village of Matoaca just prior to Christmas of 1918,” Barham said. “Fortunately, the young remnants of this Partin family were taken in by their aunt and uncle, Emmett Lee Mann [1871-1923] and his wife Mary Clayton Mann [1873–1955] of Matoaca Village.”

It is unknown where the Partin children lived prior to the passing of their parents, but at the bottom of Henry’s letter, the clipping included Ettrick, Virginia, Route 1. According to relatives, the Manns lived on Little Road in Matoaca.

“Other than some fireworks and maybe a horn, the Christmas wishes of little Henry Partin weren’t much different than any other kid’s would’ve been in those times,” Barham said. “It would seem that his only real concern was that, with his world recently been turned upside down, Santa might not be able to find him and his brothers at their new home with their aunt and uncle.”

A letter to Santa Claus written by five-year-old orphan Henry Munt Partin published in the defunct Richmond Virginian newspaper on December 17, 1918. Colonial Heights native Chris Barham discovered it while digging through old news clippings.

Letter to Santa Claus: Penned by five-year-old orphan in 1918

Dear Santa Claus:

I am a little orphan boy 5 years old. My Mamma died last May and papa died last October with the Spanish flue, and left me and three other brothers, the youngest brother eighteen months old. I don’t live where I did last Xmas. I am living with my uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Lee Mann of Matoaca. They are all the mamma and papa that we have. Please don’t forget me Dear Santa. I want some candy, nuts, apples, oranges, fire works, horn and foot ball, and anything else that you can spare. So good by Santa. Please don’t forget me and the rest of my other little brothers. Bye bye.

Your little boy,

Henry Munt Partin

I needed to confirm the source of the clipping so Barham, a historian by birth, saved this journalist some time and discovered the clipping housed in the Library of Virginia newspaper archives of their Virginia Chronicle online repository. His dad, the late Charles “Charlie” Barham Sr., was a member of the Matoaca Village Historical Group.

“My father and his elderly Matoaca friends brought me in to help them because they weren’t very literate in using computers and things for research and stuff,” Barham said. “They wanted to do a website but didn’t want to pay money to maintain it, so, they opted for a Facebook account instead.”

Two years ago, Barham shared the clipping on the Matoaca Village Facebook. It was shared 53 times and followers reminisced about Henry and his family. Determined to learn what became of the youngster who had such a rough start in life, I tracked down his grandson Danny Partin of Dinwiddie.

Henry Munt Partin’s kinfolk

Danny, a Petersburg firefighter, was extremely helpful and generous with his time to tell his grandfather’s tale. He was able to do so since his late father Arthur “Artie” Partin made it his mission to preserve family history.

“In my dad’s generation, everyone knew everyone. He tried to save that tight-knit community by keeping all the old pictures and stuff,” Danny said. “Today, the Matoaca Village is not like it was during my father’s time.”

Ruby Partin, Danny’s mom, took pictures of portraits which hang in her Matoaca home to share with our readers. Artie made sure to add labels below images so future generations will know who is who.

From left to right, siblings Joe and Henry Partin strike poses with their uncle John Mann in Matoaca, Va. This cherished Partin family keepsake hangs in the home of Ruby Partin.

“That house in the background would have been the house that my grandfather would have written the letter in. It is roughly still standing but kind of grown over in the woods now. We call it ‘The Homeplace.’ My sister lives right next door to it,” Danny said. “In fact, all of the people in the picture are buried in the front yard of this house. Same as my father. It’s just one of those old things that when you passed away back then. They just took you out to the backyard and started a cemetery.”

Henry’s family farm was shared by the next generation. Danny’s parents built just below the house his grandfather was raised in, and his sister built one on the other side of it. Joe Partin’s son and grandson each built a house also. Everyone has about five acres each.

“Henry’s ancestors served as indentured servants at the Berkeley Plantation along the James River. In two generations time, they went to Matoaca and the Partin family has been there ever since,” Danny said. “I live in Dinwiddie, but I’m still Matoaca at heart.”

The Partins have always known the history of how their ancestors succumbed to the Spanish flu, but they knew nothing about the letter to Santa until they read it on Facebook. “That’s one of those things, a lifetime find for a family,” Danny said.

According to Danny, his father is Henry’s only biological son, however, the orphan also raised his wife’s son and daughter.

“My grandfather was dirt poor and saw so many changes in his life,” Danny shared. “His son was the first one to get a GED, my brother was the first one to get a high school diploma, and I was the first one to graduate from college. And he got to see all of that. He went from pretty much nothing to, in the end, raising prosperous kids and grandkids. It was something for him to witness everybody do well.”

Artie provided his children with good work ethics because his father basically grew up with nothing. “You got a choice in life when bad things happen like losing both parents. You can give up in life, or you can just keep on going and end up with a good family in the end,” Danny said.

I asked Danny how Henry’s siblings turned out. He said, “Everyone turned out to be fine. We still hang out with Joe’s son. He’s a Chesterfield police officer. Everyone has done very well. We don’t have too many deadbeats in the family. Everybody has ended up being very prosperous. We’re not rich folks, but we’re average, middle-class people.”

Santa believer: Converts to Jehovah’s Witness

Henry got drafted into World War II at age 30 and returned a changed man. “He found religion, never drank, went to church and ended up being a Jehovah’s Witness. That’s where life took him. He found the Lord through being a Jehovah’s Witness and therefore didn’t celebrate Christmas,” Danny said. “It’s ironic because 25 years earlier, he wrote a letter to father Christmas.”

Henry and his wife Miriam Burnell Jackson [1909-1998] still attended events, but they did not participate in gift-giving. They also did not decorate their home for holidays or celebrations.

“Grandfather farmed and worked a job. He ended up working and retiring as a janitor, Danny said. “He also found peace gardening in his backyard. He had a little vegetable stand in season. People would come by and purchase whatever he had. He was the local produce center.”

“Mr. Partin was my nannie Mary Ozmore’s neighbor,” Tara Phillips commented on Facebook. “I can remember him bringing vegetables to her.”

“We lived next door to the Partins. Mrs. Partin would stand at her back door and clap her hands at 5 p.m. for Artie to come home for supper,” Diane Emory added to the Facebook conversation.

Charlene Cole Pritchett reminisced with other Matoaca Village Facebook followers, “I played with Artie. Mr. Partin and his wife Burnell were always very nice to talk to and visit.”

How did Henry Munt Partin get his middle name?

“Henry’s middle name Munt has an interesting history,” Danny said. “My great granddad worked at Munt’s Mill, so he named his son after the mill. I asked Danny if Munt has been passed down to anyone else in the family. He laughed and responded, “Nobody else took the Munt name, thank God.”

H. F. Munt’s Eagle corn and flour mill was located in Petersburg near the tall hill which leads to Virginia State University. An Alexandria Gazette news clipping dated October 18, 1892 which I found at newspapers.com, informed readers that a fire burned the mills to the ground. Mr. Munt estimated his loss at $20,000.

Until yesterday, December 12, Danny was not aware that his grandfather was cared for by Emmett Lee Mann who served in the Virginia House of Delegates for Chesterfield and Powhatan. In an article dated July 19, 1923, the Richmond Times Dispatch reported the politician, at age 52, was struck by an interurban car at stop 61 of the Richmond-Petersburg line of the Virginia Railway and Power Company. Emmett, Henry and many other family members are buried in the Partin Cemetery aka Clayton Cemetery. Henry [1913-2000] died at age 86 in Matoaca.

Emmett’s wife Mary’s grave stone has the following inscription: “Mother to five boys without a child of her own.” Ruby informed Danny that Henry’s aunt also raised a Black child but is unsure of his name. According to Danny, the orphan boy may have been a Branch or Brown that grew up on the adjacent parcels where his grandfather had friends.

“Finding stories like this make the search so satisfying and worthwhile. No doubt that Henry and his siblings were thankful for a warm Christmas with all of the love and presents that Santa and his aunt and uncle could provide back then on Jesus’s birthday in December of 1918,” Barham said. “Count your blessings, as we’re sure that little Henry did back in those simpler times of 105 years ago.”

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Kristi K. Higgins aka The Social Butterfly, an award-winning columnist, is the trending topics and food Q&A reporter at The Progress-Index voted the 2022 Tri-Cities Best of the Best Social Media Personality. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Contact Kristi (she, her) at khiggins@progress-index.com, follow @KHiggins_PI on X and @socialbutterflykristi on Instagram.

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This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Letter to Santa written in 1918: What became of five-year-old orphan