There will be a Gwaltney Family reunion on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at the Red Wagon Restaurant in Poseyville, Indiana, beginning at 10 a.m. Registration is required to attend this family event. The only cost is for your noon meal at the restaurant. Please register ASAP. To obtain a registration form contact Dr. Jeff Koonce at jbkoonce@hotmail.com, by telephone at 573-855-0918, or by letter at his home address: Dr. Jeff Koonce, 12411 Maries County Road 607, Dixon, MO 65459.
The reunion is for the descendants of John Gwaltney who left the eastern side of North Carolina around 1816 and migrated to Posey County, Ind. Most Gwaltneys who live in southern Illinois and Indiana are descendants of this John Gwaltney. Dr. Koonce, a college administrator and Gwaltney family historian, has made several trips to Wales and he will give an update about the Gwalchmai Welsh families.
Many Gwaltney families have been unable to attend the national Gwaltney Homecoming held each July in Smithfield, Virginia, so this April 27 event will be an opportunity to meet Dr. Jeff Koonce and learn about the history of the Gwaltneys in the USA.
Thomas Gwaltney (Gwalchmai) came to Jamestown, Virginia from Wales in 1635 and later established himself across the James River in Surry County, Virginia. Gwaltney is the anglicized version of Gwalchmai (pronounced Gwalk-my) which means “The hawk of the field.” Gwalchmai was the name of a small village in Wales. In the USA today, the Gwaltney family name includes several spellings: Gaultney, Gwatney, Galtney, Gortney, Gwartney, and Gwaltney.
Most Gwaltney families in southern Illinois and Indiana are descendants of John and Anna’s three sons, Thomas, Harris, and Amariah.
