Wayland F. Booth ventured from farming to furniture around 1920, when he wandered from his native Eagle Point Farm at Wicomico Church. He found himself in the furniture business in Kilmarnock, opening up in the same building that W.F. Booth still occupies today. It was used furniture then. The business was destined to last, changing with the generations, but Wayland himself seemed more flighty. At one point he even opened another shop across the street, leaving his wife Chloe to manage the original store.

"And Son" entered the business in 1934 during the days of the Depression. There were better times to be selling furniture, but Wayland Somerville Booth knew how to make the best of a bad situation. He traded. He bartered. He went back to his family roots (literally), dug up holly, took it to the mountains and sold it, bought apples, brought them back to the Northern Neck and sold them. The enterprise kept the furniture store alive. Once he got down to running the business with his mother Chloe, the store began carrying new as well as used furniture.

When son of "And Son", Robert Somervill Booth, took over in 1960, he and his wife Connie shifted the focus of the store to new furniture. If anything, it evolved into even more of a family business: there to help out over the years were their own children--Robert Timothy, Michael Todd and Cindy.

The fourth generation was officially represented when Tim (son of son of "And Son"), Todd, and Cindy Booth joined the business. Tim married Tara West, who teaches 6th grade. They have a daughter, Alyssa Sommervill. Todd married Leah Jenkins who does cat scans and MAI at Rappahannock General Hospital. They are expecting their first child. Cindy married Dwight Clarke and had the 5th generation son of son of son of "And Son", William Somervill, and a daughter, Rachel. She left the business to raise their two children.

All these sons of W.F. Booth had one thing in common: they grew up in the family business. They took their first steps in it; they performed chores for it; they learned to pay attention to the pieces and appreciate their value.

They worked from the bottom up, coming to know the business inside and out. Perhaps most important of all, they learned to pay careful attention to the needs and concerns of their customers. They really do know how to bring your dreams to life.