10th Annual Family History and Genealogy Fair

Come and join us for the 10th Annual Family History and Genealogy Fair

We are excited to announce that we will be having our 10th Annual Family History and Genealogy Fair on Saturday, July 31st. This event will be held in the Heritage Center at Historic Hope Plantation.

The purpose of the program is to discuss the diverse origins of families in Bertie County North Carolina from the late 16th century to their current genealogical connections throughout America. *The program will be recorded and available on YouTube.

Our first speaker is Dr. Warren Milteer, Jr. His presentation is entitled “Exploring Free People of Color in North Carolina”. He will be followed by John M. Bunch who will on “White at all Costs: The Descendants of Solomon Bunch, Free Person of Color”.

There is NO CHARGE for the Genealogy Fair and Advance Registration is encouraged.  Lunch is available for $15 per person. (Please register for the lunch by Monday, July 26hth – $15.00 fee to be paid via credit card or check. Checks should be made out to “Historic Hope Foundation”)

9:15 am – 9:45 am Registration

9:45 am – Welcome & Introductions

10:00 am- 10:45 – “Exploring Free People of Color in North Carolina” with Warren E. Milteer, Jr.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm – “”White at all Costs: The Descendants of Solomon Bunch, Free Person of Color” with John M. Bunch

12:15 – 1:15 pm – Lunch Buffet ($15 per person)

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Tour of the Hope Mansion and King-Bazemore House ($15 per person)

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Tour of the Hope Mansion and King-Bazemore House ($15 per person)

SPECIAL EVENT:  The Bunch family of farmers and house carpenters (fl. 1780s-1860) at the Roanoke Chowan Heritage Center Great Hall

Warren E. Milteer, Jr. will provide a brief survey of life for free people of color in North Carolina. Milteer will discuss the origins of free people of color and their daily experiences. The presentation will highlight both the successes and challenges faced by free people of color. Dr. Milteer received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently an Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He received the R. D.W. Conner Award for his article, “Life in a Dismal Swamp Community: Free People of Color in Pre-Civil War Gates County, North Carolina,” published 2014 in the North Carolina Historical Review.

John M. Bunch will present the story of Solomon Bunch. Born in Bertie Country in 1785. He was the son of Jeremiah Bunch, Jr., a free Mulatto, born about1745. With a collection of carpenter’s tools inherited from his father, Solomon left Bertie County in the early 19th century and settled in Maury County, Tennessee, following a similar route as other Bertie-natives of the time. Bunch will focus on Solomon’s decision to pass as white in a southern society in which “blackness” was vilified. He will tell the story of the dark secret of Solomon’s descendants that was passed from generation to generation. Solomon was a slave owner in Tennessee, as was his son. Bunch will attempt to take an unflinching look at why and how such decisions were made, and the impact that a seemingly conflicted rationale might have on a family pretending to be white. Bunch has been a researcher of his family’s history since he was a teenager. He is a data analytics trainer and consultant and received a PhD from the University of South Florida. He lives in Tampa, Florida.

To register for conference, lunch, or for more information, please call 252-794-3140 or email info@hopeplantation.org.  

Click here for a copy of our flyer.