August Family Reunions

Story by Corinne Saunders

The annual Henson Family Reunion was held on Sunday, August 2, at Henson’s Chapel United Methodist Church of Cove Creek. Almost 100 family members and relatives attended. Photo submitted

With its pleasant weather, August brings several local family reunions. If you are related to some of the well-established families in the area and haven’t attended a reunion, here is the information to attend or to at least make contact with your kinfolk.

Cornett Family Reunion
The Cornett Family Reunion will be held from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, at the Crossnore Park on Clark Road.

Attendees should bring a covered dish and drink, a chair and old photos to show off. Paper products and ice will be provided. Attendees are asked to park at the Crossnore Elementary School.

This reunion has been held for the past three years. “The Cornett reunion in Beaver Dam is every other year and [has] been going on for some time,” said Sheri Cornett. “Same family tree, [but] different branch.”

The first year this reunion was held, 30 people attended, and last year, 50 showed up, Cornett said.

“Each year a few more come to check it out. The Cornetts use to have a reunion each year, but as the older ones died out, the younger ones could care less,” she said. “Now the younger ones are old and they miss the memories of what it was like. My husband [is] one of them. I told him I would get one started.”

The reunion is now held annually on the Saturday before the Clark Cemetery Dedication—the third full weekend in August—behind the Crossnore Elementary School on Walt Clark Road. This is where the Cornett forefather is buried.

Last year, reunion attendees went to the cemetery, and many family members did not know he was buried there, Cornett said.

“This year we will visit another cemetery [where] more family members [are] buried,” she said. “From working with the Avery County Museum and doing a lot of family tree stuff, this was right up my alley.”

Issac Cornett was one of 13 children, and was the only one to settle in Avery County. He and Sarah Cornett had nine children, and the branches go out from there, she said. She hopes to have someone from each branch of the tree attend, she added.

“Reunions are becoming a lost mountain trait, and if the younger ones don't take the time to know who their kin [are]…it could be lost forever,” she said.

After a reunion stops, it takes years to get one started again, she added.

For more information, call Larry and Sheri Cornett at 828-733-1367 or email sheri_cornett@hotmail.com.

Henson Family Reunion
The Henson Family of Cove Creek holds a family reunion on the first Sunday of August every year at Henson’s Chapel United Methodist Church of Cove Creek.

Charles Eli Henson and Hattie Harbin had 14 children, four of whom “deceased early in life,” said Glenn Henson, a member of the Henson family and a resident of the Cove Creek-Vilas area.

The 10 surviving children—Russell, Mabel, Clyde, Lucy, Ford, Myrtle, Ralph, Vance, Harold and Allen—were reared and educated in Cove Creek and Watauga County. They spent their lives and raised their families in Watauga County, with the exception of Vance Henson, who spent his years in Wilmington.

A pioneer of Watauga County and a forebearer of the family, Elizabeth Henson gave the land for Henson’s Chapel in 1873. She lived to be 100 years old and is buried in the chapel cemetery overlooking the church, according to Lisa Silber, Glenn Hanson’s daughter and a resident of California.

Almost 100 remaining family members attended the 2009 reunion, and many traveled from all over the U.S., Silber said.

The family reunion has become a very popular event with the remaining members and relatives of the family.

“The reunion has been held for many, many years, with a great time had by all who were present,” Henson said. “It’s an annual event and everyone has a good time and looks forward to seeing the remaining members of the family each year.”