The Hite Family Association family reunion will be Friday, July 25-Sunday, July 27, 2025 at Belle Grove.
The reunion is perfectly timed as events for the 250th anniversary of our country are beginning. We are also pleased that members of the Fontaine-Maury Society will join us this year.
If you need to travel in on Friday, the first official event will be an early supper. The last event will end in early afternoon on Sunday, giving you time to travel home. You are also welcome to come early and stay later as there will be time to tour Belle Grove all day Friday and Sunday.
During the reunion, feel free to attend as many of the talks or tours as you wish. Family historian Richard Hite will host a drop-in genealogy workshops on Friday and Saturday. There will also be time to relax and visit with family and friends.
The Friday dinner, Saturday morning talks, Sunday morning brunch, and the Hite Family Association Annual Meeting will take place at Belle Grove in the upper level of the Beverley B. Shoemaker Welcome Center (the renovated 1918 Bank Barn).
You will have a chance to see the exhibits in the Manor House, including the replica of Nelly Madison’s gown. We will also have programs from our Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Rangers.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, July 26, there will be a special ceremony at the Bowman Cemetery at Fort Bowman. The local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will dedicate a grave marker to honor the service of Isaac Bowman (1757-1826), youngest son of George and Mary (Hite) Bowman and grandson of Jost and Anna Maria (Merckle) Hite.
After the ceremony, we are delighted to show attendees the ongoing renovation at Fort Bowman, the home of George and Mary Hite Bowman’s family.
At Saturday’s banquet, the keynote speaker will be Valerie Metzler, who will speak about common legends that occur in numerous families that can send genealogical research astray. Since 1985, Ms. Metlzer has been in private practice as an archivist and historian. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from Elizabethtown College and began her career at the U.S. Army Military History Institute while obtaining a master’s degree in American Studies from Penn State. She also started the corporate archive at Kraft Inc. in Chicago before starting her own business.
Sunday before brunch will be the family portrait and immediately after brunch at noon will be the Hite Family Association Business Meeting.
The full schedule, links to hotel room blocks, and registration form may be found at
https://bellegrove.org/calendar/hite-family-reunion
Register before July 18!
(Photo by Scott Turnmeyer Photography)
You may also like the following events from Belle Grove Plantation:
Also check out other
Meetups in Middletown,
Business events in Middletown.
