HISTORY OF THE JACOB STROUP MONUMENT

Alexis, Gaston County, North Carolina
August 2013.

2013 marks the fiftieth (50th) year anniversary of raising the Jacob Stroup Marker.  This beautiful, elaborately engraved granite monument, was erected at a cost of $440.84 in 1963 by the local descendants of Johann “Jacob” Straub, later Stroup.  Jacob immigrated as a child with his parents, Johann Pieter & Barbara Straub, and his siblings in 1733 from the Kingdom of Württemberg (now Germany).

Standing over 8 feet high and weighing in excess of several tons, the monument is located just west of the crossroads, Alexis, Gaston County, North Carolina - very near the original Stroup settlement, circa 1770.

The monument's formal dedication occurred in 1963 at the Stroup Family Reunion.  The stone was interred in memory of Jacob, his wife Nancy Hambright Stroup and twelve of their children, early settlers of Tryon, later Lincoln, and now Gaston County, North Carolina.  It is inscribed:

IN MEMORY OF

JACOB STROUP

1732* - 1804

AND WIFE

NANCY

(NATIVES OF GERMANY)

CHILDREN

Adam                                    Barbara [Dellinger]

Betsy [Unmarried]                       Elizabeth [Unmarried]

Fanny [Eckert]                              Hannah [Posten]

Mary [Reel]                                       George

Philip                                              John

Michael                                             Daniel

Erected 1963

Arthur L. Stroup, Sec & Treas

* Johann Jacob Straub (Stroup) was actually born 7 January 1722, rather than 1732.  Source:  Birth Records, Evangelische Kirchengemeinde, Großgartach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.  2011

Arthur Little Stroup [1891-1971] of Stanley, North Carolina was Secretary/Treasurer of the Reunion group during the late 1950s when the idea of a memorial was first introduced to family members.  Nearly 200 years had passed since the Stroup's had migrated from Pennsylvania and settled in the southern Piedmont area of North Carolina.

Arthur Stroup's love of family and rich family history was key to igniting a spark of interest, later a "Stroup Determination" that a large granite marker, one that will endure for all time, would be erected.  
From our family history archives and transcribed from letter sent to Ethel Stroupe [Vochko] in 1985 by Mr. Nard Cloninger of Gaston County:  "Arthur L. Stroup was my “favorite Stroup.”  He was real smart but acted like a nut.  He was one of the two strongest men I ever knew --- the other being Will Mathis from up around Rutherford [County, NC], who farmed with oxen in the 1930’s.  Will and Arthur used to pick up a Model T Ford by the front bumper, the heavy end and push [it] around like a wheelbarrow.  Arthur and another one of his best friends and were caught in the 1960’s making whiskey.  Arthur was still living at the old John W. Stroup home place.  I’ll never forget either one of them.  Arthur was a good worker in the American Legion also.”

CONTRIBUTORS TO PURCHASE THE MONUMENT 

1960-1963 (Penned by Arthur L. Stroup)

"We, the undersigned, subscribe the amount set opposite our names, for the erection of a monument to perpetuate the memory of Jacob STROUP, born in ... Germany, sailed from Rotterdam, Holland ... with his parents and siblings, came to America on British Ship, Pennsylvania Merchant, Captain John Stedman Master, arrived in Philadelphia, where he took the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown Sept 18 1733.  ... settling in North Carolina, acquiring property in what is now known as Gaston County, near Alexis N.C."

As evidenced by Mr. Stroup's accounting log [below], most of the contributions were $1.00, $2.00 ... several larger in amount.  The total cash was raised over roughly 3 years.  At least one of the contributors, Mrs. Craig [Margaret Alvah Stroupe] Stroupe of Morganton NC, survives today, is an impassioned family historian and attends our Reunion each year!

8/8/1960

C.D. Stroup, 374 East Water Street, Lincolnton NC, $50.00

Arthur L. Stroup, Stanley NC, $50.00

_ W. Cloninger, $5.00

Arthur B[oyd] Stroup, Waco NC, $25.00

Sallie C. Stroup, Cherryville NC, R.2, $2.00

Guy A Hovis, Stanley NC, $1.00

Mrs. Forrest Allen (Eunice Jane Stroup), Bessemer City, $1.00

Ernest L. Stroup, Bessemer City NC #1, $2.00

Thamer Stroupe, Bessemer City NC #2, $1.00

James C. Stroupe, $1.00

J. W. Stroupe, $1.00

Clara Adelle Stroupe, Rt 2, Bessemer City NC, $1.00

Mrs. Lorene Stroupe Bass, Rt 2, Bessemer City NC, $1.00

Mr. and Mrs. Fred F. Stroupe, Cherryville, $1.00

Mrs. Grace Stroupe Kiser, $5.00

Ben R. Stroupe, 426 Pickens Street, Rock Hill, SC, $10.00

Ben F. Stroup, 2301 Lowell Road, Gastonia NC, $5.00

Dave S. Rhyne, 1804 Country Club Road, Gastonia NC, $5.00

Mary Stroup Williams, Blacksburg SC, $1.00

6/11/1961         

John & Maude Stroup Breidenthal, Stanley NC, $5.00

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Moore and Family, Stanley NC, $3.00

M.A. Stroup Jr., MD, Gastonia NC, $5.00

Paul Hunter Stroup, North Main Street, Newton NC, $5.00

Stanley Earl Roper (D.C. Stroup), $4.00

__ Garrison, $5.00

Frank & Elizabeth Stroup Putnam, Cherryville, $1.00

E.M. Allen, Mount Holly NC, $1.00

W.R. Rhyne, Gastonia NC, $1.00

Wilson Rhyne, Stanley, Box 94, $1.00

Frederick Henry Rhyne, Maiden NC, $1.00

E. C. Rhyne, Dallas NC, $1.00

Marshall Dellinger, $1.00

L. L. Stroupe, $2.00

Charles Rhyne, $1.00

W.E. Stroupe Jr., Alexis NC, $10.00

T.W. Garrison, Alexis NC, $1.00

Ethel Richardson, $10.00

8/4/1962

Treasury Funds, $472.00

Mrs. Craig Stroupe, 123 Stevens Drive, Morganton NC, $1.00

Murle (?) Stroup Breidenthal, $2.00

Mrs. Alva Stroup, $10.00

Mrs. Henry Smith, 2876-A Rockland Pl, Lynchburg VA, $2.00

Mrs. Hilbreth Sherrer, Kings Mtn NC, $1.00

Mrs. Grace Rutledge, Dallas NC, $1.00

Mrs. George Quesada, 4616 Dallas Dr,  Fort Worth Texas, $1.00

Mrs. Jane Stroupe Recinos, 2530 Indpndnce Ave, NY, $5.00

Lee Stroup, Alexis NC, $10.00

Mrs. Loy Cloninger (Lanie Stroup), Clover SC, $5.00

Mrs. Mason (Lillie Stroup) Smith, R-1- Pineville NC, $1.00

A. U. Stroupe, Mount Holly, NC, $100.00

_ R. Brittain, Stanley NC, $1.00

Louis Presswood, Alexis NC, $1.00

Floyd T Stroupe, Monroe NC, $1.00

Mrs. S. F. Stroupe, Bessemer City NC, $1.00

Attorney John C. Stroupe, Hickory NC, $10.00

Mrs. Carl Stroupe, Route 3, Lincolnton NC, $2.00

Jim & L. F. Plonk, $5.00

Cash, $1.00

Henry Wesley Stroupe, Dallas [NC] Barber Shop, $2.00

Fred L. Payne, Box 654, Alexis NC, $5.00

Lee Hansee, Rt 1, Mount Holly NC, $1.00

Jim Murphy, Rt 1, Stanley, $1.00

Jack C. Moore, $5.00

L. A. McClure, Alexis NC, $5.00

R. L. Payne, Rt 1, Dallas NC, $1.00

B. J. Matthews, Rt 1, Stanley NC, $1.00

Gannon Smith, Rt 1, Dallas NC, $1.00

J. E. Wiley, Jr., $5.00

Mrs. Paul Shook, $5.00

David Stroupe, $1.00

Horace McGinnis, $1.00

Paul H. Stroup, Newton NC, $1.00

Mrs. John W. Stroupe, Gastonia NC, $5.00

Mrs. Mary Stroupe Abernathy, Alexis NC, $10.00

Mrs. John O Smith, Route Rt 1, Iron Station NC, $1.00

Steve Stroup, 406 Pine Avenue, Cherryville NC, $1.00

Eugene R. Stroup, 3500 8^th Street South, Arlington VA, $2.00

_____ Stroup __________,  $1.00

Vance _________________ , $1.00

John W. Stroupe, Webb Street, Gastonia NC,  $5.00

Again, the monument can be found on the High Shoals / Alexis Highway (south side of the roadway), and just west of the intersection with NC Highway 27.  About 10 miles south of Lincolnton and within 20 miles of US 321 in North Carolina.

84TH STROUP/STROUPE REUNION MINUTES

84th ANNUAL STROUP(E) REUNION of Descendents of Johann Jacob Straub (Stroup) Alexis, Gaston County, North Carolina August 4, 2013 The Stroup(e) Reunion was held on Sunday, August 4 in the Family Life Center of Alexis Baptist Church, Alexis, Gaston County, North Carolina. This was the 84th family gathering since 1925, with a 4-year interruption due to World War II. Approximately 110 family members attended this year. At 10:00am Mike Stroupe of Rock Hill and Linda Moss Ballard of Cherryville led a tour of the abandoned Stroup Family Cemeteries, located around the Alexis. About 20 people braved the heat (and the chiggers and yellow-jackets!) to walk among the old graves. James G. “Jim” Stroupe of Winston-Salem, President, called the meeting to order at 1:00pm and welcomed everyone to the event. Jim provided opening remarks, asked that each person “meet and greet” each other and that each officially registers in our Reunion Book. The lunch tables were supplied with the Minutes from last year’s reunion, a handout on the Jacob Stroup Monument, celebrating its 50th year, as well as the abbreviated “Straub/Stroup Family History.” The first order of business was to take group pictures: one picture of the 36 attendees who carry the Stroup(e) surname by birth and another picture of the entire family. Jim gave the invocation, which was followed by the traditional, bountiful, ”covered dish” meal. Following lunch, Jim commenced the Business Session, starting around 2:00pm: • The minutes and financial report from the 2012 Reunion were read and approved. • Jim publicly thanked our hard-working and dependable set-up committee, comprised of Alan and Maria Hipp, Mike and Ruth Hipp and Daphna Stroupe Shelton – all of Alexis. Every year their efforts are key to our hosting such a large, successful event. • The family agreed to donate $100 (includes rental) to the Alexis Baptist Church. • Collection. Alan and Maria Hipp passed the collection plate through the crowd. Our treasury is used exclusively for the Reunion-associated expenses. Beginning Cash on Hand $671.95 Contributions 2013 511.00 Less: 2013 Reunion Expenses* 483.78 Cash on Hand for 2014 $699.17 HISTORY COMMITTEE. Mike Stroupe of Rock Hill spoke on behalf of the committee comprised of David Bartlett Hanna of Charlotte, Carolyn Fogle Mullins of Panama City Beach Florida, Nancy Stroupe Morrison of Greeneville Tennessee, Mike Stroupe of Rock Hill South Carolina, and Linda Moss Ballard of Cherryville. Of special interest this year is the discovery of a family lawsuit, “Stroup Vs. Stroup”, filed in Gaston County around 1870. Mike stated that the official court record is over 300 pages long and provides a fantastic glimpse into the Stroup family ancestors living in/around Alexis during that time. Copies of the court documents are available on CD. This is the 50th anniversary of raising the Jacob Stroup Monument in Alexis. As a reminder there are many avenues available to view and research our family: - Updated biography of our shared immigrant Jacob Stroup. - “Descendants’ of Jacob Stroup and the US Civil War”. A 90 page booklet, documenting the descendents (grandsons & ggrandsons) of Jacob Stroup who participated in the US Civil War, Confederate States Army. - “Stroup Family Cemeteries of Gaston County”. This booklet documents the Stroup family ancestors who are buried (circa 19th Century) in the four private, abandoned cemeteries in the Alexis and Cherryville areas. Each cemetery has been inventoried, a brief bio of the deceased has been written and color photos of all legible grave markers are included. - A distant cousin, Diana Gale Matthiesen, has created a tremendous website, chocked full of very old Straub and Stroup(e) family history. - “Family Tree DNA” Project: At least two males in our local family have participated in the Straub/Stroup DNA project. Another male, descending from Michael Stroup (son of Jacob) will participate later this year. - The history committee will create a “lineage / family tree” document (free of charge) for any descendent. Just contact a Mike or Sid by email or phone. MILESTONES SINCE OUR LAST REUNION: Deceased: - Mary Bumgarner Stroupe, age 99 of Alexis; 12 July 2013. She was the wife of the late David Augustus Stroupe. - Fred Albert Stroupe of Morganton; 1 December 2012. Fred was a life-long Stroup historian, specifically tracing the descendants of his great-great (GG) grandfather Matthew Wallace Stroup. - Marian Frances Stroupe Wilson of Vila, NC; 11 January 2013. GG-granddaughter of Daniel Stroup. - Don Richard Stroupe of Cherryville; 18 February 2013. GGG-grandson of Daniel. - Ruth Beam Stroup of Cherryville, 26 August 2012. Wife of the late Kenneth E Stroup a descendent of both Daniel and John Stroup. - Retired US Army Colonel Ray B. Stroup, age 96 of Lafayette, Louisiana; 11 May 2013, a descendent of Philip. Also a “Texas Stroup”. - Ambrose “Abe” Rhyne Stroupe of Gastonia; 16 April 2013. GG-grandson of Philip. - Margaret P. Stroupe Fraley of Cherryville; 27 April 2013. GG-granddaughter of Daniel Stroup - Jonathan Keith Stroupe of Gastonia, 16 March 2013, a descendent of Daniel. - Edgar Eugene Thomas, age 85 of Los Angeles, California; 2 January 2013. Gene descended from the Cherryville branch of the family. - Charles Franklin Stroupe of Conover, 28 September 2011. - Joseph Daniel “JD” Sellers of Cherryville, 3 February 2006, Descended from Daniel. - John Logan Harrelson of Charlotte. 29 December 2012. John was the great-grandson of Nancy Tlitha Cuemimoody Stroup Harrelson of Cherryville. Births: Caleb Matthew Laughter, 13 June 2012, grandson of Susan Stroupe Laughter and great-grandson of Rachel Brown Stroupe. Caleb, seventh generation, descends from Philip Stroup, son of Jacob. Marriages: Dustin and Heather Holbrook, grandson of Mrs. Margaret Stroupe of Morganton and son of Tom and Diane Stroupe Holbrook. 27 April 2013. ELECTION OF OFFICERS for term 2013-2014 - President. Jim Stroupe of Winston-Salem was nominated by Martha Daniel of Charlotte; seconded by Nancy Stroupe Morrison. Unanimously re-elected. - Vice President. Nancy Quesada of Austin Texas was nominated; Linda Moss Ballard seconded. Nancy unanimously elected Vice-President. - Secretary. Sid Stroupe was re-nominated by Bob Stroupe; seconded by Jon Stroupe of Aiken, South Carolina. Group unanimous vote “yes”. - Treasurer. Maria Hipp of Alexis nominated by Sid Stroupe; Rita Quesada Rodgers of Charlotte seconded. Group unanimous vote “yes”. - Family Historian. Mike B. Stroupe was re-nominated and elected. RECOGNITION, DOOR PRIZES AND OTHER. - Robert “Bob” Edwin Stroupe of Colfax celebrated his 90th birthday and the reunion committee presented him with a personalized Stroup Family History Book. Bob was born in Guilford County and is son of the late Grady Vance Stroupe who was born in Alexis. Bob was asked to speak to the group and he cheerfully agreed, talking of “times gone by” for he and the Stroups of Alexis. Bob’s three children and many grandchildren joined him at the Reunion this year! - Carolyn Stroupe Stambaugh of West Palm Beach has been recognized by the University of Florida as celebrating the 60th anniversary of her coronation as the First Homecoming Queen at the University. Carolyn has been invited to crown this year’s King and Queen in early November 2013. Congratulations Carolyn! - Oldest Female Attending: Rachel Brown Stroupe of Alexis, Age 91 years. Mrs. Stroupe is the widow of the late Ivy Lee Stroupe of Alexis. - Cindy Stroup, our cousin residing in Arlington Virginia, created and mailed all of the invitations to this year's reunion. Great job Cindy and thank you! - Oldest Male Attending: Homer A. Orren of Cornelius, Age 94 years. Homer is the spouse of Ann Abernathy a descendant of Jacob’s son Philip Stroup. Coincidentally, Ann and her second cousin Bob Stroupe of Colfax, celebrating his 90th birthday, share the same lineage and they enjoyed visiting with each other during the Reunion! - Youngest Boy: Caleb Matthew Laughter of Hickory, age 1 year. Caleb, seventh generation descendant of Jacob Stroup, descends from son Philip. - Youngest Girl: Kinley Grace Stroupe of Morganton, age 2 years. Kinley is also a seventh generation descendant of Jacob, through three of his sons - Adam, Philip and Michael. - Traveled Farthest: Several family members attended from out-of-state: Nancy Quesada of Austin, Texas Jane Stroupe Hornsby of Panama City, Florida Carolyn Fogle Mullins of Panama City Beach, Florida Carolyn Stroupe Stambaugh of West Palm Beach, Florida Jim and Mary Ellen Manning of Edgewater, Maryland Jason and Michele Speed of Kalispell, Montana Joe Recinos of Guatemala Ed Stroupe and family of Cotopaxi, Colorado Jared and Ashley Hein of Coulterville, California Mary Ann Stroupe and Jon Stroupe, Aiken, South Carolina - $20.00 Door Prizes: Joe Recinos of Guatemala; Charles Phillips of Alexis; Jane Stroupe Hornsby of Panama City, Florida. - $50.00 Grand Prize: Kenny & Donna Mauney of Iron Station. With the business meeting closed, the Reunion was adjourned. If there are any corrections to this draft document, please forward to GWALSS@NC.RR.COM. The next Stroup(e) Family Reunion meeting will be held, as is custom, on the first Sunday in August 2014. Hope to see you then, Sid Stroupe III, Secretary / Treasurer

Chip Stroup, Lincoln County [NC] Man of the Year

November 2013 Article is Courtesy of the Lincoln Times-News, Lincolnton North Carolina Chip Stroup of First Federal Savings Bank in Lincolnton was named Lincoln County’s [NC] Man of the Year at the recent Lincolnton-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet at the Laboratory Mill in Lincolnton. For the past 40 years, Stroup has been a leader of First Federal Savings Bank, serving the community through an array of volunteer efforts and financial support over the years. In the Rotary Club’s speech, they explain that what distinguishes Stroup is his quiet and simple service to companies and individuals in need. “Without hesitation, Chip will find a way to make things better, maintaining his mission to contribute to the welfare of those in the community,” the presenter said. Stroup has served the community in numerous ways, including serving as a director for the YMCA, Lincoln County Community Foundation, North Carolina Bankers Association, Lincoln County Industrial Facilities and Pollution Control Financing Authority, Community Investment Corporation of North Carolina, Centralina Development Corporation, United Way for Lincoln County and the local chapter of the American Red Cross. He has also assisted children in Lincolnton’s Public Housing to attend Camp Challenge, provided financial support for the Young Scholars Institute, provided funds for the Gaston College Foundation to construct a Science and Technology Center on the Lincoln Campus and has volunteered with the Rotary Club to assist in raising money for low-interest loans for Lincoln County students to attend college. “Man of the Year is not about who has the longest list of organization or committee memberships — it is about the breadth of impact that a man has had on his community,” the presenter said. “There are countless children, schools, businesses, restaurants, art programs, community gatherings and employees’ family members who have been the recipient of Chip Stroup’s generous contributions. Chip’s contributions come in many forms — time, advice, financial support, physical labor, concern for those less fortunate, care for those in need — in a word, service…and very simply put, that is what Chip Stroup has been doing for years.”
NOTE

Chip Stroup is the son of the late Mr. C.D. Stroup, a long-time and devoted genealogist, focussed on preserving the history of the Jacob Straub/Stroup family of Lincoln/Gaston Counties in North Carolina. Chip retains the significant number of original hand-written documents and photos that his father produced and accumulated throughout his life. All of them are stored and viewable via the "Jacob Stroup/Straub Descendants" tree on Ancestry.com.

Our Stroupe Beauty Queen

These photos were made at the Univ. of Florida Homecoming. Mrs. Carolyn Stroupe Stambaugh was the very first homecoming queen at the Univ. of Florida and this year she honored them with her presence to crown this years queen.

 

I'm sorry the game didn't turn out so well for the Gators. I just have one thing to say about that "GO YOU HAIRY DAWGS".

 

Thanks to Carolyn Mullins for getting the photos for us.

Mike

 

Anderson Stroup Home

A special thanks to Susan Winstead for sharing this with us.

I hope this one is better.
Mike

110 Stroup(e)s Meet for 84th NC Reunion

2013 Stroup Reunion Celebrity

I have been going to the Stroup Reunion for a few years and always look for this lady. She descends from Jacob I, Philip Sr., Moses,. Each year she travels all the way from Florida to be with us. The first year I went she was one of the first persons to approach me to learn about her family. She was so excited that she had to call her daughter, and then stuck the phone in my hand to speak with her daughter. It was a moment I will never forget. Now each year she is the first person I look for to get a big hug. She currently owns part of Adam’s original tract.

She was the University of Florida’s FIRST Homecoming Queen 60 years ago. She has been invited by the university to return this November to crown the 60^th queen at midfield. When she was telling me about this she was very excited. They are going to provide a golf cart to transport her to midfield. Without further ado her name is Carolyn Stroupe Stambauch. Below I have attached some photos.

 

2013 Stroup Reunion

As usual we had a great turn out. I think about 115 people came and enjoyed themselves. We had our early cemetery tour but the numbers were lower this year. I think it was because we have done this for about 5 years and the old-timers have all been.

 

The food was abundant and delicious as usual. I have discovered we have a celebrity among us which I will reveal at a later date. The “Jackie” Stroupe home has had a face lift. I hope to have an announcement about this old Stroupe homestead in the future.

Cousin Mike Stroupe

It's That Time Again

84th ANNUAL STROUP FAMILY REUNION
Whether you spell your surname “Stroupe” or “Stroup”, you’re a descendent of Johann Jacob Straub (later Stroup), settler of Tryon/Lincoln County North Carolina, circa 1770.  

Our family will gather for the reunion on Sunday, August 4th in Alexis, Gaston County, North Carolina, site of the original Stroup settlement.  The festivities will be held at the Alexis Baptist Church Family Life Center, starting at 12:30pm.  The church is located just west of the Alexis crossroads, on the Alexis / High Shoals road.  As is tradition, we begin with a “pot luck lunch”, followed by a business meeting, reading of the family history and a brief historical presentation of old photos and documents.

In addition, on Saturday, August 3rd at 10:30am, the descendents of Daniel Stroup and John Stroup, two of Jacob’s youngest sons and early settlers of Cherryville, will gather at the Cherryville Historical Museum, East Main Street.  At this informal get-together, we’ll “meet and greet”, discuss the brother’s history, their descendents, and tour some of the local cemeteries, burial sites for the “Cherryville/Tryon Stroups”.   Also we'll begin our plan to celebrate in 2014 the 200th anniversary of Daniel Stroup's settlement in Cherryville.

For out-of-towners, the family is staying overnight at the Comfort Inn, 1550 E. Main Street, Lincolnton, NC 28092.   Call reservations at 704/732-0011.
For any questions, you can contact Sid Stroupe in Durhamn, gwalss@nc.rr.com.

Stroup Reunions

I wanted everyone to be aware of a "special, one-time history project and event" that Linda, Mike, Nancy, Cindy and myself will begin the Fall of this year and carrying on into 2014.

We'd love to have all of you (regardless of Alexis ties or Cherryville ties) join us in this endeavor, as we move forward with all the work that lies ahead!

March 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the Stroup(e) family settling Cherryville NC.

Daniel Stroup, a son of Jacob, sold his 110 acres (part of his father Jacob's Stroup settlement in Alexis) and bought 130 acres of "frontier" land (lol) on the west side of current day Cherryville.

We assume Daniel was looking to "make his claim", of his own accord, as he moved his wife Mary Polly Goodson Stroup and their 5 young children from Alexis to the "wilds of western Lincoln County".

So ... in honor of this momentus occasion, we will work on developing a one-time exhibit on the "Stroup Family of Cherryville", to display at the CHerryville Historical Museum, perhaps as early as March 2014.

In addition, we also will have a one-time "special" reunion of the Cherryville Stroups in Cherryville --- perhaps on the Saturday, the day before the Alexis Reunion in 2014 (again, next year).

This reunion will not replace in any way the Alexis Reunion in 2014 ... it will supplement and hopefully ignite some interest in the CHerryville Stroups that havent' found their way to the Alexis Reunion.

I know this seems like a long time away, but time flies ... I wanted all of us to be aware of the anniversary and to be able to 'squelch' any rumors and/or grumblings that the "Cherryville Stroup(e)s are doing their own thing in 2014".

Simply not true! Again, we will not disturb the tradition of the family gathering in Alexis.

We'll formally announce the 'kick-off" of the Cherryville Anniversary at this year's Alexis reunion.

As for the Alexis Reunion this year (August 4th), I don't have any new historical things to bring myself, but i'm aware that Mike Stroupe has a 300 page court document, dealing with the Stroup family of Alexis, dated 1800s. Mike says it gives some great insight in the family in Alexis. he has asked someone to transcribe it and hopefully the transcription will be ready by the reunion time.

DO any of you have any ideas for something that we could do, from a history perspective, for this year's Alexis reunion?

Is there a better way to share photos, documents?

IDEAS are welcome!

Thanks everyone and have a great weekend.

Cousin Sid Stroupe

Durham, NC

Every family has an Aunt Ruth

Here are a couple of tales about "Aunt Ruth"

Aunt Ruth Story 1

 

"Aunt Ruth” was a real character, I suppose as most Stroupe's are. Though she was filthy rich, she wore clothes that were many years old. It was not so much that she was a miser; she just lived her life the way that she grew up, and never really acted like she had money.  When I visited her in 1980, she had on an immaculately bleached and starched white tick cloth dress.  If you looked closely, the edges of the dress were very worn, due to being washed so many times.  I supposed the dress was 10-15 years old. She had a black crushed velvet dress that was her "Sunday dress".  This was the same dress she had worn to my Grandmother's funeral in the early '50s. This was the dress she was wearing in the story following.

 

   My aunt Mary Claire (daughter of MH Stroup) was fairly close to "Aunt Ruth" (daughter of James Henderson Stroup).  She visited her often, and would carry her to Memphis, after the death of Homer.  One Saturday in the early '70s, Ruth decided she wanted to "buy me a diamond rang".  My aunt took her to Dryfuss, Perel, or one of the other of the best jewelry stores in Memphis.  When approached by the salesman, she said, "I want to buy me a diamond rang".  He directed her toward a case with lower end rings, all probably under 2 or 3 hundred dollars.  She scowled at the ware, emphatically stating, "No I want a Diamond rang".  As he looked down his nose at this old "Granny Clampett” he directed her toward rings in the 500-700 dollar range.  She said "NO, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU I WANT ME A DIAMOND RANG!!"  With a disgusted look, he brought out a tray of their best ware, all over the 1500 dollar mark (remember, this was over 25 years ago), and she immediately pointed at one of them, "NOW THAT'S A DIAMOND RANG, I WANT THAT ONE!"  Then the arrogant salesman asked "now Madame, how will you be paying for the ring?"  Ruth reached into her purse (which itself was

probably 40 years old) and pulled out a fold of twenties that was over three inches thick, and paid cash in twenties for the $1800.00 ring. 

Ruth May Stroup daughter of James Henderson Stroup and Mattie Moran.

She was born 1894 and died in 1985 in Tennessee. 

From the files of Ethel Stroupe

 

 

Aunt Ruth Story 2

 

One other story, as I mentioned, I visited Ruth in late summer, 1980. Ruth lived in a room or two of what had been the funeral home, a probably 5000-6000 sq. ft. building.  When my cousin and I pulled up, she was in the back yard sitting in the shade. (it was probably 95 degrees out, and I did not hear a air conditioner running)  As we got out of my Jeep, and began walking towards her, she exclaimed "I don't know who ya'll are, but I see you are Stroupe's, so come on up.  We sat, and began among the most wonderful conversations I have ever held with anyone.  It was just unbelievable that this little, weathered old lady could have been 86 years old.  She talked a little about the family (very little, who knew we would care now?) about the field trials, about Grand Junction, about herself. She lived across the lot (probably 3-4 acres) from her son, Bud. If you recall, the World’s Fair was in Knoxville that summer.  "Bud and them went to that World's Fair" she exclaimed.  "They wanted me to go with them, but I'm too old to care about that kind of stuff, and I just kind of like to stay home now, anyway."  "The other day I just got tired of looking at that tall grass, and decided I had to cut it.  I just couldn't figure out how to crank that fancy riding mower of Bud's, so I figured I'd just cut the yard with mine."  She pointed to an old engineless rotary type mower that was probably 50 years old.  "I had to stop a couple of times to cool off and get a drank of water, but I cut it all in one afternoon."  She mowed The WHOLE lot, in August.  I'm sure the temperature got to right around the 100 mark.  What an amazing lady.  I could shoot myself for never going back to visit. 

Ruth May Stroup daughter of James Henderson Stroup and Mattie Moran.

She was born 1894 and died in 1985 in Tennessee. 

From the files of Ethel Stroupe

Stroup Cabin at the Biltmore Estates

This story should interest those that descend from the Buncombe County clan. It even includes a murder mystery.
Mike

                     

 

 

 

  THE OLD STROUP CABIN

     History by Jessie Stroupe and Ethel Stroupe Vochko, revised July 1989.

 

                                  LORE

        Eternal gratitude is owed to ALBERT MC LEAN, whose sense of history and hard work preserved a particularly beautiful old mountain cabin that once stood beside the French Broad at Long Shoals in Avery's Creek Township, across from the Biltmore Estate.

        In the 1920's, George Vanderbilt turned this cabin over to an employee, the plan being to demolish it.  Historian ALBERT MC LAIN asked for and got it, then painstakingly marked each stone and log, dismantled it, and carried it to his home where he lovingly re-assembled it in the hollow behind his house at 206 Aurora Drive, Asheville.  He furnished the interior nicely using authentic period pieces, many of which are heirlooms from his own family, such as the round table, rocker and wall cabinets for medicines cabinets, the latter from his physician grandfather.

 

                                LORE

        When Mr. MC LEAN tried to learn the cabin's history, all people could tell him it was "the old STROUPE cabin that was associated with two early STROUPE brothers, and has a dark and sinister history of violence and crime, a mysterious disappearance and a bloody murder". These clues were extremely puzzling, and they needed to be untangled to uncover the cabin's past.

 

                       THE "TWO EARLY BROTHERS" TALE

        STROUP historians were completely stumped by the tale about "two early STROUP brothers living together in a cabin."  The best we could come up with was the theory that JOSEPH (b. 1776 Lincoln Co.) and his younger brother, DAVID (b. ca 1785) lived together for a short time when they first moved to Buncombe County ca 1806, until they located suitable wheat lands and build two large houses on Bull Creek, their known location by 1810.  However, this theory was blown sky high when it was learned that JOSEPH's first Buncombe County location had been Warm Springs Cr., (now Madison County) where he had built a mill on land belonging to his father-in-law, ADAM CREASMAN, who acquired the land in 1807, and that, after a few years at Warm Springs, JOE STROUP had moved with the CREASMANS to Bull Creek.

        This just deepened the puzzle about the identity of "two STROUP brothers who lived in the old Stroup cabin."

 

                             LAST KNOWN OWNERS

        At the Buncombe County Courthouse, STROUP researcher RUTH (MORGAN) STROUP of Brevard located an interesting 1909 deed.  GEORGE VANDERBILT, who had completely his estate, was now improving his view across the river, and to that end purchased a small farm from ZEB STROUP.  The deed is: 4-22-1903, Bk. 126, p 525, to GEORGE VANDERBILT for $1,015.35, 67 acres on French Broad River from JAMES Z. STROUP and wife.  Therefore, the last known local owner of the cabin was JAMES Z. STROUP.  Who was this man and how had he acquired this small farm and cabin?

 

                               ZEB STROUP

        JAMES Z. STROUP, better known as "ZEB", was no puzzle whatever to RUTH STROUP who located the deed: he was her husband's grandfather, and she was interested in the "old STROUP cabin" because ZEB grew up in it.  His father had died in the Civil War, but his mother remarried and continued to live in it.  So, we are now looking at the cabin's last known occupants.

 

                  RUFUS LOT STROUP AND WIFE NANCY JOHNSTON

        RUFUS LOT STROUP was born on Aug. 19 1840, the eldest child of SILAS & SUSAN HARPER STROUP of Cane Cr.  For ten years, RUFE was the only boy in his parents’ home, and had much responsibility for helping his father around the farm.

 

                              RUFE'S NATURE

        When RUFE was fifteen, on Aug. 5, 1855, his mother gave birth to an infant they named DRUCILLA DELANA "LANNY" STROUP, who died when a year and a half old.  Seventeen year old RUFE got a slab of soapstone from his grandfather, LOT HARPER, who had a quarry, and carefully carved little Lanny's tombstone saying she died at age one year, four months and 13 days.  The painstaking work on the tombstone's long inscription tells something about the teenaged boy who lovingly carved it for a dead infant.

 

                               MARRIAGE

        On Nov. 15, 1860, twenty year old RUFE married eighteen year old NANCY E. JOHNSTON.  Both the STROUP and JOHNSTON homes were prosperous but they were filled with children, and the young couple wanted to live on their own.

 

                     THE OLD CABIN HOUSES NEWLYWEDS

       Although it was believed that SILAS STROUP, a well off farmer, was the one provided his eldest and well-loved son with a small farm when he married, just as he had helped later children, no transfer deed nor purchase record could be located to confirm this.  Perhaps he merely provided them money to purchase the place or livestock and household goods.  Neither could a deed be found showing that a 67 acre farm was purchased by, nor transferred from, the bride's JOHNSTON family who owned much land along the French Broad.  However, the cabin's proximity to the JOHNSTON land raises the distinct possibility that they were the original owners this little farm and its old pioneer cabin.

         The lack of a deed being registered to show RUFE, SILAS or the JOHNSTONS as this farm's 1860's owner may be due to the onset of the Civil War, a time of turmoil when courthouse records were poorly kept.  Whatever the legalities, RUFE and NANCY definitely lived on this 67 acre tract, and NANCY continued lived there most of her adult life.  Who was the woman that once tended the fire and cooked on this hearth?

                         NANCY E. JOHNSTON STROUP

        NANCY E. JOHNSTON was born Sept 18, 1842, a sister to HALL JOHNSTON, of the HALE JOHNSTON family who lived along the French Broad. In Nov. 1860 eighteen year old NANCY married RUFUS STROUP, and the newlyweds moved into the little cabin on the French Broad.  The next two years were perhaps the happiest the little cabin ever knew, the bliss of young people in love, defying the gathering gloom of the Civil War.

 

                            RUFE GOES TO WAR

        But Confederate feelings ran very high in the area, and in May 1862 RUFE enlisted in the Confederate Army, and, although NANCY was six months pregnant, he marched off down the road with other local recruits, heading for a C.S.A. camp at Lowden, east Tennessee.

        Three months later, on Aug. 6, 1862, his son JAMES ZEBULON was born, and word of this undoubtedly reached the happy father.  However, that summer RUFE came down with dysentery and was probably bed ridden in camp when he began carving his initials on his powder horn.  He died Nov. 12th, having carved only "R ST..".  The lad, who so carefully carved a tombstone for his little sister, was buried at Lowden in an unmarked grave.  His powder horn was sent back home to SILAS, to be found a hundred years later in his closet when the old home place was torn down. (24)

 

                            NANCY REMARRIES

        Most likely NANCY and her infant son lived with her parents during the war years, but after it she married TOM HUNTER who had lost an arm in service, and returned in the little cabin on French Broad where for some years they supported themselves on this 67 acre tract of bottomland.  Here they raised ZEB STROUP and her two children by TOM HUNTER, a son JOE HUNTER and a daughter.  So, Mr. MC LEAN'S lore about "two brothers" was quite correct, but they turned out to be ZEB STROUP and JOE HUNTER, half-brothers.

 

                             1880 CENSUS:

        The 1880 census for Avery's Creek showed: TOM HUNTER, aged 44, NANCY E., 38 and JAMES STROUP, 18.  (JAMES "ZEB" STROUP.)

 

            'A HISTORY OF CRIME, A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE AND MURDER'

        TOM HUNTER was a prosperous man.  One day about 1885, he went out on the mountain to call in his stock for the winter, taking with him a pocket full of gold coins and vanished without a trace!  NANCY's two sons searched, and then called in the Sheriff and neighbors, but they combed the woods in vain.  HUNTER was not the type to abandon his family, so theft and murder were suspected. And there were suspected perpetrators: a nearby trashy family was inexplicably flushed with money. But, without a corpse, no charge could be brought against them. (6).

         Many years later, when a woodman was felling a tree on the mountain, out of its hollow fell the skeleton of a one-armed man!  And so was solved the dark mystery of TOM HUNTER's disappearance. As for who originally built the "old STROUP cabin", today nobody remembers, nor have record searches cleared up this part of the mystery.

 

                           THE CABIN'S BUILDER

        The best guess at present is that this lovely old cabin was built by a very early pioneer along the French Broad.  He may have been BENJAMIN, EDWARD JAMES or ROBERT JOHNSTON, all of whom had deeds starting in 1795/99. Comparison the early JOHNSTON deeds, with particular attention to the exact descriptions, might solve the last part this mystery.  Or a JOHNSTON family historian may know which pioneer was the original builder and owner.  Until this becomes known, for convenience we shall refer it by the name of its last owner occupant, ZEB STROUP.

 

                               THE CABIN

        The old STROUP cabin is a prime example of a pioneer cabin of the type built in the Blue Ridge from about 1790 to 1825, and in use for several generations after.  On a fieldstone base is a structure of chestnut logs, split and hewn, mortised at the corners.  Chinks were originally caulked with mud, and then coated with a mixture of buttermilk and lime.  The pitched roof was of split oak shingles.  A large, stone chimney dominates one side of the house.  On the porch, the young couple undoubtedly rocked and rested on summer evenings, watching their three young'uns chase fireflies.

 

                               DAILY LIFE:

        Across the porch was a line on which they hung things to dry, from wet dish towels to strings of "leather britches" (dried beans), and red pepper pods.  In the nearby sunny clearing, flats of sliced apples and peaches were set to dry for winter eating. Inside the simple door today are the handmade household furnishings, as used by old time families.  There is a round dining table, spinning wheel, and a coonskin cap on a wall peg. An ox yoke now stands in the corner (which originally would have been in the barn.)  The corner cupboard holds clay and pewter dishes (11).

 

                             PIONEER LIFE:

       The STROUP cabin on French Broad consisted of a single, large room with sixteen paned windows on either side of the fieldstone fireplace and hearth. Here a small, cast-iron Dutch oven which was buried in red hot coals to bake crusty, yellow corn bread, made with sour milk and soda (11), and eaten with the butter, along with fresh fish fried in cornmeal batter, and garden-grown green onions.  Winter treats were dried apple pies, pastry triangles filled with apples and browned in a skillet.

        At this hearth, we can picture the young NANCY STROUP boiling a rabbit stew seasoned with wild garlic and pepper, in her iron pots held over the fire by pot hooks, and frying fresh corn and potato cakes on an iron spider set in hot coals.  In a rear shed in "cold storage" for winter eating: crocks of sauerkraut, sausages preserved in lard, and various pickles: crab apples, beets, peaches, cucumbers, and pig’s feet.  Bushel baskets woven from reeds and packed with straw held apples, nuts, cabbages and root vegetables.

                                                  

 

 

       NANCY was again widowed but, with the body missing, could not remarry. Son ZEB took over running the place and, thereafter her two boys cared for her. They say the STROUP and JOHNSTON families helped, and SILAS STROUP was especially fond of ZEB.  In 1894, shortly before he died, SILAS STROUP deeded the 67 acre tract and cabin to grandson ZEB STROUP (25).

       Years later, the HUNTER mystery was accidentally solved, from a story in the ASHEVILLE CITIZEN:  Someone was logging trees on the mountain and felled a large old hollow tree, when out fell the skeleton of a one-armed man!

 

ZEB STROUP, CABIN OWNER

        ZEB STROUP said he grew up on the French Broad, and was proud of being able to swim across, turn and swim back.  One winter, he jumped into the river in mid-winter and saved a man who was drowning after breaking through the ice trying to cross.

        But the old cabin was too small and outdated for modern use, and so, on April 22, 1909, ZEB STROUP and wife, CAROLINE "Corrie" MILLER STROUP, sold it and the 67 acre tract for $1,015.00 to George Vanderbilt (26).  The Biltmore Estate was already built, but Vanderbilt was adding nearby farm lands to his other large holdings, probably to maintain his view and to prevent civilization's encroachments.

 

SOURCES:

 

(5) Hunter's SKETCHES OF WESTERN N.C.

(6) As told to Jessie Stroupe, b. 1897, of Asheville.

(10) F. A. Sondley, HISTORY OF BUNCOMBE CO.

(11) THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN.

(12) N. C. GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL.

(22) Buncombe Deed Bk.

(23) Stroup Bible records.

(24) Found by Howard Stroup in Silas's house, given to Vernon Stroupe, Sr., returned by Vernon Stroupe, Jr. to Zeb Stroupe's family at Brevard.

(25) Buncombe Deed Bk. 100, p 44.

(26) Buncombe Deed Bk 126, p 525.