FREEPORT – The Sylvester family reunion, barbecue/picnic and the 29th annual meeting of the Sylvester Cemetery Association were held at Winslow Memorial Park on Aug. 24.

Families attending were from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. New members recognized for the fiscal year were Lori Knowles of Manhasset, N.Y.; Faye Brown of Lisbon Falls; Elizabeth Sylvester Campbell, Randall and Michelle Campbell of Hebron. Guests were Robert and Dorothy Sylvester of Damariscotta, who are searching for the early Sylvester ancestors of Artemas Sylvester.

The members attending represented three of the ancestral lines from Richard Silvester, who arrived in Massachusetts on the ship Mary and John in 1630 and his wife, Naomi, whom he married in 1632, the second-generation lines of John and his wife, Sarah Silvester of Marshfield, Mass., whose fourth-generation descendant, Joshua, and his wife Mary Silvester, settled in Wiscasset around 1738; second generation lines of Capt. Joseph and his wife, Mary Barstow Silvester of Scituate, Mass. whose fifth-generation descendant, Job and his wife Margaret Stetson Sylvester, settled in Durham in 1797 and his cousin, Joseph Sylvester, who settled in Freeport prior to his marriage to Lucy Wade in 1789; and second-generation line of Benjamin and his first wife, Lydia Standlake (Stanley) Silvester of Scituate, Mass. Some of the descendants of this major family line settled in Lincolnville around 1810.

A moment of silent prayer was held for Carl H. Brown II of Havasu City, Ariz., son of Carl and Mildred Sylvester Brown, who died unexpectedly Dec. 27, 2002, and Everett S. Sylvester of Salina, Kan., son of Leoncy and Florence Sylvester, who died Aug. 5, 2003.

It was announced that Everett and Rosalie Sylvester had been honored by their sons, James, Alan and Randall, Oct. 20, at the dedication ceremony of the Everett and Rosalie Sylvester Study Room in Fiedler Hall, College of Engineering Complex, Kansas State University, where the three sons received their degrees in engineering.

Nicholas Smith of Brunswick gave a brief report of some of the research he had compiled to add to the association’s files. A roll call of the attending direct descendants of John, Capt. Joseph and Benjamin was conducted by Ruth Benjamin, who also gave the secretary and treasurer’s reports. Reports of the upkeep of the family cemetery in Durham were given by Raymond and Charles Sylvester.

It was announced that the next annual meeting of the state Society of Mayflower Descendants will be on Nov. 15 at Verillo’s Restaurant in Portland and that there presently are nine members from the association who belong to the society.

It was also announced that the 99th annual meeting of the Stetson Kindred of America was held Aug. 16 and 17 in Norwell, Mass., at the Stetson Shrine on the original property of ancestor, Cornet Robert Stetson, who arrived in the United States, possibly on the ship Griffin in 1634. Lewis Stetson Allen, great-grandson of John B. Stetson, the creator of Stetson hats, was one of the guest speakers. The new office, archives and library of the Stetson Kindred of America is located in the fire museum in Hanover, Mass.

Officers re-elected were: president, Charles W. Sylvester; vice president, Raymond Sylvester; and secretary-treasurer, Ruth Sylvester Benjamin. All committees were reappointed.

Recognized as the youngest attending was Joseph Sylvester, 2-year-old son of Daniel and Lillie Sylvester of Durham, and the oldest attending was Charles W. Sylvester of Auburn.

Volumes of family genealogical charts, town histories, pertinent displays, maps and albums were available for reference and viewing.

Birthdays of all attending was recognized in the form of a popcorn birthday cake. Assisting Ruth Benjamin with the tables were Marion Sylvester, Faye Brown and George Benjamin. Ralph Sylvester provided the PA system and Marion Sylvester manned the registration table.

The next family reunion, sponsored by the Sylvester Cemetery Association, and the 30th annual meeting of the association will be held Aug. 22, 2004.