Bassett Family Association Database

Charles Columbus Bassett

Male 1869 - 1930  (60 years)


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  • Name Charles Columbus Bassett 
    Born 23 Jun 1869 
    Gender Male 
    _UID ED4D201301FDE14891C93E9501F8FF23DCB8 
    Died 4 Jan 1930 
    Cause: Automobile Accident 
    Notes 
    • John David Bassett and Charles Columbus Bassett began cutting and selling ties to the Norfolk and Western Railway for the new road being built from Roanoke, Virginia, to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, about 1889 and later known as the "Punkin Vine" because of its many curves. From selling cross-ties they turned to operating a saw mill and shipping lumber to be manufactured into furniture. Soon the brothers and their brother-in-law, Reed L. Stone, decided to save shipping costs by making the lumber into furniture and selling the finished product. They pooled their resources of $27,000 and in 1902 opened their first furniture plant beside the tracks of the Norfolk and Western Railway line. They were joined in this new venture by their brothers, Joe and Sam, and then by other relatives and friends. This was the beginning of the Bassett Furniture Industries and of the town of Bassett, Virginia.



      Miami Herald, Florida, Saturday, January 4, 1930
      Automobile Accident Is Fatal To Woman
      Motor Car Crashes Into Truck In Business Section of New Smyrna
      (By the Associated Press)

      NEW SMYRNA, Fla, Jan. 3 ? Mrs. C. C. Bassett of Bassett, Va., was killed and her husband was seriously injured late today when their automobile collided with an ice truck in the business district here.
      Witnesses said the Bassett sedan was traveling at a rapid rate when the chauffeur applied the brakes and the machine skidded on the wet pavement crashing into the rear of the parked truck.
      Accompanied by their daughter and daughter-in-law, the Bassetts were on the way to their winter home at Olympia, Fla.
      Bassett was taken to a local hospital where physicians said his condition was critical.


      Crawson Rich on January 9, 1932.
      THE HENRY BULLETIN, Tuesday, January 7, 1930, page 1, cols. 7 & 8 [edited]. The Bassett community and entire county were shocked and deeply grieved when news was received here of the death of Mrs. C. C. Bassett and the fatal injury to Mr. C. C. Bassett in an automobile wreck which occurred Friday at New Smyrna, Florida, as the family was en route to Palm Beach. The accident happened when the colored chauffeur, Francis Wade, who according to witnesses, was driving at high speed, suddenly put on the brakes, causing the car to skid on the wet pavement and crash into the rear of an ice truck, which was parked on the side of the road. Mrs. Bassett was instantly killed and Mr. Bassett, who sustained a fractured skull, was rushed to the hospital, where he died Saturday at midnight without regaining consciousness. The other occupants of the car escaped with minor injuries. Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Bassett, with their daughter, Miss Dorothy Bassett and their daughter-in-law, Mrs. J. E. Bassett, were en route to Palm Beach, where they were planning to spend several months at their winter home. They left Martinsville at six o’clock Thursday morning, after spending the night there with their daughter, Mrs. J. C. Hooker. J. E. Bassett, their son, who was attending the opening of the furniture market in Chicago, left immediately for Florida, upon receiving news of the accident. Mrs. R. E. Weaver of Bassett and Mrs. J. C. Hooker of Martinsville, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bassett, accompanied by their husbands, left Saturday morning for Winston-Salem, where they took the train for New Smyrna. Mr. J. D. Bassett, brother of Mr. C. C. Bassett, and Mrs. J. D. Bassett, a sister of Mrs. C. C. Bassett, who were at their winter home at Hobe Sound, Florida, were communicated with at once and accompanied by their guests, Mr. and Mrs. T. G. Vaughan, of Galax, arrived a few hours later at the scene of the accident. The funeral party left Florida Sunday afternoon about five o’clock and arrived in Danville early Monday afternoon, where they were met by relatives and friends from Bassett. The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Bassett home, where the funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon. Temporary interment will be made in a private vault at the Oakwood Cemetery in Martinsville, pending the construction of a family vault at Bassett. Mrs. Bassett who was a native of Henry county, was 58 years of age, and before her marriage was Miss Roxie Hundley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Hundley. Mr. Bassett was about 60 years of age, was also a native of Henry county, and has been identified for years with the industrial development of county. Mr. Bassett was associated with his brother, J. D. Bassett, in numerous manufacturing and business interests here, being vice president of the Bassett Furniture Company of Bassett, the Hooker-Bassett Furniture Company of Martinsville, the Bassett Mirror Company and the First National Bank of Bassett, and a director and stockholder in other enterprises. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and an office holder in the Kiwanis club. Besides their three daughters, Mrs. R. E. Weaver of Bassett; Mrs. J. C. Hooker of Martinsville and Miss Dorothy Bassett and one son, J. Edwin Bassett, who survive their parents, Mrs. Bassett leaves three sisters, Mrs. J. D. Bassett of Bassett; Mrs. N. F. Burge of Martinsville, and Mrs. R. R. Burchfield of Roanoke and one brother, R. L. Hundley of Jenkins Jones, West Virginia; Mr. Bassett being survived by two sisters, Mrs. R. L. Stone and Mrs. J. W. Ramsey of Basset and two brothers, J. D. Bassett of Bassett, and Joe Bassett of Charlotte, N.C. [Ref. Paul Martin: SUPPLEMENT TO AN ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO . . . FOLLOW THE PERIWINKLE, page 4, Bassett Cemetery, Bassett, Virginia: Charles Columbus Bassett, 6/23/1869 - 1/4/1930; Roxie Hundley Bassett, 8/28/1871 - 1/3/1930].

      1880 Federal Census of Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia
      John H. Bassett - 53 - M - VA-VA-VA - Head - Farmer
      Nancy - 40 - F - VA-VA-VA - Wife - Keeping House
      Joshua - 18 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son - Works on Farm
      Mary C. - 15 - F - VA-VA-VA - Daughter - At Home
      John D. - 14 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son - Works on Farm
      Charlie - 9 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son
      Nancy S. - 7 - F - VA-VA-VA - Daughter
      Sam - 6 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son
      Pink - 5 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son
      Joseph - 2 - M - VA-VA-VA - Son
    Person ID I910  2B Thomas Bassett of Virginia
    Last Modified 11 Mar 2015 

    Father John Henry Bassett,   b. 31 Dec 1827, Henry County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Feb 1915  (Age 87 years) 
    Mother Nancy Jane Spencer,   b. 14 Apr 1839, Patrick County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Jun 1907  (Age 68 years) 
    Married 16 Dec 1856 
    Family ID F165  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Roxie Anne Hundley,   b. 28 Aug 1871,   d. 3 Jan 1930  (Age 58 years) 
    Children 
    +1. Maggie Mabel Bassett,   b. 8 Jan 1897
    +2. Avis Simmons Bassett,   b. 4 Feb 1899
    +3. John Edwin (Ed) Bassett, Sr.,   b. 16 Sep 1901,   d. 21 Jan 1988, Bassett, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
     4. Columbus Chester Bassett,   b. 16 Sep 1901,   d. 26 Jul 1902  (Age 0 years)
    +5. Living
    Family ID F304  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart