RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 23, 2011
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
On 2 March 2011, Texas will mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of its Declaration of Independence from Mexico. Important places connected to the historic event, such as the Alamo, will be sponsoring at various times an assortment of festivities in commemoration.
Also celebrating the occasion are the descendants of Martin PALMER/PARMER (1778 - 1850), a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. They will hold their bi-annual family reunion on 25-27 February 2011 in Navasota and in Washington-on-the-Brazos. Persons attending the gathering will be able to enjoy the two days of free activities in Washington-on-the-Brazos. For more information and a detailed schedule, go to http://www.starmuseum.org/TIDC2011.htm.
During the family banquet on 26 February, guest speaker Kameron Searle will discuss Martin Parmer’s signing of the document and why his role was so important. Searle will also share new and interesting trivia about Martin, who was known as the “Ring-tailed Panther.”
On 27 February, descendants of the signers of the Declaration will be recognized at the amphitheater in the park at Washington-on-the-Brazos. At 2:15 p. m., a dramatic presentation of the Declaration and a roll call of the signers’ names will take place, with a “response” from descendants. Members of the Parmer family hope to outnumber descendants of all other families at this event.
A block of rooms has been reserved under the name “Palmer Group” at Comfort Inn & Suites, 9845 State Highway 6 Loop South, in Navasota. Reservations should be made before 1 February. Call 936-825-9464 and mention that you are with the Palmer group. For more information about the reunion, call Valerie Wood at 903-536-2229 or e-mail her at [email protected].
For updates and general data pertaining to Martin Palmer/Parmer, visit the website at http://martinparmer.tripod.com. To keep in touch with family members and share photographs, you can follow relatives on www.facebook.com by logging in and searching for “The Parmer Palmer Family.”
Centerville, Texas, has long been the home of the Leon County Genealogical Society (LCGS), which publishes the quarterly, The Leon Hunters Dispatch. The interesting periodical completed its thirty-first year of publication in 2010. Its contents continue to encompass a wide assortment of genealogical material, queries, family group sheets, and pedigree charts submitted by members.
Examples of topics in the issues printed in 2010 are the family of Hester White MCADAMS; Daniel Solomon WARD, a Confederate soldier; a partial roster of the officers and men raised in Leon County for Confederate service; the reproduction of the 1877-1878 journal of druggist, B. F. CROWELL; David M. BROWN, the first Leon County judge; a list of obituaries in area newspapers in 2009; a roster of the names of the judges in Leon County, 1846—to the present; and the early LATHROP family of Shelby and Leon counties, Texas, and allied lines. Every issue is indexed.
If you are researching ancestors in this area, you may find it worthwhile to become a member of the organization so you can receive the quarterly. To join, mail a check for the annual dues of $25 to Leon County Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 400, Centerville, Texas 75833.