Press release from East Tennessee Historical Society:
Descendants of pioneer Tennessee settlers are invited to return to the land of their ancestors for a First Families of Tennessee Reunion and Jubilee, August 19-21, 2016. Tennesseans in large numbers were among North Carolina’s early settlers.
The East Tennessee Historical Society will commemorate the state’s 220th birthday with a First Families of Tennessee Reunion and Jubilee, August 19-21. The weekend will include a First Families of Tennessee dinner at Marble Springs, home of John Sevier, Tennessee’s first governor, with period music and dances, living history presentations, and tours of Marble Springs. Special time is set aside for attendees to visit, compare research, and meet up with cousins.
A genealogy conference will focus on records and research methods for the pioneer period, as well as the history of Tennessee’s early settlement, including the Watauga Association, the State of Franklin, county and state records, and more. The conference keynote speaker will be Troy Wayne Poteete, chief justice of the Cherokee Supreme Court, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, who will discuss the experiences of the Cherokee after they reached Oklahoma.
On Sunday, August 21, bus tours will travel to important pioneer sites in upper East Tennessee, such as Sycamore Shoals, Tipton-Haynes House, the site of the Battle of the State of Franklin, and replica of the State of Franklin log cabin capitol in Greeneville.
The FFT Reunion will also feature an East Tennessee History Fair on August 20. Visitors can enjoy traditional music, children’s games and activities, vintage films, living history presentations from the Cherokee to the Vietnam War, a History Hound costume competition, free admission to the Museum of East Tennessee History, bus tours to historic sites, and a birthday party for Davy Crockett, complete with cake, and visiting with representatives of dozens of history and genealogy related organizations and museums from across the region, and much more.
All events are open to the general public and to FFT members. Most East Tennessee History Fair activities are free. Pre-registration and a fee are required for participation in First Families of Tennessee events. For more information on the schedule of events, costs, and registration, see www.eastTNhistory.org/FFTReunion.
About the First Families of Tennessee Heritage Program
First Families of Tennessee is a family heritage program of the East Tennessee Historical Society, with membership open to anyone who can prove descent from an ancestor who was in Tennessee by statehood in 1796. FFT has almost 16,000 members representing all fifty states and eight foreign countries.
About the East Tennessee Historical Society
Established in 1834, the East Tennessee Historical Society has been helping East Tennesseans hold on to our unique heritage by recording the events, collecting the artifacts, and saving the stories that comprise the history we all share. ETHS pursues its education mission through publications, lectures, conferences, school programs, museum exhibits, and heritage programs such as the popular First Families of Tennessee and Civil War Families of Tennessee. The East Tennessee History Center houses the staff and programs of the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Museum of East Tennessee History, the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, and the Knox County Archives.
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