2010 Bemister Family Reunion - Carbonear, Newfoundland
Draft - open for suggestions
Game Plan - First Draft -
Schedule of events for the Carbonear Reunion.
Our objectives are:
∙ to celebrate the history and heritage of the Bemister family rooted in Carbonear and Freshwater, Newfoundland expressed through the lives of the ancestor as reflected in stories, artifacts, grave stones and historical documentation
∙ to provide an enjoyable and informative occasion to meet family members from far and wide
∙ to expand our knowledge of family genealogy and to disseminate this to our participating family members; to engage family members of all ages in building the family tree
∙ to show off some of Newfoundland’s historic sites, communities, local culture, and beauty spots with particular attention to the ancestral connections to same
∙ to enhance our knowledge of the West Country connection to Carbonear and the Bemister connection to it; to develop an appreciation of why the Bemisters came to Carbonear 200 years ago and why over time so many of them left
∙ to have one hell of a good time
Tentative Program of Activities
Most activities are scheduled for the Royal Canadian Legion
Friday, Aug 6, 2010
11:00 am Meeting of organizing committee
12:00 noon Lunch for organizing committee
1:00 pm Registration begins and continues through the day, sale of T-shirts etc
NL tourist info available, info on Carbonear
2:00 pm Activities;
∙ Roots, Trunks and Branches; how to read the family tree,
exchange of genealogical information
∙ Local bus tour; Carbonear, Harbour Grace, Freshwater
∙ Short bus tour to Brigus/Cupids
∙ Boat ride to Carbonear Island
∙ Walking tour of Carbonear; or self guided tour
∙ Youth program (?)
5:00 pm Free time
7:00 pm Reception
Meet and Greet
to Grand Opening
Greetings by public officials (Mayor, MHA, MP etc)
12:00 pm Newfoundland Time - Kitchen Party
Saturday, Aug 7, 2010
7:00 am Traditional Newfoundland Breakfast Buffet
8:00 pm Registration
8:30 pm Long bus tours
A. to North Shore
B: to Brigus and Cupids
Box lunches provided
9:00 am Activities
∙ Boat ride to Carbonear Island
∙ Workshop; The Bemisters and the Carbonear Fishery
(could include panel of knowledgeable people - eg Alan Perry who could be invited as our guest - and be guest speaker!!!
∙ Walking tour of Carbonear
12:00 noon Lunch
2:00 pm Activities
∙ Story time: who were the Bemisters? Show and tell, the Bemister’s Travelling Museum on display
∙ Bus tour of Carbonear, Harbour Grace and Freshwater
including Bemister’s Hill, Sheila’s grave, museum etc
∙ Boat ride to Carbonear Island
∙ Youth program
5:00 pm Free time
7:00 pm Dinner and Social Evening
Group Photo (?)
Traditional Newfoundland dinner - banquet style
Choice of seafood or turkey
Toasts
Stories
Guest Speaker (who?)
1:00 am DJ ?
Sunday, Aug 8, 2010
9:00 am Boat tour to Carbonear Island
11:00 am Bethany United Church Service
12:00 pm Lunch at the Church (pay as you go)
2:00 pm Activities
∙ Cemetery Tour
∙ Boat tour of Carbonear Island
∙ Boat tour Dildo Island Archeological Site
Cog jigging if possible
4:00 pm Formal end of reunion
Check our our companion website
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wimborne Minster, Dorset
The Parish Church of Wimborne Minster, Dorset has a enduring significance for the Bemister Family of Carbonear.It was on the 30th of May 1785, in the Minster - as it is locally known - that John Bemister married Mary Willis. John had been baptised there on the 13th of November, 1747.
It would be two of the three sons that John & Mary raised at nearby Lambsgreen Farm - a location that is now a popular pub and eatery surrounded by farmland - that would eventually establish the family in Newfoundland as young lads. The first to accept an apprenticeship in the Newfoundland with a merchant was William Willis Bemister, when he was 14. His younger brother Edward Smith Bemister joined him and both became established in their own firm in Carbonear eventually.
The descendants of the Bemisters of Carbonear are all related to one of these two men.
Wimborne Minster has served as a place of workship for centuries, in fact the history predating the current Norman structure dates to its foundation by Cuthburga, sister of Ine, King of the West Saxons in 718.
In 871 Alfred the Great buried his older brother King Ethelred I of England, in the minster.
An historical overview is now available of one of the early stages of the Minster when it operated as the Collegiate Church of Wimborne Minster.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Everton House - St. John's, Newfoundland
A really interesting site is that of Everton House, now a very fine B & B, which Hon John Bemister had built in 1891 and passed on to his daughter Hannah m. to H. J. B. Woods. HJB and Hannah had 7 daughters two of whom were grandmothers of members of our St. John’s organizing committee! Everton House graciously hosted a meeting of our committee last summer and we had a delicious afternoon tea with a Woods family group photo gazing down on us. This was a link with the past for sure, and we are proposing to have some activity here during the 2009 festivities. If you are going to NL sometime be sure to check it out.
http://www.evertonhouse.com/ (604) 929 5724 bemister_electric@vancity.com
Building the family tree and telling the family story
We would like to ask for your help in building the family tree and telling the family story. We are attaching a family group record form, which you could use as a guide to recording information on your own immediate family. Please enter full names, given names, dates, places, etc. Photocopy to produce other forms as needed - one for each nuclear family. We will be updating our wall charts from previous reunions - and producing a mini family tree to show how all those at our events are related.
It would be a great help if you could send us names and addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of other family members who might be interested in attending any of these events. And it would be a real boost if you could pass on the information to others in your family and bring a group!
We would be delighted to get feedback on future activities - including a dinner in Vancouver in 2008 a picnic there as well in 2009 and a proposed major weekend reunion in Carbonear in 2010. We hope you will continue to support our Bemister family project that will certainly leave a proud legacy for our children.
Yours sincerely
Cameron Hopkins
For the Organizing Committee
It would be a great help if you could send us names and addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of other family members who might be interested in attending any of these events. And it would be a real boost if you could pass on the information to others in your family and bring a group!
We would be delighted to get feedback on future activities - including a dinner in Vancouver in 2008 a picnic there as well in 2009 and a proposed major weekend reunion in Carbonear in 2010. We hope you will continue to support our Bemister family project that will certainly leave a proud legacy for our children.
Yours sincerely
Cameron Hopkins
For the Organizing Committee
OTHER EVENTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA & NEWFOUNDLAND
We are planning to hold further reunions in Vancouver, BC in May 2008 and in Carbonear, Newfoundland in August 2010. The event in Vancouver will likely be a dinner similar to the one we held in 2003. We have an active organizing committee in Newfoundland doing preliminary work on a major weekend event to be held in St. John’s and Carbonear two years down the road. Do tell us if you are interested in either of these activities and we will be sure to keep you informed.
Over the past 10 years since the first small Bemister event at Lorne and Martha Innes’s home in Mississauga, we have had no less than 8 Bemister events in Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and England with a total participation of about 400. We now have within our extended family 7th cousins! We have an amazing diversity amongst the progeny of John and Mary Bemister of Corfe Mullen who have spread all across North America – and who seem to have had a wonderful time getting to know one another at our various reunions.
So we will be thrilled to have you and your immediate family take part in our grand project, help build our family tree and keep our family traditions alive!
TO REGISTER
To register or to express an interest in our Bemister Pot Luck Supper please return one of the enclosed forms with a cheque or money order payable to the Bemisters of Carbonear as soon as possible - and certainly not later than July 15. To register please send $20 per adult and $10 per youth along with your registration form. Children under 12 can attend for free. If you cannot attend, do sign up in the Bemisters of Carbonear anyway - and stay in touch! A family membership of $10 keeps you on the mailing list and we will send out further information as plans unfold
We welcome donations which will help to support these events and otherwise promote the objectives of the Bemisters of Carbonear - such as advancing our knowledge of family history and genealogy, producing regular newsletters, and setting up a Web site, repairing older headstones and organizing future family reunions. If you make a donation of $50 or more we will be glad to send you a beautiful Newfoundland pictorial calendar. For a donation of $100 or more we will provide you with a copy of Elizabeth Squire’s “They Lived by the Sea” which has lots and lots of information on our ancestors – especially Bemisters and related families in the Carbonear area.
Contact - Bemisters of Carbonear,
lchopkins@shaw.ca
c/o Cameron Hopkins, 246 River Street, Ganonoque, ON
Cameron Hopkins (BC) (250) 962 1967
(After Jun 1, ON) (613) 382 7166
Over the past 10 years since the first small Bemister event at Lorne and Martha Innes’s home in Mississauga, we have had no less than 8 Bemister events in Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and England with a total participation of about 400. We now have within our extended family 7th cousins! We have an amazing diversity amongst the progeny of John and Mary Bemister of Corfe Mullen who have spread all across North America – and who seem to have had a wonderful time getting to know one another at our various reunions.
So we will be thrilled to have you and your immediate family take part in our grand project, help build our family tree and keep our family traditions alive!
TO REGISTER
To register or to express an interest in our Bemister Pot Luck Supper please return one of the enclosed forms with a cheque or money order payable to the Bemisters of Carbonear as soon as possible - and certainly not later than July 15. To register please send $20 per adult and $10 per youth along with your registration form. Children under 12 can attend for free. If you cannot attend, do sign up in the Bemisters of Carbonear anyway - and stay in touch! A family membership of $10 keeps you on the mailing list and we will send out further information as plans unfold
We welcome donations which will help to support these events and otherwise promote the objectives of the Bemisters of Carbonear - such as advancing our knowledge of family history and genealogy, producing regular newsletters, and setting up a Web site, repairing older headstones and organizing future family reunions. If you make a donation of $50 or more we will be glad to send you a beautiful Newfoundland pictorial calendar. For a donation of $100 or more we will provide you with a copy of Elizabeth Squire’s “They Lived by the Sea” which has lots and lots of information on our ancestors – especially Bemisters and related families in the Carbonear area.
Contact - Bemisters of Carbonear,
lchopkins@shaw.ca
c/o Cameron Hopkins, 246 River Street, Ganonoque, ON
Cameron Hopkins (BC) (250) 962 1967
(After Jun 1, ON) (613) 382 7166
ONTARIO PICNIC – SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2007
This year we Bemisters of Carbonear are organizing an exciting family picnic and pot luck supper at a lovely rural location in southern Ontario – just a bit north east of Toronto. We hope you will join dozens of other members of your extended family and become acquainted with our proud family heritage rooted in the West Country, England and Freshwater and Carbonear, Newfoundland.
Our Bemister Family Picnic will be held at the Goodwood Community Centre in Goodwood, Ontario, on Sunday, August 5.
In the mid afternoon we will be organizing activities for children who would like to take part, providing information on family history and genealogy for those who are interested in our heritage, and giving lots of opportunity for Bemisters of all ages to renew friendships and meet new cousins - however far removed. We hope to have our Bemister travelling museum with its marvellous collection of family treasures – artifacts* as we say - and stories to go with them, lots of boards with family trees and pictures, and we will be bringing out a special edition of the Bemister Bulletin in honour of the occasion. Also we will have Newfoundland music and videos on hand.
Now the way we are keeping costs down is to run our event as a POT LUCK SUPPER – so you get to contribute a favourite dish to captivate your cousins. Now this can be a family traditional dish or not – we are sure it will all be delicious. What about Capt. Willis Bemister’s fish chowder? Or Aunt Stella’s Boston doughnuts? Or Obadiah Gilbert Joyce’s baked beans? Or Aunt Maria Shepherd’s spinach salad? Not to mention George Bartlett Bemister’s Railway stew, Granny Ladner’s Methodist butter tarts or Hon John Bemister’s cod au gratin? Well, you get the idea. We can have a wonderful meal with contributions from all branches of our family.
The cost will be a very modest $20 for each adult 18 and over, $10 for youths between 12 and 18 and 12 free. The fee includes a family membership in the Bemisters of Carbonear - which will keep you on the mailing list and ensure you get our newsletters, notification of future activities, and a wonderful buffet dinner. We will supply tea, coffee and soft drinks.
The nearest accommodations are B & B’s in Uxbridge area or motels in or near the other communities mentioned below. Goodwood is about a half hour drive NE of Toronto – and accessible from Highways 401, 404 or 407. The community is E of Markham, W of Uxbridge, NW of Oshawa and Whitby and easily found on MapQuest (try typing Goodwood for the area map or just zoom in from Toronto – Markham area). There are also motels to be found in Newmarket, Stouffville and other communities E of Toronto.
Do return the interest / registration form - with your cheque NOT LATER THAN July 15. We will get back to you with additional information closer to the event. You can also communicate with us by e-mail or telephone if you wish.
On Saturday, August 4, we are willing to co-ordinate some additional activities for folks from afar if there is sufficient interest. These activities might include a lunch downtown, some sight seeing with a Bemister flavour, and perhaps a ball game. But all this is outside the family picnic which stands on its own on Sunday, August 5. Local tourist information will be provided at the reunion as well as Toronto area Bemister grave locations and other Bemister sites that may be of interest.
This should be a great event for the whole family and we are sure you will enjoy meeting the dozens of other descendants of John and Mary Bemister of Corfe Mullen who are likely to attend. This picnic is a real winner!
Artifact – an object made by a human being, for example, a tool or ornament, especially one that has archaeological or cultural interest – viz. interest to the descendents of John and Mary Bemister, needless to say!
Contact - Bemisters of Carbonear,
lchopkins@shaw.ca
c/o Cameron Hopkins, 246 River Street, Ganonoque, ON
Cameron Hopkins (BC) (250) 962 1967
(After Jun 1, ON) (613) 382 7166
Our Bemister Family Picnic will be held at the Goodwood Community Centre in Goodwood, Ontario, on Sunday, August 5.
In the mid afternoon we will be organizing activities for children who would like to take part, providing information on family history and genealogy for those who are interested in our heritage, and giving lots of opportunity for Bemisters of all ages to renew friendships and meet new cousins - however far removed. We hope to have our Bemister travelling museum with its marvellous collection of family treasures – artifacts* as we say - and stories to go with them, lots of boards with family trees and pictures, and we will be bringing out a special edition of the Bemister Bulletin in honour of the occasion. Also we will have Newfoundland music and videos on hand.
Now the way we are keeping costs down is to run our event as a POT LUCK SUPPER – so you get to contribute a favourite dish to captivate your cousins. Now this can be a family traditional dish or not – we are sure it will all be delicious. What about Capt. Willis Bemister’s fish chowder? Or Aunt Stella’s Boston doughnuts? Or Obadiah Gilbert Joyce’s baked beans? Or Aunt Maria Shepherd’s spinach salad? Not to mention George Bartlett Bemister’s Railway stew, Granny Ladner’s Methodist butter tarts or Hon John Bemister’s cod au gratin? Well, you get the idea. We can have a wonderful meal with contributions from all branches of our family.
The cost will be a very modest $20 for each adult 18 and over, $10 for youths between 12 and 18 and 12 free. The fee includes a family membership in the Bemisters of Carbonear - which will keep you on the mailing list and ensure you get our newsletters, notification of future activities, and a wonderful buffet dinner. We will supply tea, coffee and soft drinks.
The nearest accommodations are B & B’s in Uxbridge area or motels in or near the other communities mentioned below. Goodwood is about a half hour drive NE of Toronto – and accessible from Highways 401, 404 or 407. The community is E of Markham, W of Uxbridge, NW of Oshawa and Whitby and easily found on MapQuest (try typing Goodwood for the area map or just zoom in from Toronto – Markham area). There are also motels to be found in Newmarket, Stouffville and other communities E of Toronto.
Do return the interest / registration form - with your cheque NOT LATER THAN July 15. We will get back to you with additional information closer to the event. You can also communicate with us by e-mail or telephone if you wish.
On Saturday, August 4, we are willing to co-ordinate some additional activities for folks from afar if there is sufficient interest. These activities might include a lunch downtown, some sight seeing with a Bemister flavour, and perhaps a ball game. But all this is outside the family picnic which stands on its own on Sunday, August 5. Local tourist information will be provided at the reunion as well as Toronto area Bemister grave locations and other Bemister sites that may be of interest.
This should be a great event for the whole family and we are sure you will enjoy meeting the dozens of other descendants of John and Mary Bemister of Corfe Mullen who are likely to attend. This picnic is a real winner!
Artifact – an object made by a human being, for example, a tool or ornament, especially one that has archaeological or cultural interest – viz. interest to the descendents of John and Mary Bemister, needless to say!
Contact - Bemisters of Carbonear,
lchopkins@shaw.ca
c/o Cameron Hopkins, 246 River Street, Ganonoque, ON
Cameron Hopkins (BC) (250) 962 1967
(After Jun 1, ON) (613) 382 7166
Bemisters of Carbonear 2007 Family Reunion
ONTARIO FAMILY PICNIC & POT LUCK SUPPER
Sunday, August 5, 2007
GOODWOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE, GOODWOOD, ONTARIO
3:00 pm to 8:00 pm
3:00 pm family fun
children’s activities
family history and genealogy
show and tell
family photos
Newfoundland music
Bemister travelling museum
(Please bring artifacts!)
5:00 pm Pot Luck Supper
COST: $20 for adults / $10 for youth (12 – 18) / children free
Sunday, August 5, 2007
GOODWOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE, GOODWOOD, ONTARIO
3:00 pm to 8:00 pm
3:00 pm family fun
children’s activities
family history and genealogy
show and tell
family photos
Newfoundland music
Bemister travelling museum
(Please bring artifacts!)
5:00 pm Pot Luck Supper
COST: $20 for adults / $10 for youth (12 – 18) / children free
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)