Hite Family Reunion
The Hite Family Association family reunion will be Friday, July 25-Sunday, July 27, 2025 at Belle Grove.
Register by July 18!
Registration Form
Hotel Information
Contact Belle Grove if you have any questions via email or at 540-869-2028.
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.
You may also wish to do research at local archives:
- The Stewart Bell Archives at Handley Regional Library in Winchester is open Thursday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5.p.m. (closed 12:30-1:15 for lunch). The Archivist is Lorna Loring.
- Materials from the Shenandoah County Library’s Shenandoah Room and Truban Archives are available Thursday 10-8, Friday 10-6, and Saturday 10-3. For those needing assistance or who wish to access our closed collection, contact Archivist Zachary Hottel at to schedule a research appointment.
SCHEDULE
Some details are to be finalized but the general schedule has been set to assist you in making travel plans. Unless noted all events take place at Belle Grove, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, VA.
FRIDAY, JULY 25
|
2-6 p.m. |
Registration (Welcome Center lower level) |
|
2-5:30 p.m. |
Genealogy Workshop with Richard Hite (Welcome Center meeting room) |
| 4:00-5:30 p.m. | Business Meeting Fontaine-Maury Society (Manor House lower level) |
|
5:30-6:45 p.m. |
Welcome & BBQ Supper (reservation and tickets required) |
|
7-8:30 p.m. |
For the Cause of Liberty: Isaac Hite Jr.’s Service in the American Revolution, |
SATURDAY, JULY 26
|
8:30 a.m.-10 a.m. |
Registration (Welcome Center lower level) |
|
10 a.m.-4 p.m. |
Museum Shop Open and Manor House Open for Guided Tours |
|
10 a.m.-4 p.m. |
Genealogy Workshop with Richard Hite (Welcome Center meeting room) |
|
9:00-9:30 a.m. |
Welcome |
|
9:30-10:15 a.m. |
Ann Tunstall Maury Hite: In Her Own Words, Jessica Pritchard-Ritter, For the Love of History Consulting, hosted by the Fontaine-Maury Society |
|
10:15-11:00 a.m. |
Dendrochronology Study and History of Chrisman Springs, Nick Powers, Curator, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley |
|
11:00-11:45 a.m. |
Ten Discoveries about Nelly Madison Hite, Robin Young |
|
11:30 a.m. |
National Park Service Program Belle Grove Front Lawn |
|
Noon |
Lunch on Your Own |
|
1-4 p.m. |
Hite Family Ancestral Homes open for touring |
|
2 p.m. |
Dedication of Grave Marker for Isaac Bowman, Bowman Family Cemetery, Fort Bowman |
|
6:00-8:30 p.m. |
Reunion Banquet (tickets required, cash bar with wine & beer), Picadilly Public House, 125 E Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA
|
SUNDAY, JULY 27
|
9:30-10:30 a.m. |
Church Service St. Thomas Chapel, 7854 Church Street, Middletown (park on Church Street, 2nd Street, or in lot at Middletown Town Hall at 7875 Church Street) |
|
11 a.m. |
Family Portrait |
|
11:00 a.m.-Noon |
Brunch (reservation and tickets required) |
|
Noon |
Hite Family Association Business Meeting |
|
1-5 p.m. |
Museum Shop Open and Manor House Open for Guided Tours |
|
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