Family Reunion Archive

 

DAVID STILES

In eighteen-nine, a sturdy pioneer
Came out of the east into this green, new land,
Joyous he stood; surveyed the beauty here,
And then, with ax and plow beneath his hand,
Carved out a homestead in the wilderness.
Close by his side, a faithful wife and true,
Mothered his brood, with love and gentleness,
Thus, "The Ten Tribes of the House of David grew!

Down through the years the tribes have scattered far,
Northward and southward, to the east and west,
But now each year, by train and plane and car,
They come again to the land that he has blest,
To speak of David, and his deeds acclaim,
Beside the tall, white shaft that bears his name.

~ Lela Mae Stiles, August 19, 1956

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1936 - First Kentucky Stiles Family Reunion

Date Held: August 2, 1936
Location: Home of Margaret Beale Wilson LaRue, Kentucky
Attendance: 219+

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There are 219 people in this photo with about a dozen successfully identified. Who you can identify? Judge Lafayette Stiles Pence with his white mustache can be found seated near the center with his hat in his lap. My great-grandparents, Gus Lewis Stiles and Emma Hagan Stiles, are seated immediately to Judge Pence's left. My great-grandfather with a plaid tie and great-grandmother with the white hat. Can you spot them? Lewis Ogden Stiles mentioned in his writings that he attended this reunion, but I have yet to place him in the photo. It's also quite possible that Lewis' daughter, Lois Ogden Stiles Sparks, is also in the photo. She would have been 25 years old. See if you can find them! Also in the photo is Lela Mae Stiles who was working in the White House with President Franklin D. Roosevelt but made the trip back home for the reunion. She is standing just to the left of the 2nd large tree on the right side of the photo, and is wearing a black wide-brim hat, and a white dress with a flower corsage.
Please send a message to historian@kystilesfamily.com if you identify anyone!
An index of the known individuals will be coming soon.

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