44th Biennial Reunion, Charlotte, N.C. – July 18 to July 21, 2024
It was a banner moment when the Westcott cousins gathered on the final evening of the 2024 Westcott Society Reunion in Charlotte and after some corralling, coaxing and coaching, looked at the camera and smiled for the traditional group photo. They then quickly returned to the dance floor.
Thursday, July 18, Cousins Gather
On the evening of Day Zero, reunion participants began to arrive by auto and air (despite storms and a global computer outage) and immediately re-united with their cousins in the hotel restaurant to check in and share stories; (from the left) Jessy Fregoe, Judy Westcott Fregoe and Kathy Westcott; Don Wolford and Nancy Westcott Pocock; Roger Pocock.
Nancy and Bart Westcott and Susan Morris share a photograph of the Westcott trip to England in 2019; Registrar/Genealogist Jeff Westcott and Reunion Host Jennifer Wescott Verutto go over arrangements for Jeff to add to the genealogy database during the reunion; a beaming Mary Pat Carroll awaiting the arrival of more family is joined by Rosemary Smith, Connie Westcott Sterling and Tom Sterling.
Friday, July 19, Tour of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte
These Westcotts are up to speed after visiting the NASCAR Hall of Fame during the Westcott Society’s 44th Biennial Reunion in Charlotte. The speedsters are (from the left) Paul Westcott, Matt Doro, Jr., Kelly Doro, Matt Doro, Sr., Donna Westcott, Annabelle Doro, Susan Morris, Mary Pat Carroll, David Smith, Don Wolford, Nancy Westcott Pocock, Bart Westcott, Nancy Westcott, Rosemary Smith and Roger Pocock. Many thanks to reunion host Jennifer Wescott Verruto, who arranged the tour but could not join us as she was busy making sure the rest of the weekend was a success.
Matt Doro races into the pit to fuel the car and change a tire as he competes with son Matt (background) in one of the many interactive events at the NASCAR Hall of Fame; father and son are joined by judges Annabelle and Kelly Doro and Mary Pat Carroll, who diplomatically declared it a tie.
Hospitality Room
A Hospitality Room at the hotel was open during the reunion for cousins to pick up registration materials, meet with Registrar/Genealogist Jeff Westcott and explore his database of more than 128,000 Stukely descendants, and see items from the society archive. Click the picture to view five display panels, each featuring descendants from one of Stukely and Juliana’s children: Damaris, Robert, Amos, Mercy and Jerimiah. (Their son Samuel died in Salem before the family moved to Providence to join Roger Williams).
Friday, July 19, Family Buffet
On Friday evening after the trip to NASCAR Hall of Fame, a bus tour of historic Charlotte and visiting other attractions in and around the city, we gathered for a Family Buffet in the DoubleTree’s Barringer Room, and were joined by more Westcott Cousins, some just getting off the road.
Jane Westcott Bailey (center) with Nancy and Bart Westcott; Carolyn and Luke Hardy with Carolyn’s aunt and uncle Tom Sterling and Connie Westcott Sterling
Craig and Elizabeth Crosswhite share with Jim Wescott their story of how a 1939 postcard promoting the second volume of Roscoe Whitman’s History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and Some Descendants of Stukely Westcott brought them to the Westcott Society Reunion.
Craig Crosswhite told the postcard story in his application to join the society: “Enclosed is the form with my information, my wife’s and my ancestral chart back to Stukely Westcott, as well as my check for $15.00. Also included is a scanned copy of a postcard, front and back, that was mailed to my great aunt, Ruth Harriet Spooner Stone, from Joseph R. Westcott, President of the Society of Stukely Westcott Descendants in January, 1939. I was looking through some papers I had saved from her house when she died in 1978 when I came across this postcard. I was amazed when my wife looked up the Society on the Internet and found that you were still existing and planning one of your biennial reunions this summer in Charlotte, N.C. It happens that I am a member, through my father’s side, of the Shoun Family Association that traces our ancestors back to a couple who lived in Mountain City, Tennessee starting in 1792. This year, our reunion is being held in Wytheville, VA the weekend before your reunion in Charlotte. I have relatives in Raleigh, and am hopeful that I will be approved to join your Society and attend the reunion in Charlotte.”
Saturday, July 20, SSWDA General Membership Meeting
On Saturday morning it was time to conduct some Westcott Society business during the General Membership Meeting to review activities since the last reunion, remember our kin, elect officers and board members, and discuss plans including the 2026 SSWDA reunion.
Past President Susan Morris gave the invocation and remembrance of members who have died since the last reunion; Treasurer Bart Westcott discussed the strength of our 300-plus-member association and announced that we will be able to award an SSWDA Scholarship in 2025 of up to $3,000; Registrar/Genealogist Jeff Westcott described his work in documenting Westcott genealogy with a myheritage.com database, which currently has 128,350 entries.
Officers and directors for 2024-2026 include (from the left): Mary Pat Carroll, David Wescott Smith, Bart Westcott, Judy Fregoe Westcott, Jeff Westcott, Connie Westcott Sterling, and Jennifer Wescott Verutto
The membership unanimously approved this slate of officers and directors for the 2024-2026 term:
President: Bart Westcott
Vice President: David Leflar
Secretary: Mary Pat Carroll
Treasurer: Bart Westcott
Historian: David Wescott Smith
Registrar/Genealogist: Jeff Westcott
Chaplain: open
Quarterly Editor: Connie Westcott Stirling
Webmaster: Jim Leflar
Scholarship: Pete Bentson
Directors: Judy Westcott Fregoe, Lynn Hulkow, Jennifer Wescott Verruto, Cathie Westcot
Next Reunion: We hope to announce the date and location of the 2026 reunion by Summer 2025. Judy and Jessy Fregoe will look into Watertown, N.Y. near Westcott Beach State Park on the shore of Lake Ontario where several dozen Westcott cousins have been meeting on a regular basis for some time now.
Saturday, July 20, Reunion Banquet
On Saturday evening we gathered for dinner: (from the left) Nancy and Bart Westcott, Carolyn Hardy, Pam Scheaffer, and Kathy and Jeff Westcott. Oh yes, and dancing as led by Judy Westcott Fregoe (center) and demonstrated by smoothies Roger and Nancy Westcott Pocock.
Jeff Westcott and Connie Westcott Sterling flank their brother Paul, a graphic designer who produced the signs and the SSWDA banner for the 2018 reunion in Indianapolis led by Jeff. The signs and banner were then put into service for the 2022 reunion in Rhode Island before heading to the 2024 event in Charlotte. Word has it, the graphics have already headed to New York for the 2026 reunion (watch this space for details). But before we get too far into the future, the Westcott Society gives a great big thank you to Jennifer Wescott Verutto (left in this Mary Pat Carroll selfie) for producing a fabulous 2024 Westcott gathering.