East Tennessee Historical Society Hosts Genealogy Conference and Family Reunion Celebration The sons and daughters of Tennessee's pioneer founders are heading home this Memorial Day weekend. The East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS) is hosting a weekend-long genealogy conference and family history fair, May 26-28, in Knoxville, Tennessee. A highlight of the conference will be a "family reunion" of members of the society's family heritage project, First Families of Tennessee (FFT)the debut of a new First Families of Tennessee book. Guests attending the conference will face a wide variety of options and activities, including a two-day genealogy conference featuring national and regional experts, a family history fair and street party in downtown Knoxville, motorcoach tours of historic East Tennessee sites, and a "family reunion" dinner at the home of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier. The genealogy conference, held at Knoxville's Hilton Hotel, May 26-27, will examine Southeastern "roots and routes" - focusing on our ancestors and their migrations into and out of East Tennessee. Guest speakers will discuss a variety of topics including Scots-Irish research, Cherokee genealogy, Tennessee land records, Tennesseans in the California gold rush, frontier religion, and more. Experts will also discuss research topics in states associated with Tennessee's earliest residents, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Descendants of Tennessee's first families will celebrate the publication of the East Tennessee Historical Society's newest book, First Families of Tennessee: A Register of Early Settlers and Their Descendants. The book, a tribute to the ancestors enrolled in the FFT project, will include names and vital stats of the more than 2,000 ancestors enrolled in the project, along with a registry of FFT members. The book will be unveiled in a special ceremony and will be available for purchase at the history conference. Guest speakers will include Dr. George K. Schweitzer, Charles Sherrill of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Russell Baker, Robert Davis, historian Walter Durham, and other experts on a variety of genealogical and historical topics. In addition to the multi-track genealogy conference, ETHS will host a genealogy and family history fair featuring mini-workshops for beginners, vendor displays, tours of local historic sites, carriage and trolley rides in downtown Knoxville, and living history demonstrations. The fair will also include a downtown street party outside the historical society's headquarters with live music, dramatic performances, historic reenactments, children's activities and more. While the theme of the weekend will be built around a family reunion of First Families of Tennessee members, attendance at all the events is open to anyone with an interest in history and genealogy. The First Families of Tennessee was founded by the East Tennessee Historical Society in 1993 to honor the state's early residents and to recognize their descendants. The program is open to those who can prove descent from a person living in any part of Tennessee by 1796. Housed in Knoxville's Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, the First Families of Tennessee files provide a one-of-a-kind resource for historical and genealogical research. For additional information about ETHS, the First Families of Tennessee project, or the upcoming genealogy conference and First Families of Tennessee reunion, visit the historical society's website at www.east-tennessee-history.org # # #