As you know, we had posted photographs taken by many individuals of various Roblee gravesites. As previously mentioned, my photography site hosting company has recently undertaken a major upgrading of its hosting services, and one change is necessary for individuals to view any of the photo albums I’ve shared.

From now on, it will be necessary to log-in to the site. You can sign up for the Roblee researchers group (which will give you access to all related photo albums) by creating a user account at:

http://www.phanfare.com/group/1382667

Creating a log-in and password using the link above will give you access to all Roblee-related photo albums created to date, plus any in the future.

Alternatively, for those who might like to see any of my photo albums, you will need to send me an individual e-mail (to doug.detling@gmail.com) and I will invite you to the “friends” category rather than the more narrowly defined Roblee group. You will have to confirm your participation to have access to these.

Three years have passed and it is time for another Roblee Family Reunion, which will be held in Innisfail, Alberta, Canada at the home of Bob and Becki Robblee. Plan your vacation in Alberta and join us for the reunion July 11-13, 2008. Alberta has much to offer and is a fabulous vacation destination. Check out the website www.albertatourism.com

On Friday night, there will be a barbecue with burgers and a corn roast. Saturday we will have a continental breakfast and easy lunch. Bob and Becki will cook Alberta prime rib for all to enjoy around 5 p.m. Sunday morning will end with a pancake breakfast. If you wish to come early and stay later, that would be great.

The charge for this reunion is $25 per family.

This year’s reunion will feature the first Family Memorabilia Auction. Please bring items to the auction that include memorabilia from the past (your past or another members’ past) and/or handicrafts and recipes, which you have made, to donate to all the action, oops, auction. This event will be held on Saturday evening.

We are extremely fortunate to have a Children’s Activities Coordinator who is busy planning exciting events for the kids which will take place on the Saturday, as well.

If you have an RV or are tenting, there is space for you right on site. Nearby are several very “rustic” cabins, available for $30 a night. There are several motels in the nearby towns of Innisfail and Olds.

Please bring lawn chairs with you if it’s convenient, and don’t forget family photos and other family memories to share.

Please RSVP by June 15, 2008. We need to know how many of you will be coming and the ages of any children who will be attending with you.

RSVP: phone: 403-227-2912 or by e-mail to: rrobblee@primus.ca

This year the Bowne House Historical Society in New York marks the 350th anniversary of a significant event for religious freedom. From the society’s news release:

On December 27, 1657, thirty townspeople of Flushing, Queens signed a “remonstrance” addressed to Peter Stuyvesant, the director general of the Dutch colony, New Netherland. The two-page letter, set down by a local cleric, protested Stuyvesant’s ban on the rights of Quakers to assemble and worship in the colony. Significantly, it further demanded that all people–regardless of religion or ethnic background–be given “free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences.”

Stuyvesant ignored the Flushing Remonstrance, as it came to be known, but its principles were later tested by John Bowne, an English immigrant and prosperous landowner in Flushing. Although not a Quaker himself, Bowne was married to Quaker minister Hannah Feake Bowne. In defiance of Stuyvesant’s ban, Bowne allowed people of her faith to meet and worship in their Flushing farmhouse. For this “crime,” Stuyvesant imprisoned Bowne in 1662 and banished him to Holland. Refusing to capitulate, Bowne argued his case before the Dutch West India Company. In 1663, the company revoked Stuyvesant’s ban, and ordered him “to allow everyone to have his own belief, as long as he behaves quietly.”

The historical society is seeking descendants of the men who signed the Flushing Remonstrance, as well as Peter Stuyvestant and his sheriff Resolved Waldron. One of Resolved Waldron’s descendants–William Waldron– married Judah Brodt (Bradt) in l804 and produced 14 Waldrons, four of whom married Roblees. The complete text of the news release is available at http://www.robleesonline.org/Flushing_Remonstrance.pdf.