Reunion Time for the Bartley Family

The descendants of Dixon and Rebecca (Smith) Bartley held semi-regular annual family reunions in the 1930s and '40s.  They announced them in various newspapers either before the event or after it happened.  With nine children of their own, its easy to imagine multitudes of grand-, great-grand-, and great-great-grandchildren gathering to enjoy each others' company.

from The Pittsburgh Press, Wednesday, September 3, 1930.  The date of the reunion was Saturday, August 30, 1930.

      Bartley Reunion Held
A reunion of the Bartley family
was held at Riverview Park last Sat-
urday. More than 70 attended.
Guests were present from Buffalo,
Philadelphia, Butler, Freeport, Ta-
rentum, Saxonburg, Mars, Sharps-
burg, Crafton, Ben Avon and War-
ren, O.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 21, 1934.  The date of the reunion was Wednesday, August 22, 1934.

         Plan Family Reunion
          At Riverview Park
                  --------
The annual reunion of the Bartley
Family will be held at Riverview
Park tomorrow. A sports and race
program under the direction of Mr.
and Mrs. C. S. Maeder will begin at
3 p.m. Refreshments will be served
at 5:30 p.m. under the direction of
Mrs. Horace Love, Mrs. Elliot Noble
and Miss Edith Cumming.
Officers of the organization are
Harry M. Bartley, president; Mrs.
J. S. Baughman, vice pesident, and
John McLain, secretary and treas-
urer.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Monday, August 15, 1938.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 20, 1938.

        Reunion Is Planned
The annual Bartley family re-
union will be held next Saturday
at the Dickson Bartley homestead,
near Bruin, Pa., Butler County.  A
picnic dinner will be served to
members of the family, their neigh-
bors and friends.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 15, 1939.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 19, 1939.

    Bartley Family Reunion
The annual Bartley family re-
union will be held Saturday at the
Dixon Bartley farm near Bruin,
Butler County.


from The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, August 12, 1941.  The reunion was scheduled for Saturday, August 16, 1941.

            Bartley Reunion
The annual reunion of the Bartley
family will be held Saturday at the
Dixon Bartley Homestead near But-
ler, Pa.


Dixon Bartley is my great-great-grandfather.  His daughter Elvira (Bartley) Gerner is my great-grandmother, and her daughter, Beulah Mae (Gerner) Doyle is my grandmother.  I have some information about Elvira's siblings but nearly nothing about their children or grandchildren.  I don't  recognize any of the names mentioned in these announcements. 

My father would probably have enjoyed attending these reunions, especially the ones from 1938 to 1940, but because his mother died soon after his birth, he seems not to have had much association with her side of the family.  Even if these had been published in a Youngstown or Niles newspaper, I wonder if he would have recognized that he was a descendant of Dixon and Rebecca Bartley.

The only family names garnered from these notices are:
Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Maeder
Mrs. Horace Love
Mrs. Elliot Noble
Miss Edith Cumming
Harry M. Bartley
Mrs. J. S. Baughman
John McLain
Perhaps future research will reveal the relationships between these people and Dixon and Rebecca Bartley.

-–Nancy.

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