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Welcome to the
Website of the Claflin Family Association.
There
is lots of information here; do check around and explore the various links. |
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Governance |
Welcome
156th
Claflin Family Gathering
Don’t miss next year’s reunion, our 156th. Same place: the Captain Joseph Gould Barn, Topsfield, MA on Saturday, July 31, 2010, from 9:00 AM to late afternoon. We will see you there! Superb Reunion in
Topsfield
If you missed it, you missed something special: our Family’s 155th reunion in Topsfield, MA, the reunion with something for everyone. Our set-up crew arrived about 8:00 AM to arrange tables and chairs, start the grill fire, set up the badminton net and other games, start the coffee, etc. Then the second wave arrived to set up the registration tables, put out name badges, and other reunion materials, and make us ready to welcome those who began to gather for the day. An open Board meeting was held at 9:00 AM, completing plans for the later Association meeting. This was followed by slides of the recent Family-sponsored trip to the 30th Anniversary Gathering at Strathlachlan, Scotland, and the subsequent tour of some of Scotland’s famous castles, museums, battlefields, etc. The Annual Business Meeting took place at 11:00 AM, and we sat down to a delicious lunch of steak, salad, potato chips and other goodies. In the early afternoon we were treated to a slide lecture on Indian life in Colonial days and King Philip’s War in New England, presented by Michael Tougias, well known author and lecturer in the Boston area. Michael showed us maps of the treks back and forth across New England and pictures of battle sites, ending in King Philip’s final years at Mt. Hope in Bristol, RI. This lecture was followed by a guided tour of the adjacent Parson Capen House, one of the few surviving 17th century residential structures in New England. A high point of the afternoon was the Scottish Dancing with live fiddlers and professional dance callers. This was much enjoyed by the younger adults and teenagers, and a few 50-plus elderly joined in. That was great fun! A welcome ice cream break with fresh strawberries, more dancing, a relaxed late afternoon and evening for those who stayed on, hot dogs around dinner time, and a cooperative venture in picking up and policing the grounds. This was the best reunion ever according to persons who have attended Family reunions over the years. Great thanks go to Reunion Committee chair George A. Claflin and Committee members Frances Wentworth and Heather Claflin, and great thanks go to all those who helped in various ways, providing coffee and tea, setting up tables and serving lines, preparing salads, etc., grilling the steak, cleaning up luncheon dishes, disposing trash, and generally working to have the day go well. Thanks also to Norman and Peggy Isler, caretakers of Topsfield Historical Society property, for their generous welcome. The Claflin
Family Archive
The Claflin Family Archive is getting closer to a reality. Negotiations continue for locating the archive at the Hopkinton Historical Society Museum at Hayden Rowe in Hopkinton, MA. The building is a former two-room schoolhouse where the society has been located since 1991. The building is under-going major renovation at this time. A new climate-controlled basement is the area in which the archives will come to stay. This will allow preservation of family memorabilia for future generations of Claflins to view and research. Read more about the archive in the newsletter, Claflin Connections - Spring 2009 Family Cookbook
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Our Mission The mission of the Claflin Family Association is to hold annual reunions, promote friendships among our members, inform members about the genealogy and history of the Claflin Family in America since 1650, inform members about our Scottish heritage and Clan MacLachlan, and make funds available for the advancement of education, public health, and historic preservation. |
Copyright © 2004 - 2010 The Claflin Family Association. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 3 Feburary 2010.
