121st National Fairbanks Family Reunion
July 15, 2023

Have you always wanted to see the Old Fairbanks House? It is 376 years old and was commissioned to be built by Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks in 1637? No doubt they did some of the work on it themselves. They raised their children in the original four room house, John, George, Mary, Jonas, Susan and Jonathan Jr. The house remained a home for a Fairbanks for eight more generations. In 1904, the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc. turned the house as you see it today into a museum. It is now been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark.

Have you always wanted to attend the National Fairbanks Family reunion? It has been held every year since 1902. At least since 1904, the reunion has been at the old Fairbanks House in Dedham. In 1902 , approximately two-hundred relatives attended. About 85 attended this year.

In this blog, I take you to the 121st National Fairbanks Family Reunion held at the Old House and 1912 Sears Kit House on the property. As the keynote speaker this year, I’ll share highlights of my presentation: Touring West Yorkshire, England: Focus on Our Fairbanks Ancestors” at the end of this blog.

Relatives from as far away as Canada, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Washington, and California and everywhere in between gathered joined us at the reunion. It was a great time meeting new cousins and seeing ones we keep in contact with throughout the year. Even relatives from England expressed a desire to see the House and hear the 2023 presentation.

2023 Events

Wine and Cheese with Our Cousins From Afar

To welcome those who traveled a great distance to meet at their “old home,” the reunion started on the porch of the 1912 Sears and Roebuck catalogue Winsor Kit House on Friday evening.

The first curator lived in a tent on the property for a year before the kit house was constructed. In 1912 the kit house was constructed and used by curators and caretakers of the property for keeping our records, artifacts, and property safe. 

It was a beautiful evening on the lawn of the Old House and porch of the 1912 Kit House. Attendees were welcomed inside the Old House until dusk made it difficult to see. After many years, the House remains without electricity, heating/cooling, or plumbing.

The Fairbanks Board and staff chatted with our cousins into the evening, sharing information on family lines, our history, and famous and artistic forbearers.

Two followers of this website, Fairbankshistory.com attended the wine and cheese event. Jonathan Fairbanks and Melissa Humphries. Jonathan brought his daughter and Melissa brought her mother and two other family members as a family history tour of the area.

Les Fairbanks came with a big family, ten in all, from out of state. He shared knowledge of a house that looks exactly like the original Fairbanks House in England. He promises to share pictures and more information.

We enjoyed the balmy evening together until the light dimmed over the Dedham hills. We said goodbye to prepare for the big reunion day on Saturday.

Reunion Day July 15, 2023

The Fairbanks Garden Club welcomed and registered family members. The garden club tends our beautiful flowerbeds and herbs as Grace Fairbanks would have done herself. They handed out name tags that indicated from which child each attendee descended, making it easy to find others in their line.

The members also received a packet of the 2023 meeting agenda including: 2022 annual meeting minutes, Board of Directors and bios on four new Board of Directors, progress on the Museum Assessment Program of 2021, and how you can support our old home in Dedham, The Fairbanks House.

Everyone was invited to the Fairbanks House gift shop on the 1912 Kit House porch where they could purchase hats, sweatshirts, tee shirts, pictures, books and memorabilia from the Fairbanks House. A favorite, after the clothes, was the Lorenzo Sayles Fairbanks book, The Fairbanks Family in America 1633-1897. It has the multiple lines of descendants and generations of Fairbanks listed genealogically to further your family research. In the back, it has the Revolutionary War Fairbanks listed. All the items available at the reunion are available in the Fairbanks House gift shop online.

Capturing the Smiles of the Family

Directors

Descendants of John

Descendants of George

Descendant of Mary

A multi-family group of Mary Fairbanks’ descendants were able to tour the Fairbanks House on Friday, but couldn’t stay for the reunion.

Descendants of Jonas

Descendants of Susan

Descendants of Jonathan Jr.

Mingling at Lunch

Lunch was held at the American Legion Post 18 Building in Dedham, Massachusetts, a short walk from the Fairbanks grounds.

You can see we were having lots of fun. What’s so exiting in the back ground? An attendee brought his new puppy. Jonathan’s family likely had dogs and barn cats as well as horses, cows, etc.

Families seeing families and meeting new cousins. Sharing our heritage and histories. Coming together.

Jonathan and Grace couldn’t have imagined that their family would “Last Forever” when they were building their family in the 1600s.

Calling the Family Together

As true patriots, the Fairbanks Family came together with an invocation, Pledge of Alegiance, and “God Bless America.” Remarks and reports were given by the Executive Board Members: Jim Holman, President, Liz Hunter, Vice-President, Debbie Hurtig, Treasurer, and Jeff Blood, Secretary. (As seen pictured above.)

New members on the board were announced and reports were given by our staff: Jeff Miller, PhD, Curator; Kathleen Milster, Visitor Services Coordinator; and Pam Carleton, Office Manager.

Who Takes the Prize?

Verna Brem, Oldest Cousin, 92 years. Only beating out the next oldest by a few months.

Sadie Blood, Youngest Cousin, 4 months held by her mother, Laura.

Jenny Whittier traveled the longest distance, from Washington State, to attend.

Keynote Presentation

Touring West Yorkshire England: Focus on Our Fairbanks Ancestors
by Sharmin Fairbanks McKenny

The Keynote presentation was about the land, churches, and homes of the Fairbanks Family in West Yorkshire, England. It also presented the birth place of the Fairbanks name as we know it today through George Redmond a noted English historian and scholar who wrote Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames..

I, Sharmin Fairbanks McKenny, the presenter of the Keynote presentation, and the webmaster for this blog, am currently working to post this presentation on YouTube. Sign up for the monthly blog post notifications at Fairbankshistory.com to be notified when this presentation is posted on YouTube.

During the presentation the younger audience was asked to find the sheep pictured on the slides. When found, the youth were to mark a prepared card and could receive a sucker and sticker as a prize at the end.

My young audience shared their artistry on the cards. I’d like to share it with you. They must have enjoyed the presentation. One made smiley faces, two found the similarities of the gibbet or guillotine to the game of Hangman, one remembers I lost my glasses and thought that a sheep had found them, and another showed the sheep mowing the church cemetery. Thanks to my young audience.

We need to make history, particularly our heritage, interesting to the young generation. They don’t need to remember the dates and all the names. It’s not so important that they remember dates and all the names, They need to remember and enjoy the story of their heritage and that of their country.

Throughout the day a docent led tours through the old house for those who have never seen it and for those who wanted to see the recent improvements in the way it is being presented.

Walking into the Old Fairbanks House is like walking into the past. When you open the door to leave, you realize just how much the world has changed.

Thank You and Appreciation

Thank you to The Fairbanks House for inviting me to share my England experiences at this reunion and for the hard work to present a one of a kind experience for all who came. I witnessed how hard they worked first hand. They are not paid, they volunteer their time year round.

Thanks to all my family, friends, and followers who attended and those who couldn’t but encouraged me to make the presentation available after the reunion.

Thanks to Donna Russo who was the main photographer for the event. She has held important positions at the Fairbanks House in the past and still has a strong interest in the House and family. Thanks to Cheryl Matthew, a new Board Member, who also took some pictures for this blog.

A big thanks for all who volunteer their time to keep this national treasure open for everyone to visit and to experience the lives of the first Fairbanks in America. There are few paid employees, and those who are paid, work with genuine care for the house and family.

Equally a huge thanks to all those who support the House and the family endeavors to save our heritage for our descendants and all descendants of those who helped build this nation. Your membership and donations help make this all happen.

Come join your cousins next year at the 122nd National Fairbanks Family Reunion, We look forward to seeing you and getting to know you better. Watch the Fairbanks House website: Fairbankshouse.org for times and date for next year. Be a part of your rich well-documented and preserved heritage.

What’s Up?

The Fairbanks Family: An American Art Dynasty
June 21, 2023- December 2, 2023
The Fairbanks Family: An American Art Dynasty celebrates generations of artists in the Fairbanks Family, and their contributions to Utah, American, and international art.

Next Up!

Back to 1600s Fairbanks History
with the Indigenous People who lived on the land
before, during, and even after the original family.

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