Join us at Hope Plantation for games, a haunted trail, scary stories, and other fun activities on the grounds! There will be a costume contest! Children must be accompanied by an adult!

We are going to have a book sale, starting on Monday, August 10th until all books are sold. We have hundreds of gently used books, including novels, fiction, Civil War, non-fiction, African American history, and more. Paperback books are two for $1.00, hardback books with dust covers are $3.00-$5.00, with a buy two get one free special. Come early on Monday so you can have the best selection. These books have been generously donated and all proceeds will go to helping to support Historic Hope Foundation.

Come and join Historian and Professor Kathleen DuVal for a reading from her new book “Independence Lost” in the Tyler Room. Copies of her book will be available for purchase.

The 5^th annual Family History and Genealogy Fair “The Diverse Origins of Families in Bertie County” will be held  on June 26^th and 27^th at the Roanoke Chowan Heritage Center at Historic Hope Plantation.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

On Friday, June 26, the fair will open with a presentation and discussion by Mark Bunch, Chief Financial Officer, Othello Washington Community Hospital, of the results of his BUNCH y- DNA test in 2008. He found out that rather than hailing from Scotland, his Bunch forebears had come to America from Africa about 1620. In 2010, Mr. Bunch took on the voluntary duties of administrator for the Bunch Y-DNA Surname Project and managed to hang on as the project grew from 11 test results then to more than 60 results today. In 2012 the Bunch project was cited in scholarly research on the Melungeons of East Tennessee, and in Ancestry.com’s research on a possible link between President Barack Obama and John Punch, regarded by many historians as the first African chattel slave in British North America. As part of the dinner session, Philip S. McMullan Jr. will present a book talk, “Beechland and the Lost Colony.” He will share his perspectives on what happened to a group of original European immigrants to this area.

On Saturday, June 27, the fair will start with a presentation, “BETWEEN THE LINES”, by Mary Helen Thompson. Miss Thompson will discuss how one family navigated the boundaries between black and white, free and slave and deals with many of the free families, and slave owning families in Bertie County. In keeping with one of the original themes of this annual event, Where Did Our People Go, Reverend Lillian Capehart of Salinas, California will present, “The Lovelace Brown Capehart Family: From Bertie County to Raleigh NC in 1865 and Beyond.” The final event of the fair will be a tour of select historical houses in Bertie built by “The Bunch Family Carpenters in Bertie County.” This event will be led by Reid Thomas and staff members of the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, Eastern Region.

Conference Registration Fee:
Full Two-Day Genealogy Conference $60.00
Only Friday $35.00 (5:00 pm – 8:15 pm includes dinner)
Only Saturday $35.00 (9:00 am – 1:30 pm includes breakfast/brunch)

See attached Registration form  >>  5th Annual Family & Genealogy Fair

This event is not open to the public. There will be a continental breakfast at 9:30 and following by the meeting at 10:00 am. More details to follow.