Patrick-Henry Allied Families of Virginia, Inc.
By Beverly Belcher Woody
The first time I saw the term “Patrick Henry Allied Families of Virginia, Inc. (PHAFV),” it was on a copper plaque in a picnic shelter at Fairystone State Park. The second time I saw the term PHAFV, I was at the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Stuart. Some local history books were donated by the PHAFV, and the term was stamped inside the books.
So, just who are the Patrick-Henry Allied Families of Virginia, Inc.? According to their published history, May Ross McDowell founded the group in 1952 and served as its’ historian until her passing. The families that represent the PHAFV are Anderson, Brammer, Burnett, Corn, Hancock, Hatcher, Houchins, Jamison, Pedigo, Pendleton, Pilson, Price, Ross, Stovall, Turner, Via, and Wood.
The first meeting was held on May 11, 1952, at Fairystone State Park. The first honoree was Permelia Ruth Stovall Pilson, who was celebrating her 90th birthday that same month. Mrs. Pilson was given a money tree with ninety crisp one-dollar bills, an orchid, and birthday cake. 250 people attended the reunion, and such a good time was had by all that it was decided to make the reunion an annual event.
The second meeting was held on June 21, 1953, and the honoree was Daniel Hillsman Wood, born November 4, 1860. The speaker was Thomas Stanley, who later became Governor of Virginia. Over 400 people attended this reunion, and it was voted to start a section at the library in Stuart for books related to the history of Patrick and Henry County families.
The third meeting, held on May 23, 1954, honored Mrs. Mary Turner Pedigo who was born in June of 1872. At this meeting, it was voted to have the organization incorporated as a non-profit corporation. Approximately 450 persons attended this meeting.
The fourth meeting honored Mrs. Fannie Lee Ross Jamison and was held on June 12, 1955. Over 900 people from all over the country attended this meeting! During the first three years of the formation of the PHAFV, many honorable tasks were accomplished. The PHAFV section of books at the library had steadily grown and a care plan for restoring family cemeteries had been adopted.
During these three ambitious years, the old Ross cemetery had been restored and Mr. Lackey (the landowner) had deeded the PHAFV the cemetery plot that he had enclosed with a beautiful stone fence. Other cemeteries had been restored during this productive time: the Old Turner Cemetery on the Samuel Claiborne Turner place; the Pedigo-Bryant Cemetery; and the Brammer Cemetery. A monument was also placed in the Ross-Harbour Cemetery to memorialize Daniel Ross, Sr. who came to Virginia in 1760.
The honorees at the annual reunions over the next ten years were Mrs. Martha Ruth Wright Thompson, Mr. William Adolphus Bryant, Mrs. Lilly Pilson Cox, Mrs. Nancy Jane Turner, Mrs. Mary Ruth Via Fair, Mrs. Alice Pedigo Ross, Mr. John Robert Clark, Mr. Asa Pinkard Wood, Mr. John William Via, and Mr. Thomas Cleveland Pilson.
By 1965, the PHAFV decided that a permanent meeting place should be built. This remarkable group, scattered all over the United States, managed to raise $7,000 in very little time and build a shelter under the supervision of the Commissioner of Virginia State Parks. It was agreed that the Commonwealth of Virginia would maintain and could use the shelter anytime that the PHAFV was not using the structure.
Mr. Joe Stovall furnished a copper box which would serve as a cornerstone and time capsule for the group. Inside the box, newspapers and PHAFV programs for the previous 14 years were placed along with a scroll with the names of each person who donated $5 or more to the construction of the shelter.
The copper box was placed beneath a marble slab donated by Mr. Robert L. Via and Mr. Virgil H. Goode. Mr. Eugene Pedigo donated a glass case that enclosed the copper plaques with all the names of the Allied Families.
In June of 1956, Miss Ella Ross, Dean of Students at East Tennessee State University, delivered a beautiful, moving speech entitled Semper Memoria (Let us Remember) where she spoke so eloquently about her love of the land and family. Here are a few excerpts from her memorable speech…. “My mother and father gave me something much more valuable than anything that money could buy or that formal education could have made possible. They gave me a birthright. The great philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Man is a vehicle in which all his ancestors ride.”
“We hear so much today (1956) about the ‘do it yourself’ movement. Do you realize that our ancestors were the original do-it-yourself people? When they started that long trek from the other side of the ocean to this new world, which was at that time, an uncharted wilderness, they had no resources other than themselves. When a house was needed, they must first cut down the trees from which the lumber was to come. The very clothes on their backs were grown out of the soil or on the backs of sheep. But throughout it all, they accepted the tasks and carried them through.”
Mr. Archie Ross was so inspired by her speech that he wrote a song entitled Semper Memoria to be sung to the tune of Danny Boy… “Memoria this land, our Father’s nation; Abundant life to us He did endow; Memoria to share our admiration; In gratitude for those whose deeds we harvest now; With joy and song and work and wisdom blending; Let’s make this earth a bright and lovely star; Let’s praise our God for blessedness unending; Posterity and love; Semper Memoria!”
(Thank you so much to Barbara Hatcher Payne Kaufman who provided all the information about the Patrick-Henry Allied Families of Virginia, Inc.)
Woody may be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com.
