There will be a family reunion June 18, 19 and 20 for family related to or descended from James Alexander HURST and Malinda DAVIS, including descendants of their daughter Susan Permelia HURST and her husband James Jackson GRAY. Due to having lost contact with the other lines of this family, the reunions of the past have primarily been attended by descendants of Susan and James -- but we're hoping to expand this to include *all* those who are related to the HURST, DAVIS & GRAY lines now that we've located many of the branches. The reunion will be held in Tygh Valley, south of The Dalles. Please email me for more information & directions to the reunion. James & Malinda (DAVIS) HURST were among the early pioneers of Linn Co., arriving in September 1851 from their most recent home in Missouri. Previous to that their families had traveled through & lived in TN, KY and IL. James & Malinda were newlyweds when they set out for the west. They obtained a Donation Land Claim for 317.76 acres, Township 12S, Range 1W, Section 28 in Linn Co. in 1854. (I would love to know what the township name was & where that is located if anyone knows), then moved on to an area south of The Dalles by 1860. I suspect that some of the family that migrated to Oregon with them may have remained in Linn Co., since members of the group that went to Wasco Co., returned to Linn Co. later. I'm anxious to learn more about their traveling companions & what happened to their Linn Co. property after James & Malinda went to Wasco Co. We know that some of James' HURST family came west & settled in Oregon & Washington, although we aren't certain that those other HURSTs traveled with mine. Most if not all of the HURSTs in those two states are related in some way, so if you're related to a HURST who came west, you're probably related to us. We'd love to have you at the reunion! We also have reason to believe that some of the DAVIS family migrated with them, so if you have DAVIS kin who traveled the same path, please get in touch with me. James & Malinda had 14 children. Some of the collateral lines that resulted include: Cowsert, Patterson, Gray, Love, Bowles, Brown, Reynolds, Dickens (descended from the writer, Charles), Buffington, and Bay. I'd be delighted to share all info I possess with anyone wishing to exchange data on these lines... Cheri