Cadot Blessing Camp 126 SUVCW reenactors in the Our House Tavern Courthyard.
Lorna Hart | OVP
Cadot-Blessings Camp 126 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War reeneactors encouraged visitors to try on uniforms and interact with Civil War artifacts in the Courtyard.
Lorna Hart | OVP
Our House volunteers Bryna Butler, Paula Metzger, Becky Pasquale, and Sue Voollborn served guests refreshments during the Anniversary celebration.
Lorna Hart | OVP
Randall Fulks signed in guests at the front register, and later mingled with guests in the Courtyard, along with volunteers Bryna Buttler and Campbell Burnette.
Lorna Hart | OVP
The Gallipolis Genealogy Society was set up at the event.
Lorna Hart | OVP
Musical guests Bob and Kendra Ward Bence performed in the Our House Tavern Courtyard.
Lorna Hart | OVP
GALLIPOLIS — It was a step back in time as guests to the Our House Tavern Museum mingled among hosts in period dress as dulcimer music played in the Courtyard. Visitors enjoyed speaking with Gallia County Genealogy Society members in the dining room and watched as Patricia Flora spun wool in the Ladies Withdraw Room.
Cadot-Blessings Camp 126 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War reeneactors circulated throughout the tavern, while other members encouraged visitors to try on uniforms and interact with Civil War artifacts in the Courtyard.
Museum Director Beverly Jeffers said she was pleased with the day’s activities, but was especially excited when her dream of bringing French 500 descents together came to fruition. Notebooks from the descendants of the French 500 were on display in the Ballroom, as two families of those descendants met, some of them for the first time. The Menagers were comparing their blue eyes, while the Thivenen family were taking their newfound cousins to visit grave sites.
Jeffers said the experience was beyond words, “I had the idea of bringing families together to share their history, and it happened, and during the Anniversary celebration, it was just so special. I hope it will encourage other families to share their genealogy and to come together at Our House.”
She said that this is the perfect place for French 500 descendants to meet and share that history, and the notebooks are available for visitors to read and research during Museum hours.
“I really am thrilled with the response to our anniversary celebration,” Jeffers said. “There are so many stories to tell about the French 500 and the Tavern.”
Stories of the Menager and the Thivenen families, as well as other stories from Our House Tavern Museum history will be published in monthly installments beginning in June.
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