If you missed the 26th annual Coffey Cousins' Reunion, held at Raphine, VA this year, then you missed one of the better gatherings! There were 62 of us who shared dinner on Saturday night, and more than 50 who made the trip to Coffeytown.
The weather was especially ordered by local Coffey families! It could not have been better. There was one short shower - just enough to settle the pollen (sort of!) - but we were all in the meeting room and hardly noticed.
The caterer delivered delicious lunches and cold drinks to us at Coffeytown. We had planned to have lunch inside the church but, the weather was so great everyone found a reasonably comfortably spot outside to "dine."
This countryside is some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen. Wild flowers thrive here, and wildlife is everywhere to be seen. I can understand why these hearty ancestors chose to settle here. Roads are steep and winding, and I'm certain they are in much better condition now than they ever were in those early years. It must have been mild torture for animals as well as man to have made gardens, or traveled to nearby towns. But, both man and beast were compensated for their labors; man by the sheer beauty of the site and for the beasts by the abundant availability of browse.
More photos will be available later on the Coffey Cousins' website
The 2009 Reunion is being planned by Danny Coffey and his wife Glenda, and will be held in Jamestown, Russell Co., KY from May 1-3.
Start planning now to attend. Many of your ancestors came from Russell Co. and well as the surrounding Wayne and Rockcastle counties. If you missed Virginia, you don't want to miss this one!
1 comment:
My name is Domhnall Ó Cobhthaigh, 33 years old, I currently live in Fermanagh, Ireland but know my family came from West Cork within the last hundred years. I would consider myself something of the family historian and understand that the bulk of our cousins live in the Gaeltacht area of Ring, Co Waterford (where there are lots of Coffeys and even a few Ó Cobhthaighs) but there are a few others in other counties in Ireland, Wales and in London. There are not too many of us who made it to the USA although perhaps some descendents of my great-great-grandfather might now live in the USA.
There are, as I'm sure you know, a number of different septs of Coffey's (I speak and use my name in Irish). The bulk of Coffeys in Munster all come from the West Cork sept originally. But there are Coffeys in Fermanagh who I understand originate from the midland sept.
Great to hear our cousins are organised in the USA although I doubt I'll have any chance of meeting up with them with my young family and rising costs.
Anyhow, beirigí bua a chairde!!
Non providentia, sed victoria! donaloc@hotmail.com
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