It is hard to believe we have had 13 Tolliver Reunions at Morehead, KY. During that time we have met and corresponded with hundreds of Tolliver descendants. We have added many names to our Tolliver/Toliver databases. One of the most exciting additions was that of John Tolliver, Jr. as a son of John Toliver b. 1760. Earlier researchers had missed him because Jesse 1756 also had a son named John about the same age. But then three years ago we had contact with the Tollivers from Kansas. Patrick Tolliver had his DNA checked and he matched all the other descendants of John 1760 exactly, but not the other Tolliver brothers (Moses, William, Jesse, Charles). Patrick’s sisters, Starla Criser and Tami Fonger came to the Reunion last year and the year before. This year they brought their brother, Patrick Tolliver. It was great meeting him. We called him “The Man” and “The Missing Link.” This family is a great addition and I am sure old John is happy to have his son’s family reunited with his other descendants.

We had several new people this year who were able to learn and share more about their families. We spent Friday afternoon visiting and putting up posters, etc. Friday evening, John Tolliver from Malta, OH, sang for us. As did 3 year old Brylie Meyer who sang “You Are My Sunshine.” Then Lea Ann Lyon led the group in playing Bingo with some nice prizes. Thank you, Lea Ann.

Saturday morning, Starla Criser led our talent-sharing time. She is great at this because she is very talented herself. She has had 75 books published! She started by sharing family quilt hangings and scrapbooks that she and her sister, Tami Fonger, had made. The quilts had photographs on cloth. Other talents included knitting, poetry writing, scrapbooking, woodcarving, dancing, and singing. Sabrina Kiser introduced her new book, Mountain Mist. The picture above came from Shawn Flora’s Tolliver Reunion Scrapbook.

After a potluck lunch organized by Carla Eberwein, we met in a large group again. I divided the group into smaller family groups where each person was introduced. Each group came up with a family story to share with the large group. Dr. J. D. Reeder shared some of his new findings in recent research about what happened to some of the Feud participants. We are all looking forward to J. D. writing a book about the Feud that includes all these stories.

Thanks to all the creative people who donated items to the Silent Auction organized by Carla Eberwein. Thanks also to the persons who purchased items.

The youngest in attendance was Harrison, son of Kalep and Destiny Smith Baylous. This was especially exciting because Destiny has been to every reunion, starting as a young girl. She is the granddaughter of John and Stella Tolliver from Malta, OH. The person who travelled the farthest was Patrick Tolliver from KS.

Shawn Flora and Oneida Souder greeted everyone as they arrived. They took pictures and registered persons from eight different states. Thanks, Shawn and Oneida. Tourism packets were available concerning Morehead and Rowan County. Thanks to Mike Christman for donating music CDs and books concerning the Rowan County War. Dan Capal from Nebraska sent his latest book about the Tolliver Union Civil War soldiers. He has Confederate and Union books.

We were well received by the people in Morehead and look forward to our 14th Reunion in Morehead June 24-25, 2016. Hope to see you there.