Generations gathered in Cleveland for celebration
Cleveland native and well-known business leader, Ned Mitchell, said he and wife, Bettye, along with cousins Sloane Mitchell Hunter and Jane Skelton had been planning a family reunion for the Mitchell clan for a year and a half. The results, he noted, were better than anyone could have expected.
Held over the weekend evenings of July 18-19 at the Cleveland Country Club, the Mitchell reunion brought 134 members of the family together from over the country and as far away as England, which is where Mitchell’s grandson, Zack Bailey, had been living.
“It was the first real type of reunion we’d ever had,” said Mitchell, who said he was the oldest member in attendance. “All of the cousins from our family attended and all ages were represented. About twenty years ago, we had a small gathering at a church in Benoit but nothing of the scope of what was held this summer.”
A book, compiled of family stories, records, timelines and other historical data, was printed just for the event for purchase. The Mitchell family, which Ned refers to as a “large, remarkable family,” in the foreword to the volume, consists primarily of Scots-Irish heritage, with some English background, as well. That lineage is documented in the 222-page book, which was organized by Jane Skelton and printed by The Image Specialist in Cleveland.
Attendees stayed at The Lyric and Cotton House hotels, said Mitchell, with most taking advantage of the many attractions Cleveland has to offer, such as The Grammy Museum, while others lounged by the pool at the Country Club.
Mitchell said a planning committee had been working on preparing and organizing the reunion, mainly run by his cousin, Sloane Mitchell Hunter of Virginia, who had wanted to hold such an event for some time. He added that another cousin, Jane Skelton of Greenville, was instrumental in keeping family members updated with monthly emails about the reunion. Where it would be held was a given.
“There was never any doubt that we would hold this once-in-a-lifetime reunion anywhere else but in Cleveland,” said Mitchell. “The fact that I live in town and that so many of our family settled here and around Bolivar County, it only made sense to host the event here. And, everyone who attended had nothing but positive things to say about their stay.”
Jane’s husband, Mack Skelton, who wrote the preface to the commemorative book, mentions in it that it was an attempt to document the family’s rich history so that it would never be lost. Mitchell said that the reunion itself was similar, in that it gave so many relatives the opportunity to get together and for some to meet for the first time.
“I actually met people over the reunion weekend that I had never seen before in person,” said Mitchell. “It was incredibly special and many stories were shared and told about our family. The Country Club did a wonderful job for us and everybody left happy and pleased. I know Bettye and I did.”
Mitchell’s grandparents, Zack Ruff Mitchell and Zadie Tucker Mitchell, who were both born in the 1880’s, settled in the Delta and had twelve children, essentially starting the family tree of people that gathered in Cleveland for the reunion. “One of Zadie’s direct ancestors was Lord Culpepper of Ireland,” he said. “Our family bascially all descended from him down through the Appalachian region and then through the South, including the Delta.
“Zack and Zadie created a wonderful family whose grandchildren have been very involved in the communities where they live to help them grow and prosper. They all worked hard to make sure their children were raised right, were properly educated and acted as assets to their families and their communities,” said Mitchell.
“Besides Bettye and me, much of the Mitchell family has moved out of the Delta,” said Mitchell. “So, it was special that we gathered in the place where so many of us actually have roots and where our ancestors started their families.”