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Phillips & Plunkett

Our Story

The people behind the reunion

Every family reunion is really a celebration of the people who came before. This is the story of Wayne Allen Plunkett and Sarah Frances Phillips — the grandparents at the center of this gathering — and the extraordinary lineages they carried with them into their life together on a farm in Hendricks County, Indiana. Their combined family history spans 343 years, two continents, eight generations, and some of the most consequential moments in American history.

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1683George Phillips arrives
1789Move to North Carolina
1834Phillips reach Indiana
1835Turner buys the farm
1863Civil War
1915Sarah Frances born
1936Wayne & Sarah marry
1963Buy the farm
2026The Reunion
343
Years in America
8
Generations
1683
First Phillips arrives
2
Presidential signatures
Now Available · Audio Documentary
340 Years on an Indiana Farm

From a Quaker ship crossing the Atlantic in 1683 to a farm auction in 1969 — this audio documentary traces the full story of the Phillips and Plunkett families, the land on County Road 200 North, and the people buried in the Turner Cemetery who never left. Listen here or download to keep.

Download Audio M4A · AI-generated audio documentary · Phillips-Plunkett Family Reunion 2026

Choose a story to explore

Wayne Allen Plunkett
👨
January 23, 1914 — June 13, 1982
Wayne Allen
Plunkett

A Hendricks County farmer born on the family land in North Salem. The story of the farm he rented, then bought — and the 187-year chain of ownership traced back to a presidential land patent signed in 1837. The Turner Cemetery. The 1969 farm sale. A life on the land.

Read Wayne's Story →
Sarah Frances Phillips
👩
May 22, 1915 — August 13, 1999
Sarah Frances
Phillips

Daughter of one of Hendricks County's oldest Quaker farming families. Her ancestor George Phillips arrived at the Delaware River in 1683. Eight generations. Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana. Three brothers who went to the Civil War. A faith carried across three centuries.

Read Sarah's Story →
Together

Wayne & Sarah

Wayne Allen Plunkett and Sarah Frances Phillips were married in 1936, bringing together two of Hendricks County's deepest farming families. Wayne's Plunkett line went back to the earliest settlers of Eel River Township. Sarah's Phillips line went back to a Quaker ship crossing the Atlantic in 1683.

Together they raised five children — Dixie, Beth, Bennie Allen, Darrel, and Joy — on the farm on County Road 200 North that they rented from Herschel Holtsclaw, then purchased outright on September 12, 1963. They farmed it together until 1969, when Wayne's failing health forced a public auction of the equipment. Wayne died June 13, 1982. Sarah survived him by 17 years, dying August 13, 1999. They rest together at New Winchester Cemetery.

"The farms are cultivated according to the latest practices employed over the country and along with care for proper cultivation has become a pride in the appearance of the field, the equipment and the residence."

— History of Eel River Township, Hendricks County