Hello Raley Cousins! Just wanted to let everyone know that our reunion in Ebro, Florida was a HUGE success, even though we had only about 60 people there.

Four of Benjamin M. Raley's (1818-GA.--1895-FL) children (Amy, Laura Rebecca, Sarah, and Jamesy David) were represented. And, four of Wilson Lumpkin Raley's (Benjamin's brother) descendants also came. I had never met any of these people face-to-face, except for one who lives in the Florida city where I live, and who I met within the last two weeks. One of my new-found cousins is an 88-year-old woman from Panama City, Florida. She got the award for the oldest person in attendance. Another cousin came from Idaho to Florida and got the award for traveling the greatest distance. And, another cousin came from Arkansas. There were five elderly women there who seemed to thoroughly enjoy swapping stories and 'catching up.'

I hope the Texas Raley reunion was as great a success as the one in Florida. And, I encourage everyone to plan your own Raley reunion. I promise you that it is worth all the work that goes into it.

I'll use this opportunity to remind all Raley males to consider participating in the Raley DNA project. See Richard Raley's earlier posts.