Grinnell Family Association Reunion--Providence

http://www.grinnellfamily.org/

The weekend of July 9-10 was the reunion of my family genealogical association and what a great time we all had! The host site was the Marriot in downtown Providence, RI a very nice hotel that was very busy with lots of activities. It was a great central location for our festivities. The official beginning of the reunion is dinner on Friday night at the hotel. We were delighted by the presence of Winnie Grinnell from MA who was celebrating her birthday. Seeing my distant cousins Marj, Kaye, and Larry are alway personal highlights of our reunions. This year I met up with cousin Laura Prescott on Friday night. Laura and I are the closest relatives who are active in the GFA, tracing our common ancestors back to John GRINNEL and Rhoda DENNING who resided in western New York in the early 19th century. Laura and I always have great conversations on many topics--not just genealogy. Some of her family lines came through western Pennsylvania so this calls for some future get togethers here in Pittsburgh.

The main speaker for the Friday night dinner was a terrific member of the staff of the Little Compton Historical Society. They have recently installed a new exhibition and publication entitled First Light Sakonnet. Our speaker weaved Grinnell family history into her presentation which helped us GRINNELL's focus on the community history a bit better.

http://www.littlecompton.org/

Saturday afternoon we boarded a bus for a tour of Little Compton. This town was the settlement site of some of our earliest Grinnell's in North America. We headed out from Providence and after some not so good directions we finally arrived at the Wilbour House, the main site for the Little Compton Historical Society. The site is amazing--the colonial home, its later additions, out buildings and barns are a real sneak peak into life on the Rhode Island peninsula along the Sakonnet River. As a presernvation minded archivist, I am concerned about some of the LCHS practices. Only portions of the buildings had any type of environmental controls and origianl papers, books and photographs were layed out for display. They are passionate about their history--I just wish I had seen more evidence of professional treatment of the Wilbour house site. Perhaps like all historical organizations the lack of money is the issue--so help them out if you can!!!!

After the tour at the Wilbour House we loaded back on the bus for an hour tour of the town. What a beautiful place! The views of the river and estuaries, the woods, the green, the flowers, and all the beautifully preserved homes with their stone walls. Wow! We ended our tour at Little Compton Commons where we visited the graves a many Grinnell's--Pirate Dick Grinnell and many of his descendants included. I've posted many of the pics of the Grinnell gravestones on Findagrave--Check them out:

Old Commons Burial Ground:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1962293

Old Union Cemetery--Little Compton:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=455947

Just before heading back to the bus, I was able to peak my head into the United Congregation Church of Little Compton. Although its current structure was constructed in the 1830's, this congregation was the spiritual home of my GGGGGG Grandparents Jonathan GRINNELL and Abigail FORD.

http://www.ucclcri.org/

Little Compton is the picturesque New England town and I hope to return to this ancestral home to spend a more leisurely time soaking in the atmosphere where my forebearer once trode.

Back at the hotel for the main event--Saturday night dinner. This is always a little more formal--coat and tie for the guys and dresses for the ladies. The food was out of this world--a great mixture of New England seafood with chicken or pork! Exceptionally good! For our main speaker this night we were met with our President, Hugh Grinnell dressed and in character as the famous George Bird Grinnell. "Bird" Grinnell gave us an insightful talk about his life and adventures in the American west. He regailed us with stories from the Native American and the natural beauty he encoutered in what was to become Glacier National Park. The significant thing that I learned was Bird's interaction and later correspondence with one of my great hero's John Muir!

What a great time! One of the options batted around for a future reunion location is Glacier National Park. A great idea in my book! Here we come Glacier!!!!!

http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm