This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Morrow, Morton,Peden, Paden, Alexander, White, Archer, Martin Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/JN2.2ACIB/1527 Message Board Post: Enclosed is information about the 2004 Peden Reunion held at Fairview Presbyterian Church near Fountain Inn, Greenville County, South Carolina. This reunion is celebrated by the descendents of John Peden, born 1709 Antrim County, Ireland, and his wife, Margaret (Peggy) McDill, born August 1715, also in Antrim County, Ireland. Their ten children, all born in Ireland, include: Mary, born 1732, married James Alexander James, born 1734, m) Mary (Brown?) Jane, born ca 1738, married 1) John Morton 2) Robert Morrow Thomas, born 1743, m) Elizabeth White William, born 1749, m) Mary (Polly) Archer Elizabeth, born 1750, m) William Gaston (No Children) John, born 1752, m) ? Baker, Archer? Samuel, born 1754, m)1st Katherine White m) 2nd Margaret Alexander, born 1756, m) Rebecca Martin David, born 1760, m) 1st Eleanor Goodgion m) 2nd Margaret Hughes If you believe you are of this family and need a look up in the book "Pedens of America", please send me information of your kinship to at least 1900 (further back if you have it). Some of the lines stop at about 1900 in the book. Email me also if you need directions to the Church. Rebecca Moss House of William Email: [email protected] PLEASE SEE COMPLETE INFORMATION BELOW FOR THE 2004 PEDEN REUNION AT FAIRVIEW ! ************************************************************************ Hi Rebecca, This is the Brochure of the Peden Reunion 2004 which I hope to get in the mail this Memorial Day Weekend. Please use this to email all the email addresses you have. Thanks, James Rodgers PEDEN REUNION FAIRVIEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH P. O. Box 1664 Fountain Inn, SC 29644 The fiftieth Peden Reunion will be held at Fairview Presbyterian Church on Saturday and Sunday, July 17th and 18th, 2004. PEDEN CLAN OFFICERS Chief: John Calvin Peden, Gastonia, NC President : James H. Rodgers, Jr., Fountain Inn, SC Vice President: Clark Peden, Fountain Inn, SC Secretary: Jackie Peden, Fountain Inn, SC Treasurer: Henry B. Peden, II, Fountain Inn, SC Historian: W. Scipio Peden, Jr. Pelzer, SC John and Peggy McDill Peden and several of their children landed in Charlestown, Carolina in 1773 on a ship loaded with immigrants from Ireland and all their earthly belongings. Each family had a land grant from the King of England for not less than 100 acres of land in what is now the Nazareth section of Spartanburg County. All the men and older boys soon went north in their covered wagons to join George Washington's army and fought with him through the entire Revolutionary War. Each of the Peden men were given 500 acres of land in this community as payment for their service to the new country. They were also given an option to buy additional land for the ridiculous price of seventy-five cents per 100 acres. One of the first things these families did upon arriving in this place was to build a church, Fairview Presbyterian Church. It was a log building across the road from the present church. The present building is the fourth building to house the church, and opened in 1858. The Sunday School rooms were added in 1949, and the Office complex and Historical Building were dedicated in l986 at the celebration of the church's 200th birthday. The Peden Reunion was held for the first time in 1899. It was held again in 1909, but postponed in 1919 because of World War I. It was not held again until 1955, and has been held every year since then. We sometimes have as many as 400 attending when prominent family members such as General William Westmoreland and the late Senator John Stennis were the featured speakers. The rock walled cemetery is of great interest.The oldest marked grave is 1794, and about 750 graves are there. The original rock wall was build by slaves about l850, and enlarged in the early l930s. he men at Fairview have always been a patriotic group, and veterans of every war in the nation's history are buried there, except for those of the Gulf Wars, who are still living. We look forward to having a great reunion this year, and to meeting cousins we have never met before. We hope that many of you will be able to attend. There are several nice motels, restaurants, and shopping centers within five miles of the church. Local residents are usually available to answer questions and show visitors around the church and community. Sincerely, James H. Rodgers, Jr. President JHR/jr ************************************************************************ ONE HUNDRED FIFTH ANNIVERSARY - PEDEN REUNION SATURDAY ACTIVITIES JULY 17, 2004 (Please complete form below) On this year's Saturday Tour we will visit Cowpens Revolutionary War Park and the Revolutionary War Park in Kings Mountain, NC. Our Pedens were soldiers in these battles.On Saturday morning we need to leave the church at 8:00 a.m. We will travel by Van and private cars as we did last year. There is no charge for this tour, however at the end of the trip we will take up a collection for those on the vans to cover the cost of gas. (Lunch will be on your own at an area restaurant). At that time on Saturday morning, maps will also be distributed to those who do not wish to go to the Revolutionary Parks. Directions will be available for visiting the Thomas Peden family cemetery near Woodruff, SC.There will also be maps to locate the McDill Peden Cemetery (John and Peggy McDill Peden are buried here) and Ole Catholic Presbyterian Church near Chester, SC .The latter two historic places near Chester are only 4 to 5 miles apart. There are almost as many Pedens buried at Ole Catholic Presbyterian Church as there are at Fairview Cemetery. The Saturday evening meal will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Social Hall across the road from Fairview Presbyterian Church. This will be a make your own sandwich type supper. The cost for the supper will be $6.00 per person payable in advance. We must have at least 40 people for the supper or it will be a no go. All money must be received by July 7, 2004. If we do not get 40 people for supper the money will be refunded to you before you leave home from the reunion. This is not just for out of town people-this is also for local people. What better time to get acquainted with cousins than at a Saturday night supper. We will have a speaker after supper, Ms. Rebecca Bruton Moss, who will tell us a little about the Pedens and their migration West; especially the House of William. Also please bring pre-1900 pictures, records, letters, bible records, church records, histories, keepsakes, etc. that you have for your Peden/Paden family. We plan to have a sharing of information from the different houses on Saturday night. We will also be asking to make copies of these articles to prepare exhibits for future reunions. These will be scanned on a computer so your originals or copies would be returned immediately, and directly, to you. ************************************************************************ PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM TO ATTEND THE SATURDAY TOUR and/or SUPPER RETURN BY JULY 7th Tour: How many persons? ________Tour is free - a collection will be taken at the end of the trip to pay for gas for the vans. Supper @ $6.00 X _____ No. Persons = $____________Total Children under six will be free. Name:___________________________________________ Address:_________________________________________ City:_____________________________________________ State:________________________Zip Code:____________ E-Mail Address ____________________________________ For Tour and/or Supper Reservations send completed form and check to: James H. Rodgers 2244 Fairview Road Fountain Inn, SC 29644-9217 **** It is of utmost importance that you get your reservation in on time. The caterer must have a count in advance. ************************************************************************ ONE HUNDRED FIFTH ANNIVERSARY - PEDEN REUNION SUNDAY ACTIVITIES Sunday, July 18th On Sunday we will meet in the church sanctuary at 11:30 for the formal meeting, reports and speaker. Registration will begin at 10:30 at the church, and we urge everyone to register. Bring food to share and a picnic lunch will be served on the grounds at 1:00 p.m. The Historical Building will be open at 2:30 p.m. We usually have Pedens and Padens from all over the country, many who have never been here, to come and see the graves and markers of their ancestors, and to see where they lived and worshipped. SUNDAY'S SPEAKER Our speaker this year will be Hooper (Lex) Alexander, IV. He was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. He received a BA in English in l982 from Davidson College, where he was a Samuel H. Bell Honors Scholar, treasurer of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and a four-year member of the Wind Ensemble and Wildcat Pep Band. While he was in college, he worked full-time as a radio disc jockey and producer, first for the college's classical-music station and then for a commercial FM station near Charlotte. After graduation, he moved to New York, where he worked for a small public-relations firm and wrote freelance articles for music magazines. Returning to North Carolina after almost two years, he joined the Statesville Record & Landmark as a reporter. After reporting jobs with newspapers in New Bern and Gastonia, he joined the Greensboro News and Record in l987 as a night police reporter. During 11 years as a reporter, he covered public safety, politics, local and state government, religion and ethics and also spent three years as an investigative-projects specialist. Also during this period, he introduced computer-assisted reporting and database analysis to the newsroom, pioneering the use of computers to report on the U. S. Census in North Carolina, and led the team that produced the newspaper's first Website-among the first newspaper Web sites in the country. In 1998, he was promoted to regional editor and planned recruiting and news coverage for the largest one-time staff and coverage expansion in the newspaper's 108 -year history. In 2000, he became assistant features editor; during the four years he spent in that position, the News & Record's features section won top honors in the nation's largest contest for newspaper feature section and won honorable mention the following year. In the fall of 2001, he became acting assignments editor while a colleague was on maternity leave. On September 11, 2001, he edited the first extra edition to have been published by the News & Record since Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968, and he directed the newspaper's coverage of the aftermath of 9/11 for weeks thereafter. In late 2003 he was named to lead a new investigative-reporting team. A few weeks later, the two reporters on that team both won top honors in the News & Record's annual in-house journalism contest. A member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. since 1991, he has spoken on religion coverage at seminars sponsored by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and on census coverage at an annual seminar sponsored by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. His political reporting, column writing and book reviews have been honored by the North Carolina Press Association. In 1997, he received the Wilbur Award or best religion writing in American daily newspapers outside the top 15 markets and was a finalist the same year for the Religion News-writers Association's award for best religion writing in medium-sized American newspapers. In addition to his work for the News & Record, he has contributed freelance reporting to Newsweek, U. S. News & World Report, and Rolling Stone. He also edited the book "Black Box Voting: Ballot Tampering in the 21st Century:" by Bev Harris, published earlier this year. He is a member of Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church, where he has served as assistant chair of the Pastoral Care Committee and regularly teaches Sunday School. In the community, he has volunteered with the Guilford Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, a network of church-based volunteer teams that minister to people with AIDS and their families. He has been married since 1990 to the former Ruth Ann Farmer. They have two children, Victoria, 6, and Hooper Alexander 5th, 3. ********************************************************************** ACCOMMODATIONS Take Simpsonville, SC, Exit 27 on I-385, all hotel/motels are within 5 miles of Fairview Presbyterian Church. Palmetto Inn, Simpsonville, SC 800-850-7836 Comfort Inn, Simpsonville, SC (864) 963-2777 Holiday Inn Express, Simpsonville, SC (864) 962-8500 Hampton Inn, Simpsonville, SC (864) 963-9292 Days Inn, Simpsonville, SC (864) 963-7701 ************************************************************************ TO PURCHASE BOOKS If you are unable to attend the reunion and would like to purchase a copy of "Fairview Presbyterian Church History" Book by Mary Lou Stewart Garrett, you may do so by sending a request to the church address along with a check for $25.00. Fairview Presbyterian Church, 126 Fairview Church Road, P.O. Box 1664 Fountain Inn, S.C. 29644 If you don't have a "Pedens of America" book, you can purchase one at the reunion for $32.00 or by mail for $35.00. Please send requests to W. S. Peden, Jr., 521 McKelvey Rd, Pelzer, SC 29669 ************************************************************************ For additonal reunion information contact: W. S. Peden, Jr. Phone: (864) 243-5255 James H. Rodgers Phone: (864) 862-4086 E-Mail: [email protected]