The Kimball Family Association

Greetings Kimball Cousins 

I’d like to thank the Board of Director’s, the speakers and all those who attended this year’s reunion for making it a wonderful success. It was fabulous to see so many cousins returning from last year (32) as well as meeting fifteen new attendees. All totaled we had 47 attendees, three of which became new members of the KFA.

Our first attempt at a three-day reunion was overwhelmingly positive. Both groups who toured the Kimball homes and visited the Ipswich MA Museum had nothing but good reviews. Our guide Gordon Harris even went so far as to put identification flags on the Kimball graves.

This year’s speakers really out did themselves. On Friday we heard from Carol Kimball Stahl, Sylvia Morris and Mark Nichols. Carol began the sessions speaking about how to use the KFA Volumes of the History of the Kimball Family in America. She provided informative handouts which make great additions to the Resource Book. Sylvia spoke of her emotional journey to find her biological parents, only recently finding out she is a descendant of the Kimball line of “Mormon Royalty” as she so excitingly put it. Mark followed up with an historical talk about George Kimbel (6 Mar 1803 – 6 Mar 1836) who served alongside of Sam Huston, Davie Crockett and James Bowie. George was the commander of a group of reinforcements known the “Immortal 32”. They arrived at the Alamo on the March 1st and help hold the Alamo until the 6th. Kimbel County Texas is named after him. In addition to Mark’s talk there is interesting reading on the internet an in our Resource Book.

I have to thank Sylva Morris and Anne Falk for leading us in the Kimball song this year, it sounded so much better than last year!

Carol led off Saturday’s talks with another set of handouts describing how to work through the KFA Family Tree on Ancestry.com and how it all ties back to the KFA books. John Kimball from Austin, TX following with an impressive slide show regarding his father and his work with NASA during the Gemini and Apollo programs. His talk brought back many memories of staying up way past my bedtime watching all the lunar landings. Carolyn Muller of the Littleton (MA) Historical Society spoke about the Kimball family from Littleton and the immediate area. Along with her talk she brought some artifacts including the “Littleton Giant’s” shoes, and yes, they belonged to a Kimball. Nearly everyone tried to match their shoe size up with the outline of those huge shoes, no one came close. Richard Kimball closed out the talks with an update on the Laurie Cohen Kimball farm house and cemetery in Maine.

Richard introduced two new methods to assist with the funding of our scholarships. The first is the “1634 Society” for those who donate $500. and the second being the “Ipswich Society” for donations of $250. Both were very well received by the membership with many attendees indicating a willingness to become “Society” members. By the closing of the reunion four members had contributed to the “1634 Society” and two to the “Ipswich Society” providing a great start to the programs. Further details are included elsewhere in this issue of the KFA “Connections” newsletter.

Interspersed throughout the day we had the Annual Business Meeting, Silent Auction, 50/50 raffle and book sales.

In closing I want to thank all those who attended, especially those who traveled some distance to be with their cousins. Without the support and effort of the Board of Directors, especially Sylvia Stevens these reunions would not be possible, thank you again . Spread the word, let’s see if we can get over 50 attendees next year .

     Doug McBride
KFA President (12th generation descendent of Richard Kimball) 
 

Please contact Sylvia Stevens regarding survey questions

Phone: 603-424-3550

Email to: [email protected]

Mail to: 81 Turkey Hill Road, Merrirmack, NH 06054

Save The Date 

August 10th — 13th, 2023

 

We are glad to announce the reunion for the
Kimball Family Association will be held on
August 10th — 13th, 2023 at the
Courtyard, Marriott, Nashua, New Hampshire.

We are contemplating making arrangements for a
day trip to a point of interest. More information to follow.

KFA RESOURCE BOOK

At the 2021 Reunion, we handed out 28 copies of the new KFA Resource Book. The contents of the 3-ring binder consists of “all things Kimball,” according to a Board member. The book tells of the beginnings of the KFA and provides information on the immigrant Richard. The benefits of membership are described. A fledgling section, “Notable Kimballs,” tells the stories of a few special Kimballs; more biographies will be added as we go forward. There are sections on developing your own “Notable Kimballs” and guides for research as well as storage of copies of the newsletter or special articles. A favorite section, “Location, Location, Location,” list 43 pages of places named, “Kimball,” across the nation reminding us of the depth and diversity of Kimballs.

We still have about 150 binders to compile and mail to those members who have paid their dues through at least December 2021; some members are paid for many more years! Although the costs of materials, copying, and mailing are being underwritten by a special, very generous donor, it has been suggested that members might want to acknowledge the uniqueness of the Resource Book and make a financial contribution toward those expenses. However, the benefactor has suggested that members show their appreciation by making a donation to the scholarship fund. A letter giving more detail will be included in each mailing. Those of you who have already received your copies may wish to make a similar contribution.

Please be sure that you are paid through the end of 2021 to receive your copy.