Clay County, Tennessee
Announcements

Please send information on Clay County related family reunions, etc. to Jane Crowley or Charles Reeves, Jr., and we'll post them here.

Langfords - 200 years  in Tennessee

Earl Langford

 
There will be a reunion celebration of the 200th continuous years of the Langford's living In Wet Mill Creek Valley,Clay Co., Tn.  This is a reunion for descendents of Eli Langford through his children, Matthew, Eli Junior, Lavinia Edens, Celina Stewart, Josiah, and James.  Most of the descendents will be from James as these are the ones who stayed in the valley.    Others are invited.
 
The reunion will be held September 29, 2012. The location is at Celina, Tennessee at the Corp of Engineers transition house near the campground at the dam.  

Eli Langford with his son Stephen and his young son James came to Mill Creek Valley in 1812 from the border of North Carolina/ South Carolina.  They came here for one specific purpose.  The year was 1812 and we were at war with England.  England had blockaded us so we had a great need for gunpowder.  Saltpeter is one of three ingredients used to make gunpowder.  The government was giving contracts for saltpeter to be mined.  There were caves in this part of Tennessee that had saltpeter inside.  Saltpeter was in such demand that merchants in the area would take it in exchange for goods.  Eli and Stephen had a total of nineteen land grants.  There were 8 of Eli's grants that included the mouth of a saltpeter cave.  The grants were centered near Butler's landing and up the valleys.  The highway that is there now certainly was not there at the time and perhaps some of the caves were in the banks of the Cumberland River. Two more of Eli’s sons, Matthew and Josiah came in 1814 and stayed for a few years but then moved on.

Most all of the folks living in this area are descendents of Eli and James.

It is my belief that the old homeplace is there by the Langford cemetery up Wet Mill Creek.  Wilburn said in an interview in 1968 that his great-grandfather Jimmy and his wife Polly were buried in the cemetery.  The 1820 census of James shows an elderly man in the home.  Other genealogists and I believe that this was Eli living with James.

Rich Family Reunion for descendants and friends of the family of
William Rich and Mary Polly Hooker Rich of Clay County TN October 12 & 13, 2012

If you are interested in your own family history but haven’t had the opportunity to dig into old records, this reunion just might be the place for you to start.  Since 1988 a group of descendants of William Rich (ca. 1750-1832) and his Cherokee wife Mary “Polly” Ellen Hooker (ca. 1760-1829) have been gathering in the Upper Cumberland region for reunions.  About every two years descendants from all across the country have come to the Clay County area to meet distant cousins they’ve found through various ways.

The Rich Family Reunion has evolved into a structured two-day event beginning on the second Friday in October (hopefully after the snakes have gone into hibernation) with a cemetery tour of the burial places of our ancestors.  Then on Saturday following, the big potluck lunch is featured.  This day is also a learning session.  Kinfolks bring all sorts of memorabilia for “Show and Tell” where tables are set up for displays of photo albums, Bible records, books, and family tree charts.

 Join us on Friday, October 12, 2012 at Ollie’s Place, 710 E. Lake, Celina,  TN, telephone 931-243-6363  for coffee/breakfast (optional – no reservations necessary) from 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M.  A cemetery tour to see Rich graves will follow.  This is a loosely structured day with a flexible schedule to fit the needs of the group as much as is humanly possible.  However, we would like to know if you plan to go on the tour so we don’t run off and leave you behind.

Then on Saturday, October 13, the doors will open at 9:00 A.M. for the big shindig which usually lasts till late afternoon at the Community Center (Senior Citizens) at 145 Cordell Hull Drive, Celina, telephone 931-243-3467.  Bring your favorite dish and share lunch at Noon.  We are looking for pictures, charts, Bible records making a connection to this family.  It has been said that we are probably cousins if your grandparents lived west of the river and were buried at New Hope Cemetery.  The same is true for a few other cemeteries as well.  It is truly an honor to be a part of this Rich family.

Folks who have attended Rich reunions in past years are knowledgeable, generous, friendly, hospitable and eager to help one another.  They are also great cooks!  Join us for a taste.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

For details please contact Co-Chairpersons Julia Savage Minatra (jminatra1@gmail.com) at 615-274-6636, OR Lea Head (head1@skytex.net) at 903-364-2403.


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Jane Hembree Crowley
Charles Reeves, Jr.,
Clay County Coordinators