It
is now only five weeks until we all meet up at the Swinfield
Gathering on Sunday, 22nd September. It is great that some of you have already told us that you will definitely be there.
If you have not let us know that you are intending to come, there is still time to plan your visit. I have been
trying to encourage and persuade as many people as possible to attend
so that we will all have the opportunity to meet as many other
“Swinfields” as possible. To date, I have no idea how many will
be there but I am hopeful that it will be somewhere between 40 and 70.
Many
will come from the family's homeland in Leicestershire and
Warwickshire. Others have pledged to come from as far away as Kent,
Hampshire, Devon and Yorkshire. We even have Sue Regan who is
travelling all the way from Australia, to represent “our cousins”,
who are descended from those who have emigrated to the other side of
the World on several occasions since 1848.
If
you have not yet pinned down your immediate relatives, who may decide
to be there, now is the time to twist their arms. If they are not
there, who knows when they will get another chance like this. Use all
your persuasive skills to get them to come along.
So
what will you be able to do and see on the day? We will be at the SirJohn Moore Foundation at Top Street, Appleby Magna, Leicestershire DE12 7AH from 12 noon to 6pm. It is a great venue in a lovely setting. You can be there for as
long as you want or just drop in at some point in the afternoon with
your family to see what is happening. Even if all of your party is
not madly interested in the Gathering, bring them along and
they can enjoy the grounds or have a picnic. There will
be light refreshments for sale in the cafe.
In
the meeting room in the main building, you will be able to spend time
with the other Swinfields who are present. Some of them, we will
know, are your proven relations. You will be able to find yourselves
(with our help if necessary) on the displayed family trees, which
have been constructed through over 40 years of research into those
who share our rare surname. You will be able to consult our databases
to learn more about your extended family and ancestors.
We
want to compile a photographic record of those who are present which
we can then all share. So we need to have as many Swinfields present
as possible, aged from 0 to 100! There will even be an opportunity to
see what DNA tests have told us about the relationship between the
distinct family groups.
Please
bring with you any Swinfield photographs. These can be of any members
who are no longer with us or your relatives who just cannot be there
on the day. Share with us all any old documents which you have in
your cupboard or attic. These could be birth, marriage or death
certificates, apprenticeships, wills etc. Collect them together and
bring them with you. We would love to see them and share your family
stories.
This
will be a unique chance to meet your cousins and share in the history
of the Swinfields. Don't miss it! Bring your relatives with you. The
more the better! See you all at Appleby in just five weeks' time.
Geoff
Swinfield, Di Bouglas & Sandra Bates
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