NEWPORT — The descendants of Lemuel and Mary Barton met together, July 7 for their 73rd consecutive annual reunion. The reunion was held at 525 John Stark Hwy, Newport, at the home of Ben and Kathy Barton. The 77 descendants who attended were from Texas, South Carolina, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Fifty-seven attendees were descendants of Charles Barton, 11 descendants of Orren Barton, five descendants of Paul Barton, and four descendants of Dora (Barton) Blood. The other 16 children, of Lemuel and Mary, had no descendants present.
There was much visiting, reminiscing, picture and history viewing, game playing, water splashing, picture taking, and, after a food blessing by Chuck Williams, much eating of the pot-luck meal.
This was the last official reunion of the descendants of Lemuel and Mary Barton. All 20 children of Lemuel and Mary were born and raised in Newport. The oldest child, Addie (Barton) Rickard, was born July 30, 1894, and her youngest sibling, Dora (Barton) Blood, was born 29 years later on July 2, 1923. All 21st generation children are deceased, Orren Barton being the last one, who died on Jan 5, 2013. The second generation has continued the reunion for many years but because of age, distance, business, and disinterest, it was decided that this would be the last one. It’s been quite a run!
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.