The 2002 Aten/Auten/Eaton Reunion by Mamie McKinney

Our family reunion was held in the Somerset Marriott, in Somerset New Jersey on Saturday the third of August this year. About sixty members and guests of this great family attended it. The place it was held was just perfect as the Somerset Marriott sits on the original farm of one of the second-generation ancestors that migrated there from New York between 1705 and 1710. Putting the reunion together was a joint effort by several who I think did a wonderful job. They worked and put out a lot of time and expense from their own pockets to make the reunion possible. I just want to say a special thanks to them all. Jerry Auten, Tom Nielson, Phyllis Nash, Richard Eaton, John Auten, Karen Hillman, and Colleen Pustola. (You guys are great!) Much preparation had been done by Jerry Auten to see that we had places to visit and things to see and do prior to and during the reunion. Phyllis Nash was our treasurer, and did a wonderful job of taking care of all the financial end of things as well as keeping track of who was coming to the reunion. Plus she as well as many others just jumped in and helped with anything that needed doing. In addition to setting things up with the Relative Genetics people, Tom Nielson was our top recruiter as he and his wife Janet made many phone calls to invite family members. Colleen did a great job with the reunion website.

Many arrived on Thursday, some on Friday, and the latecomers arrived on Saturday, so we were all meeting and greeting family members we had never met before in the lobby. Many shared meals together and just got acquainted in the hotel dining room. On Saturday we had a room in the Marriott set up with display tables and chairs for the reunion gathering. Many brought files, charts, books, pictures, documents, stories, and family histories to share. We had a copier in the hall with plenty of paper for everyone's use. Tom Nielson brought his laptop with a family file that we could look up our ancestors in, and he was kept busy helping anyone who wanted to find their branch.

We were fortunate enough to have the reunion filmed by Relative Genetics who had done the DNA testing for several family members. Mark Allen and Gerald Hatch were the two great guys who did the filming. They also took a group photo of the entire clan just before dinner. (We probably all looked hungry.) We wore nametags with our names and where we were from. It was much easier than trying to remember everyone's name.

Our family dinner Saturday evening was held in the Terrace Banquet Room in the hotel. The room was beautiful, the service was great, and the food was scrumptious. Before dinner the president of Relative Genetics showed us a film on DNA and gave us the results of all the DNA tests they had done. That was really interesting. After dinner, Richard and I played a little music to entertain everyone, ending it with everyone helping me sing Amazing Grace. I was then surprised with a birthday cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. Several stood up and told something about their family line or something of genealogical interest. It was great to be there and share (if only for a day or two) in the lives of so many different branches descended from one common ancestor (Adriaen Hendrickse Aten) who came to this country in 1651.

It was then nearing the end of a perfect day, and for Richard and me it had been a dream come true to meet everyone who came. Karen Hillman had made arrangements for a Sunday excursion following the reunion at the Delaware Water Gap. We would have loved to have shared in that, but a death in the family caused us to leave for home late Saturday night.

I will leave it to others to fill in the gaps in this little remembrance, but I would like to share some quotes from just a few of the e-mails I received after the reunion. "We had a great time at the reunion." - Russ and Dot Auten, Ohio. "I thought the reunion was well done." - Roy Crawford, Ohio. "The reunion far exceeded my expectations." - Dwight Auten, New Mexico. "Awesome!" - Tom Nielson, Utah. "I really enjoyed meeting all my cousins and placing faces with the names." - Phyllis Nash, California. "The reunion was really wonderful." - Karen Aten Hillman, Pennsylvania. "My sister Mary and I agree, the reunion was one of the best weekends we have had." - Nancy Auten and Mary Jane Auten Merkel, New York. All the comments about the reunion were great; I for one had the best time of my life.