Origins of the Reesor Family Reunion

When Christian Reesor and Fanny Reiff emigrated to Upper Canada in 1804 (see Reesor History), little did they know that a tradition would be established to honour the event. Yet the Reesor Family Reunion, now held at the end of each decade, has become just that - and much more.

The foundation for our family reunion tradition was established in 1904. That year, descendants of Christian Reesor and Fanny Reiff hosted a family picnic in celebration of the 100th anniversary of their ancestors' settlement in Markham Township, York County, Ontario. Held on Christian Reesor's homestead in the valley of the Little Rouge River at Locust Hill, Ontario, the event attracted close to 1,500 family members.


The Reesor Family Reunion Committee - 1904

More than 20 years passed before plans for another reunion took root. In the summer of 1927, several Reesors from Locust Hill and surrounding communities attended a reunion of the American Branch of their family - the Risser Family - at the original Peter Rieser homestead near Elizabethtown, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They came home with the promise from many of their American cousins that if the Canadian branch would hold a reunion in 1928 they would attend. True to their promise, about thirty cousins from Pennsylvania attended the Canadian reunion and, by all accounts, were given an enthusiastic welcome. The honoured tradition of our American cousins' attendance at our reunion and the reciprocal attendance by Canadian Reesors at the Risser Family Reunion in Pennsylvania continues to this day.

The next Reesor Family reunion will be in 2020. All our Reesor cousins from near and far are invited to attend.

If you would like to register your interest in attending the reunion, Contact Us, identifying the subject of your e-mail as "Reunion". Include your full name and mailing address in your message as well as identification of your branch of the Reesor family - either by reference to your ancestral roots or to page number where you (or they) appear in the 1980 or 2000 Reesor Book.

For further information on determining your Reesor family connections, if any, please see our page on "Lost" Reesor Cousins and the Reesor Index.

We look forward to adding your name and address to our mailing list for the official REUNION ANNOUNCEMENT and to meeting you at the reunion.


Copyright © 2000, 2010 The Reesor Family in Canada Genealogical and Historical Society Incorporated
Markham, Ontario,     e-mail: < cousin@reesorfamily.on.ca>