Large crowd attends 108th reunion

Descendants of John Thomas Stancil (1841-1822) and Delaney Catherine Sasser Stancil (1842-1915) gathered for their annual reunion on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, at the Glendale-Kenly Elementary School on Bay Valley Road, Kenly, NC.

The first reunion was held in the late 1902 at the John Thomas Stancil Homestead on Glendale Road with 46 in attendance. Their eleven children in attendance were Henry, Samuel, Tempie Ann, Josiah, John Archer, Alvin, Arnettie, Harvey, George Ira, Thomas and Catherine.

Other great-grandchildren of John Thomas Stancil, who are over 85 years old and attended are James "Jim" Orville Stancil of the Henry Branch, Thelma Stancil Pipkin of the Samuel Branch, Mavis Hill Godwin of Tempy Ann Branch, and Irene Pittman Wallace of the Harvey Branch.

Hale Stancil and Renn Stancil Hinton of the George branch welcomed members. Hale read the names of all members who had died since the last reunion.

Garland Stancil and Donell Stancil. By Georgeanne Stancil Schore

The last two living grandchildren of John Thomas and Delaney Stancil, Garland Stancil, son of Harvey and Donell Stancil, son of Alvin were recognized. Their children and grandchildren were present.

Gurnie Crabtree and Delayna Tedder. By Ty Hinton

The oldest great grandchild present was 95 year old Gurnie Stancil Crabtree, daughter of Oscar and granddaughter of Henry. James Orville Stancil and Ruby Stancil Creech, Oscar’s other living children were also present.

Donell Stancil, of the Alvin Branch, gave the financial and Stancil Cemetery report.

Chris Sweesy of the George Ira Branch gave the blessing.

The two youngest members present were 7-week-old Dalayna Rae Tedder, daughter of Paige and David, granddaughter of Faye and Jay Langston and 5-month-old Chloe Elizabeth Peedin, daughter of Amy and Shannon, granddaughter of Ann and Gerald Johnson, great granddaughter of Frances Pope Johnson. Both are members of the Henry Branch.

Other great-grandchildren of John Thomas Stancil, who are over 85 years old and attended included James "Jim" Orville Stancil of the Henry Branch, Thelma Stancil Pipkin of the Samuel Branch, Mavis Hill Godwin of Tempy Ann Branch, and Irene Pittman Wallace of the Harvey Branch.

Donell Stancil attended his first reunion in 1932. He had has only missed two reunions since registrations started in 1960. Lou Stancil, wife of Donell, has only missed one reunion since meeting Donell in 1965. This was when Donell was hospitalized in 2006. Ethel H. Stancil, widow of Ralph Stancil, has attended the last 57 reunions. J.G. Renfrow, Jr. has registered at each reunion since 1960.

4 generations attending the Reunion were:

John Archer: Rachel Brown, Betty Brown, Marty Sellers, Meredith Brown, Michael Brown, Robin Brown, Mary Jo Stancil, Sidney Stancil and Edward Stancil. By Ty Hinton

Sidney Stancil/ Betty Stancil Brown/ Michael Brown/ Rachel and Meredith Brown (John Archer Branch)

Frances Pope Johnson/Ann Johnson/Amy Johnson Peedin/ Carly and Chloe Peedin (Henry Branch)

A photo of the first reunion was taken and preserved. Those in the photo were identified by the late George Ralph Stancil of the George Branch and the identified photo was printed by the late Harry Lester Stancil of the Josiah Branch. Copies of this photo, The First Family Photo and Stancil Family Cookbook Volume I and II were available for purchase.

The four-generation Stancil Family Tree was on exhibit. It was first displayed at the 1971 Reunion and created by deceased family artist Gilda Renfrow Six of the George Branch. The custom wooden frame was made by James Viverette of the Harvey Branch.

Hale Ralph Stancil of the George Branch is the Stancil Family Genealogist. Printouts of current family trees for each branch were hung by Jerry Durward Stancil and granddaughter Monica Mann of the Samuel Branch.

Jerry Durward Stancil of the Samuel Branch, announced last year that he had located the grave of Samuel Stancil, the father of John Thomas Stancil in the Hales Cemetery on Shoeheel Road. Several members gave donations for a marker. Two days before the reunion, an appropriate monument more than 6 feet tall was erected on Samuel’s grave. It includes genealogy of Samuel back to John Stansell born in 1662, who came from England and landed in Virginia on Nov. 6, 1683. It includes the names of all of Samuel’s children and grandchildren.

Highlights of the reunion included recognition of members from each branch in attendance, viewing the redone reunion photo collages of members attending reunions from 1993 through 2008, looking at historical books for each branch. The gathering ended with a raffle.

Four members of the Alonzo Stancill family, Rannette Stancil, Rex Stancill, Daylon Sullivan and Geraldine Stancil Sullivan attended. Alonzo was the son of Reddick Stancil, first cousin of John Thomas Stancil. Alonzo attended the first Stancil Reunion.

Family Cemeteries include The Stancil Family Cemetery located on Glendale Road, The Hill Cemetery located on Glendale Road, The Hales Cemetery on Shoeheel Road, and the Howell Cemetery in Wilson County. Donell Stancil and other members of the Alvin Branch care for the Stancil Cemetery. Eloise Hill Sidelinger and members of the Tempy Ann Branch take care of the Hill Cemetery. Jerry Stancil, and members of the Samuel Branch take care of the Hales Cemetery and the Howell Cemetery.

Thanks to Donell, Lou Stancil and members of the Alvin Branch for making reunion arrangements and making the Reunion Lemonade; to Carol Molinari, Renee Eason Warren, Darcee Hinton Sams of the George Ira Branch for registering family members. Marty Sellers of the John Archer Branch and Renn Stancil Hinton of the George Branch for sales and to photographers Georgeanne Stancil Schore, Ty Hinton, Coree Hinton, Alice Stancil Huggins of the George Branch and Anne Langston of the Josiah Branch.

Special thanks to J.G. Renfrow for storing the family tree and Tommy Stancil III for storing the photo collages.

The Stancil Family Cookbook Vol. I and II are available for purchase. Special emphasis is on family members who have served in the military. There are links to websites of other family members.