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Worldwide Storey Reunion 2003 Page One On Tuesday May 6, 2003, researchers of the Storey / Story / and Storie surname began arriving at the HIlton Hotel in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. They traveled from as far away as Canada, Mexico and Northern Ireland to attend a conference specifically designed to promote the exchange of genealogical information and to educate regarding the origins and history of the Storey surname (and it's various spellings). Below is a picture history of the three day event. Click on the thumbnails to view a larger picture with additional comments. Tuesday May 6, 2003 Bright Indiana sunshine and an azure blue sky welcomed a steady flow of Storeys into Fort Wayne in anticipation of the second ever Worldwide Storey Reunion. What an exciting afternoon it was, for cousins to finally meet face to face who previously had only corresponded through the medium of e-mail. Friendships that had developed on-line, quickly took on an air of kinship as we spoke of our particular line of Storeys and the research that we had each done. It helped build the excitment to think of what we might learn from each other about our Storey heritage. The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting, talking and sharing bits of information about our families. Cousins continued to arrive as the afternoon went on. There were researchers from Ontario Canada, Mexico, Belfast, Northern Ireland and the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Virginia, Arizona and California. Some could not wait for the meeting to begin and started sharing information about their Storey lines right in the hotel lobby! On Tuesday evening, thirty-seven Storeys met for a reception in the atrium of the Hilton. Over a Hors d Oeuvre buffet, some met cousins for the first time in many years, and others met close cousins for the first time ever!          Wednesday May 7, 2003 On Wednesday morning, we met in the Grand Wayne Convention Center and immediately began sharing research material. The room was buzzing with activity and conversation...like a beehive of Storeys sharing documents, maps, pictures etc. We spoke of the earliest origins of our surname, dating all the way back to the first Norse settlers in northwest England. The root of our name ("Stor"), is of Norse origin and means "large". So from a large Norse settler in the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, came a line of descendants that became known at the Story, Storey, Storie etc... a clan that grew in number so that by the 14th century it was a well established family in the region now known as Cumbria in northwest England. Several attendees came away with new information about their particular line of Storeys. Jack Storey of Belfast shared his vast resources of information on Irish Storeys and Storys, and was able to help several cousins find clues to their Irish roots.             1  2