MEMORIES OF A SPECIAL GATHERING

On a beautiful sunny day in Tygerville, South Carolina, over seventy people from several southern and western States gathered at the Tyger Baptist Church to honor their ancestors, Reuben and Hannah Barrett, and to dedicate a grave marker inscribed in their honor.

Reuben and Hannah Barrett’s descendants were aware that two fieldstones were discovered in the cemetery in the 1980s. They were found lying partially covered with dirt and grass, and the initials RB and HB had been crudely scratched into the stones. Several descendants made a pilgrimage to the cemetery after the discovery to see the stones for themselves. Were they truly the markers we Barrett descendants had been searching for, for the last half-century or more?

Yes, it was concluded. They were authentic. There was no doubt that this was the final resting place of these two faithful members of Tyger Baptist, Revolutionary War veteran Reuben, and his wife, Hannah.

In late 2002, some of the subscribers of the Reuben Barrett List threw out the suggestion that we researcher-descendants purchase a modern grave marker for our ancestors, and that we hold a “reunion” in May 2003 in Greenville, South Carolina, to dedicate such a marker. My first reaction was, “Well, that’s a great idea but it is too ‘far out;’ too difficult to pull off; not enough time between now and then; too far away; not doable.”

It wouldn’t really be a REunion, anyway! We hadn’t even had a “Union” yet! Seriously, few of us had ever met each other, even though we had been corresponding, e-mailing, and talking by phone for months and even years.

As the days went on and descendants began volunteering for tasks to make it happen, I changed my opinion to, “Well, maybe that’s not such a far out idea; maybe it really CAN work; and I want to be a part of it!”

Thanks to the steady guidance of Jim Barrett, an experienced reunion organizer, and to Janet, our capable web mistress, plans steadily progressed. Jim took charge of the donations for the marker, and everyone was invited to have a hand in the process of selecting the type of stone, the design, and the wording to be put on it. Jim contacted the marker company, carried on a correspondence with them, and screened the types of stone and lettering that were available.

Someone suggested applying for a DAR emblem, and Marilyn Dowdy volunteered to assemble the data, fill out forms, and submit them to DAR. Jim Barrett found a Greenville motel that would allow us free use of their meeting room and give us a reduced rate, if we had enough registrants.

Volunteers sent invitations to all known Reuben Barrett descendants. At least four newspaper articles telling of the reunion were printed, three in Mississippi (thanks to Marilyn) and one in Texas. People began responding to the invitations.

Janet contacted Tyger Baptist Church and began corresponding with the minister’s wife. Could we place a marker for Reuben and Hannah? May we use the church sanctuary for our dedication service? Might we use the church fellowship hall for the luncheon before the service? Would the church women consider providing our lunch in exchange for a donation?

Although we didn’t learn of it until the day of the dedication, the Tyger Baptist cemetery committee carefully checked into our claim that our ancestors were part of the history of their small country church. Satisfied that our claim was authentic, they put out the welcome mat for us.

How many of us would actually make the trip, we wondered. Fifteen? Twenty? Fifty? What would we do at the reunion? What should be the format for the dedication service?

On Easter weekend, April, 2003, three couples met in Waco, Texas, and had a brain storming session; Janet couldn’t attend, but we had her notes to work from. We went home and wrote up our suggestions and sent them to Janet.

Janet began working on the programs. Jim, meanwhile, ordered the marker and arranged for it to be delivered to Tyger Baptist Cemetery. Jim began working on the name tags; he and his wife, Jan, bought the small flags we were to place at the grave. Larry and Hallie purchased the bunting.

Rosemary Hayes, a Reuben descendant and a Greenville resident, volunteered to be at the cemetery to receive the marker, which was to be delivered a couple of weeks before the dedication. We learned, meanwhile, that the DAR emblem would take many months to be approved.

Everything went as planned with no major glitches. On Thursday, May 23, people began checking in to the Quality Inn on Orchard Street and meeting each other. By Friday, most of the others arrived. People brought their photos, their family books, their research materials. The room accommodated a number of computers and printers, a scanner, and a copy machine. Jim Barrett sat near the door and made the rest of the name tags showing our lines of descent.

The Barrett descendants freely shared their considerable research. They assembled themselves into family groups and exchanged ideas, stories, and photos. The oldest was Ina Barrett , of the David line, and the youngest was Hayden Barrett, of Reuben’s brother Arthur line.

Among those attending were descendants of Reuben’s children John, David, Joseph, Arthur, Prudence, and Betsy. To our surprise and pleasure, some descendants of Reuben’s brother, Arthur, also attended and fully participated on all the activities. A descendant of Reuben’s sister, Nancy, attended the dedication service. Also, a descendant of Abraham Chastain (John Barrett’s father-in-law) was there, as well as a member of the Tyger Church cemetery committee. We were from many southern and western states: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Idaho, and Texas.

On Saturday, many made the trip to see the Revolutionary War sites, King’s Mountain and The Cowpens. Others stayed at the hotel and continued exchanging information.

Certificates were presented that night to various descendants for their assistance in organizing and participating in the reunion, including some who were unable to attend. They were Janet Barrett Walker (organizer), Jim Barrett (organizer and marker chairman), Marilyn Dowdy (DAR application), Sheryn and Ross Welburn (speaker and organizer), Rosemary Hutchins Hayes (Greenville based duties), Jim Alexander (speaker), Jeff Barrett (singer), Larry and Hallie Johnson (speaker and planner), Ann Cummings (photography), Genett Carpenter (copy machine), Lee Barrett (tour guide), Harry Barrett (mailings), Deborah Biggs (transcriber) and Steven Mitchell (transcriber).

Many of us attended the Sunday morning service at the Tyger Church. The speaker was Missionary Stacy Finley, who told of his mission work in Costa Rica. He is from Rock Hill, S.C.

The rain that was predicted forf Sunday never materialized, and those of us who attended Tyger church’s Sunday service were pleased that the sun made its appearance before the service was concluded.

Our Sunday meal, spaghetti, salad, bread, and delicious dessert, was provided by the Tyger Church women, and we each donated money for Brother Stacy Finley’s mission work in Costa Rica. More than $1300 was collected at the service and at the dinner.

After the lunch, we assembled in the sanctuary for the memorial service. Jim Barrett introduced himself and welcomed the Barrett descendants to the dedication service. Then, Jim Barrett introduced his cousin, inspirational singer Jeff Barrett, a descendant of John and president of South Carolina Baptist Missionary Singing Churchmen, who sang, “Those Who Have Gone Before.” The first speaker was Larry Johnson, husband of Hallie Lowe Johnson of the David line; he spoke concerning the purpose for the gathering of the Barrett descendants.

The second speaker was Sheryn Welburn of the Arthur line, who recounted the history of Reuben and Hannah and told a bit about the life they lived. I was the third speaker, Karen Hett of the David line, and told about Reuben’s Revolutionary War service. Jeff Barrett then sang the very beautiful and appropriate “God Bless the USA.”

I then introduced Janet Barrett Walker, the Barrett web site manager and reunion organizer. Janet told about her love for the Barrett family and her dedication to the preservation of our history, and mentioned that we are the Storytellers of our time.

Jeff then led us in the Lord’s Prayer and we were dismissed to walk to the cemetery across the street. Small American flags were handed to us as we walked out the doors of the church.

We assembled at the marker, which was covered with red, white, and blue bunting. Jim Alexander spoke briefly about the honoring of our ancestors. Jeff led us in the singing of “America the Beautiful.” The bunting was removed and the stone was revealed to much applause. The new marker had been placed just to the rear of the fieldstone markers, in such a position as to complement the old stones.

We then recited the Twenty-Third Psalm, after which Janet read a poem she had compiled for the occasion. We placed the small American flags at the base of the marker, and on the graves of other veterans.

Following the ceremony, we gathered in family groups to have our photos taken at the marker; then we strolled through the cemetery. We soon went our separate ways, some returning to the church hall to clean up the hall and to put away food. Leftover food was to be donated to a needy family.

Sunday night, some returned to the meeting room to review the day’s events, to continue discussions of Barrett family research, and finally, to pack up supplies and bid each other farewell.

As others have written, we arrived mostly as strangers, but we parted as family. The memories of those special days will be held forever in our hearts.

Karen McCann Hett

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