2003 REGIONAL
CLOUD FAMILY GATHERINGS
 

Southeast – California – Northeast – Texas - Background - 2005

Regional Cloud Family Gathering Summary:

NE: Lancaster, PA -- (Thanks, Jamee Cloud!) -- 19 July 2003
SE: Athens, GA (Thanks, Marion Cloud!) -- 25-26 July 2003
CA: Playa del Rey -- (Thanks, Hal Cloud & Jan Cloud) -- 16 August 2003

TX: Dallas – (contact Don Salter or Al Cloud) – being studied
other: tbd (contact Cecil Stokes if interested)

Northeast - July 19, 2003 - photos

Jamee Cloud reports by email:

"The meeting went quite well with about nineteen in attendance.   I think it was a good start for an area that is pretty much unchartered.   Most of these people, with the exception of Harley, Harry, Taylor and I, have not attended any National meetings other than the 1997 meeting.   Their experience with the Cloud Family Association is a Journal delivered quarterly.   We spend time getting to know each other and our particular branches of the family.   We also had a discussion of members hopes for the Association and how it can meet their needs."

The Gathering was held July 19th in Lancaster, PA., from 10:30 - 4:00, with a lunch served.

Much applause for Jamee and Taylor for organizing this first NE Regional Cloud Family Gathering. Jamee and Taylor Cloud also hosted the 1997 Cloud Family Gathering. That was the largest and most elaborate meeting the Cloud Family Association has ever had. They feared people might be expecting something like that for the “regional” meeting this year. Contact: Jamee Cloud for further information.

Southeast - July 25 & 26, 2003 - photos

The 2003 Southeast Regional Cloud Family Association research meeting was held at Athens, Ga. on July 25th and 26th. This site was chosen because of the University of Georgia Library contains the GA room and the Hargett Rare Book and Manuscript Collection, along with the largest collection of microfilmed GA newspapers available anywhere compiled by the GA newspaper project. The GA room has one of the largest collections of GA books anywhere. There is also the Draper Collection (early frontier American records) and the Telamon Cuyler Collection (over 5000 loose Georgia state and county records arranged by Governor, county and subject) and the LeConte Genealogical Collection which is thousands of files and cards on family genealogies. Between the newspaper archives and the other collections we hope to make some discoveries that have not been available elsewhere.

Unfortunately, this library was struck by an arsonist (a non-student later arrested) on Wednesday evening (7/23/03) and was occupied by clean-up personnel from Disaster Services Co. instead of students and Cloud Researchers during the weekend of 7/26/03. This discouraged some, but the CFA Board members came, conducted the planned business, did some research in the Clark-Athens County Library, and enjoyed the weekend. Fortunately, the rare documents section of the library suffered only smoke damage, and we can schedule a trip here another time.

          Arrangements were made at the Holiday Inn at Broad and Lumpkin streets, in Athens, GA for a special room rate of $69.00 per night for members of our group. We met in the Ginko Tree, the Holiday Inn restaurant and lounge. We walked from there to the campus and looked at the U. GA. Library.

          There are also a number of attractions in the area of Athens, GA. The nearby Kettle Creek Revolutionary War battlefield was visited by some. (Kris’s direct ancestor, Ezekiel Cloud, is said by the family to have fought in this battle.) And, others visited historic Madison, GA. And, the group enjoyed a visit to historic Madison, GA.

          It sounds to as though "de-Clouding" the library will be a consuming activity on another day, and it is intriguing because there appear to be some resources there that are not available elsewhere.

          Marion was again the organizer and his address is:  Marion Cloud, P.O. Box 1433, Perry, GA, 31069. His email address is: [email protected] . Working with him were: Kris Moore and Glenda Manis.

California – 16 August 2003 -- photos

CFA Director Hal Cloud and CFA Historian Jan Cloud hosted the first ever meeting of the Cloud Family Association on the west coast on 16 August 2003 at Hal’s Playa del Ray (LAX area) complex. [Still too early for a report.]

Hal said he was anxious to make this meeting a good opportunity for folks interested in various Cloud families to get acquainted and share information. With Hal working it we could be sure it will be well planned and worthwhile. With Jan involved we could be sure it will be highly informative for anyone interested in genealogy and family history. Jan, of course, is a professional genealogist with world-class credentials and is the long-time editor of the Cloud Family Journal.

You can contact Hal at [email protected] .

Texas -- photo

Prospects for Regional Cloud Family Gatherings have brightened considerably. Don Salter and Al Cloud met with CFA President Cecil Stokes at the DFW Airport Hyatt on 8/14/03 to get acquainted and discuss prospects for a CFA gathering in this area this Fall and/or in 2005. The three reported enjoying the occasion, and Historian Jan Cloud says this qualifies as a Regional CFG; but, we still hope to involve more Clouds in this area this year. If interested, for either 2003 or 2005, contact Don Salter or Al Cloud.

The big 2002 Cloud Family Gathering was in Austin, and attempts to promote a smaller one in Texas this year hit several snags. For starters, several of our most active Texas members hosted the 2002 national “Gathering” in Austin and were not ready to host another so soon. Some with strong research interests in Georgia participated in the Southeastern Regional meeting. And, others encounterred family health problems or business conflicts. We badly needed one or two of our Texas members to step forward and take charge. Don and Al have now done that, and we hope there is still time and interest to do something in 2003. If not, they are ready to develop plans for 2005. (They plan to meet with Clouds of other regions in Knoxville in 2004.)

Background

The Cloud Family Association departed from its regional roots in 1997 to have its annual meetings at diverse locations across the continent. This opened new opportunities for participation of more Clouds and broader group research, but it also presented greater challenges of travel distance. There were different views: 1. Annual meetings are great for maintaining contact and momentum, and annual meetings offer opportunities for researchers to gather at different locations. 2. Annual meetings are too close together to justify extensive travel for a limited amount of new material available for presentation.

A compromise approach appeared to provide the best of both positions. Large national gatherings in alternate years provide the opportunity for member presentations and guest speakers that justify significant preparation and travel, and regional gatherings in the other years provide the continuity in social contact on a regional basis and group research in even more locations. 2001 was the first year for “regional” gatherings and only one is known to have taken place, but it was considered to have been quite successful and a good model for regional gatherings in the future. There have been three Regional Gatherings in 2003 and there is still a possibility of a fourth. These promise to provide a variety of models for future regional meetings. It has also been suggested that “regional gatherings” might focus on a particular Cloud ancestor or group of possibly related Cloud ancestors.

Regional meetings require the host or host committee to merely identify the meeting place and time and let folks know about it. The host should designate the general location (the city), a general time (a particular weekend or day), a place for visitors to stay (a hotel/motel with good value/prices), some attractions in the area (historical, data sources, scenic, and/or entertaining), suggested times and places to get together (hotel, library, restaurant, home, etc.), and a local point of contact (home phone, cell phone, hotel room, or other). Letting folks know about it can include the Cloud Family Journal, personal email, email lists, CFA web sites, etc. The host need not make any reservations for attendees, but negotiating a group hotel rate is helpful, as will other information gathering to the extent practical. Invitations are typically mailed to non-member Clouds in the area as well as all CFA members, but neither is obligatory.

National meetings typically involve having the host committee do these things plus making arrangements for a luncheon, a program (with meeting rooms and member/non-member presenters), a tour, and a block of hotel rooms to be booked by attendees. Invitations are typically mailed to non-member Clouds in the area as well as all CFA members, which may or may not be done for regional meetings.

Please plan to get involved