The Descendants of the Jersey Settlers of Adams County will meet in Natchez and Kingston on April 26-28, 2013. The organization was formed in 1940 and has an annual meeting every spring in Kingston. The primary goals of the organization are to maintain two cemetery properties and serve as a resource for genealogical research.

Although the current organization was formed in 1940, its history goes back to 1767 when the largest land grant in the Natchez area was granted by the King of England to Capt. Amos Ogden, who served in the French and Indian War.

The land was 21 miles southwest from the old Natchez fort. Ogden sold a portion of the land to his New Jersey neighbors, Richard and Samuel Swayze. An additional portion was set aside for a town, to include parsonages, public buildings, burying grounds and parades. In 1772 Ogden, Richard and Samuel Swayze along with Caleb King, surveyed the area.

In 1773 the Swayzes and Kings, along with other families (76 people total), returned to the area and planted their first crop.  Kingston was named after Caleb King. Samuel Swayze, a protestant minister, organized the first protestant congregation in the Natchez Territory. Methodism came to the Kingston community in 1799 and the Kingston Methodist Church was organized. The first meeting in the present structure on Kingston Road was in 1855.

This year’s events include a tour of Rosalie Mansion and Gardens, a genealogy workshop, a banquet and a silent auction. Proceeds of the auction will go toward the organization’s 75th anniversary celebration in 2014.

The concluding events will take place on Sunday with the Annual Memorial Service and General Assembly at the Kingston United Methodist Church, including a program by Maria Bowser about the Ogden family. A potluck lunch will follow.

For more information about the reunion or to purchase merchandise, visit our website at www.djs.org or contact Karen O’Neal at 601-446-5742 or onealkaren@bellsouth.net.

 

Karen O’Neal is vice president for publicity of the Descendants of Jersey Settlers for Adams County.