Stalnaker Family Reunion Set for July 12-13
The Stalnaker Family Association - an organization of anyone with the surname Stalnaker, anyone who is now or has ever been a Stalnaker or whose ancestors were part of the Stalnaker family (by birth, marriage, or adoption) - is hosting its annual reunion July 12-13.
The July 12 meeting will be in Lewis County at the Central West Virginia Genealogy and History Library Hacker's Creek Library, 45 Abbotts Run Road, Horner. The July 13 meeting is at Camp Pioneer near Beverly.
A day of research in the Stalnaker archives at the library in Horner and a visit to two Stalnaker cemeteries will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 12. Library research will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and cemetery visitations will follow. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch. The research day will be led by Joy Stalnaker, Stalnaker Family Association secretary.
The library is located a half-block from the junction of Route 33 and Georgetown-Horner Road. To get there from I-79, turn right toward Buckhannon when exiting I-79, go approximately three miles to the Georgetown-Horner crossroads and turn left. The library is in the historic Horner Schoolhouse.
The two cemeteries to be visited are the Georgetown Cemetery, where a number of Stalnaker ancestors are buried, and the private burial site north of Jane Lew. Among the ancestors buried there are Samuel Stalnaker (1763-1834), son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Truby) Stalnaker and probably that of his wife, Susannah (nee Radcliff). This Samuel Stalnaker raised John Whitman Stalnaker, the son of his brother, Adam, who was killed by Native Americans near Beverly in 1782-1783.
The Jane Lew site is on private property. The tour will leave the library at 2 p.m. Those who expect to take this tour must be able to climb a rather steep hill to the grave site.
The July 13 reunion, beginning at 11 a.m., will be a day of food, fun and fellowship. A short business meeting will precede the potluck dinner. Events of the day will be a remembrance service for those family members who have passed in the last year; drawings for door prizes; and an auction of donated items, the proceeds from which will benefit the now-being-restored Jacob Stalnaker cabin in the heart of Beverly.
Donations of items for the auction are appreciated.
To reach Camp Pioneer, follow U.S. 219 south from Elkins to Beverly; turn left on Route 37 and go two miles to Camp Pioneer sign. Turn right to reach the camp. The reunion is in the activities center.
For more information, contact President Madison "Rex" Stalnaker, 558 Old Route 33, Weston, W.Va. 26452, phone 269-5735 or e-mail MrexieR@aol.com; Vice President William Stalnaker, HC-36 Box 236, Buckhannon, W.Va. 26201. or phone 472-5251; Secretary Joy Stalnaker, 213 Linger Run Road, Horner, W.Va. 26372, phone 452-8495 or e-mail joy1941@frontiernet.net; or Treasurer Ed Stalnaker, P.O. Box 616, Mill Creek, W.Va. 26280, phone 335-2643 or e-mail edstalnaker@webtv.net.
