The purpose of the website, sponsored by the Carey/Cary Family organization, is to encourage communications among members of the Carey/Cary family regardless of their ancestry or blood line, and to gather and share family research, information and lore.   

The Carey/Cary Family organization resulted from a phone query from Richard (Rick) Carey to Niel Carey asking about the Carey family with roots near the Maryland/Delaware line on the Eastern Shore. In their discussion they realized that they had gathered a good deal of family information and that they were cousins!  They also decided that they would plan a family reunion, if possible near the area of their family’s origin. As the planning proceeded, they contacted  Carey’s Methodist Church and Camp, and Don Ward arranged for a special Sunday service at the Church.  The Sunday service has continued as an important part of the reunion.

The first reunion of the Carey/Cary Family was held at Ocean City, MD, on September 9, 1994, with attendees from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Florida and New York.  At that meeting members voted unanimously to name the group the Carey/Cary Family organization, to adopt bylaws for the organization, to elect officers and to establish a family newsletter.  Niel and Rick were elected president and vice president, respectively, and Helen Carey agreed to edit the newsletter.

The Carey/Cary Family By-laws define the purpose and goals of the organization: To strengthen the ties and increase interaction among family members; to collect and share family historical and genealogical research, information and lore;  and to provide and encourage communications and interaction among family members and friends of the family.  It has been emphasized that all persons with Carey/Cary family ties, regardless of their family or blood line, and those interested in the family will be welcome and are encouraged to join our family organization.

The Carey/Cary Family Newsletter has served as a major means of communication for the Family organization.  It has provided news of the organization and its members, and has given members and others a vehicle for communicating and sharing family research, historical information and lore.  Editor Helen Carey arranged for a collection of the newsletters to be placed in key locations including the research library at the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore, the Carey Library in Carey, Ohio, the Carey Family Room of the Maryland Historical Society, libraries with extensive family history collections in Houston, TX, and in Indiana, and others.  Dr. Ray Thompson arranged for the collection in the Nabb Research Center to be bound and several copies included in the Center’s collection. A complete set of the newsletters are also on this web site.

Soon after Sean Gilson, a Family member from Atlanta, joined the organization, he agreed to design and manage this web site.  This site has become a primary means of communication for family members. It enables our members and friends from all over the country, from Canada and the United Kingdom to communicate, to share information and research, and to discuss issues and raise questions about the Carey/Cary Family.  Sean also agreed to initiate and manage a Family DNA initiative.  As a result of his work and encouragement, several members of the Family have participated in the Carey/Cary DNA project and, as a result, have an increased knowledge of family ties and connections.  A Technology Committee, with members Ed Carey, Helen Carey, and Sean, is currently exploring means of utilizing technology and perhaps family forums to strengthen family communication.       

For the past several years, Dr. Ray Thompson has made arrangements for the  reunion to be held at the Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University.  Dr. Thompson and his staff have made presentations and  been available to help reunion attendees access the Center’s extensive resources. Mike Hitch, Nabb Center Board Chair, has utilized GPS and related technology to help family members learn about family land grants and related information.  In 2016, the Nabb Center will be located in the  Academic Commons facility on the Salisbury University main campus, scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2016.  A Carey Family Research/Reading room has been endowed in the Center, and it is anticipated that the Carey/Cary Family reunion will be held in the new facility in October 2016.

Our Carey/Cary Family officers and directors:  Richard G. (Rick) Carey, Vice President; Barbara Carey Phillips, Secretary; Helen S. Carey, Treasurer; Barbara Carey, Director of Public Relations; and Sean Gilson, Website and DNA Director, join me in welcoming your use of this web site, and we encourage you to join with us in gathering and sharing Carey/Cary family research, information and lore!

Niel

E. Niel Carey, President

enielcarey (at) aol (dot) com; 410.465.6994