Gwaltneys In America: The Clearinghouse for Gwaltney Family History

Welcome to the Gwaltney/Gaultney/Gortney/Gwatney/Galtney/Gwartney family!

Gwaltney Family Homecoming Update for  Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I have a few tidbits to pass along regarding the Nationwide Gwaltney Family Homecoming for July 24 and 25, 2009 in Smithfield, VA.

 

1.Honoring our Heritage:   If anyone knows of a Gwaltney descendent who has passed away since last summer of 2008, please let me know. One of the activities we have planned for Saturday afternoon, July 25 is a brief memorial service to acknowledge members of the Gwaltney family who have passed since the time of our Homecoming last year. So far, I know of the following family who have been deceased since last summer:

 

*Ronald Jay Gwaltney of Hiddenite, NC who just passed recently

*Len Morris Gwaltney of Union City, TN who passed away on June 9, 2009

*Roy Gwaltney of Johnson City, TN who passed on May 21, 2009

*Elwood Lemon “Buck’ Gwaltney of AR and New Mexico who passed on Feb. 11, 2009

*George Lafayette “Spunk” Gwaltney of Chuckatuck, VA who passed on Jan. 27, 2009

*Byron Gwaltney of MS who passed on Dec. 24, 2008

*Guy Gwaltney of IN who passed on Dec. 19, 2008

*Leycestor Gwaltney of FL who passed on Dec. 12, 2008

*My first cousin, Ricky Joe Gwaltney, of Halls, TN who passed on Aug. 27, 2008

*William “Bill” Gwatney of AR who passed on Aug. 14, 2008.

*Sanford Gwaltney of NC and CA who passed on July 17, 2008

*Rev. Lester Dale Gwaltney of St. Louis, MO who passed on June 3, 2008

 

If you know of any one else who is a Gwaltney/Gaultney/Gortney/Gwatney/Gwartney descendent who may have passed recently, please let me know. Also, if anyone has any photos or a brief story that they could pass along to me regarding those deceased listed above, please send me that information (jbkoonce@hotmail.com) as soon as possible so that we can make a proper recognition of them. Thanks for your assistance in this area.

 

2.The Family Tree program. On Saturday afternoon, July 25, one of our program highlights is the emphasis on the Gwaltney family tree and how the family has spread over the U.S.  I am excited that Dr. Bill Gwaltney of Johnson City, TN and Dudley Gwaltney of Raleigh, NC have agreed to use their acting skills to portray the roles of the original Thomas Gwaltney (1613-1666), the forefather of us all, and  of his son William Gwaltney (c.1655-1732). This should be an interesting and informative look at the men who lead the way for the Gwaltneys in America.  We are also hoping that it works out for Hank Burnham of GA to be present to discuss the movement of the Gaultney family from NC to GA. Hank has done a lot of research into the Gwaltney/Gaultney family and has a lot of information on the migration patterns of the Gwaltney family from southern VA into western NC and then into GA (with an emphasis on the Gaultney branch of the family). He would also like to discuss DNA testing  for the Gwaltney family.

 

3.If you need any information about the Nationwide Gwaltney Homecoming on July 24 and 25 in Smithfield, VA, please do not hesitate to contact me at jbkoonce@hotmail.com

. If you need a registration form, directions, the meal menu and prices, or information about lodging, please contact me. I have nearly 400 contacts on my email list and I have additionally mailed out over 300 invitations via U.S. mail. While I wished I had the time to contact everyone individually, I just don’t have the time to do so. So I am asking that you contact me if you need anything.

 

Tuesday,  June 16, 2009

Gwaltney Family Homecoming UpdateIt is a little over 5 weeks until the Gwaltney Family Nationwide Homecoming in Smithfield, Virginia on July 24 and 25, 2009.  I have had a good response for the Homecoming this year and I look forward to seeing everybody.  I am asking that you register as soon as possible if you plan to attend.  I have been receiving quite a number of registrations but have had others who have told me they are coming who have not registered yet.  Just remember if you plan to eat any of the meals being prepared by  our caterer, George Pulley, I must have your check and registration by July 17, 2009. If you do not prepay for any meals, you will have to eat on your own.  If you do not want to eat, that is fine and you are still welcome to attend any part of the Homecoming.   ***The Meal Menus***

Friday evening, July 24, 2009—Pork loins, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, desert

Saturday lunch, July 25, 2009—Ham Biscuits, Fried Chicken, Bean Snaps, and Potato Salad,

Saturday Supper, July 25, 2009—BBQ pork, rolls, baked beans and slaw, desert

--additionally, George will be serving watermelon on Saturday afternoon during our break

 ***Meal Costs***

Children age 6 and under will eat free

Children age 7 through 12 will cost $5 per meal ($4.50 goes to George and .50 cents will go towards the facility rental)

Anyone age 13 and older will be charged $10 per meal ($9.00 goes to George and $1.00 goes toward facility rental).

I hope you can eat with us. George does an excellent job of cooking and there is usually a little left over for second helpings.

*Please indicate on your registration form if you are paying $5 per meal for a child and make sure you name your child on your registration.

 ***The Current Agenda***Friday, July 24 

3:00 to 4:45 p.m.—Registration—pick up name tags and Dudley Gwaltney of Raleigh NC will be taking brief photo and video clips of each family.

 

5:00 to 5:45 p.m.—Friday meal catered by George Pulley of Windsor, VA

 

6:00 to 10:00 p.m.—Ice-Breaker Activities followed by evening entertainment

 Saturday, July 25 

 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (OPTIONAL)—Family Worship service featuring  special singing from Talitha Gwaltney and Wayne and Kate Gwaltney.  Sermon will be delivered by Dr. Clifford Gwaltney of Hiddenite, NC

 

12:00 noon to 12:45 p.m.—Lunch catered by George Pulley of Windsor, VA

 

1:00 to 4:30 p.m. –The Family Tree presentation. There will be a break around 3:00 p.m. and we will also have a Featured Spotlight on several historical Gwaltney family members including James Lancaster Gwaltney, Luther Rice Gwaltney, and Leslie Lee Gwaltney along with a few others to be announced.

 

5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.—Evening Dinner catered by George Pulley of Windsor, VA

 

6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. –Evening activities and entertainment including a sing-a-long with Irie Gwaltney Parker.

 Sunday, July 26 (optional) 

12:30 to 6:00 p.m.—Auto Tour.  This is an optional activity for anyone interested. We will drive to Surry, VA and eat dinner at the Surry House Restaurant and then drive some back roads to see some Gwaltney-related historical sites including the burial site and old farm site of John Avington Merit Gwaltney, the general vicinity of the original Gwaltney acreages back in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the cemeteries at Mill Swamp Baptist Church, Bethany Methodist Church and Ivy Hill Cemetery where many Gwaltneys have been laid to rest.  Please let me know if you are interested when you register.

 

  ***Entertainment*** 

Currently we have the Christy Family, Talitha Gwaltney, Wayne and Kate Gwaltney, my niece Brittany Majors, hopefully the Country Couzzins will be back and there is a good chance we will have the Ian and Tanner Gwaltney Band from Cleveland, TN with us.  I am also hoping we can get Trey Gwaltney of Smithfield, VA to join us again with his fine piano fingers. Irie Parker will lead a sing-a-long. If any one else is interested in providing music, please let us know ASAP.  Unfortunately, Jeff Gwaltney of Florida, who was such a blessing to us last year, will be unable to help us this year as he is performing on an opera tour.

 

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This is a website devoted to the accumulation and preservation of the Gwaltney/Gaultney/Gortney/Gwatney/Galtney/Gwartney family history in America (Gwaltney is the original Americanized spelling). While there are Gwaltney's who have traced their individual lines back several generations, our goal here is to discover and provide information about the general Gwaltney population in the United States. While all Gwaltneys in America seem to have originated from Surry County, Virginia, migration patterns took them into North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Then into Texas and Mississippi, and ... eventually scattered all over this great country.

This is a website devoted to them all.

(Oh, by the way, the photograph above is of my momma, May Helen Gwaltney of Obion County, Tennesee, taken about 1958 when she was 16.)

The Gwaltney Name

For purposes of simplicity and ease of reading, the name GWALTNEY will be used in this website.  While early spellings of the name have been "Gwalpmey" or "Gualmey", the name GWALTNEY is the earliest Americanized form of the name that has stood the test of American history. Dr. Jack Gwaltney of Charlottesville, VA has an interesting commentary on the origins of the Welsh version of Gwaltney--the name GWALCHMAI. If you are interested in his commentary, you may contact me.

So how did the spelling variations occur? How do we also end up with GAULTNEY, GWARTNEY, GORTNEY, GALTNEY, and GWATNEY being of the same family? Primarily the variance is the result of pronunciation, dialect, and mistransciption by the census-taker's hand. However, all of these names proceed from  the name GWALTNEY.  When Thomas Gwaltney's (3rd generation) offspring began to migrate into southern Virginia and then into North Carolina, their pronunciation and dialect brought about many of the various name spellings. For example, William Gwaltney of Brunswick Co. had at least two sons...Micajah and Michael. That group of Gwaltneys pronounced their name something like "Gawatney". Micajah ended up moving into KY and IN and started spelling the name GWARTNEY. Michael ended up moving into western VA and kept the spelling GWALTNEY.

Benjamin Gwaltney of the Brunswick Co. VA area eventually moved into the state of Mississippi. His pronunciation of the name led to the spelling GALTNEY. John Gwaltney's son, Peterson, also left the southern VA counties of Brunswick and Mecklenberg and went into Alabama and eventually his offspring made it into AR and OK--they ended up spelling their name GWATNEY, leaving out the letter "L".

As these Gwaltneys migrated from southern VA into North Carolina, some kept the name GWALTNEY, while others began to spell the name GAULTNEY and GORTNEY. It is interesting to see how many families had difficulty being consistent with the name even within their own families. Margaret Gwaltney of Hiddenite NC showed me a cemetery of Gwaltneys in Banner Elk, NC and the tombstones of some family members was spelled GAULTNEY and other family members had the spelling GWALTNEY. Sarah Gwaltney Behrens of Denver CO once showed me the photocopied pages of the Henry Hudson Gwaltney family Bible, and there, in black and white, some of the offspring had their names spelled GAULTNEY and others GWALTNEY! No wonder some were confused on how to spell the name.

The Gwaltneys who stayed in VA had no problem keeping the spelling GWALTNEY. It was those who moved further south who had difficulties in determining its spelling. Oh, by the way, even those who spell their name GWALTNEY do not always pronounce it that way. Many Gwaltneys from IL, IN, TN, GA pronounce their name "Gaultney" even though they spell it GWALTNEY.

But whether you are a GWALTNEY, GAULTNEY, GORTNEY, GWATNEY, GWARTNEY, or GALTNEY, you all belong to the same family...the family of Thomas Gwaltney (1613-1666) who settled in VA sometime after 1635. 

The Vision and the Motivation

In all honesty, this labor of love began as a spiritual journey for me. I was very curious about the spiritual heritage of--not only my immediate Gwaltney family, but the Gwaltney Family en masse. My inspiration came from God's promise in Deuteronomy 7:9:

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands." (NIV)

I have seen the hand of God upon my family and was curious about my past generations. Had there been a great-grandmother or a great-great grandfather who had prayed for God's grace to be upon their family and upon their generations? Thus my inquiry into the Gwaltneys was a research into who they were as a spiritual nation.

And thus I began--not just seeking to know my momma's Gwaltney family from Obion County, TN, but all the way back to the beginning--with Thomas Gwaltney, himself, the first Gwaltney in America. There is a lot I still don't know. But I've come to understand this family a lot just by talking with others, researching, and by keeping my ears open.

If You Would Like to Contact Me or Make a Family History Inquiry

I would appreciate hearing from you so that we could share our Gwaltney family information. You may email me at jbkoonce@hotmail.com.  If you would prefer to talk on the phone, please email me and I'd be glad to send you a number at which to contact me.  Have a great day! j