1906 Rockefeller Reunion in Flemington

About 70 Rockefeller family members gathered for a two-day reunion in Oct. 1906. The family enjoyed a banquet in Flemington, and spent the night in the Union Hotel.

The next morning, they clambered aboard 25 wagons and headed to Larison’s Corner for the unveiling of the 10-foot graveyard monument honoring Johann Peter Rockefeller, their first ancestor to settle in America. Johann Peter owned a farm one mile west of Rocktown, and he was buried on a portion of that land. The Rockefellers toured the area where Johann Peter lived and picked clean a pear tree supposedly planted by him.

The most famous family member, John D. Rockefeller, did not attend. The New York Times stated in an article about the reunion: “It is admitted by the poorer relations that, so far, he has not paid any attention except that he reads typewritten copies of the family eulogies after they have been delivered here.” (Reunion photo from past HCHS newsletter.)