Celebrating over 16 years of bringing the Peach heritage into homes throughout the world.
OUR CROSS-ATLANTIC TRIP WAS A SUCCESS!!
Following the course of the Mayflower which landed in Massachusetts in 1620 to begin the first New England settlement of Europeans, we made landfall at Plymouth Rock. After attending the Peach Reunion in Marblehead, Mass., we have remained at anchor in historic Cape Cod Bay.
Thankfully, our trip from England to the United States was rather uneventful - no Titanic-like episodes or violent storms. Now that we are in North America, the question is: "Where do we go from here?" No matter where we are or where we go, we are still endeavoring to research all known materials relating to Peach/Peachey/ Peachy families, wherever they are world-wide. After spending a year or so in England, we now have a chance to pioneer some new territory.
NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR WEB PAGE PEACH T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE
When you go to our web page at http://www.thepeaches.com/genealogy/, you will find several additions. At the end of the page is the result of extensive research on the South Carolina Branch of the Peaches - submitted by Mrs. Bobbye Winston of Alabama. This is a compilation of the books she has written on this subject.
Also, in the middle of the web page, you will see a heading: Peach Books and T-shirts for sale. For the first time, you will be able to view the materials I offer in full color before you order them. I have displayed my last three books and have added some T-shirts.
There are two different T-shirts. They are $12 each. XXL sizes are $14. Children's sizes are $10 each. To order, send $3 to cover shipping on whatever quantity you order. Be sure to specify sizes and the type of shirts you want.
The "LIFE'S A PEACH" T-shirt was designed by Tom Peach of Texas, a commercial artist who paints building signs for Sam's Club, etc. He painted his creation on a banner for the reunions.
My latest book, THE PEACH TREE HANDBOOK, Vol.III, The Marblehead Branch isgoing fast. The project was quite costly and only a limited amount could beprinted. All the major libraries want the book, but I am reserving them formy Peach Tree family. But in time I will have to release them. $69.95includes shipping for this 410 page book (a full 8 1/2 x11 pages).
THE PEACH HERITAGE TOUR Video was gobbled up by those at the reunion,leaving me only 10 more copies. Again, they will not be reproduced. Getyours now at $19.95 (includes shipping).
You can order any of these products by sending check to:
John H. Peach, 221 Geronimo Rd., Knoxville, TN 37922
MARBLEHEAD REUNION
was "Impressive!!!"
On July 8, 2000, the Eighth National Peach Reunion was held at Marblehead,Massachusetts, site of the first Peach family in America. And what an indelible impression it made on all of us!
The reunion was not the largest, but it was the most outstanding. And here's why. Many of the local Marbleheaders worked with such enthusiasm and teamwork and integrity that I just stood in awe and unbelief that it was all happening. Never had I seen so many Peaches working together with such teamwork as these folks.
Our hats are off to:
1. "Zeke" (Ezekiel) Peach for spending the last yearmeticulously
organizing this reunion, leaving no stone unturned in his intense desire
to make this one of the best. And the dessert of the reunion was
the harbor cruise aboard Zeke's boat. But Zeke's wife, Barbara,
was equally impressive - preparing food, decorating and organizing the
luncheon portion of the reunion.
2. Emerson Brown for working harder than any elderly man (78 years of age) I've ever seen - to set up, cook up and clean up. I mean, this man was unbelievable! He never complained, never seemed to tire, and was so efficient. On top of this, he and his lovely wife, Betty, host a Bed and Breakfast that is out of this world. I know, because I stayed there, and I highly recommend it. If you ever visit Marblehead, let me know, and I wil ltell you how to make a reservation.
3. Joan Cutler for initiating the idea of the Trolley ride and the T-shirts and then organizing it to a tee. We filled the Trolley for the Peach Heritage Home Tour, and many T-shirts were sold. She and her husband, Hooper, along with Rosamond Merrill, greeted the folks, taking care of registration/name tags.
4. Carolyn Knight, for the delicious appetizers she prepared. They were the rave of the reunion! She was a major force in promoting the reunion, getting many of her relatives there and did a masterful job taking care of the book table for me. I can't thank her enough.
5. Henry E. Peach, a commercial photographer, for once again doing a masterful job capturing the reunion highlights visually for us.
6. Ted (Edward) Peach, for guiding us on a most proficient and yet highly entertaining Trolley tour of the earliest Peach homes and properties.
And to all those who worked behind the scenes to make this a most proficient and exciting reunion, thanks so much from the bottom of our hearts.
RECENT TRIPS TO ENGLAND
Don and Maureen McGowan Singer are avid travelers. I met these Florida residents at the reunion face-to-face for the first time. But Maureen and I have been emailing each other for years, she being a driving force in trying to establish how her Pittsburgh, PA sub-branch connects to that of So.Maryland. What a delightful couple they are, as I experienced while dining with them.
They recently returned to the castle in England where they had earlier married. And while in that area, they had a most informative first visit with David L. Peach, who is doing a lot of research for this Peach Tree Project from his home base in southern England.
Along with traveling to the Isle of Wight to search for their So. Maryland Branch ancestry, David gave them a copy of a family tree composed by a Clifford Frank Peach, who resides on the Isle of Wight, as did all his ancestors, going back to Simon Peach ca. 1600s.
Also, I was recently informed that Jim Planck of Virginia visited Rutland, England this past year. This is the home of the ancestry of the No. Maryland Branch of Peaches. He writes:
"We met Richard Peach, who has a business instructing riding instructors and runs a B&B in the old vicar's house in Belton in Rutland...He sent us to see Jane Peach (his aunt), who lives in Wing...The pub owner (in Wing) said that a William Peach works at the pub occasionally and there are many Peaches in the area. Editor's Note: When I feel like I am Wingin' It in my writing, I can now relate to the Peaches of Wing.
KENTUCKY PEACH BOOK My latest project?
Barbara Peach of Owensboro, KY contacted me recently, expressing her burden for me to write a book about her father and his Kentucky Peach heritage. Please pray for me as I consider this offer as my next Peach book project. It took me 10 years between my last two books, and I was anticipating another 10 years before I write another one. Although I am excited about the opportunity, I am overwhelmed by the commitment I know I have to make.
My three Peach Tree Handbooks are:
The folks of this branch truly have been some of the most interested and persistent in their genealogical search over the past few years, particularly via the internet. Joan Dickens is one of these and strongly encouraged me to attend the latest reunion of this Kentucky Branch.
Sorry to say, I failed to take her advice and missed an exciting reunion involving over a hundred people.
Barbara Peach said her Dad changed his last name to "Peech" as an adult because his school teacher used to tease him saying, "Peaches fall from trees." Since he didn't want to fall from a tree, he didn't want to spell his name "Peach." Whether we agree with this logic or not, one thing for sure, her Dad never fell from a tree.
After over a year touring England by bus, we have now returned to our Peach/Peachey cruise. For the next month, we are going to be crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England to America. Our destination will be Marblehead, MA, scheduled to dock in Boston by July 4 and be in Marblehead for the Eighth National (now International) Peach Reunion on July 8.
This will be the first reunion in which we will have those joining us from a country outside America. Dr. and Mrs. William Peachy will be traveling from Saudi Arabia to join us. He and his family have been a vital cog in the old wheel that turns this project since we first started our cruise two years ago. We all look forward to meeting them in person.
We will attempt to follow the path that John Peach, Sr. and later John Peach, Jr. took on their journey to America in the early 1600s. We know they both came from Symondsbury, Dorset, England, but we don't know from what port they departed. However, the Mayflower Company set sail from Plymouth, England, which is just southwest of Dorset. So we are departing from the same port.
EDITOR: This newsletter was so long that AOL wouldn't send it unless I broke it in two. Here's the second part of Issue 27. Truly, John
SOUTH CAROLINA Branch Virginia Sub-Branch
John H. Collins first contacted me in April, 2000 in his search for his S.C. Peach ancestors. His is the sub-branch of those who migrated to Virginia. He writes that,
"I am specifically looking for info. on Nannie (or Nattie) Henrietta West marrying Seth (??) Peach and their ancestors. Both of them died between 1935and 1945 in the Newport News, VA area. These are my Great Grandparents, and they and their family migrated from Great Falls, S.C. in the 1920s/30s to the Newport News area. One of their children (my Great Uncle) was Chief of Police for a time in Newport News.
I was thrilled to hear from John or anyone else from this sub-branch, as I have been trying to stir up interest there for over 15 years. His Seth Peach was Samuel James Elijah Peach (b 8/3/1868 and d.4/18/1949) who married Nannie Henrietta West 3/16/1890. I show they had 12 children, two of whom (James and William) were Chief of Police in Newport News and another (Samuel, Jr.) was Chief of Police in Williamsburg, VA.
Among the other 12 children were: Daniel Coy Peach, father of Daniel C., Jr. owner of Peach Furniture Store in Great Falls, SC. and Ethel Peach (who married Thos. Gardner) mother of Ed Gardner of Ringold, GA. Both Dan, Jr.and Ed and their wives have been faithful supporters of this Peach Tree Project from its beginning. Many of you will remember the Gardners from our trip to England in 1990.
We Mourn the Passing of:
Bertha Peach Ensey of Fairview, TN. "I regret to inform you, William Labreche wrote recently, that our centenarian died May 29, 2000 (about 6 wks. short of her 102nd birthday). We have reported on Bertha in past issues and realize she lived a long, full life, for which we are thankful.
Frances Gauchet of Hollywood, MD, (a Peach descendant in the No. MarylandBranch) who died ca. 9/5/1999, only in her 40s. According to Jim Planck, who sent the announcement:
"She's the daughter of Agnes Peach Norris, the last surviving daughter of James and Josephine Peach (Aunt Bodie) of Woodstock, Maryland. Agnes passed away in July of 1997 (in her 90s). The son of one of Agnes' daughters, Mary Josephine, died about two months ago (ca. March, 2000)."
I was saddened also to hear recently of the passing of Patty Peach Story of Kentucky - an ardent genealogist of the Kentucky Branch and a dear person, missed by all of us who knew her.
Maxine Peach of Virginia sent the following news article of April 2, 2000. Can anyone identify this Kathy Peach?
PEACH COAT OF ARMS comments from Wales
Maria Peachey of South Wales recently ordered THE PEACH/PEACHEY MIGRATIONS book and writes about my claim to have many Peach coats of arms (over 40 to be exact, as reported and fully illustrated in my book).
"I was aware that we had several coats of arms, but when I contacted Burkes Peerage here in England, I was told it is impossible to have several and hopefully I can prove to them this is not the case and with proof," she says, "will be a kick up the bum for them. Here in England the upper class or so called elite do not like you to rise above your standards. In fact most people over here can only trace their family from Henry the Eighth.
"All of my family are very proud of our ancestors and have had several coats of arms tattoo on their arms, including the family motto of Memor et Fidelis (Mindful and Faithful)."
Thank you, Maria, for this insight from your first-hand perception in the British Isles. I personally feel the Peach and Peacheys have been snubbed by the historians in England due to the fact we fell out of favor with the King back during the Wars of the Roses and were thus blackballed from the English elite.
Also, Kevin Sartorelli of England, has meticulously copied hundreds, if not thousands, of records of Peacheys and Peaches from England and sent them over the internet, via our web page at http://www.egroups.com/group/PEACH. I want to encourage you to become a part of the Peach Tree Project on the internet.
SO. MARYLAND BRANCH Lost Twig on the Limb
In my last newsletter, I dedicated a page to the memory of Rebecca Peach, whom I reported in my So. Maryland book on p. 119 "Lost contact with family.Death date and place of burial is unknown."
Thanks to Pam Fossum of Utah, a descendant of Rebecca, we now can follow Rebecca's family to the present generation. Although Pam sent me much more data, only a capsule of it will be shown as follows.
Rebecca Peach married Thomas Jones 12/25/1874 in Walnut, IL. (See last issue for details on her data). Thomas was b.11/30/1843 d.11/15/1923 and buried in Glendale Cem., Des Moines, IA. Pam sent me a family photo and a biographical sketch of Thomas. If anyone wants to see it, let me know.
Rebecca and Tom Jones had 8 children:
***Effie Pearl Jones (5th child) married Guy Bristow
Conrad on 12/21/1905 andhad four children:
MARBLEHEAD BOOK Updates
As much as I try to make a book perfect and complete, as soon as it gets in circulation, new families are brought to my attention that were not in the book. Although I am embarrassed about this, I also know that if the book would not have been published, I would never find out details of these families. Here's a few examples:
On p. 100 of THE PEACH TREE HANDBOOK, Vol. III, Marblehead Branch, Mae Millette Peach is reported to have deceased before 1977, with no children recorded. So who appears at the Marblehead reunion but one of her sons. This is the new info. provided:
Mae Millette Peach b.6/15/1915 d.6/29/1993 mar. James H. Bassett 12/18/1940 and had two children.
On p. 254, I show James Nelson Peach b.3/26/1880 mar.
Martha Loretta Wetherbee with no children reported. However, recently
I received a package of valuable info. from Harry Wetherbee Peach of Florida
that shows their offspring. Here's the family in focus.
Added to the vitals on this couple is that James Peach was born in Newbury,VT and died in Canaan, NH 9/24/1951. Martha was b. May 1891 in N.Haverhill, NH and d. 1/26/1945 in Nashua, NH. They had the following six children, including Harry (who sent this info.).
SO. CAROLINA BRANCH Update
Michael Cardinell sent me some corrections to my So. Carolina book. On p.B10, he notes Thos. Carroll Peach died on 6/1/1989. Also, Johnny Dewayne and James Robert are the sons of Carolyn Faye Peach and Jack Thompson rather than the sons of Douglas Peach and Susie Thompson. Jack died in Sept. 1995.
I hope you enjoy the fantastic view from the deck of our ship anchored in Cape Cod Bay. We should be leaving soon for our journey across North America. So enjoy the water while you can. Yours until our next newsletter.
Send e-mail to: Todd & Sharon