Talmadge Washington (1890-1980) spent his early adulthood working on the family farm. After marrying Marcella Whindelton, of Albemarle County, the couple lived briefly in Montclair, New Jersey.

By 1940, they and their five children had moved back to North Garden. Talmadge worked as a farm laborer and on highway construction crews, while Marcella was a housemaid.