Intertwined Legacies:
Possum Trot & Beyond
& A Call to Gather - A Shelton Heritage Preservation Experience
2026 Shelton Family Reunion
July 24–25, 2026 | Berry College | Rome, GA
The 2026 Shelton Family Reunion & A Call to Gather – A Shelton Heritage Preservation Experience has concluded.
One Family. Many Legacies. Sacred Paths.
A descendant-centered gathering rooted in preservation, storytelling, and the legacy of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Rome, Georgia.
We invite you to explore the site as photographs, videos, oral histories, and additional reunion resources are added over the coming weeks. This website will continue to evolve as an archival and descendant engagement platform dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing the history, legacy, and cultural landscape of the Shelton family, as well as the families and communities whose histories have been intertwined with theirs for generations. Through archival stewardship, communications, and descendant engagement, SFSPT also supports collaboration with our family heritage nonprofits, Berry College, preservation professionals, and community partners in advancing shared family history and preservation.
About SFSPT
SFSPT operates independently as a descendant-led collaborative platform rather than as a nonprofit organization. It serves as a foundational archival, communications, and descendant engagement platform documenting the history, legacy, and cultural landscape of the Shelton family while supporting collaboration among descendants, family heritage nonprofits, Berry College, preservation professionals, and community partners.
Hosting and Support
Hosted By
In Partnership With
sheltonheritagesociety.org
Website Notice & Hosting and Support
Hosted by the Shelton Family Settlement at Possum Trot, a descendant-led collaborative (not a nonprofit entity) formalized in 2019. This site was established in 2021 and served as one of the initial frameworks, aside from our social media descendant page, the Cathey-Shelton Descendant Facebook Group, established in 2015, for our work in research and preservation and engagement with Berry College pertaining to the legacy of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton and their extended family.
Currently, the site is focused on the 2026 Shelton Family Reunion and A Call to Gather Heritage Preservation Experience, including registration and event coordination. Following the event, it will return to its broader mission of historical research, preservation, and continued exploration of the Shelton family’s extended network and community connections.
Programmatic and educational components of the event, including the heritage preservation experience - A Call to Gather - are supported, in part, by family heritage nonprofits, including the Shelton Descendants Historical Society and the Shelton Heritage Society of Georgia & Historic Possum Trot, Inc., both 501(c)(3) organizations.
For ongoing updates, follow our work on Instagram and Facebookat @1874Sheltonfamilysettlement (est. 2021). Video Credit: J. Cook