Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting/Reunion will be held this Saturday in Statesville, NC. For those wishing to attend in person and those who would like to join us by Zoom, please contact Larry Campbell at soupcan5@yadtel.net before Friday  evening. The education portion will be on the first three John Gaithers.

2022 Reunion Schedule

Our Statesville, NC reunion is fast approaching!  The schedule for the meeting is as follows;

Friday, 4 PM     Meet and greet at the meeting room in the hotel.  Supper will be on your own with Outback and Village Inn Pizza within sight.

Saturday 10 AM   Our program on John Gater I by Nancy Jones and Mary Jane Simpson

Saturday 2 PM Business Meeting

We will attempt to zoom the program and the business meeting. If you would like to try with us, email Larry Campbell (soupcan5@yadtel.net) to get an invitation. Also, if there is enough interest for a Friday morning tour of the Gaither sites and other points of interest, contact the same Larry Campbell.

Jamestowne 2020

Fall is here (Thank Goodness!) and the 400th anniversary of John Gaither’s arrival in Jamestown, Virginia is fast approaching. Larry Campbell and I looked at various venues to host our 2020 reunion while we were in Williamsburg in July. After discussion with the Board, we selected the Best Western Williamsburg Historic District Hotel. The dates for the reunion are

Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020. I am excited to announce that we were able to secure a room rate per night of $135.28 (taxes included). That rate is nearly ½ the amount quoted to us by other facilities. Because of the low cost, we expect our block of rooms to fill up quickly. Make your reservations EARLY! While this hotel is not a destination resort, it has all the amenities - - -pool, fitness center, restaurant, lounge and meeting rooms. Best of all, it has ample parking near your room and is located about one mile from Colonial Williamsburg. It is an easy walk! We will receive a full, hot buffet breakfast with our rooms. You are going to need a full breakfast because you will be busy the remainder of the day! As it stands now, the schedule is as follows: Continue reading

The Society of John Gaither Descendants visits Gaither’s at Myrtle Creek Farm

 
 
COVINGTON — Every year since 1984, the Society of John Gaither Descendants has held a special gathering hosted by a different member. This year, Roy Gaither was in charge of planning the event and chose to have the lunch at Gaither’s at Myrtle Creek Farm in Newton County.
A total of 22 members attended, including Clinton Daly from Baltimore, Marilyn Gaither Ray from Leesburg, Virginia, and Steve Beardslee from Seattle.
 
Attendees were given a tour of the Gaither farmhouse as well as the church and other sites on the property.“It is important to know your family history,” said Beardslee. “I remember when my son asked me where do we come from ...That’s when I decided to find out.” 
 
The Society of John Gaither Descendants is a family organization, founded and incorporated in 1984 in Maryland. In most instances, the Gaither family members in America can trace their ancestry back to John Gater I.
John Gater I, born 1599, was the first Gater/Gaither in America, arriving on the ship “George” in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1620, where he appears on the Muster in 1623, sixth on the list under Sir Francis Wyatt, governor, and again in 1636 on the “Assurance” when resettling in Maryland at the invitation of Lord Baltimore.
It is believed Gater’s first wife was named Joan Morley, and they had two children: Elizabeth, born 1632, who married first John Freeman and later Robert Proctor, and John, born 1634, who married Ruth Beard, daughter of Richard and Rachel (Robbins) Beard. The family remained in Maryland until about the time of the Revolutionary War when some members moved south or west.
Next year for the 400th anniversary, the society will have its annual gathering in Jamestown, Virginia.
To learn more about the society, visit www.johngaither.org.
 
Gaither’s at Myrtle Creek Farm, previously known as Gaither’s Plantation, is a Wildlife Management Area and events facility owned by Newton County where a number of festivals and private events take place.
Newton County acquired Gaither’s Plantation in 1996, and there have been several attempts to make it a more marketable events facility. The property is described as one of a few remaining examples of mid-19th to late 20th century farms and cotton plantations in northeast Georgia. On the site are the Gaither house, circa 1855, a church building, a cabin and some barns. Some of the buildings were moved to the site from other parts of the county. There are also two 19th century cemeteries, the Gaither family cemetery and a slave cemetery. 

Hunter Terrell

Covington native and proud Valdosta State alumna, Hunter has previously worked with The Covington News and Valdosta Daily Times. She started working for Rockdale/Newton Citizen in June 2018.
Roy D. Gaither
 

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Annual Meeting

The Society of John Gaither Descendants
Annual Meeting/Reunion
Stone Mountain Park, Georgia
June 20-23, 2019
Time to make your plans
Arrangements have been made at The Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort, Stone Mountain Park Georgia, for June 20-23, 2019. A special room rate of $160.00 plus state and local taxes (currently 16%) and a $5.00 Georgia Hotel/Motel fee per night has been locked in for all Society Members. Rooms are standard rooms either 1 king or 2 double beds. Continue reading

It’s time to sign-up for the 2018 Gaither Reunion!

Mike and I look forward to celebrating the roots of our Gaither heritage with you. We have many stories to share about the first generations of Gaithers as we visit the very places those events occurred almost 400 years ago! What a wonderful way to commemorate our Society's 35th anniversary. Historic Annapolis is the perfect setting for our celebration. Here are a few pictures I took the other day, on my morning walk, to give you an idea of the fun in store. Hope to see you at the Reunion!

Nancy Jones - 2018 Reunion Host

Why Annapolis, Maryland?

With our upcoming Reunion taking place in Annapolis, Maryland, you may ask yourself - - why was it that John Gaither relocated to Maryland from his Virginia homestead? What could possibly have forced him out of that valuable holding, which he settled as virgin land, and had held for 14 years? Was it a natural disaster, need for better land, adventure? The answer is a broken promise of freedom.

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Abington – The Gaither Family Seat Since 1649

At our June 2018 Reunion in Annapolis, Maryland, a highlight of our activities will be visiting "Abington", the Gaither family seat beginning in 1649 - - 369 years ago!

John Gaither and Robert Proctor were the original patentees of the 875 acres of what they named "Abington". Its size and Gaither family ownership has waxed and waned over the succeeding centuries. While I have not yet completed my research into the chain of title for the property, as late as 1855, a Thomas and Rebecca Gaither sell 46-1/2 acres of Abington, which were conveyed to them by Rezin and Sarah R. Gaither in 1853. Gaithers, by far, have enjoyed the longest period of ownership at over 200 years!

Today, Abington is a horse farm in private hands, with a fraction of the original acreage remaining under that name. In 1975, it was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places. The land's wonderful fundamentals, which surely motivated John Gaither's astute selection, are still apparent.

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