A resource for linking, preserving, and supporting family history
Welcome to Upchurch and Allied Families, a resource for linking,
preserving, and supporting family history.

Who WE ARe

Belle Lewter West, Olive A. Morgan, Mae Davenport Cox, Robert Phillip Upchurch, and almost 1000 cooperators have worked over sixty years to research and document the genealogy and associated history of the Upchurches and many families who were associated with them in colonial North Carolina. 

Now, thanks to modern information technology and genealogy, membership fees from many, generous monetary gifts by a few and the labor of dozens of dedicated volunteers, an extensive, ever expanding collection of information has been gathered, organized, and placed online. 
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Upchurch and Allied Families (UAFA) is a non-profit 501(C3) organization that has worked since 2013 to manage this ambitious project. Our policies and operations are managed by a 13-person board of directors.  Click here to learn about our board members. 

Why we do what we do

 We believe that learning the history of our ancestors provides a way to connect with the past while building a future.  It is rewarding and fun to work with a group of like-minded people who understand that by joining together we can learn, document, preserve and share our history far more powerfully than we ever could working alone.   

Our Resources

All of our resources are freely available to anyone with the exception that the user must have an account with Ancestry.com to view UAFA family trees.  

www.ancestry.com family trees.  We have two accounts in Ancestry.com.  The first is “UAFA-Upchurch” where there are nineteen trees based on Upchurch clans and one very large index tree of over 75000 members that is a combination of information from all the others.  The second Ancestry account is “UAFA – Allied Families”.  This account has about 40 trees representing allied families.  Several important features about the Ancestry trees are: 
  1. An ancestry.com account is necessary to view the tree (temporary free accounts are available).  
  2. Each tree is managed by a UAFA tree master. 
  3. Privacy rules block display of information on living people in public trees so search must be limited to older ancestors. Information on living people is being collected and organized in the background but, much like the census, cannot be displayed to the general public. 
  4. To view the UAFA trees, go to www.ancestry.com then select “Search” from the top menu bar; then select “Member Search”; then enter “UAFA”;  after a few seconds our two accounts will appear; select the account you wish to see, either UAFA-Upchurch or UAFA-Allied Families; after the page opens, look in the Family History area (by the tree icon) and select “View All” and all trees will be displayed. Members of Upchurch Clans can search the American Index Tree under UAFA – Upchurch Clans to determine which clan they belong to then go to the identified clan to see the most current information. 
 
The Upchurch and Allied Families YouTube Channel.  The channel showcases over 35 videos of our founder and storyteller, Phil Upchurch, as he talks about the lives and travels of Upchurch families.  Click here to go to our channel. Be sure to click the “U” icon to enter the Channel so you will have access to all 35 videos.  
 
The UAFA Webpage at www.allied families.com.  Webpage content includes: 
  • The Upchurch Bulletins.  Over 4000 pages of information published by Phil Upchurch about Upchurches and Allied Families in America.   
  • Registry of American Ancestors.  A list of over 65000 descendants of Michael Upchurch, the first Upchurch American emigrant. Each descendant has a unique ID number created by Phil Upchurch. 
  • Englandia.  356 pages of information about Upchurches in England published by Phil Upchurch 
  • Biofiles.  Scanned copies of Phil’s research notes.  The original paper records filled 24 four drawer filing cabinets and contain information on over one million individuals (if a password is requested use 2014allied#). 
  • Transcribed Biofiles. Biofiles that have been transcribed so they are easier to read and search   

Upchurch and Allied Facebook Group. Our social networking site  Click this link to go to the page. 
 
The UAFA Newsletter.  A three- or four-page newsletter is published monthly 10 months of the year with a much larger 30 or 40 page “Footprint” version published biannually in Jan and July.   Newsletters are shared by email to all UAFA contacts and members and to our Upchurch and Allied Families Facebook page. Click here to see the newsletter archive. 
 
UAFA Genetic Genealogy Project – A volunteer expert is collecting DNA information from as many willing participants as possible to use to verify ancestry linkage and resolve mysteries that standard genealogy research has not or cannot resolve.   
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UAFA Genealogy Library and Meeting Area at 1130 Killdaire Farm Road Suite 120, Cary, NC 27511-4595.  Large meeting room and collection of books, maps and other material focused on Upchurch and Allied Family genealogy and history.   

contributions make UAFA Possible

UAFA is primarily a volunteer organization, but we must have money for computers, insurance, accountants, office expenses, software and on-line access.  Contributions are usually tax deductible. To see how we can work together go to https://www.alliedfamilies.com/join-uafa.html.  Please consider a donation so we can continue this work. 

Contact Us

 
Contact the Webmaster