Your family is so lucky to have the opportunity to be together again after so many years!!!!!! It sounds like there might be interest in doing it again! -----Original Message----- From: w.mcculloch <w.mcculloch@cwix.com> To: DanvilleCrossing-L@rootsweb.com <DanvilleCrossing-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, July 18, 1999 9:56 PM Subject: Unidentified subject! >This doesn' t have a thing to do with Danville Crossing. And other than me, >my brother and mother no one involved even remotely has any Tennessee >connection. I thought I would share this with you anyway. > >One of the real pleasures in genealogy is finally meeting up with kin you >have never seen (or at least not for a long time). My mother and my father' >s youngest brother' s widow are the last two McCulloch wives (neither ever >remarried) of their generation in our branch of the McCulloch clan. My aunt >now lives with her only daughter in Florida, but we never saw much of them >when they lived locally. No real reason I guess, but they went their way >and we went ours, and our fathers were okay with it. My uncle and aunt >packed up and moved to WV when my cousin was a child (she is now 54). I >last saw my uncle in 1967 when he flew in for my father' s funeral. I last >saw my aunt and cousin in 1971 when I attended my uncle' s funeral. But!!!, >we all saw each other last night (07-18-99). The occasion was aunt' s 90th >birthday. She wanted to return home one more time and this was the >occasion. > >Our old homeplace (built in 1870 by GGF McCulloch) is now a restaurant. My >cousin decided the party would be there. My cousin, her husband, her 3 >children (along with wives and grandchild), and stepson, my mother, >brothers, nephews and grand nephews, my father' s sister' s son (our other >cousin), along with aunt's sister, brother in law and niece, and various >friends (37 of us all told) gathered for dinner at the old home place. The >last time the entire McCulloch family gathered in this house was around >1942-43 (no one could really remember the year, except it was for Easter). >All these folks came in from New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and I am not >sure where else just for this occasion. > >I can' t you the absolute joy we experienced in all seeing each other at >long last (and wondering why we had not before). The room in which we >celebrated has portraits hanging of our great grandparents, grandparents and >other ancestors. The family resemblance of all is a bit amazing. My other >cousin is an Episcopal priest in NY. He looked around the room and remarked >that he had performed the funerals of our two uncles and his mother, >presided at the marriage of our cousin, baptised two of her three children >and baptised two of my three nephews. At least he used to get around to see >everyone. I don' t know that we will all ever be in the same room at the >same time again, but we were last night and we will all treasure this >experience forever. > >As a post script: The old house is supposedly haunted and many think the >ghost is our great grandfather. I can' t help but think how proud all those >folks whose portraits looked down upon us must have felt last night. Maybe >it was just the light and shadows, but GGF sure looked like he was smiling >in that stern old portrait. > >Walker K. McCulloch >Clarksville, IN >(07-18-99) > > >==== DanvilleCrossing Mailing List ==== >GENEALOGY is like Hide & Seek: >They Hide & I Seek !! > > > >