Hi everyone,

I have a dream that it would be wonderful to find a mutually agreeable time in 2011 and a location that the descendants of the Orange County and Rockland County, NY, Allisons/Ellisons could gather and get to know each other in person. I am posting this message for all of the participants and contact persons of the Allison/Ellison DNA Project who have Orange/Rockland Counties roots and for researchers that I know about who are researching the Allisons and Ellisons who have Orange/Rockland Counties origins.

I have thought about Salt Lake City, Utah, as a possible location for our reunion. The LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City is a place where we could all do research on our various lines and the library is free. The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel is right next door to the library and has fairly reasonable rates. They might even give us a group rate. They do cater to genealogists. We could probably arrange a meeting room for everyone at certain times at either the hotel or at the library.

Orange County, NY, is also a reunion location possibility where we could do research at the Orange County Genealogical Society Library in Goshen, go to the courthouses and historical societies in Orange County and visit the other Allison/Ellison towns of Chester, Florida, Warwick, Wawayanda, Minisink, Haverstraw, etc. There is a conference center in Warwick that has rooms available for meetings and for guests to stay in. The air travel, accommodations, etc. could be expensive for those of us who have to fly to NY from the west, of course.

Other more central locations in the USA should also be considered. I know that the participants and/or the researchers for the Allison memn who are participants in the DNA Project live in all parts of the USA and one lives in Ontario, Canada.

In looking carefully at the addresses of the participants and contact people for Allisons and Ellisons who descend from Lawrence Ellison and Joseph Allison, 2 live in CA, 1 lives in OR, 1 lives in WA, 1 lives in ID, 1 lives in SD, 2 live in NM, 1 lives in MI, 2 live in OK, 2 live in MD, 3 live in PA, 1 lives in Washington DC, and 1 lives in Bath, Ontario, Canada. I am in communication with a man who lives in NJ who is writing a book about one of his ancestors from the Lawrence Ellison line. When I look at a map, New Mexico and Oklahoma are most geographically central, but neither state is particularly relevant to the Allison/Ellison ancestral research of the majority of us. But those states could be considered if someone knows of a location where a group could stay at reasonable prices and where a meeting room could be arranged. We could get to know each other, share our family trees and research and try to figure out how our lines link together.

And then there are cruises, which would give lots of time to meet and get to know each other. But we wouldn't do much research. However, we could share our family trees and research and try to figure out how our lines link together. We'd have to meet at a port on either the east or west coasts to get on the cruise ship, of course.

I've suggested a few ideas about possible reunion locations just to get the "ball rolling". I hope to hear from each of you about your reaction to the idea of attending a reunion of the descendants of the Orange/Rockland Counties, NY, Allisons/Ellisons. I'd love to receive your replies to these questions.

(1) Would you be interested in attending a reunion of Allisons and Ellisons and other relatives who have Orange County, NY roots?

(2) For those who are interested in the idea of attending an Allison/Ellison reunion, what locations would you be willing to consider? Make lots of suggestions. Give me 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices. Also tell me if a location is totally unacceptable to you. I'll compile all of the comments and send another e-mail to all of you with all of the suggestions.

(3) What date ranges in 2011 would be best for you? Tell me which dates absolutely won't work for you also. I'll compile both the date and locations suggestions and share them with you. Then we can all make a group decision on a date and place that will suit the majority.

Please reply to me by June 30. 2009, with your response as to whether you have any interest in attending a reunion of Allisons and Ellisons who have Orange County roots.

Please inform me of others that you think will have an interest in the possiblity of attending an Allison/Ellison reunion. Also give me their e-mail addresses so I can include them in our continuing dialogue about whether this is just a dream of if we can make it a reality.

All the best,

Mary Allison Yonan


sdilca@gmail.com

yonan@fgi.net