Alexis 2009 Stroup Reunion

The reunion weekend is now completed. I must say it was a fun filled weekend. Met a lot of new cousins and went non-stop for 2 full days. I did get some new photos, which excited me beyond belief. I will be posting some of the older photos on the blog and will post ALL of them on our Ancestry tree. I’m not sure what info Sid got I will have to chat with him later and find out. We tried to spread ourselves out so everyone that had questions could get answers.

I’ll actually start with Friday. Bill Randolph and his wife flew in from Seattle, Washington and I felt that was a long expensive trip just to meet a few cousins, so I gathered up about 15 notebooks and folders on his line (Jacob Stroup 1771) and met them at the hotel in Charlotte on Friday evening. We chatted for a couple of hours then I left in order to let him start skimming through all those papers. Over the next 2 days we used almost a whole pack of paper to make copies of what Bill wanted to review. I just hope he got enough to make the trip worthwhile.

On Saturday morning we took off for Cowpens, SC to locate the iron furnace that Jacob II had built there. We had pretty good directions so we found the general area pretty quick. Our biggest problem was we were not sure this was the correct place. We had photos of the furnace, which were made in about 1980, and they didn’t match what we were seeing. After some time stomping through the woods and walking up and down the gravel road, I went back to what I thought was the site and started looking around on the ground lo and behold I started finding big clumps of slag. That is a sure sign a furnace was near by. At this point we decided we had seen about all there was to see, still not convinced we were in the right place. As we were leaving we saw a gentleman working in his yard, so we stopped and asked him about the furnace since he lived only a couple hundred yards away. He told us that yes that was where the furnace was located. He said vandals had destroyed it over the last 20 years. He said the state tried to preserve it but it was so remote they couldn’t monitor it very well. At that point we left Cowpens and headed back. Bill decided he wanted to go to Mt. Zion Cemetery in Cherryville and see Daniel Stroup’s marker. It was only a few minutes off our route back so we drove over there for a brief stop. We got back to Charlotte late afternoon so I headed home to start copying the papers Bill had selected from the night before. That gave Bill time to review the remaining papers he had.

The big day arrived early. Several of us met in Alexis at 10AM so we could visit 3 of the local cemeteries. Our group consisted of Bill Randolph and wife, Linda Ballard, Carol Callanan and her sister, Mary (Googie) O’Malley and her daughter, so we loaded into 2 cars and off we went. I must say Mary’s daughter was quite a “trooper”, she was not dressed for what we were about to undertake. She was wearing a very dress and flip-flop shoes. I must say she stomped through the mud and woods with a big smile on her face. Everyone got a lot of great photos of the Stroup markers. I did get a couple of fire ant stings on Solomon’s marker but luckily I didn’t get any poison ivy or the dreadful chigger bites. On our way back we stopped at the “Jackie Stroup Home place” and took photos. That is the home where the big 1927 reunion took place. We returned to the church just in time to clean up before things got started. Sid, Linda and I brought handouts, photos, CD’s and charts. I must say the Family charts that Sid brought were the hit of the reunion. He posted them on the wall and they were so large you could read them from 15 feet away. I got to meet Sid’s sister, which was quite a thrill for me. Every time I looked over there that wall had a crowd gathered who were trying to see where they fit on those charts. Linda Ballard spent her whole time trying to answer questions and assist people. I tried my best to chat with everyone that I had met online but there just was not enough time. Bryan Crenshaw was there and I only got to spend a few minutes with him and he has provided me with so much material. I really feel bad I didn’t spend enough time with him. The old saying applies here “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”.

I think everyone had a good time. The food was beyond description. It was spread out over 4-5 banquet tables and all types of food that you can think of. I did not eat much because I was too busy running my mouth. I am not going to cover the “official” business but will post it when Martha sends it to me. On thing I need to say is I did not take any photos, I was so busy visiting with cousins. I am hoping that some of those that took pictures will forward them to me. OH! There are about 90-100 people (75 last year) there, which kinda surprised me because of the economy. One person of note that wasn’t present was Dr. Henry Stroupe, I hope his health is good. I will post pictures when I get them. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SUCH A GREAT STROUP REUNION!!!!