to Glasgow and Leeds and visited some of the fami-
ly. Three years later, when Eli and I were married,
one of these cousins from Glasgow, Braham Taylor,
attended our wedding. Braham later became a mem-
ber of the Glasgow reunion committee."
By the time Robinson was putting together the fam-
ily tree, she already knew there were cousins through-
out the United States and had made contact with a few.
"I knew there were seven children in my great
grandfather's family, five brothers and two sisters.
The possibility of there being more family members
that I didn't know persisted in my thoughts. To put
together the family tree meant research, long distance
phone calls and letters. The result was I was able
to list relatives under each of the seven branch-
. es , representing my great-grandfather and his sib-
lings. When I completed the tree I gave members
of the seven branches of our family copies of the
family tree for Chanukah."
Today, the computer has a major role in compil-
ing the information for family trees. Not only do
people research their family history on the Internet,
but they can also locate family members. Moreover,
there are a half-dozen software programs that can
help organize a family's history, including maintain-
ing the members of the different family branches.
Robinson didn't have the benefit of a computer or
program. The family tree she put together was
achieved painstakingly by hand, by questioning
aunts and uncles, and by making calls to perfect
strangers whose last names were similar to the fami-
ly's. The result was 40 linear feet of paper chroni-
cling the history of seven generations.
"My mother was born in Glasgow. Fleeing from
the pogroms, her grandfather and his brothers opted
for England because they recognized their skills as
tailors would make them a living. Interestingly
enough, their last name is Taylor. My mother's fami-
ly moved to Canada when she was 7. Her husband,
my grandfather, was born in Leeds, England and he
also came from a family that made their living as tai-
lors. In fact, my grandfather knew my grandmother
and her family when he was younger. My grand-
mother's oldest brother and my grandfather attended
school together in Glasgow."
Robinson and her husband Eli continue their
close ties with Canadian relatives.
"The Canadian cousins and our family kept in
touch throughout the years," says Robinson. "I made
other contacts putting together the family tree which
expanded as relatives I knew told me about other
people in the family that I didn't know. A few years
ago a cousin from Philadelphia contacted me because
someone had given him our family tree. That was the
first time I even knew about him. Then we attended
a family bar mitzvah in New York where a cousin
told us about another relative in South Africa and
suggested a family
reunion."
After some discus-
sion, Robinson and her
cousins decided to
organize a pilot trial-size
family reunion with rel-
atives from the states
and Canada. About 40
members of the Taylor
family attended the
1999 event in Toronto.
"It was a good thing
we had this dry run,"
said Robinson. "There
were lots of glitches. For
example, we never knew
how many people were
going to attend because
some never responded.
The best part was that
the younger adults in
the family were introduced to one another and are
making the time to stay in touch with one another."
The committee for the Glasgow reunion
planned the event for two years. Their hard work
resulted in 120 members of the Taylor family
attending the July event.
Everyone made flight arrangements to Glasgow.
The Taylor reunion rented a hall for the two-day
event and the family members lodged at a country
inn near the outskirts of Glasgow. Each person had a
name tag color-coded to match his branch of the
family tree which was posted horizontally along the
width of one wall.
"It was an exceptional experience, very emotional,
but very memorable," said Robinson. "I was so
excited, my husband Eli ended up taking all the
photos. I was an only child, a depression baby, and
there weren't plan:, people my age. Keeping in touch
with relatives was one way my mother extended our
family, and I've maintained that effort. Our next
reunion is planned for 2002 in Toronto."
FAMILY REUNION TIPS
SELECT one person of the family to track. It's too
difficult to start with both your mother and Ether. Do
one at a time.
START recording information about your family.
• Start with yourself - what you know.
• Talk to your older relatives and record their movement.
• Family get-togethers, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs are
great places to gather interesting and fun information.
COLLECT old papers and photos.
• Identify as many events and people with names and
dates and branch of family.
ORGANISE a family reunion committee. (You can't
take this on by yourself)
• Determine which side of the family you're honoring.
• Break up into subcommittees.
• Decide where to have the event.
• Choose food for the event, housing, transportation, meals.
LOCATION! LOCATION! Select one near a major
airport so it's easily accessible and offers service from a
variety of airlines.
• Choose an area that offers sightseeing and lots of activi-
ties. There may be family members who want to extend
their vacations beyond the reunion.
• Choose an area that will give you a price most farm
lies can afford.
• Cruise ships and resorts are popular because of their
all-inclusive pricing packages that include meals, activi-
ties, and entertainment.
• Depending on family size, you'll want a place that
can hold at least one large reunion dinner.
• When selecting a date, consider families with chil-
dren who may find it easier to attend during the sum-
mer or over a long weekend holiday
• Make sure someone reliable is taking photos to cap-
ture all the moments.
CONTACT a local travel agency for help. They can pro-
vide information on locations, accommodations, trans-
portation and group discounts.
• You also should consider the local chambers of com-
merce or tourist centers.
WEB SITES AND SOFTWARE
• www.family-reunion.comierganizer
• www.leisterpro.com
(Developer of Reunion for MAC)
• Mister Spiffy's Reunion Planner
www.farnilyreunion.com
• www.famware.corn Genealogy software
• www.genealogysoftware.corn
• www.sierrahome.com
BOOK Family Tree Makers for Dummies (First< Edition
12/15
2000
G2