Good Morning from sunny HOT South Carolina. I have recovered from my outing to Blacksburg and thought you would enjoy a report. I know it is long but hope it will give you all a taste of the reunion. I encourage each interested person to mark June 27, 1999 on their calendars for next year's reunion.

Sunday afternoon after church was a real South Carolina scorcher. No wind, humidity in the 80's, and the redline on the thermometer buried over 90. Couldn't think what to take so I loaded up three gallons of ice and water. I knew I could survive any calamity with the water and a bucket of fried chicken.

I arrived in Blacksburg about 1:15 PM and followed Hershell's directions to easily find Mr James Porter's old farm. It is located just South of Blacksburg, about two miles from the Ninety Nine Island dam on the Broad River. The old deserted farm house stands on a knoll dwarfed by a two hundred year old Oak tree in the back. The timber on the property has been recently harvested with all large trees on the 50 acres taken. There are still many smaller trees that will re-forest the property over the next few years.

Cars and trucks were parked in the yard and on the street. With a bit of apprehension I grabbed my camera, chicken, water and headed up the drive to a bustling crowd of cousins. I barely turned the corner of the old farm house when Hershell yells a big welcome to cousin Frank Porter. The butterflies disappeared after about the third introduction. This is home. This is family.

Stewart was there. He is slender, unlike me, tallish, unlike me, bearded, something over 30, jeans, black boots, attentive. I'll let him give you a biography. Hershell, early sixties, typical southern gentleman, was there with his wife and three daughters.

I met James, son of Joe son of Tillet (1791) and many of the Aunts and Uncles. A typical southern family. Friendly, happy, clean cut, mostly light colored skin. Many children running with footballs, badminton or whatever.

The food was Southern traditional all the way. I cannot possibly remember all but there was a white cake with something sweet in the middle and something sweet dribbled on top, sliced... Oh that was good. There was: fried chicken, beef stew, stewed beef, ham biscuits, creamed corn, steamed corn, veggie tray, macaroni and cheese (5-10 versions), chicken livers, green beans, baked beans, veggie medley with broccoli and cauliflower, creamy gravy and something, rice, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and a WHOLE lot more. Next year I will walk down the table with a video camera and let everyone see the feast. Oh yes. Along with my water that Hershell kidded me about not being able to drink country water, there was of course lemon aid, syrupy sweet tea, and plenty of soft drinks.

What I can remember as I sat under this immense Oak tree was the cool breeze that came up while we were eating. It was amazing how nice that breeze made the meal. I was also amazed at the brevity of the prayer from Cousin Hambright or Martin who was a Baptist Minister.

After my third helping of cake, Hershell stood to talk a little about Tillet and the problems we are having connecting him to the rest of the world. Fifty to sixty people sat in the heat of a SC summer day and listened. I then talked a little about the history of the area. I will write up a brief history for you West coasters soon so that you can get the full view of this area which was not surveyed until 1772 West of the Catawba River. Major Cherokee Indian War in 1759-1761 also influenced the development of Cherokee/Union/York Counties.

The group started leaving so Hershell, Stewart, Hershell's brother and I hopped in cars and drove to the cemetery where Tillet and Margaret are buried. The Nazareth Baptist Church has a large, modern building sitting on the West side of Ninety Nine Island Road about a mile from the Ninety Nine Island Damn on the Broad River. Sitting on a hill, a full 15 feet above the parking lot is a small cemetery. There are two main designated areas in the cemetery, Porter and Hambright. The Hambright area is closer to the road and contiguous with the Porter area.

The Porter area is about 50 feet across. I cannot remember the exact order but buried in a row are: Nancy A, Francis V, Joe V, Laura, and of course James Tillet and Margaret C. There are some more. Maybe Hershell will give us an exact layout of the position and names on each of the stones. Tillet and Margaret's stone is obviously not from his death year of 1893. When asked, Hershell's brother stated that Joe Porter had replaced the headstone in 1941. The stone came from Sears. This has been one of my questions for many years. The original stones were thrown down the hillside below the new church building.

We then rode down to the river (1/4 mile away) and walked a bit on James Tillet Porter's property that he and Margaret deeded to Joe (James) and Francis in 1887. This property backs up to the church property. It is on an inlet of the Ninety Nine Island lake one ridge over from the main channel. The land is VERY hilly with large hardwood trees. The lake covered some of Tillet's property and only 32 of the original 50 acres remain above water.

I then took leave of the group and headed back to Rock Hill after looking at the canoe access below the damn for use as a Scouting excursion. As I drove back to Rock Hill past the Porter reunion site I stopped in to give my farewells to Stewart and Hershell. It was a very satisfying day. I left with visions of returning next year. Maybe to meet a few more cousins and maybe with a few more answers.

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