Eva and Frank Slaughter1061 Fanwood AvenueMoving from Virginia, north to Pennsylvania, Elizabeth NJ and finally to Westfield NJ in 1937, the family of 10 lived in the "big woods" with their family of 8 children for 30 years until the town bought the property in 1969.
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The story of Eva and Frank Slaughter begins near the turn of the 20th Century in Virginia. In lives that experienced Jim Crow segregation and two World Wars, they persevered. Like so many of their neighbors, the Slaughters made their way north to seek better opportunity and eventually settled into the community in the “Big Woods” in Westfield. There, they raised a family and seeded new generations to find their way in a country that still struggles to recognize the value in our diversity.
Frank Slaughter was born in 1895 in White Hall, Virginia, a rural village a few miles northwest of Charlottesville. His father, James, owned a farm there and made his living as a blacksmith. Eva Thomas was born in 1900 in Charlottesville, where her father worked as a janitor at the University of Virginia. Eva and Frank were married in Richmond, Virginia on April 18, 1918, just two months before Frank reported in June for duty to fight in World War I. In those short months together, Eva conceived their first child.
Frank was assigned to Company H - 802nd Pioneer Infantry Regiment, an African-American combat regiment, which trained at Camp Sherman in Ohio and later at Camp Mills in Long Island, New York under the command of white officers. Many African Americans who fought in the war sought to show their patriotism despite experiencing Jim Crow racism. These soldiers shared in the hope that their service might bring about change.
Frank’s Regiment departed from Hoboken in September, 2018 bound for England and then France, where they were transported to the front for the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The Meuse- Argonne offensive was a 47 day long battle involving 1.2 million American soldiers. It was a deadly battle that claimed the lives of 26,277 Americans. In addition to warfare, the combatants contended with the global influenza outbreak commonly referred to as the Spanish flu.
Frank Slaughter was born in 1895 in White Hall, Virginia, a rural village a few miles northwest of Charlottesville. His father, James, owned a farm there and made his living as a blacksmith. Eva Thomas was born in 1900 in Charlottesville, where her father worked as a janitor at the University of Virginia. Eva and Frank were married in Richmond, Virginia on April 18, 1918, just two months before Frank reported in June for duty to fight in World War I. In those short months together, Eva conceived their first child.
Frank was assigned to Company H - 802nd Pioneer Infantry Regiment, an African-American combat regiment, which trained at Camp Sherman in Ohio and later at Camp Mills in Long Island, New York under the command of white officers. Many African Americans who fought in the war sought to show their patriotism despite experiencing Jim Crow racism. These soldiers shared in the hope that their service might bring about change.
Frank’s Regiment departed from Hoboken in September, 2018 bound for England and then France, where they were transported to the front for the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The Meuse- Argonne offensive was a 47 day long battle involving 1.2 million American soldiers. It was a deadly battle that claimed the lives of 26,277 Americans. In addition to warfare, the combatants contended with the global influenza outbreak commonly referred to as the Spanish flu.
1918 Photograph of a Company of 802nd Pioneer Infantry Regiment at Camp Sherman
Frank safely returned with his Regiment to Newport News, Virginia in June, 1919. While her husband had been deployed in battle earlier that year, Eva had given birth to their first child, Eva Arline, in Washington, DC. Over the next decade, they would add to their family having six children despite both travelling distances to seek work and returning periodically to their Virginia home.
In 1920, Frank and his younger brother, Jesse, moved north to Pennsylvania for work as laborers at a sheet mill factory. During this time, they roomed in a boarding house in Farrell, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Eva Slaughter lodged in a Philadelphia boarding house to pursue work as a domestic but managed to return home to Charlottesville for the births of their sons, - Frank Jr. and George.
The Pennsylvania millwork experience of brothers Jesse and Frank may have led them to New Jersey, where, by 1928, they were both living in Elizabeth and working at the Phelps Dodge copper plant on the waterfront. By 1930, the entire Slaughter family of Frank, Eva, and six children were reunited in rented living quarters on Lafayette Street, about eight blocks from the industrial area near the port.
In 1937, the Slaughters, now with eight children, moved to 1061 Fanwood Avenue in what was then considered the “Big Woods.” They paid $25 a month rent to Philip Walker, another African- American from Virginia who had purchased the property in 1928. At the outbreak of WWII, both Frank Sr., age 42, and son Frank Jr, age 20, reported to their draft board that they were working at the Phelps Dodge plant. Later in the 1940’s this changed, and Frank described his work as a self-employed gardener; while Frank Jr. became a car mechanic.
In 1920, Frank and his younger brother, Jesse, moved north to Pennsylvania for work as laborers at a sheet mill factory. During this time, they roomed in a boarding house in Farrell, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Eva Slaughter lodged in a Philadelphia boarding house to pursue work as a domestic but managed to return home to Charlottesville for the births of their sons, - Frank Jr. and George.
The Pennsylvania millwork experience of brothers Jesse and Frank may have led them to New Jersey, where, by 1928, they were both living in Elizabeth and working at the Phelps Dodge copper plant on the waterfront. By 1930, the entire Slaughter family of Frank, Eva, and six children were reunited in rented living quarters on Lafayette Street, about eight blocks from the industrial area near the port.
In 1937, the Slaughters, now with eight children, moved to 1061 Fanwood Avenue in what was then considered the “Big Woods.” They paid $25 a month rent to Philip Walker, another African- American from Virginia who had purchased the property in 1928. At the outbreak of WWII, both Frank Sr., age 42, and son Frank Jr, age 20, reported to their draft board that they were working at the Phelps Dodge plant. Later in the 1940’s this changed, and Frank described his work as a self-employed gardener; while Frank Jr. became a car mechanic.
1964 Photograph of the Slaughter home at 1061 Fanwood Avenue
Several months later Frank died at the Veterans Hospital in East Orange at the age of 72. Eva sold their home to the Town in 1969 and moved to Fanwood, where she lived until her death in 1976. Perhaps Frank and Eva’s legacy lies in the untold stories of their descendants: children who became a mechanic, a professional boxer, a career navy submariner, a butcher, a truck driver, and grandchildren and great grandchildren who include a teacher, a banker, a professor, and a playwright.
Contributed by the Friends of Brightwood Park Historian, Rob Lombard
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In 1948, the Northern Building and Loan Association of Newark foreclosed on the 1061 Fanwood Avenue home for non-payment of the mortgage by landlord, Philip Walker. However, the bank allowed the Slaughters to continue their tenancy.
Eight years later, in 1956, Franklin Schoner, principal owner of the Northern Building and Loan Association, sold the property to the Slaughters for $4,000. That year, the Town of Westfield acquired 56 properties in the “Big Woods” community through in rem foreclosures (foreclosure due to nonpayment of real estate taxes). Frank and Eva Slaughter celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April, 1968, in their home at 1061 Fanwood Avenue, surrounded by their 8 children, 16 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. They had faced the ups and downs in life that affect most families who were simply trying to find a better place to live and raise their children. After 30 years living on Fanwood Avenue, it is fair to say that they had found that place. Even though their neighborhood in 1968 lacked the sewers, water mains, or paved roads that existed in surrounding neighborhoods, they were home owners. So, it is equally likely that their anniversary celebration was muted by the knowledge that they would soon have to leave their home due to the Town of Westfield’s plans to build a park. 
The remains of the steps to 1061 Fanwood Avenue
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