The McGraw Family of Wyoming County (descendants of John and Mahala McGraw) will be hosting the nationwide reunion for the United States McCraw Family Association in Beckley, WV, on June 21-23, 2024. This event only happens every two years and was last held in Fairhope, Alabama, in 2022. This is the first time that West Virginia will be hosting the event.
Established in 1980, the United States McCraw Family Association (USMFA) is a national association for the descendants of William Maccraw, the first known American ancestor for most of the McCraws in the US. John McGraw, the patriarch of the McGraws in Southern WV, is one of William’s descendants and was born a McCraw and changed the family name to McGraw in about 1870.
Registration for the event is now open and it will be held at the Mountaineer Conference Center beside the Country Inn and Suites at 2120 Harper Road in Beckley. A block of rooms has been secured at the Country Inn and Suites for those attending from out of town, and you can find hotel information, the full schedule of events, and both online and mail-in registration information on the USMFA website at mccrawfamily.org/reunion. You can also check us out at facebook.com/USMcCrawFamilyAssociation. You do not have to be a member of the USMFA to attend! Emails with questions can be sent to: usmccrawassociation@gmail.com.
There will be two days of presentations about family history and a full banquet with a live bagpiper for entertainment on Saturday night that is all included in the $85 registration fee. We have guest presenters from the Sons of the American Revolution, The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum and from Jorea Marple who wrote a book about the well-known brothers and political figures Darrell and Warren McGraw. We will have a presentation about William Maccraw (our first known American ancestor), the USMFA DNA research program, local history and a presentation about where the WV McGraw family fits in the larger family tree. There are other social events planned, as well as drawings for door prizes and a few other surprises and all of that information can be found on our website. This is a rare opportunity to meet McCraw and McGraw cousins from WV and all over the United States and to learn more about your family history. Registrations will close on Jun. 7.