July 10, 2022
Greetings Family! We greatly applaud the Detroit chapter for paying homage to the late Liggie Marie Ragsdale McDougal, the founder of the Ealy Family Reunion in 1974. To honor aspects of our reunion history and our family history solidifies our commitment to preserving and commemorating the Ealy Family Legacy. That’s our mission, hence our chapter’s name, Ealy Legacy Keepers (ELK), which was given to us by the late Chandra Battle Blanks. With that, we have an announcement.
The ELKs will be hosting a “Where It All Started” Ealy Family Reunion in 2024 in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Although we think of Leake County, Mississippi as our ancestral home, Nash County, North Carolina is where Big Bob Ealy originally came from. William & Frances Eley brought him to Mississippi when he was about 20 years old. He was forced to leave his birthplace and family members he would never see again. We are presenting this opportunity for his descendants to tour the area and have our 2024 reunion there! It is going to be a wonderful, momentous weekend event! Over the next two years, as we are planning and fundraising, we will keep the family informed. Words cannot express how excited we are to present a unique opportunity like this to the Ealy Family!
Sandra Richardson, Chairperson
The Robert "Big Bob" Ealy Family 