Cherryville Museum Visit

On Sat. before the Stroup reunion in Alexis, a small group met at the Cherryville Museum. Several people had not been back to Cherryville in a number of years. My Uncle Jim (87 years young) entertained everyone with his tales of the different Cherryville families. His memory is sharp as a tack and is a great source of information on Cherryville families starting about 1920. The Cherryville Museum is a great source of information on the early years of Cherryville. I find new information EVERY time I visit.

Mike

Early Reunion Thoughts

Wow it took me a full day to recover. I want to start by saying I want to thank from the bottom of my heart those who traveled a great distant to attend. I am not going to name names because I will surely forget one of my dear friends. I had a fabulous time and pretty sure everyone else did. We are pretty sure the attendance increased from the previous year. Of course the food was fabulous as usual. My problem with the food is I get so excited my appetite is gone once the action starts. Gosh it is hard to put all my feelings into words. I’m pretty sure everyone enjoyed the early morning cemetery tour. I know I did.
Ok I lied because I want to thank Sid for the great job he did. He continuously had a crowd checking out his family trees. I got more Stroup hugs Sunday than I have had in years. Hope it’s enough to last me until next year. As a lot of you know some of us met on Saturday in Cherryville and we went to the museum and Mt Zion Cemetery, so we spent a half a day together. Then on Sunday my sister and I arrived at Alexis Church at 9:30 and were the last to leave that afternoon, so that means I spent 12 hours with dear friends. What I’m getting at here is it was too damn short!
A special thanks to my sister Jane for driving me to all these events. She is a sweetheart for putting up with this blind in one eye fellow. I will be posting more as I get the minutes and photos. I love all my dear cousins.
Mike Stroupe

Trip to Cherryville

On last Friday I made a trip to Cherryville. I met Sid Stroupe at Linda Ballard’s home. We sat and talked “Stroup” for a bit, then left for a couple of adventures. We had previously found out there was a stained glass window in the Concord Methodist Church, which was dedicated to Moses Stroup. Sid had met Bill Stroupe online and he lived near by and he had a key to the church. We all met up at the church and after a brief chat we went inside. I was really surprised to discover the window was dedicated to Moses Stroup 1802, I had thought it was dedicated to his son Moses Jr. I took photos of all the stained glass windows because some of the names sounded familiar. Well I did the right thing because this morning I discovered one of the windows was dedicated to Barbara Jane Stroup and her husband Caleb Mauney. Barbara Jane Stroup is the daughter of Moses Stroup Sr. It appears our family has a rich history at the Concord Methodist Church. More to come tomorrow.

Mike

Cherryville Gray Rock School 1909-1910

This is a photo of the Gray Rock School in Cherryville around 1909 or 1910. As you can see there are many different aged children in the class. All of my Cherryville family attended this school including my Grandfather Alfred plus my Great Aunts and Uncles. I still have my Grandfathers slate board that he wrote his assignments on. Below is the list of students. The Stroup girls are my Aunts.

GRAY ROCK SCHOOL (19—) (1874-1921)
First Row, seated, l to r: Evelyn Dellinger, Dora Allen, Della Stroup, Lillian Stroup, Mae Dellinger, Edith and Ethel Henry (twins), Jane Dellinger, Ray Styers, Conley Kiser, and Jenkins Henry.

Second Row: George Kiser in front of Charlie Dellinger, behind Charlie is Paul Styers, Vada Putnam, Rose Dellinger, Laura Wacaster, Addie Delllnger, Belva Allen, Bedie Dellinger, Elizabeth Stroup, Annie Henry, Will Henry, and the teacher Mr. Jesse Caldwell.

Third Row: Henry Dellinger, Howard Henry, Virgil Sisk, Carla Dellinger, Durham Dellinger, Lee Wacaster, Henry Putnam, Marion Garrison, and Fred Dellinger.

Moses Stroup Jr Daughters

We believe these ladies are the daughters of Moses Stroup Jr. (1838-1920). We have identified a couple, if you recognise any of the others let us know. We think this photo was taken at the celebration of Laura Beatrice Stroup Kiser and her husband Dr. William Caswell Kiser's 60th wedding anniversary. It was taken in Cherryville, N.C. in 1940.

Mike Stroupe

29 May 2009

We have identified all the ladies but one. I would love to know who the small boy is.