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Hello all,
I recently discovered a fascinating blog, The Mordecai Female
Academy<http://mordecaischool.blogspot.com/>,
that may interest those researching the Christmases and related families in
and around Warren County, North Carolina. Penny Leigh
Richards<https://www.h-net.org/people/person_view.php?id=123601>,
the blog's author, researches each of the approximately 500 students who
attended the Mordecai Female Academy, a private girls' school, in 19th
century Warrenton. The blog continues research documented over 16 years ago
in Richards' doctoral dissertation, "A Thousand Images, Painfully Pleasing:
Complicating Histories of the Mordecai School, Warrenton, North Carolina
1809-1818." Richards' most recent entry pertains to two pupils in the
Christmas family: Jane Yancey Christmas and Sally D. Christmas.
Very Respectfully,
Mr. Shannon S. Christmas
Hi Everyone,
Got the web page updated earlier this month. Included are some new
cousins, census
data, photos and other sources. Address is: http://christmas.whturner.com
The Jonathan Christmas line has been extended to from 8 generations
to 9; it will include
some living persons, including me, but no personal data, such as
dates, locations, sources,
photos and notes.
Also included, and provided by Donna Christmas are photos and summary
of the July
Christmas reunion in Santa Claus, IN.
The Christmas web page was started in July 1997. My thanks to all,
that have helped by
providing family information, photos, and documents during the past 17 years.
As always, new information, sources, photos and corrections of my
errors are appreciated.
Best regards,
Herbert
Dear Shannon:
Thank you for the information. I am looking forward to attending the 2013 Reunion. I have marked the dates on my calendar. I plan on traveling via Amtrak, which will take me on a four-day trip across the United States. I am looking forward to touring many of the sites in our Nation's Capitol.
I look forward to receiving further information (Hotel, Tours, Registration Fees and Information, etc.) concerning the 2013 Reunion.
Please add me to your mailing list.
Best Regards,
Paul E. Linnell, Jr.
833 NW Fieldcrest Way, Apt S-102
Beaverton, Oregon 97006-8722
Home Phone: (503) 430-8390
Facebook: Paul E. Linnell, Jr.
E-Mail: paulelinnelljr(a)yahoo.com
________________________________
From: Shannon Christmas <shannon.s.christmas(a)gmail.com>
To: Christmas-L(a)rootsweb.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 4:22 PM
Subject: [CHRISTMAS] SAVE THE DATE: CHRISTMAS FAMILY REUNION
Hello all,
The 2013 Christmas Family Reunion, also known as Christmas in July, will be
held July 4-6, 2013 in Washington DC.
Tentative plans include:
- A catered Potomac River cruise to Mount Vernon (President George
Washington's Estate)
- An exclusive White House tour and family photo
- A DC Cupcake Social catered by Georgetown Cupcake
http://paperless.ly/OTjb5M
A formal invitation is to follow.
Please forward this message far and wide. Feel free to email me with any
questions you may have. I look forward to hearing from you.
Very Respectfully,
Mr. Shannon S. Chirstmas
Christmas web page address: christmas.whturner.com
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHRISTMAS-request(a)rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
Hello all,
The 2013 Christmas Family Reunion, also known as Christmas in July, will be
held July 4-6, 2013 in Washington DC.
Tentative plans include:
- A catered Potomac River cruise to Mount Vernon (President George
Washington's Estate)
- An exclusive White House tour and family photo
- A DC Cupcake Social catered by Georgetown Cupcake
http://paperless.ly/OTjb5M
A formal invitation is to follow.
Please forward this message far and wide. Feel free to email me with any
questions you may have. I look forward to hearing from you.
Very Respectfully,
Mr. Shannon S. Chirstmas
Christmas in July 2012 Family Reunion
Not everyone has a Christmas family dinner in July, but that was the case this year when Santa Claus, Indiana, played host to 58 Christmas descendants on July 21, 2012, This was not a typical family reunion with aunts, uncles, and cousins; many who attended this event were eleventh and twelth cousins! Everyone with Christmas ancestors from around the world was invited to this reunion and all those attending this year knew how they fit into the Christmas family.
After doning their new Christmas t-shirts designed especially for the event by Debbie Apple (daughter of Mary Christmas Wooten of Greenfield, IN), the group spent the next couple of hours visiting and studying a genealogy chart created by Robert Ransom of Hampton, VA (whose grandmother was a Christmas) and a scroll made by Ginger Christmas Beatty. Ginger has done extensive research on the Christmas family and has written a book and several articles about her Christmas family who resided in Warren Co, NC, during the 1700’s.
During the next couple of hours, many visited Lincoln’s Boyhood National Monument which was about five minutes away. Lincoln spent much of his boyhood in Spencer County, Indiana. Others enjoyed the cooling waters of the pool and some visited the shops just across the street. One gentleman, George Willette from Greensburg, Indiana, went to Santa’s Candy Castle and accepted the Avalange Challenge. For drinking a giant milk shakes made of ½ gallon of milk with added ice cream, he got his picture taken and added to the gallery of those who had been successful in devouring the giant shake. He also received a bumper sticker! Matthew Hickey of Franklin, Indiana, accomplished the feat the day before! After downing his milkshake, George, along with everyone else, returned to the Celebration Room at Santa’s Lodge and enjoyed a lunch catered by Larry May, manager of St. Nick’s Restaurant.
Tammy Christmas Willette from Greensburg, IN, emceed the event and introduced Melissa Brockman, Executive Director of the Visitors Center who brought little goodie bags for everyone and introduced Pat Koch whose family owns Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. Pat stated that they strive to make their park a clean and wholesome place where families can have fun. They provide free water and non-alcoholic beverages all day to guests at their park. She said their bill to Pepsi last year amounted to $83,000.
Shannon Christmas of Washington, DC, presented a Christmas family history. He explained a bit about DNA testing to help identify ancestors. He said that the two George Bushes, Barack Obama, and Tennessee Williams are all Christmas descendants. (Now why didn’t they attend our reunion?)
Following Shannon’s presentation, guests were given the opportunity to share stories. (After all, stories do bind families together, you know.) They were asked to share a story that had been handed down to them, something they remembered from their childhood, something that was meaningful to them as they were growing up, or whatever. One lady shared the story of her most memorable Christmas . . . but not her favorite one. She said when she was about 8 years old, she wanted a toy Pyrex baking set for Christmas. She ran down the stairs on Christmas morning and looked for the box the size the Pyrex baking set came in – like 12” by 18” and 6 “ tall. – as she’d seen at the local five and dime. Not seeing it, she threw a royal fit! “I told Santa I wanted that for Christmas and he didn’t bring it! I’m going back to bed and I’m staying until noon.” Neither her Mom nor Dad
encouraged her to stay and open her gifts as she expected, nor did they say, “I bet Santa brought you something else just as nice!” She said she’d already learned from her dad that a person “is only as good as her word.,” So off she went to spend Christmas morning in bed. The hours and minutes just drug by, she said. About 11:30, she began to worry about what would happen when she did go downstairs. At 10 after 12, she decided she couldn’t spend the rest of her life in bed, so she reluctantly made her way back downstairs. She was greeted as if it were her first appearance of the day, “Come and see what Santa brought you for Christmas”. The first box she opened was a box about a foot square. It contained the Pyrex baking set she had wanted so badly! She said she was so ashamed! She did learn that day not to say things she didn’t mean and that things are not always the way they appear!
Another lady said later during small group discussions that her most memorable Christmas was when she went with her husband (a Christmas descendant) on Christmas day to visit his family for the first time. She said her mother was an alcoholic and was very abusive. She said it was that Christmas day that she learned what families were supposed to be like.
A gentleman told that his father, who was a light colored black man, went on a job interview. In desperate need of a job and in hopes of being hired, be put on the application that he was white. He got the job and all went well until he took his son (who was a bit darker) to work with him one day. Everyone said, “That is your son?” He said he told his dad he would never go to work with him again for fear of him losing his job.
After dinner, which ended with peppermint ice cream – a Christmas tradition for some, a Memorial Service was held for the three Christmas descendants who passed away since the 2011 reunion and a Welcome was extended to the six new little Christmas Tree Ornaments who had been added to our Christmas Family Tree during the past year.
On Sunday morning, many felt compelled to start their long journey home. Family members came from California, Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Washington, DC, and Maryland. Others gathered on Sunday morning attended a worship service held on the grounds of Santa’s Lodge. At the conclusion of the service, they shared one last meal together before beginning their journey home.
-- Those of you who were unable to attend missed out on lots of fun!