Townsend Family Reunion History
Research on the lives of Tom and Mary Murphy Townsend is still being done. However very little information has been recorded on them. Tom was a Dillon, South Carolina farmer with a brilliant mind and had a high IQ in Mathematics. As the legend goes, Tom moved about the community from church to church engaged in giving speeches.
As a young boy, Tom served his master as water-boy in the Civil War. He recalled on one occasion hiding in a ditch when he observed the enemy approaching as he attempted to complete his chores. When the soldiers saw him one remarked, "He's nothing but a boy!" and spared his life.
Unfortunately, both Tom and Mary died before any of their nine children were grown. The area in and around the famous "South of the Border" a motel, entertainment villa and resort, is the section of Dillon county where Tom and Mary lived. In fact, a great portion of the land where the original motel is built is said to have been a part of the family estate.
After the passing of both Tom and Mary, their children were placed in the homes of other relatives. No one wanted to see the children divided, but there was no home available to keep them all together. Tom and Mary's children were: Artemos, John Thomas, Hanna Jane, Susan Jane, Zack, Willie, Laura, Maggie and Clarence.
The community had its social and moral impact in seeing that these children were placed in adequate homes. The dark completion children were placed in the homes with dark completion relatives, and the light completion children were placed with relatives that were the same. To this date, a true account of growth, maturity and educational achievement of each child cannot be given. However, we have been encouraged to believe that each child could read and write.
During the early 1900s, a family reunion to get the nine children together for the first time was attempted. This attempt failed because no one knew the whereabouts of Artemos and Laura. As fate would have it, the period that followed was dark. The caretakers of Tom & Mary's children begin believing that it was bad luck to have family reunions. Therefore, this prevented the children from coming together.
It was not until approximately 50 years later that the idea of having a family reunion began to re-emerge. The second attempt to have a family reunion was discussed by Dr. Vereada Townsend Norwood - Granddaughter of Tom & Mary and William Jennings Hayes - Grandson of Tom & Mary during the early 1970s. With the passing of all nine of Tom & Mary's children, Vereada and W. Jennings agreed that it was time for their descendants to come together and learn their roots. At that time, the implementation of having the reunion was tabled due to Vereada becoming ill. Vereada and Jennings felt that it would be great if the younger family generations would organize and implement family reunions, since the two of them were growing older.
In July 1985, Ms. Debra Abraham - Great Granddaughter of Tom & Mary from California began her quest of learning more about her family genealogy. Her initial research about the family from various telephone conversations led her to contact her cousin Ms. Pamela Brinson - Great Granddaughter of Tom & Mary from Georgia. Debra and Pamela wondered why the family had not come together in celebration, and from their inquiries learned from their aunt - Dr. Vereada Townsend Norwood and others that two attempts to have a family reunion had occurred but never materialized. Debra and Pamela being excited about discovering their family roots took the initiative to make a third attempt to implement a family reunion.
The first successful family reunion was held in Dillon, South Carolina on July 11-13, 1986. The relatives that attended were astounded. Everyone was happy to see each other and plans were immediately put into effect to have a second reunion. During the last day of the first reunion, the family gathered for a big meeting to discuss the second reunion. It was decided by consensus that the family would conduct a reunion biennially (every two years) during the even numbered years. The family also agreed to have the reunion during the weekend close to Independence Day (4th of July) as the optimal time for all relatives to be free to travel. Lastly, the family agreed initially to have the reunions in Dillon, South Carolina, which is the home place where Tom & Mary Murphy Townsend lived.
Since the inception of the first reunion that was orchestrated by Debra, Pamela and many others, we have had many successful reunions over the last 30 years. The following are highlights from the passed reunions.
| 1st Reunion - 7/11-13/1986 - Dillon, SC | |
| Home of the late Clarence & Emma Mae Ford Townsend, Sr. | |
| 2nd Reunion - 7/2-3/1988 - Dillon, SC | |
| South of the Border at South Carolina and North Carolina state line | |
| 3rd Reunion - 7/6-8/1990 - Dillon, SC |
| 4th Reunion - 7/3-5/1992 - Dillon, SC |
| 5th Reunion - 7/1-3/1994 - Dillon, SC |
| 6th Reunion - 7/6/1996 - Dillon, SC | |
| In lieu of an official family reunion being held due to the lack of family volunteers to organize and implement the occasion, Pamela Brinson - Great Granddaughter of Tom & Mary Murphy Townsend - and other relatives decided to host a 4th of July picnic at the historic home of the late Clarence & Emma Mae Ford Townsend, Sr. in Dillon, SC for the entire Townsend Family Clan. | |
| 7th Reunion - 7/3-5/1998 - Dillon, SC |
| 8th Reunion - 6/30/2000 to 7/2/2000 - Myrtle Beach, SC |
| 9th Reunion - 7/4-7/2002 - Charleston, SC |
| 10th Reunion - 8/6-8/2004 - Dillon/Little River, SC |
| Biennial Reunions Years - 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 | |
| Due to the passing of the late Dr. Vereada Townsend Norwood, Granddaughter of the late Tom & Mary Murphy Townsend in 2006, the interest in having more reunions ceased. | |
| 11th Reunion - 6/17-18/2016 - Dillon, SC |