The Esarey Family Reunion Website
Jonathon Davis Esarey
The Esarey Family Reunion Website and the Jonathon Davis Esarey Facebook account were both created as devices to help spread information relevant to the Annual Reunions and as tools to further the work of the Esarey Family Bicentennial Reunion Committee, which was formed at the 2005 reunion.
This website is maintained by Duane Esarey, Raleigh, North Carolina.
About This Website
This website serves as a digital archive and resource for the Esarey family, preserving:
- Historical photographs and documents
- Genealogical research by Logan Esarey and Myra Esarey Evans
- Family stories and letters from the 19th century
- Civil War correspondence
- Information about the annual family reunion
The Esarey Family
The Esarey family traces its American roots to John Essery and Sarah Hester Clark, who settled on Doe Run in what is now Meade County, Kentucky in the early 1780s. Their descendants spread throughout the Midwest, particularly Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and as far as California during the Gold Rush era.
The first Esarey Family Reunion was held in 1910 at Branchville, Indiana, drawing 1,600 family members. The reunion has been held annually ever since, making it one of the longest-running family reunions in the United States.
Key Contributors to Family History
Logan Esarey (1875-1942)
Logan Esarey was a historian and professor who assembled the first comprehensive Esarey family history, completed in 1935. He is also the author of The Indiana Home, a classic work on pioneer life in southern Indiana that draws heavily on Esarey family experiences and stories.
Myra Esarey Evans
Daughter of Logan Esarey, Myra expanded her father's work into the monumental genealogical volume Logan Esarey: His Ancestors and Their Descendants (1968), which remains the foundational resource for Esarey genealogy research.
Contact
For questions about the website or to contribute family information, please reach out through the annual reunion.