Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment, Mystic, CT, August 21, 2010

August 21, 2010: Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment and Denison Society annual meeting. Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment of Mercy Gallup to William Denison and Denison Society Annual Meeting.

10 AM – Business meeting of Denison Society in DPNC building, Noon– Joint Gallup and Denison Societies catered lunch under a tent in our meadow or side lawn. Afternoon– Reenactment of Mercy Gallup marrying William Denison, Tours of Homestead, Reservations will be required to rent enough chairs, tent size, order food etc.

William and George were brothers and grandsons of Captain George. William married Mercy Gallup on May 10, 1710. George married Lucy Gallup on June 4, 1717. Mercy and Lucy were sisters. George built the Homestead as a gift for his new wife .

We are located at 120 Pequotsepos Road, Mystic, CT 06355.
Our mailing address is PO Box 42, Mystic, CT 06355.
Phone:1-860-536-9248
Fax:1-860-536-9248
Email:membership@denisonsociety.org

Directions
From I-95, take Exit 90 (the Mystic Seaport and Aquarium exit). Turn north onto Route 27. Go 0.4 miles and turn right onto Jerry Browne Road. Continue 1 mile to the stop sign. Turn Right onto Pequotsepos Road. The museum is half a mile down the road, on the right-hand side. Watch for the brown signs pointing the way to the Denison Homestead.

Parking is available at either the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center lot across the road (on your left before you get to the Museum), or in a lot/field just beyond the Museum on the right.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: If you are traveling from a distance and will need a hotel, motel, or B&B, you should make reservations well in advance since this area is one of the top ten tourist destinations in the nation. Reasonably priced rooms are at a premium. For information on places to stay in the area please contact the Mystic Chamber of Commerce either at their website or by calling (860) 576-9578.

Venture Smith Day: Connecticut Freedom Trail Event

The 12th annual Venture Smith Day Festivities will be held at Venture’s gravesite in First Church Cemetery, 499 Town Street (RT. 151), East Haddam on Saturday, September 6th starting at 1 pm until approximately 4 pm as part of the Connecticut Freedom Trail events. The program will include the reading of a Proclamation, wreath placement ceremony, as well as the annual photo shoot of Venture’s family of descendants. East Haddam Municipal Historian, Karl P. Stofko, will be commenting on his recent research on Venture Smith, an African-American slave who purchased his freedom in 1765, as well as the situations concerning Marget Smith’s gravestone and the fate of Venture’s home site at Haddam Neck. The featured speaker will be Dr. Nancy Steenburg, professor of history at UCONN Avery Point Campus at Groton. She will talk about Venture’s life as a slave and freeman in Stonington.

Please bring a comfortable chair or blanket. In the event of inclement weather we will move into the church. There will be plenty of time to renew old friendships, talk with our speakers and Venture’s descendants and partake of light refreshments. All are invited.

A brief biography of Venture Smith: Born Broteer about 1729, the eldest son of King Saungm Furro of the tribe of Dukandarra in Guinea, West Africa, Venture was captured about 1736 in his seventh year and sold for “4 gallons of rum and some calico” at Anamabo on Africa’s Gold Coast to Robinson Mumford, the steward of a Rhode Island slave ship. He was renamed Venture, having been purchased by Mumford’s own private venture. He grew up as a slave on Fishers Island, New York, which was being leased by the Mumford family at that time. About 1750 he married Meg, another Mumford slave, by whom he had four children. After a failed escape attempt in 1754, Venture was sold to Thomas Stanton of Stonington Point, Connecticut. In 1760 he was purchased for the last time by Colonel Oliver Smith, also of Southington. Colonel Smith allowed Venture to purchase his freedom in 1765 and in return Venture took the name Smith as his surname.

Venture then lived and work on Long Island to raise the necessary money to purchase the freedom of his wife and children. During these years he labored at cutting wood, farming, fishing, and spent seven months on a whaling voyage. In 1774 Venture sold all his land on Long Island and in Stonington and moved his family to East Haddam. He then began purchasing land on Haddam Neck along the Salmon River Cove from Abel Bingham and others. By his industry his farm grew to 134 acres with three houses; twenty boats, canoes and sailing vessels; two fishing businesses and a commercial orchard. His entrepreneurial ventures included river trafficking, lumberjacking, carpentry and farming. All of this was accomplished without the ability to either read or write.

In 1798 Venture dictated his autobiography to teacher Elisha Niles, which was then published in pamphlet form by Charles Holt, editor of the New London Bee. It has been reprinted many times since then. It is the only slave narrative of the 18th century that recounts life in Africa. His life story has been an inspiration to many, both black and white, over the years. Venture died on September 19, 1805, a highly respected man by all in the Haddams. He was survived by his wife, two sons, Cuff and Solomon, and seven grandchildren. Several of his descendants still live in Connecticut.

2008 Avery Memorial Association Reunion at Mashantucket Pequot Museum

The Avery Memorial Association
will hold its annual meeting/reunion Saturday,July 19Th at Mashantucket Pequot Museum, 110 Pequot Trail,Mashantucket.

Registration starts at 10:00 A.M., with the meeting program between 10:30 A.M.- 12:30 P.M.

At 12:30 P.M., will be a buffet lunch and from 2:00- 4:00 P.M., the Pequot Museum Director will be giving the attendees a thirty minute Power Point presentation and talk/Q&A about the relationship with the Avery's and Pequot Tribe. Admission is separate from the reunion but attendees can get a reduced group rate of admission.

Activities are also planned for the Avery's the day before and after the reunion in the local area. Those at this late date should check on last minute reservation availability for Saturday luncheon with Mrs. Brustolon listed below or Mrs. Lantiere also listed below.

The Avery Memorial Association is a Groton,Connecticut; based organization that operates multiple historic sites. Membership consists of active Members descendants of descendants of Christopher Avery and a Friends category. Stephanie Lantiere is president and she can be reached at sglantiere@aol.com with general questions about the organization. Reunion reservations and membership queries should be made to Betty Brustolon, membership secretary, at 860-536-7236. Among notable Christopher Avery descendants are United States Vice Presidents Schuyler Colfax and Nelson Rockefeller. More info: www.averymemorialassociation.com

Averys Reunion and Averys in the Civil War

Event Date: July 19, 2008

Time: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Lunch: Buffet at 12:30
Speaker: Avery Memorial Association Historian Vincent Pitts, Ph.D.
Topic: Averys in the Civil War

Sunday, July 20, 2008 there will be a church service at the First Church of Christ in Groton, CT. A brunch in the church hall will follow - small fee for the brunch. After the church service there will be a dedication at the Avery Monument commemorating the 114th Anniversary of the burning of the Hive. After the dedication there will be a cemetery workshop at the Avery-Morgan Burying Ground in Groton, CT. The Ebenezer Avery House will be open.

Cost for the annual meeting/reunion is $30 (please inquire about lunch costs when making your reservation). For those who would like to explore the Mashantucket Pequot Museum (optional) there is a separate fee of $13.

Deadline for reservations is June 15, 2008.
Contact Stephanie Lantiere at SGLantiere@aol.com or check out the website at: www.averymemorialassociation.com

Location of Event:
Mashantucket Pequot Museum, Mashantucket, CT

109th Reunion of the descendants of Cornelius Davis held in Stafford Springs, CT

The 109th Reunion of the descendants of Cornelius Davis, 2nd will be held on Sunday, August 20, 2006*. The group will meet at noon at the American Legion Hall, 3 Monson Rd. (just north of the intersection of Rtes. 32 and 190), Stafford Springs, Connecticut. ... We'll also have awards for the youngest, the oldest, the family member having come the greatest distance, and the family with the most members present.

We would like to know who will be coming by August 1, 2006, so that we may plan accordingly. ... Distance and other reasons will prevent many members from attending. We would still like to hear from you with vital information, address changes, and addresses of family members who may not be on the mailing list or changes to be made to the Family Tree.

Expenses for the Reunion are financed by a "free will" collection taken during the meeting and by generous donations received by mail.

As always, The Family Tree and the Davis Family Genealogy will be on display. These represent the on-going efforts of family members who continue to update the records of the Davis family.

Come join us as we reunite in historic Stafford, CT, originally settled by Cornelius Davis, 2nd. Davis Family Reunions have been held annually on the 3rd Sunday in August, except for a few years during World War II, starting in the late 1890s.

Sincerely, Holly Ann Thisdale,Davis Reunion Secretary
If you'd like to attend, please contact by August 1st:
Mark K. Davis; 10510 Auburndale Rd. Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023-2344

Stonington, CT Ultimate Family Reunion 2009

Once In A Lifetime
of the Founding Families of Stonington, Connecticut 1649-2009.
360 years of history

Descendants of FRANCIS BUSHNELL Reunion in Hartford, CT July 2007

Calling all descendants of FRANCIS BUSHNELL, to attend the first-ever, all-lineages reunion July 5-8 in Hartford Connecticut and July 9-18 in England. You can come to just one or both events. The one in Hartford will start with a tour and dedication of a gift to the Bushnell Park, which is also the front yard of the Connecticut state capitol. Following that, we’ll go on to The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts nearby, for lunch and a tour of that stately facility. It was erected in memory of Horace Bushnell, one of the movers and shakers of early Hartford, and, thus, the reason it was chosen to be the site of this reunion. The next day we’ll travel south to Guilford, Conn., the city Francis helped found upon his arrival in New England in 1639, and where there is an original building that we think Francis helped construct. We’ll also visit the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, where there is a replica of David Bushnell’s “Turtle” – a device he invented during the Revolutionary War to “harass the enemy” and which is a forerunner of our modern submarine. On Sunday we’ll visit a church that Daniel Bushnell helped build, and tour nearby cemeteries. While in Connecticut, we’ll lodge at the Rocky Hill Marriott Hotel at a rate of $99.68, including all taxes. Contact http://cwp.marriott.com/bdirh/bushnellreunion for information and registry.


On July 9 we’ll fly to England for the next eight days, visiting and exploring the towns where Francis lived, along with seeing the extraordinary sites to the south and west of London. The last three days we’ll be in London, with free time to do what you want as well as planned tours of the more famous landmarks. Our travel agency, Holidays Unlimited, has given us an estimated cost of $2600; which includes all transportation costs, hotel rates and fees including breakfasts, two dinners and one afternoon tea, and entrance fees to sites on the itinerary. Please pre-register with the coordinator, Kitty Dye, 2855 Sand Road, Port Clinton, OH 43452-2744; 419-734-4588; bushnellreunion@cros.net . Additional information can be found on the family website: bushnell.homestead.com or contact Kitty for print copies.

AVERY Memorial Association Family Reunion in Mystic, CT July 2007

The AVERY Memorial Association Family Reunion will be held on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at Seaman's Inn in Mystic, CT from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A buffet lunch will be served at 12 noon. After meeting entertainment will be a magic show by Joseph Potter, Colonial American Magician.

On Sunday, July 22 at 10 a.m. there will be a church service at the First Church of Christ Congregational Church in Groton, CT. Also a cemetery workshop at the Avery-Morgan Burying Ground in Groton, CT. The Ebenezer Avery House will be open both days. The cost is $40 for adults which includes the buffet and admission to Mystic Seaport. Deadline is June 30, 2007

Geer Family Association Reunion in Ledyard, CT June 2007

2007 Triennial Reunion of GFA To Be Held in Ledyard, Connecticut, June 22, 23, and 24, 2007!

The next General Meeting and Reunion of the Geer Family Association will be held in Ledyard, Connecticut, June 22, 23, and 24, 2007. Members and non-members alike are welcome! On the GFA page is a brief version of the GFA Summer Newsletter with information about this reunion available to download in Acrobat Reader. (To download free Adobe Acrobat Reader, click the button here. ) The reunion agenda, lodging information, and places to see in the Ledyard area are all in a downloadable section of the Newsletter -- go to "The GFA" page (link at left), then scroll down and click on the picture of the newsletter;or click here. A PDF version of the newsletter pages about the reunion will open. To register, click here for a Word version of the registration form, or here for a PDF version of it. We look forward to seeing you there!
New Geer Crest Shirts and Jackets


If you want to look really spiffy at the reunion, you can order new shirts and jackets with the Geer Crest on them. Click here to download the order form, with pictures, descriptions, and prices, in PDF format. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file.) Print out the order form, fill out your order, make out your check to Rambow, Inc. Important note: Mail your order to Marilyn Geer, 214 Dogwood St. N.E., New London, MN 56273. When Marilyn gets enough orders for one style, she will send them to Rambow. $2 from each order goes to the GFA. If you have questions, please call Maryilyn at 612-273-0296 or email her at mjgeer@tds.net.