Darwin Family Reunion - June 2010

2010 DARWIN FAMILY REUNION

The 2010 Darwin Family Reunion is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 18 – 19, 2010 in York County, S.C. Reunion Headquarters will be the Hilton Garden Inn, 650 Tinsley Way in Rock Hill, S.C. Our hotel, located in the Manchester Village business and retail center features complimentary self-parking along with a fitness center, and a heated outdoor pool and whirlpool. Guest rooms are equipped with microwave, refrigerator, and iron/ironing board. In the area of Manchester Village, there are twelve restaurants, sixteen shops, a movie theatre, and the nearby Galleria Mall. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is located 22-miles (a 40-minute drive) from our hotel.

We strongly encourage you to arrive on Thursday evening, June 17 as we will be leaving by bus promptly at 9:00 AM on Friday morning for a day of local touring. Please make your own hotel reservations by calling the hotel directly at (803) 325-2800. Rooms are available for the special room rate of $99/night (plus state and local taxes). Our contract with the Hilton Garden Inn reserves a block of rooms for our use; in exchange, we guarantee occupancy of twenty (20) rooms per night at the above rate. To obtain the special rate, please use the Group Code DFR to identify your affiliation with the Darwin group when making your reservation. The Release Date for holding the Darwin block of rooms is May 17, 2010. Any reservation made after this date will be based on availability and offered at best rate available at the time reservation is made. Check-in time is 3:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time; check-out time is 11:00 AM.

The weekend will be the perfect opportunity to learn more about your Darwin roots. Last year, we visited the home site of William Darwin of Louisa County, Virginia. Two of William's sons, James and John, migrated to York County, S.C. This was the end of the great 'wagon road' ….. the promised land. Many Presbyterians settled here. On Friday, we will travel by bus to the Hopewell Presbyterian Church and cemetery, the Darwin family cemetery where James and John Darwin are buried, and to "Stooping Pines", the historic home of John Darwin. We'll visit more enjoyable sites in the area and have a box lunch picnic. At the hotel on Saturday evening, there will be a cash bar gathering to be followed by the Darwin Family Banquet and Annual Meeting. The Hospitality Suite will be available from Thursday – Saturday for visiting and sharing Darwin family information. Our Historian, Estelle Perrault, will be available in the Hospitality Suite, continuing her efforts to compile/update the many different Darwin Ancestral Family Charts. If you haven't already done so, please bring your family information to Estelle to add to our growing database.

Our own Pat Hawkins Guffey writes a regular column, "Pieces from the Past", for The Herald-News (Dayton, TN.). Last year, Pat wrote her article "Walking in her ancestor's footsteps: an enriching journey" about the Darwin Reunion in Charlottesville, VA. To quote Pat, "No matter how much I find out about my family, there is always more to learn. It's like a mystery unfolding before my eyes!" She also mentions that " ….. Keeping in touch with relatives has been important to the Darwin side of my family, because they have been holding reunions since the 1800's."

Darlene Darwin has come up with a great idea! She and her father, Charles Darwin, would like to put together a bulletin board to be placed in the Hospitality Suite with photos of Darwin family members in their "younger days" (childhood, school days, young adulthood, career, military, etc.). It will be interesting to see any shared traits amongst the Darwin clan, and, perhaps, it will give us a greater sense of appreciation and insight into the Darwin's, especially the more senior members of our group. Not to mention that it will just be a lot of fun trying to guess WHO is in each photo! We'd like everyone attending the reunion to participate, so be looking through your photos for one or more photos from your 'earlier days' that you'd like to share with us. Photos can be submitted, along with your reunion fees and/or dues to our Treasurer, Kathryn Jackson, and they'll be forwarded to Darlene for inclusion in her project. Don't forget to lightly write your name on the back of each photo in pencil, and the photo(s) will be returned to you. Or, if you'd like, you may e-mail a copy of your photo(s) directly to Darlene at: indigoskies@hotmail.com

The Reunion fees total $90 per person and include Friday's bus transportation, box lunch, and admission fees, as well as the Saturday night Banquet plus gratuity. This total does not include an individual gratuity for the bus driver.

Please mail your check for Reunion fees to our Treasurer to allow receipt by May 22nd to:

Kathryn M. Jackson, Treasurer (details at bottom of page)

Because of ever-increasing mailing costs, we’ve again combined our annual dues reminder with this letter. Annual 2010 – 2011 Membership dues for the Darwin Family Association are $25/ per family, payable upon receipt of this letter. Dues are used for mailings and to defray organizational expenses for future Reunions. Your membership in The Darwin Family Association is very important to us as we continue to piece together the Darwin story, and I personally invite you to be a part of our growing Darwin family group. If you are unable to join us this year for the Reunion in York County, I hope that you’ll still consider supporting our Darwin family efforts with your paid membership in the organization.

If you know of any Darwin family member who passed away this past year, please let Kathryn know the name, dates of birth and death, and the burial location so that the information can be included in the Memoriam to be read at the annual meeting and be added to our family historical records.

Make your plans and book your hotel reservation. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me. Frances and I look forward to seeing you all and, as always, to having a wonderful weekend of fellowship with our Darwin family.

Best Regards,

Sam J. (Buddy) Darwin, President

(256) 828-0924

Directions to the Hilton Garden Inn – Rock Hill, S.C.:

From I-77 Southbound

Exit #79 (Dave Lyle Blvd.), turn Right off the exit. Turn Right at the first traffic light into

Manchester Village Shopping Center, then an immediate Right onto Tinsley Way. The

hotel is the fourth building on the right.

From I-77 Northbound

Exit 79 (Dave Lyle Blvd.), turn Left off the exit. Turn Right at the second traffic light, then

another immediate Right onto Tinsley Way. The hotel is the fourth building on the right.

From Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Exit from the airport and turn Left on Old Dowd. Turn Right at stop sign. Turn Left at

traffic light on Little Rock Rd. Turn Left onto I-485 East and bear Right onto I-77 South.

Follow to Exit 79 (Dave Lyle Blvd.), turn Right off the exit. Turn Right at the first traffic light

into Manchester Village Shopping Center, then another immediate Right onto Tinsley Way.

The hotel is the fourth building on the right.

Contact for more information:

Kathryn M. Jackson

803 Nolan Blvd.

Madison, AL. 35758-1309

e-mail:HJacksonSr@aol.com