Genealogical information does not always come from searching in musty archives or reading census microfilm or from the Internet, but from information and details provided by older family members. They can often fill in the gaps, offer important clues and “flesh-out” various ancestors or relatives who have been no more than birth and death dates on paper.

Gatherings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays offer the ideal opportunity to meet with relatives and glean new or additional family and genealogical information.

Holiday gatherings also offer the perfect opportunity to introduce the idea of holding a family reunion during the coming year. Eventually most people feel the need to reconnect with family, and what better way than through a family reunion?

Other reasons for holding a family reunion:

•Reunions give one a sense of heritage.

 •Reunions enable one to see how the family fits together.

•Reunions renew one’s family ties and probably most important reignite the family spirit.

For those interested in genealogy, family reunions offer an opportunity to solicit and collect family history data from members. Reunions also offer us a chance to kindle genealogical interest in our relatives.

Help is available

If your family already has regular family reunions, lucky you. But if your family has yet to have a gathering, many books and other helps are available. Check local libraries, bookstores and online: www.cyndislist.com - see “Reunions.”

Planning is the key

Organizing and planning a reunion are the most difficult tasks, but successful reunions do not just happen, they are planned. Like most other ventures, your first reunion will be the most stressful. Succeeding events will be much easier.

Key items to consider in planning are selecting a date and location, announcements, housing accommodations, food and transportation.

Once plans are complete, allow plenty of time to get the reunion organized, but do not do it alone. If you do, you lose broad-based reunion ownership. Others need to feel they have contributed and have an investment in the reunion. Always, get others involved!

No doubt, about it, reunions require a lot of hard work, but most people feel it is worth it.

Sharing with the family

Reunions are the best place to share the fruits and triumphs of your genealogical passion. Create a display to share your research findings with family members. Consider including books, important historical documents and papers, pictures, maps, memorabilia and artifacts. If you do create a display - plan, construct and test your display ahead of time.

Be sure to ask others to bring and share items of family interest such as old photos, letters and heirlooms.

The family reunion is also the perfect place to display and solve the mystery of materials, papers and photos you cannot identify. Everyone has pictures of unknown origin, occasions, time and place and even more importantly, of unknown persons.

Ask members to bring their mystery photos. Indicate who brought each photo, and then ask everyone to look at them and see if they can identify the people in the pictures. This is an opportunity for some of your older members to shine because they know the people and places, occasions and reasons for the pictures. If you have artifacts you cannot identify, bring them along too.

Photo cameras, camcorders, video cameras and tape recorders are must-haves for the genealogist at a family reunion, but don’t get carried away in your enthusiasm and alienate the very person who could provide you with important information.

If Cousin Marvin abhors having his picture taken, or if tape recorders make Great Aunt Annette nervous, accommodate them. Perhaps Cousin Marvin has no objection to a group photo, or Great Aunt Annette would be willing to write down her answers to your questions. Never demand. Be diplomatic; use common sense and tact, as well as patience. These are the traits of a good genealogist.

Points to ponder

With limited space, it is difficult to address all aspects of reunion planning in this column. The reader should refer to the helps mentioned above. However, here are a few pointers:

• Casual or ritzy, intimate or huge, family reunions come in all sizes and moods. Choose the format which best fits your family group.

• Get together now instead of waiting for someone’s funeral. Start your planning today.

• Reunions held at a family home have the advantage of being low-cost but are labor-intensive.

• Try to keep expenses low. The less-expensive a reunion, the more family members are apt to attend.

• Make reunion memories for the next generation by planning some simple spontaneous activities, such as sing-a-longs or relay races.

• Just because you are related doesn’t mean everyone is going to love each other, or even like one another.

• Divorces or other family tragedies can make things touchy and awkward.

• Consider incorporating a special occasion such as an anniversary or 100th birthday with your family reunion.

Again, in spite of all the work and occasional tensions, family reunions are worth it.

Enjoy!

Carllene
Marek has been chasing ancestors for more than 25 years and chasing her
muse for many more. A second-generation Californian, she has helped
with several computer user groups, family associations and genealogical
and historical societies. She has also compiled numerous indexes for
assorted publications and written book reviews for various historical
and genealogical publications.

Carllene currently writes a monthly newspaper column,
“AncestreeSeekers,” for the Chico Enterprise Record and the Oroville
Mercury Register. She and her husband live in the Sierra Nevada
foothills of northern California with a blended family of eight
children, 12 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one
great-great-grandchild.