Hiram – The 123rd Annual Reunion of the Harmon and Loomis families took place at the home of Daniel and Kelly Cartwright in Hiram, Ohio on Sunday.
The Cartwright’s home became known as King’s Corner after Mildred Loomis married Forrest King and took residence there in 1926. Kelly is the great-granddaughter of Mildred and Forrest. King’s Corner hosted the 58th Harmon-Loomis Reunion on August 24, 1947.
Fifty-nine relatives came together this time for a potluck lunch while catching up with each other’s family news.
In addition to those from Ohio were Bob and Marge Clute from Michigan, Larry and Cara (Fejedelem) Knox from Virginia, and Bob and Donna (Hostler) Burnham from Florida.
The family has kept minutes of these annual meetings for each year since they first began in 1890 along with historian records of marriages, births, deaths and more. Vera (Etling) Gillis read the minutes from the August 28, 1913 reunion that was held at the home of Davidson and Lynn Waite in Windham, Ohio.
The youngest in attendance was Zayden Barker, son of Ricky Barker and Tricia Witt. The oldest was Clarence Moore of Hiram, Ohio.
Several family members served in the Civil War, including Horace C. Loomis who died at Aquia Creek in 1863. Those serving in the U.S. military today are Marine Capt. Joshua Greer, Army National Guard Chaplin, Lt. Daniel Cartwright and Army Private 1st Class, Brian Harmon.
Family members bring items to be auctioned off to raise money to donate to several organizations and Scholarship Funds. Family auctioneer, Michael Zuccaro, makes a fun time of it. Items included a baby quilt made by Nora Brant of Mantua, hand-made cards by Lorelie (Brant) Greifenstein (One Card Shy, Cleveland, Ohio) and pure maple syrup from Clarence Moore and Sons (Mapleside Farms, Hiram, Ohio) and much more.
This year a Tombstone Restoration Fund was started as several of relative’s grave stones are in need of attention. The family wants them to remain in good condition for many more years. Coming soon will be a website for the family, which is being created by a committee which will be headed by Chris Zuccaro of Newbury, Ohio.
The family hopes to continue having reunions for at least another 123 years.
Charles Loomis, Jr. came to Ohio from Vermont in 1814 with his parents, Charles and Olivia (Hatch) Loomis and married Lucy Harmon in August of 1831 in Freedom, Ohio. Lucy was the daughter of Origen and Sally (Spaulding) Harmon who came to Ohio from Massachusetts in 1824.
For more info on the Harmon-Loomis families and reunion, contact historian Leta Brant at 330-274-2725 or genealogist Edee Kirkendall at 330-243-1679 or edee.kirkendall@gmail.com.
