reunions

The Rucker Family Society has met every other year since 1988 for a national reunion and to conduct Society business. The emphasis of the meetings is learning about the host city's Rucker history, and the weekend can fairly be described as a "Rucker field trip." Early reunions were held in Virginia, since Peter Rucker was an immigrant to that colony, and so much of the Rucker history is to be found there. The Society is national in scope, however, and reunions now alternate between Virginia and other states. We have met in Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Utah. We will return to Nashville, Tn the weekend of October 16, 2010. Society members in our host cities arrange lectures, tours of historic homes, cemetery visits, museum time, and fine dining with friends old and new. There is no better way to learn about an area and its Rucker ties.

Our 2004 Virginia reunion was held at the nexus of the early Rucker family history, and featured Lynchburg's Batteau Festival. We visited historic Rucker homesites, and toured museums and family graveyards. Sweet Briar College was the setting for many of our lectures and programs, which ran the gamut from the scholarly to the light-hearted.

The 2006 Salt Lake City reunion capitalized on the genealogic research resources of the downtown's LDS Family History Library. City and regional tours exhibited the area's Winter Olympics legacy, posh ski resorts, the world's biggest open pit copper mine, historic homes and modern universities, and the convention center, where we attended a live radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and orchestra.

Our Kansas City reunion celebrated the westward migration of the Rucker family, symbolized by the wagon wheel ruts visible on our tour of the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails. The Harry Truman home and Presidential Library, beautiful river towns and old cemeteries, and a tour of the collection of the excavated cargo of the steamboat Arabia were a few of the highlights.

Our June, 2008 reunion in Charlottesville, Virginia included tours of the historic homes of three of our founding fathers: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, James Monroe's Ashlawn-HIghland and John Madison's Montpelier. We toured the University's Rotunda and Lawn, and its exhibits of the Declaration of Independance and historic maps. The observatory was ours exclusively for an evening of stargazing through its 125 year-old telescope. We toured Ruckersville, and visited some of its many antique stores. Our Sunday speaker introduced us to the newly indexed account books of Lynchburg's Diuguid funeral home, a great source of genealogical information for Rucker research in Amherst County.

Nashville, TN was the site for our 2010 reunion, the second time the Rucker Family Society enjoyed its charms. We visited Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage and James K. Polk's home, and toured the site of the Civil War's Battle of Franklin. The newly renovated Grand Ole Opry hosted us for an evening performance by some of Nashville's established (Randy Travis) and up-and-coming musicians. We enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts at a lavish wine and cheese reception, and sampled the wide variety of local restaurants, and the nightlife and music of downtown. The life of one of our ancestors, Confederate Col. Edmund Winchester Rucker, was interpreted by Mr. Mike Rucker in the guise of his Civil War forbear, William Ambrose Rucker. The live auction at our Sunday meeting and brunch was lively, indeed, and raised funds for the Society's general fund. We were blessed by perfect weather, and the fellowship of old and new friends.

Join us in Richmond, Virginia, June 21 to 24, for our 2012 Reunion! The Embassy Suites Hotel, Richmond, is our host lodging, where we have reserved a block of rooms. The Society meeting, lectures and social gatherings will be at the Embassy Suites. Individuals must make their reservations by June 1, 2012 to benefit from the special package put together by the Rucker Family Society. We encourage you to make your plans well ahead of time and reserve rooms early, which will facilitate planning for the tours and meals. Contact the Embassy Suites directly at (804) 672-8585, or at the central reservations number: 1-888-409-5345. Be sure to ask for the Rucker Family Society Reunion block when making your reservations. A single room is $111 and a double room is $129. The rate includes a full hot breakfast made to order, and the Manager's Cocktail Reception. Out of town guests may want to arrive on Thursday, June 21; Richmond has an abundance of attractions for the visitor, and there are sure to be too many to fit into just a few days. The schedule of events is tentative until registration forms for the reunion are mailed; check here for updates on the schedule for the reunion.