History
Between 1780 and 1850 the 9 children, 45 grandchildren, and at least 245 great-grandchildren of John Essery and Sarah Hester Clark helped populate the midwestern United States, especially Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Some migrated as far west as Gold Rush California. John and Hester's son Jonathon Davis Essery/Esarey/Esrey (1783-1858) moved from Kentucky to Oil Township of Perry County, Indiana in 1810, where many Esarey descendants live today and where the First Annual Reunion was held in 1910 and every year since then. Now, after six, seven, or eight generations, spellings of the name have diverged into three main modes (Esarey, Esry, and Esrey) and descendants of John Essery and Sarah Hester Clark are all over the United States and throughout the world. And, of course, the vast majority of these descendants of John Essery and Sarah Hester Clark have other surnames.
Esarey, Esrey, and Esry are derivative spellings (see chart of spelling divergence) known to have emerged from John Essery's line since he came to Kentucky from the east. The connection to families spelling their name Essary is more of a mystery but is thought to not be too distant, with the families parting ways before 1780. In the early 1780s John and Sarah's family moved west and settled on Doe Run in today's Meade County, Kentucky. Meanwhile Essary ancestors moved west through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, with many ending up in Tennessee and Missouri.
Family histories and the thousands of descendants of John Essery are detailed in the classic genealogical resource of southern Indiana "Logan Esarey and his Ancestors and their Descendants" (started a century ago by Logan Esarey and completed in 1968 by Myra Esarey Evans). The Esarey family reunion provides a chance to understand family history, genealogy, and refresh and reconnect to this history.
The 2010 Bicentennial Reunion!
2010 is the year of the Esarey Bicentennial Reunion - the 100th Annual Reunion and the 200th anniversary of the settling of the Esarey family in Perry County, Indiana! Over the last 200 years, Esarey descendants, all descended from Jonathon Davis Esarey, have spread out across the world. The Bicentennial Reunion will be held the weekend of August 7 and 8, 2010.
As indicated by the scale of the original 1910 Centennial Reunion, we are hoping to make the 2010 Reunion something special. Plan on joining us for the big weekend. Watch this site for more information.
The Reunion reunites descendants of John Essery (1744-1828) and Sarah Hester Clark (1758-1818) of Pennsylvania, who migrated to Kenucky, then Indiana, and then Illinois. It has been held each year since 1910, when over 1600 descendants of John and Sarah Essery gathered in Branchville, Indiana to celebrate the 100th anniversary of part of the family's migration to Indiana. The central feature has always been a potluck dinner at noon on the second Sunday of each August. Traditionally the reunion was held in Branchville, then in the 1990s it was moved to nearby St. Croix, and most recently has been held in nearby Bristow, Indiana. All three locations are in Perry County, Indiana.the second Sunday in August in Perry County, Indiana.
The Doe Run Reunion - the Saturday before each year's Sunday reunion
In recent decades Esarey/Essery/Esrey/Esry descendants have gathered the evening before the Annual Reunion at the historic Doe Run Inn in Brandenburg, Kentucky to share a meal, get together for conversation, compare genealogical notes, and then settle down for some fiddle, guitar, and banjo music. A historical marker near Doe Run Inn mentions Jonathon Essery. Meade County, KY history says Essery built "the first corn mill in Meade County... an under-shot corn cracker... just below the mouth of Blue Spring Branch on Doe Run." The history of the 1780s-1810 era contains other mentions of John Essery's activities ca. 1780, alongside such notable names as Squire Boone and Tom Lincoln..
