Our Old Kentucky Homes

Cousins Reunion in Kentucky

In late April of 2004 fiveTrunnell cousins met in Bullitt County, Kentucky.  Our purpose was to find the homes of our KY ancestors that were still standing.  We had researched and found that two homes still existed, but were thrilled when we found locations of two more homes.  From L-R, we are Barbara Trunnell Gaddis of Park City,UT, Pat Murray Payne of St. Cloud, FL, Arleen Trunnell Stillman of St. George, UT, Anna Lois Trunnell Reeves of Owensboro, KY and Jean Murray Whitney of Mesa, AZ.  We are standing in front of the site of the Trunnell slave cemetery on the hill behind the Henry Trunnell home off Chapeze Road in Bullitt County, south of Louisville.

I am setting up this website now to show all the Trunnell cousins the Henry Trunnell house and cemetery.  The cemetery is deteriorating, with large trees growing up, under and around the stones.  Three years ago a neighbor traded tutoring with a man who did a lot of work there.  He cleared out the brush, cut some small trees and uncovered some stones.  By the next year the vegetation had grown back and the stones were hard to see.  In the meantime, youth who live in the development surrounding the cemetery have ridden their 4-wheelers into it and have knocked down and damaged some of the stones.  We have some money donated to start the restoration project and thankfully, David Strange, Director of the Bullitt County Historical Museum has agreed to take it on as a project.  He is trying to co-ordinate cemetery cleanup, the building of a fence and repair of the damaged stones.