Scots descendants to gather at Maine Highland Games

Maxwelton’s braes are bonnie

Where early fa’s the dew

And ’twas there that Annie Laurie

Gave me her promise true.

The heroine of that lyric, as you may know, was married to Alexander Ferguson of Craigdarroch. So was poet Robert Burns, a descendant of the MacFhearguis family.

Are you? Or maybe you’re a Dunbar, a Bruce, a MacKinnon, a MacLachlan, a Buchanan, a Douglas, a Davidson or a descendant of 65 other Scots clans.

You’d surely enjoy the annual Maine Highland Games. A friend told me recently she enjoys the event so much that she has made attending an annual tradition. The 24th games, sponsored by the Saint Andrews Society, will be held Saturday, Aug. 17, at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick.

Gates open at 8 a.m., and there is plenty of free parking. You may want to take along a folding chair of some type.

Dogs are not permitted, but do bring family and friends, a camera and a picnic, if you like. Or purchase some of their “food, glorious food!”

The year I was able to go, I thought the parade of bagpipe bands was enough of an attraction all by itself. It was great fun, too, to visit the various clan tents, look at the genealogical resources, meet new cousins and see all the beautiful tartans.

Tickets are $10 at the gate or $7 in advance; $5 at the gate for children 6-12, $3 in advance.

For information, check the Web site at mainehighlandgames.org. The general chairman can be reached at 549-7857. Chairman of advance ticket sales is Jane Blake, P.O. Box 989, Jefferson, ME 04348; 549-7541. Checks should be payable to Saint Andrews Society, with stamped, self-addressed envelope included.

Heather Weymouth owes me a swat on the head. Last week, when I was recalling how much I enjoyed the 175th anniversary of Abbot, I said the Abbot Historical Society coordinated the event.

The society did a lot, but it was the Town Committee for the 175th Anniversary, led by Heather Weymouth, that ran the two-day event.

The 107th Wing Family Reunion will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 1 at the Wing Pavilion in Phillips. Activities will include a luncheon and auction. Bring a dish and something to auction. There will be entertainment for young and old. For information, call 592-9402 weekdays or 649-1975 weekends.

The 91st Butler Family Reunion, for the descendants of Moses and Sarah (Goodwin) Butler, the first settlers of Taunton Bay in 1754, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 in the Franklin Grange Hall on Route 182, about 10 miles east of Ellsworth. Bring a dish for the buffet dinner. The event will close with make-your-own sundaes. For information, contact Diane Collar at 565-3646, or Susan Roderick at 634-5690.

The first Butler reunion, Collar tells us, was held at Butler Point on Aug. 17, 1898. According to notes taken that day, “After dinner, a walk was taken to the Point where is still to be seen the cellar of the first log house which was erected by the first English settlers in the vicinity.”

The annual Gray Family Reunion will be held Aug. 17 at the home of Foster Gray in Dedham. Lunch will be served at noon. Bring a hot or cold dish or dessert, and chairs. For information or directions, contact Michelle at 848-5210.

3195. NORWOOD-STOCKBRIDGE. Seeking parents, ancestry for Sarah Norwood, who md. Benjamin Stockbridge, possibly b. Deer Isle, son of John and Ruth (Joyce) Stockbridge. Benjamin and Sarah had son Isaiah Stockbridge, b. Feb. 28, 1843, d. Dec. 21, 1913. Danny W. Howard, DECF Box 428, Machiasport, ME 04655.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News. P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or, e-mail familyti@bangordailynews.net.