In 1882 Franklin Cover and his brothers William Henry and Tobias formed a tanning business in Browntown, Virginia, 19 minutes south of Front Royal in Warren County. The business was known as "The Cover Brothers." Tobias sold his
interest in the business in 1883 and Franklin bought out William in 1885. His firm, Mount Vernon Tannery, operated profitably until around 1899 when tanbark became scarce in the area. In 1899 Cover and his eldest son Samuel visited western North Carolina looking for new sources. They visited Asheville, Waynesville, Murphy, and Bryson City before settling in Andrews. Land was purchased and construction of the tanning plant began in May of 1899. The plant opened the next year and Cover and his family moved into their new three story brick house, construction of which was also begun in 1899 and finished in 1900.
The Franklin Pierce Cover house is listed in the National Historical Register.
(Bio by Herbert Lee Cover III #47643356).
Family links:
Parents:
Samuel Cover (1823 - 1903)
Maria Ann Margaret Hull Cover (1827 - 1880)
Spouse:
Laura Jane Matthias Cover (1856 - 1936)*
Children:
Samuel Edward Cover (1878 - 1962)*
Infant Daughter Cover (1879 - 1879)*
Anna V Cover (1880 - 1883)*
Giles William Cover (1885 - 1950)*
Frank Summers Cover (1887 - 1911)*
Mary Elizabeth Cover (1889 - 1964)*
Siblings:
Tobias Dallas Cover (1850 - 1888)*
William H Cover (1851 - 1886)*
Franklin Pierce Cover (1854 - 1903)
*Calculated relationship
