Do you ever wonder where the names come from that make up the Hemphill families that attend our family reunion? We'll need just a short history lesson.
You've probably seen this iconic photograph many times, but do you know the history behind it?
John Hosea Hemphill, (Jan. 25, 1802, -March 23, 1884) grew up in the Silver Creek area of Burke County, NC. He married Lydia Louisa Simmons Hemphill (March 31, 1814-Dec. 23, 1900). They moved to Montford Cove area of Rutherford County NC.
At the time John and Louisa moved to the Cove, they had three sons, Israel Leander, nearly 10, Thomas Patton, age 8, and John Posey, just under a year old. Also, they had two daughters, Sarah age 6, and Margaret age 3. In the following nine years, they produced four more daughters, Eliza, Sophia, Mary Jane, and Martha.
John Hosea & Lydia Louisa Simmons Hemphill
THOMAS PATTON HEMPHILL (1838-1881)
Patton (as he was known), married Mary Ann Flack in 1857. They began married life in the Montford Cove area, not far from his parents. Patton was a farmer, owning over 200 acres, and served in the Civil War.
Patton and Mary Ann were the parents of eleven children. Many descendants of these eleven children, among other Hemphills, attend our Hemphill Family reunions today.
Their children:
- Ellie Alvira Hemphill Crawford (11 children)
- Mary Louisa Hemphill Miller (4 children)
- Theodosia Priscilla Hemphill (died at 2 years old)
- Leander Duffey Hemphill (9 children)
- John Posey Hemphill (3 children)
- Andrew Roswell Hemphill (6 children)
- Thomas Millard Hemphill (9 children)
- George Hosea Hemphill (7 children-first wife; 6 children- second wife)
- Joseph Mills Hemphill (7 children)
- Charles Stein Hemphill (6 children)
- William Young Hemphill (2 children)
Every year since 1952, on the fourth Sunday in July, the Hemphill family has called out the names of these family members at our reunions to count all the descendents present.
From the initial eleven siblings, 70 children were born, and we look forward to this legacy continuing for many generations.