Reunion Success

Allardice/Ardis

Family Association

The Descendents of Alexander of ALRETHES and the ancient family of ALLARDICE in Kincardineshire, Scotland UK... and those bearing, or descended from, the ALLARDICE/ARDIS and Related Surnames... including ALARDYCE, ALDERDICE, ALDERDYCE, ALERDYCE, ALLARDICE, ALLARDYCE, ALLERDICE, ARDES, ARDIS, and ARDYCE

Allardice/Ardis Family Reunion A Great Success!

By James K. Allerdice, Jr.

Well, after two years of planning, lots of emails, big dreams, and a lot of hard work, the first ever Allardice/Ardis World Wide Family Reunion was a resounding success! The idea was to move our acquaintances from the Internet, to a place where we could actually match all those names to a real face.

Two years ago, we started an Internet Web Project that started us down a path of discovery that has lead to a revitalization of the family, a rediscovery of our history and genealogy, and ultimately to our reunion. However, in this case, Reunion is somewhat of a misnomer – since at least half the people anyone met at the reunion, we had never met before! But that is what made it so great! All of us were Allardice's (no matter how you spell it) we were all family! We all hit-it-off in moments and we were hugging and talking like we had known each other all our lives.

We started off on Friday night with our Hospitality Suite. Everyone who was staying at the hotel stopped in at the Hospitality Suite (our room) for the first chance to meet each other and for some long awaited socializing. Everyone was treated to food plates, beer, a bottle of home made wine for each person registered for the reunion, some Allardice Scotch (Glendronach) and a special Reunion Lapel Pin to commemorate the event. Everyone had a great time meeting each other and this was also our first chance to meet Richard Barclay Allardice (pictured second from the left) who is the Heir Apparent of the Barons of Allardice. We are currently in the process of matriculating his Coat of Arms through The Lord Lyon in Scotland. Richard is accompanied in this picture by (L-R) his son, Christopher, his wife Judy, his brother Brien, my Step-mother Barbara Allerdice, my Dad Jim Allerdice, and Richard's daughter Cathy.

The next day, Saturday, started out with the Stone Mountain Highland Games. Everyone went their own way to explore the games and take in other sites at Stone Mountain Park.

The Reunion Banquette began at 7:00pm. Our Honored Guest and Keynote Speaker was Richard Graham, President of the Clan Graham Society and His Grace, The Duke of Montrose's Chieftain in North America. Richard spoke of the history between the Graham and the Allardice families, which is long and distinguished. He also took time to explain the significance of the design of his banner. (Pictured at Right - Richard Graham and Jim Allerdice hold the banner as Richard explains.)

The Banquette also featured several other speakers. Bruce Allardice, author of "The Barons of Allardice" also referred to as "The Monograph" gave some historical background and a few very interesting tales of early life in Allardice Castle. David Allardice gave us a virtual tour of Allardice Castle and the surrounding area based on his travels to Scotland. Tom Ardis explained how Allardice has been transformed over the centuries to encompass over 42 spellings - eventually including the spellings Allardice, Allardyce, Allerdice, Alderdice, and Ardis, just to name a few. And last but not least, we had our first opportunity to hear from Richard Barclay Allardice, direct descendant of the Barons of Allardice and presumed Chief of the Allardice Family (Petition to The Lord Lyon Pending). Pictured above-left (L-R) Richard Graham, Christopher Allardice, Richard Barclay Allardice, and Jim Allerdice - President of the Allardice-Ardis Family Association.

To sum it all up, it was an extraordinary experience! The feedback that we have received from the family is overwhelmingly positive. (Pictured at the Right are just a few of the 60 people who attended the Reunion Banquette including Richard and Kate Graham) This has also helped us kick off The Allardice/Ardis Family Association, which will operate closely with the Clan Graham Society. We hope to continue to have events that will strengthen our family ties and build a strong and lasting relationship with Clan Graham.

For more information on the Allardice/Ardis Family Association, visit our website at www.allardice.org. For more information and pictures of the Allardice-Ardis World Wide Family Reunion, visit www.allerdice.net.