Genealogy Alive!
(August 2009)
The 2009 Flesher Family Reunion
Remember when family reunions were a highlight of some folk’s summer? Long lines of picnic tables were piled high with goodies and a big banner, hung between two trees, proclaimed who was gathering that day to celebrate their family ties.
Reunions are not quite the same these days with families spread from coast to coast. So this spring when The Fort in Lexington was notified about the Flesher Family Reunion and asked to assist at the end of June for their weekend fest, we were anxious to see what their modern reunion for an entire weekend would be like in McLean County, Illinois.
The Fleshers have been in this area from the very beginning of our settlement. Coonrad Flesher helped with the construction of the Patton cabin, the oldest building in McLean County. We looked in our index of burials and found 3 pages of Flesher names just in our local cemeteries. Many of those Flesher families had 8 to 10 children who grew up to have 8 to 10 children, and so on and so on through the years. That makes LOTS of Fleshers eligible to attend the family reunion!
The official invitation read: All FLESHERS (Fleischers, Fleishers) descended from the brother immigrants Peter and Heinrich FLEISCHER of the 1752 Phoenix ship are invited to a FLESHER family reunion in Lexington/Chenoa, McLean County, Illinois where John FLESHER, Mary SEYBERT, Henry FLESHER, Susannah POPEJOY, the HEFNER family, the Coonrad FLESHER family and the JANES family settled.
Ray Flesher and his committee did a fantastic job of planning the reunion by long distance. Dutch-treat meals and motel accommodations were arranged in advance with the providers. Meeting rooms were reserved at a local church. Visits to attractions in the area, such as the telephone museum, Patton cabin, and The Fort were planned so that a local guide would be available. Some family members took drives out to old home sites in the area to see where their roots came from. Many of the relatives paid there respects by visited cemeteries, where Flesher relatives rest in peace.
There were over 60 relatives in attendance from 8 different states! On Saturday morning Joey Flesher Jahant gave a very informative and interesting presentation, outlining the journey of the two immigrants, brothers Peter and Heinrich (Henry) Fleischer, who came over from Ober-Seeman Germany. Peter had with him, his wife, Anna Theil and son John. John did not live to be very old, but through his children, has many descendants, including many from the area where the reunion was held, in McLean County, Illinois. Ray Flesher also gave a great presentation on the two brothers and their children. He handed out the newest issue of the Flesher Family Redwood Newsletter to attendees, which included information on other Fleshers, besides the two brothers who were immigrants to the new land. They also gave out area maps, agendas, schedules, and genealogical findings for those who wished to explore the county as a group or on their own.
Flesher descendants Saturday morning, taken from Ray Flesher's internet site.
Ray says the next reunion will likely be in Jay County, Indiana in two years, and two years after that (2013) they plan to come back to the McLean County, Illinois area again.
If you are interested in more information and seeing photos of the reunion, here are some internet sites you may want to visit:
Ray’s web pages: www.rcflesher.com/ffr/home.html
Information and photos: www.chrisflesher.com/gf/fireun
Just photos: www.flesher09reunion.jamminweb.com/
Congratulations, Flesher family, on your successful reunion that was well planned and affordable for all to attend. We were happy to meet many of the “cousins” who stopped by The Fort and checked out some of the information we have on your family. We are looking forward to your next visit in 2013!