Registration form (a pdf file)

INVITATION TO THE 2008 SISSON GATHERING!

You are invited to the 2008 Sisson Gathering, to be held June 26-28 in Springfield, Illinois. The “central days” of the Gathering will be Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28. Some people may arrive sooner or stay later to enjoy the region. Many of our Sisson ancestors lived in the region or passed through on their way westward. Our speaker at the Saturday dinner will present information on local Sisson genealogy, including a building named for a Sisson at nearby Bradley University.

You are also invited to share a story or some family lore at the Gathering. This kind of “Show and Tell” has been a highlight of all of our previous Gatherings. We will also have several formal reports concerning our DNA project and our on-going research to find our British roots. We will have tables for you to display your Sisson family treasures—photographs, old letters, genealogy charts, and anything else related to Sisson history.

If you could arrive by Thursday June 26, you would have many interesting things to see and do in the Springfield area; for example: a church with a beautiful Tiffany window, an interesting local museum, Lincoln’s home and law office, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, Lincoln’s store, and old Route 66, among other highlights.

On Friday, June 27, we will have excursions using car pools to local cemeteries where Sissons are buried, a visit to a library where we can research Sisson genealogy, and other relevant sites; lunch will be on our own. We are also invited to stop by the Sisson Inn, hosted by our Gathering hosts, Donna and Mark Sisson.

For motel reservations, please make your own reservation with the Signature Inn; call 217-529-6611. We have reserved a block of rooms for the Gathering at a reasonable price of $71.48, taxes included, per night. However, those rooms will not be held after May 15, 2008, so it will be best to make your reservation before that time. A continental breakfast is included in the room price. Be sure to mention Sisson Gathering when you call. That rate is reserved for us from Wednesday night, June 25 through Saturday night, June 28. Our meal functions (lunch and dinner on Saturday, June 28) will be at the motel, and our meeting room will be there also; the cost of these two meals is included in the registration fee of $65 per person. All of your other meals can be on your own.

If you are flying instead of driving, you would probably do best to fly into the airports at Springfield or Bloomington, Illinois. The airlines flying into Springfield include American Airlines and United Airlines. The motel has a free shuttle service from and to the airport, but you would need to call them from the airport. The motel is located at Exit 94 from Interstate 55 in Springfield if you are driving or renting a car.

We will also be nominating places for the 2010 Sisson Gathering and will welcome your thoughts. We look forward to seeing you in Springfield in June—remember to make your check to David S. Martin but send it to Larry Sisson (address on the Registration Form) by June 9 or preferably earlier.