80th Ingalls Family Reunion meeting minutes
The 80th Ingalls Family Reunion was held on Saturday, October 18, 2008, at the United Methodist Church of Greenville and Norton Hill. It was 29 degrees at 7:00 a.m., warming up to 55 degrees in the afternoon. It was mostly sunny, with a light breeze. Beautiful fall foliage welcomed the seventy-five relatives who attended the Reunion.
The Hattie Winans Family hosted. Juliet (Judy) Perry Brown outdid herself decorating the hall for the occasion. At the end of the day, people were invited to purchase the lovely autumn-themed decorations and table clothes, and the money was donated to the Reunion fund. Thank you, Judy!
Krista Ingalls Haushalter, Historian, again displayed albums of old family photographs and the autograph quilt she is making for the family. Copies of the 2003 Genealogy and History of the Jacob Ingalls Family were available at a cost of twelve dollars each. This year, the family went “high tech,” in that Krista’s new son-in-law, Timothy Meade, had a laptop with the Genealogy loaded on it. If someone wanted to ascertain if their family’s information was up-to-date, all they had to do was consult with Krista, Tim, and the laptop.
Shortly after 12:00 noon, Flora Ingalls Holderbaum, President, rang the cowbell from Jacob Ingalls’ homestead, and asked that everyone gather for a group photograph. Following this, Walter Ingalls said grace, and everyone enjoyed a buffet of delicious “pot luck” supplied by the family members.
After the meal, Flora called the meeting to order by ringing the cowbell a second time. She thanked Reverend Carney for the use of the church hall, Janet Lockwood for helping out in the kitchen for the thirtieth year, and the members of the Hattie Winans Family for hosting.
The individual who traveled the farthest to attend the Reunion was Debra Perry. She came from Geneva, Switzerland, where she has been living since May. She spoke briefly about her work for the United Nations’ International Labor Office, assisting people with disabilities in developing nations. Prior to moving to work in the UN headquarters in Geneva, she spent eight years serving in Bangkok, Thailand. Debra is from the Eleanor Ingalls Winegard Branch of the family. Marjorie Dedie noted that Debra has followed somewhat in the footsteps of another relative, Pearl E. Palmer, who worked as a Methodist missionary for many years in India. Pearl, who is deceased, was a member of the Diantha Ingalls Smith Branch.
The youngest person present was Sophia Grace Ellis, the daughter of Charlene and Curtis Ellis. Sophia , 17 months old, also came from a great distance this past year, when she was adopted from her native Kazakhstan. The oldest person present was Shirley Spad, 85. Other than Sophia, there was no one else who was attending an Ingalls Family Reunion for the first time.
The Secretary, Paige Ingalls, read the minutes from last year’s Reunion, which were approved as written. She shared correspondence received during the past year, which included a postcard from Jerrene (Jeri) and Ronald Carford, who just returned from a cruise on the Baltic, congratulating everyone on the 80th Reunion. Paige also sent around a folder with “Ingallsiana” and the book for everyone to sign.
The Treasurer, Kevin Ingalls, gave his report:
There was $1,595.57 in the account, which included the day’s income and dispersals. (This total increased by $96.00, when the sale of Genealogies was added in later.)
The Collection totaled $347.00.
Dispersals totaling $337.76 were made for--
Food and supplies bought by the
host family
Printing and mailing of the invitations
Janet Lockwood’s services
Rental of the church hall
Guest Speaker ($100.00)
Kevin noted that the family is solvent, and it was moved and seconded to accept the treasurer’s report.
Flora asked that “old business” be addressed. Krista reminded the group she had copies of the three Ingalls archival type legal documents pertaining to land indentures from the late 1700s and their transcriptions available for purchase by interested family members for twenty dollars, with the proceeds going to the Reunion fund.
Flora then asked those present to address “new business.” The Warren and Clarence Ingalls Families volunteered to host next year’s Reunion, which it was agreed will be held on Saturday, October 17, 2009.
Officers were elected for next year:
President-- Gary Elliott
Vice President-- Ramona Ellis Fawkes
Secretary-- Paige Ingalls
Treasurer-- Kevin Ingalls
Historian-- Krista Ingalls Haushalter
Krista’s daughter, Laura Haushalter Meade, gave the report of births, deaths, and marriages. It was noted that the Walter Ingalls family lost their beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Shirley Burnett Ingalls, in July. Shirley was a great supporter of the Reunion through the years.
Laura also led the Roll Call of Families, and these were the results:
Enoch Ingalls Branch 0
Henry Ingalls Branch 1
John Ingalls Branch 3
Lucinda Ingalls Hunt Branch 5
Eleanor Ingalls Winegard Branch 21
Diantha Ingalls Smith Branch 5
Joseph Truman Ingalls Branch 14
Ransom Benjamin Ingalls Branch 32
William Henry Harrison Ingalls Branch 2
Thaddeus Warsaw Ingalls Branch 0
Cyrus Ingalls (Westerlo) Branch 0
For the “entertainment,” Marianne Greenfield of the Association for Gravestone Studies gave a PowerPoint presentation, “An Historic Look at Death and Dying through Cemetery Art.” Following the meeting, she accompanied family members to Locust Cemetery to look at the gravestones of Jacob Ingalls (June 27, 1764 – October 17, 1841) and his father, Joseph Ingalls, Jr. (June 8, 1744 – March 2, 1813). She noted that old cemeteries are not meant to look shiny and new, but, rather, to be visited and learned from, almost like an outdoor museum. Resetting and straightening gravestones is the simplest and most important thing to do, if warranted. Old stones should NOT be cleaned, except by an experienced practitioner of gravestone conservation, which is rather costly.
Ms. Greenfield pointed out there is no magic cure for aging, and our ancestor Jacob has one of the millions of marble tablet stones quarried from a poor vein of white stone, not true marble. It doesn't weather well and hasn't stood the test of time. Nothing will bring it back to its original clarity. As we already have a rubbing of it and have the information on the stone, the only thing that we might do to prevent further weathering is to remove it from its present location and house it permanently in a museum or similar location. We could place another stone or bronze plaque on a stone at the site of the original stone with the grave occupant data. She felt that the marker from the Sons of the American Revolution at the gravesite is helpful for identification purposes.
At the conclusion of Ms. Greenfield’s talk, she recommended family members take digital photographs of the family’s gravestones, which can be burned onto a DVD for posterity. She said she would donate one-half the cost of having a DVD made to the Ingalls Reunion fund, if we would like to use her services.
Should we decide to pursue this, Ms. Greenfield may be reached, as follows:
Marianne Greenfield
3 Franklin St.
Delhi, NY 13753-1107
Flora thanked all who attended and closed the meeting. She also invited everyone to return next year, for the 81st Ingalls Family Reunion.