Martha Carrier and her Family

If you have a few good photos of the reunion, please post them here (insert in post using the photo button on the form), or email to info@marthacarrier.org, and I’ll post.

Here are a couple I took:

Kathleen Kent at the Hawthorne

Priscilla (Carrier Smalser), Jim and Doug Carrier

Kudos to the Carrier clan for making last weekend a real hoot! 8 members from our “twig” of the vast Carrier Tree made the 4 hour journey to Salem last weekend for the reunion & had a great time! It was nice to meet our cousins from around the country & finally put some faces to the names. I managed to scale a couple of brick walls with your help. Thank you ALL!
Bob (Thomas – Richard – Amos – Amaziah – John M. – Daniel S. – George H. – George L. – Joan P. Carrier) Smith

It was a Great CARRIER Reunion, Thank you Kathleen Kent.

I’m sending in my last order to the printer on Friday. If you want a sweatshirt or T-shirt email me at art@juliannacameron.com for ordering procedures.

sweatshirts 30.00 plus 5.00 shipping….. poppy red, perwinkle blue, washed purple or mocha.

t-shirts 20. plus 3.00 shipping…..blue grass color.

all 100% cotton.

In January 1999 I started a Carrier genealogy mailing list on Rootsweb.com. We have over 70 members subscribed, most are descendants of Thomas and Martha but a few  from the W. John Carrier line from Virginia early 1700′s. Several of the list members were at the reunion in Salem.

We could use some new members so feel free to sign up.

To subscribe:  to join CARRIER-L, send mail to CARRIER-L-request@rootsweb.com with the single word subscribe in the message subject and body.

To join CARRIER-D, do the same thing with CARRIER-D-request@rootsweb.com.

Old messages are archived at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=carrier

Neal Carrier

The Salem News published a nice article on our gathering Monday, Nov. 8, with a photo taken at our memorial service. Here’s a link.

Salem News Photo by Ken Yuszkus

If you have comments about the weekend, or photos, please email or post here directly.

Updated with Saturday afternoon memorial and guided trolley tour

Here are the details of the Carrier Family Reunion November 5th and 6th, 2010 in Salem, Mass.

Over 250 descendents of Martha Carrier arrive in Salem this weekend for talks, tours, and visits with cousins. There are Carrier descendants coming from all over the country; Washington state, Oregon, Florida, New England, and points in between.

Here is the new, updated schedule:

Friday, Nov 5th  8:00 – 11:00 p.m. Reception at the Salem Waterfront Hotel
225 Derby Street, Salem 978)740-8788
Hot & Cold hors d’oevres, coffee, tea, cold drinks
Cash bar for the adults. There will be a crowd of us at the Friday night reception, so I would ask for your patience while getting signed into the visitor’s book (a Red Book, of course) at the door.

There will be a giant “family tree” for signatures
to see where we all fit together
Copies of The Wolves of Andover will be
Provided by Little Brown & Co
(one copy per family)

Saturday, Nov. 6th  10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Kathleen Kent to talk about the research and writing of The Heretic’s Daughter and The Wolves
of Andover; Open to Carrier descendents
media, and press
Hawthorne Grand Ballroom, Hawthorne Hotel
18 Washington Square West, Salem
978)744-4080

Saturday,  11:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Free time to explore and have lunch. Packets will be provided with maps for a walking tour of Salem along the Destination Trail and places of interest from the book. Salem attractions may offer discounts if you identify yourself as a member of the Carrier Reunion. The Salem Witch Museum, for example, is offering discounted prices: $5.75 for adults and seniors and $4.25 for students 6-18.

Saturday 1-2 p.m. Witch Trials Memorial Gathering. You are invited to gather at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial to hear stories about Martha, the history of witchcraft, and how attitudes have changed in Salem. Alison D’Amario at the Salem Witch Museum, who chaired the memorial’s design competition will talk about the history of the memorial.

We will also share thoughts about why we came to the reunion, and what it means to be a descendant. We will lay flowers on Martha’s engraved “bench” and contemplate the legacy of witch-hunts to this day.

Saturday 2-3:30 p.m. Guided Trolley tour of Salem and Danvers, witch history and other sites. Cost $20 per person. We have capacity for 70 people and we appear to be SOLD OUT. Details will be announced Friday night and Saturday morning.

Saturday,  4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.    Author’s panel with K. Kent
First Church of Salem, 316 Essex Street

Brunonia Barry, The Lace Reader
Katherine Howe, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Alyssa East, Dogtown, Death and Enchantment In a New England Town

This just in from Destination Salem:

Basic Baby Rentals would like to offer free delivery of baby equipment for any of the Carrier Reunion attendees this weekend.  Mention Destination Salem when booking the reservation. 978-587-2074 or http://www.basicbabyrentals.com/

A new 30-minute film, available on the Web, beautifully explores the Salem witch hunt.

The film features historians Richard Trask (author of “The Devil Hath Been Raised”), Marilynne K. Roach (author of “The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege”), and Katherine Howe (author of “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”)

Click here to watch the film.

Salem, Mass. – The House of the Seven Gables will welcome Professor Benjamin C. Ray from the University of Virginia to present a talk entitled “A New Look at the Salem Witch Trials: Report on the most Recent Research” on Sunday November 7th, 2010 at 2:00 PM.

Professor Ray’s lecture will focus on the new scholarly edition of the court records of the Salem Witch Trials titled Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt. This book, of which Dr. Ray is an associate editor, is the first comprehensive record of all legal documents pertaining to the Salem  Witch Trials in chronological order. With the inclusion of previously undiscovered manuscripts as well as documents published in earlier  additions and omitted from later, Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt offers the most comprehensive historic account of the events of 1692-1693.

Dr. Ray’s roots in Danvers date back to Daniel Ray (spelled Rae) who settled his family on the North Shore in 1630. A later generation would raise their voices in defense of accused witch Rebecca Nurse in 1692. It was this family history that inspired Dr. Ray, a Religious Studies scholar, to begin teaching on the subject and conducting further research. After receiving a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dr. Ray teamed with another scholar and a team of researchers to digitize all the court records associated with the Witchcraft Trials.During the project, the team uncovered over 30 previously lost original court records making this edition the most accurate and comprehensive record ever published. Dr. Ray’s lecture will discuss the story of the Salem Witchcraft Trials as scholars now understand them.

Click here for more information about the new book.

The lecture will be held on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 2:00pm at The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, MA. Tickets are $10 for non-members and $5 for members of The House of the Seven Gables. For tickets, please call The House of the Seven Gables at 978-744-0991 ext. 104. For more information on this year’s centennial events, please visit www.7gables.org.