Hey Magruders, McGruders, McGruthers, McGrews, & all… On June 29, descendants of perhaps 100 southern Maryland families will converge on the La Plata campus of the University of Southern MD. It looks like a group of us, both African American & white, will be taking part, and we want you to join us. None of us attended last year’s event (at least no one I’ve been in touch with) but we think it could be a great way for some of us to meet face-to-face and see what we can learn from each other. Duncan McGruther plans to fly over from Scotland, with all his research info on Alexander McGruder/Magruder’s origins. Many others will have their family trees, their research, and their questions.

Registration is $25, and your payment and registration must be in by June 1. The chief organizer is Wanda Simmons of the organization Southern Maryland Families. (They do not appear to have a web site.) I don’t want to publish Wanda’s email here, but if you click the Contact tab at the top of this page and send me a message I will either put you in touch with Wanda or just forward the info to you directly. (Wanda has been swamped with correspondence, so the latter might be better.) You can also check out the thread about this on the Magruder/McGruder Family Genealogy Group on Facebook.

There are also plans–talked of, but not yet firm–for Magruders/McGruders to have our own informal gathering either the day before or the day after the fair (June 28 or June 30). I’m sure folks will want to visit the site of Magruder’s Landing and tobacco warehouse, and other sites. If you want to seriously explore, plan on at least one extra day.

If you are not a Magruder by name, but are connected through the legacy of slavery, please also consider attending. The more we share, the more we’ll learn.

And: anyone living in southern Maryland, please reach out with advice on hotels, restaurants, meeting places, and all.

More soon, and hope to meet you in June.