In case you didn't get in on the mass emailing, here is a reunion announcement:
Dear Family Member
Many, but not all, have heard from me before. I am Gerry Weber, Jr., oldest grandson of Fred & Hazel Weber. I (with the help of many others) am organizing a family reunion for all of the descendants of Samuel & Verena that I can find. I knew that just finding as many descendents as I could would be a formidable task but I had no idea how much work it was really going to be. My best estimate is that there are over 1500 households & over 7000 living descendants.
It will be fun to get acquainted with such a large family. It will also be wonderful if everyone would bring histories, photos, and any artifacts to display. It would be wonderful if those who have computer skills would put all of their photos & histories on CDs & make extra copies to share.
We intend to present a history of Samuel & Verena, their early lives, conversion, journey to America and much of the early history of Freedom & the family. This has been gathered by Jolynn Barneck, granddaughter of Lena & Willie Jenkins.
The best option to feed the large crowd that we are anticipating is to ask everyone to bring a main dish, salad or dessert to feed 12 – 15 people. That way the cost and work can be evenly spread to everyone.
Following our family presentation, we will serve lunch in the Cultural Hall, enjoy visiting and viewing pictures etc. Tables will be set up for displays. Then we will travel the short distance to the cemetery and gather around Samuel and Verena’s gravesites for a short service.
Please bring your families and join us in beautiful Star Valley June 26, 2010. We hope it will be an enjoyable and informative event, and that we will gain a greater perspective and understanding of our Weber Family history. The younger generations may not be thoroughly aware of their heritage, and this will be a good opportunity for them to see and hear where we come from.
As you receive this email be aware that I have probably included only about 1/3 of the descendents of Samuel & Verena. Would each of you forward this email to all of your family members? It would be better for all to receive it twice than not at all. I am sure that there are typos in much of my data entering & obsolete information as well. If each family would reply to this email with correct & current information on themselves it would be appreciated. This is especially true of those who receive this from a family member rather that directly from me. I am interested in name, pedigree, address, phone # & especially email address.
If there is enough interest it would be great if we could establish a web page or blog for Samuel & Verena’s extended family. That way everyone could add to it & get other information they don’t have.
I am excited about this reunion and hope to see as many of you there as possible. I think it will be great to be together and establish connections that we may be able to maintain in the future.
Sincerely,
Your Cousin,
Gerry Weber
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A Pioneer Day Celebration
Update: October 10, 2010: Just found a full shot of the float photo. The back is captioned: L-R: Hary Hale [?] , ____Moffit ?, Annie Rebecca Seward Kennington, unknown, Elizabeth Lee Kennington in striped top, _____Anderson [in flowered top], unknown with baby, Eliza Ann Lee Hale, sister to Elizabeth K, in black top, ___Moffit right of curtain, unknown, unknown. Standing: Mother Hill, unknown girl, ____Cazier. 
This 24th of July photo gives us a glimpse of our grandmothers' world. Annie Rebecca and Elizabeth Ann are 2nd and 4th from the left. Elizabeth's sister is second from the right. They resemble each other.This photo is interesting on several levels:
- First, it illustrates what 24th of July decorations looked like around the turn of the century: lots of fabric tacked on to a farm wagon or bowery stand of some sort. Enlarge the photo and look at the framework of rough cut lumber which has been tacked together. Annie and Elizabeth both died before 1920. Here they still look vigorous, but older, so I would guess it's taken around 1905-plus or minus a few years.
- Second, the older women in the photo represent the first wave of settlers into Star Valley in the 1880's. The mix of ages may point to something to do with the Relief Society organization. The younger woman holding a baby on the front row makes it look like an presidency of some kind. Maybe someone out there could fill us in on the details.
- Third, their clothing indicates that a degree of prosperity had come to the area and commodities (fabric and notions) were easier to get. They are dressed up for the occasion. I wonder how hot some of the older women were in their dark colors and several layers. July in Star Valley is the time to begin haying and harvesting the gardens. It's usually warm, dry and dusty with a wonderful scent of pine in the air.
- Lastly, the body language seems to indicate that all the women are comfortable with each other. You can almost hear the photographer telling them to get closer so he can get everyone in.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Richard and Mary Ann Davison Kennington
Had a request for photos, so I dug through the file.
These pictures are courtesy of Uncle Ira, who was the youngest son of William Henry and Elizabeth Lee Bracken Kennington. If I remember the story right he had them colored and framed. They were passed on to his son Emenson and now are with a grand-daughter. Apparently Richard's picture was damaged and taken from the frame. Or the more I look at it, I wonder if it isn't a different photo? Mary Ann's picture is still matted and framed. I cropped the frame off because only parts showed.
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