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Our extant
records refer to the May family reunion of 1929 as the "First
May Reunion." It was held on Sunday, August 25th at the
county home of Dr. and Mrs. W. B. Robinson on Stepstone Road
near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. We know of the reunion from a newspaper
article telling of the gathering of 85 descendants of Samuel
May (1820-1904).
The host, Dr. William Boyd Robinson, graduated from Cincinnati
Veterinary College in 1909 and practiced in Montgomery Co., Kentucky
for forty years. President of the Mt. Sterling Stock Yards for
26 years, he was a prominent citizen of the county, serving as
a City Councilman of Mt. Sterling, County Commissioner, and County
Sheriff. He also made an unsuccessful bid for Kentucky State
Senator. His wife, who made the extensive preparations for the
reunion, was Carrie Vice Robinson.
As you can see from the account in the article, the ancestry
of the family was thought to connect with John May, a famous
Kentucky pioneer and the man for whom Mays Lick and Maysville,
Kentucky were named. Subsequent genealogical research has shown
that there is no connection between our ancestor, John May (1760-1813),
and John May (1744-1790), a prominent Virginia attorney who speculated
in Kentucky land.
Speakers at the gathering were Daniel Mark Hager of Prestonsburg,
Frank May of Wilmore, and David May of Nicholasville. Their orations
"extorted their hearers to press forward to the mark of
the high calling, which is in Christ, pleading with all to preserve
the family name and teachings of their forefathers."
Telegrams were also read to the gathering from Rev. Sam Robinson
of Tennessee and Rev. Ernest Robinson of Texas, brothers of Dr.
Robinson who could not attend the reunion.
Family
notes on the speakers:
- Dr. W. B. Robinson (b.
1877 d. aft. 1949) was a grandson of Samuel May (1820-1904) and
great-grandson of Thomas May (1787-1867).
- David May (1847-1943)
was a son of Samuel May (1820-1904); Frank May (1869-1949)
was David's son; and Daniel Mark Hager (1846-1942), widower
of Elizabeth Magdaline May (1849-1908), was David's brother-in-law.
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