Hi folks,
I am forwarding this to you-- first time I had heard of it. It is a response
from the Wayne CO., IL mail list. Some person had written in telling a tablecloth was
found with a handwritten note saying it was used at his gg grandfather's infair
dinner in 1848. The gg grandfather was from Wayne County, IL, so I thought maybe it was
something done in that part of the country that I am not familiar with. Below is the
response-- I had never heard of it, and it may or may not have been a custom here in
Dubois CO with all the German immigrants. It may have been a prevalent in areas with a
high number of Brittish Isles immigrants.
It doesn't say whether the married couple was present, but since the honeymoon
thing seems to be from the 1900's, the married couple most likely was present.
Scroll on down and have a nice day. Helen Zuber Keusch
----- Original Message -----
From: "Randall McDaniel" <spacegeezer(a)msn.com>
To: <ILWAYNE(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 10:24 PM
Subject: Re: [ILWAYNE] Infair Dinner
"Infare- alternately known as "infair" or "enfair" (from an old
Scottish or Middle English custom). In a tradition dating back to the early 1800s, the
bride's family gave a bridal feast the day of the wedding and the groom's family
hosted a
wedding breakfast the day after. This breakfast was called an "infare."
It provided an occasion for family, wedding party, and out-of-town guests to visit and
review the previous day's festivities. Travelers then departed, taking with them the
warmth of hospitality. The rehearsal dinner is today's version of the infare. Many
people may have never heard of the term infare, yet are quite familiar with the
tradition. In the 1880s, it was an American custom for the bridegroom's parents to
host an infare, or a feast, on the day following the wedding. Today, this custom has
evolved into a Sunday brunch intended to give out-of-town guests more opportunity to
visit with
family, friends, and other wedding guests before returning home."
Randy McDaniel
Webster, Texas
Researching the following families from Wayne County: McDaniel, Nichols,
Richardson