Associated Family Get-Togethers
Walkertown -- the Pender County neighborhood populated by descendants of brothers Arthur & Levy Walker has had a July 4th celebration for over a decade. Walkers come from several states to reconnect and fellowship. The families related to Walkers often attend as well.
Around the corner on July 4th, almost one hundred descendants of Ivey James & Hattie Jacobs cook out annually. Hattie was a granddaughter of Anguish Jacobs and Hattie Merritt -- and a staunch member of our home church New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. Ivey James was a descendant of Anguish's brother Major Jacobs.
The descendants of Joel Walker and Carrie Herring Walker still meet annually in Pender County to celebrate the September 1, 1900 birthday of our beloved elder Carrie Herring Walker. This became a must-do in the 2000's, as everyone joined to honor her 100+ years on Earth.
Likewise, the descendants of Joe Sam Merritt and Ollie Pigford Merritt celebrate the birthday of their ancestor Ollie P. Merritt each year in July, also. Over two hundred strong, this reunion is in Philly and attended by related Jacobs and Messicks.
Tony King hosts the Williams Family & Friends Day twice a year in New Jersey. This event started out as the descendants of Solomon Lofton Williams & Francis Emeline Jacobs, but has grown to include many PenderROCK people from NY, NJ, Philly and beyond.
The Dudley Family Reunion is gaining steam, having started in Tate Town, Pender County, and been in Tidewater VA in 2015 & 2016. Tobe Dudley married Mary Gertrude 'Pinky' Jacobs, and several of their descendants married back into Jacobs/Merrits/Brewingtons.
The Mainor Family Reunion has been meeting since the 1980s, usually in or near Sampson County. It is currently headed by Eugene Mainor. The Mainors and Wests are heavily inter-twined and in attendance. Jacobs and Brewingtons, also. These are descendants of Reuben Mainor and Eliza Manuel.
The Manuel Family Reunion travels from state to state. These are Manuels, Brewingtons, Wynns, Jacobs from Sampson County that did not join the Coharie tribe at inception. Due to internet and DNA testing, several Manuel families from other states who had identified as White for several generations now attend the Manuel Family Reunion.