Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Another Family Reunion "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore Friday, May 29, 1992 Most of the readers of this column can identify some way with family reunions and with the tradition of the extended family. Many family reunions flourished years ago and in many instances interest declined with the many distraction these days on weekends. Last Sunday (May 24), we had our 58th reunion of the Moore, Thomson,Hicks, and Faison families which have been interrelated for over 200 years. Several were present who had attended every reunion since the first. The clan gathering was held at old Beulah Baptist Church near Turkey which is a historic site. On this site stood an Anglican Chapel during the colonial period and was discontinued during the American Revolution when the establishment was abolished. The Baptists organized and built here in 1814. This site, located on Ten Mile Swamp, is in the center of large surveys of land granted these families by the crown. The object of this reunion is not only to celebrate our heritage but to bring the kin together from all over the United States and to preserve the family cemeteries and houses and artifacts. The clan sponsors the Cabin Museum and maintains the historic Faison Cemetery at Elliott. Around 200 persons attended the reunion from as far away as Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. One of the highlights of the reunion was the presence of Sallie Faison Peirce Gibson, 101, now of Goldsboro. She was born and reared at a plantation near here called "Peirceville," and she was in the first class to graduate from East Carolina University. Another highlight was the bag piper, Daniel Chisholm of Fayetteville. The pianist was Mrs. Mary Britt of Clinton and the violinist was Mrs. Barbara Bullard of Mount Olive. It was Memorial Day weekend so we made the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag and the salute to the Confederate flag. The picnic was held in the grove at our house, the food was delicious and the fellowship could not have been better. The museum was open as well as the three cemeteries, and also Magnolia Hall in Faison. Many of the members stayed over on Monday and we visited a number of historic sites. All our children and grandchildren attended the reunion and helped us make it a memorable occasion. It was decided that we continue to have the reunion on national Memorial Day Weekend (Sunday) each year. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================