Livesay Historical Society History
James Jefferson Livesay, Founder LHS
FIRST MEETING, CLOVERDALE, VA, 1957
James Jefferson Livesay   A 151.511.12
b. March 31, 1920, Coeburn, Wise Co, VA
d. November 9, 2001, Ridgeland, MS, Age 81

Founder of Livesay Family Association [now Livesay Historical Society],1957.  Jim was the son of Eugene Reginald
Livesay and Miriam Ruth [Brown] Livesay and the grandson of James Ambrose Livesay and Mary Jane “Mollie” Carson.

His father was an educator in Coeburn, VA. The family moved to Jackson, MS, in 1926, where Jim attended public schools.
Jim graduated from Millsaps College BA in 1941. He enlisted in the Navy, following Midshipman school, at Columbia
University, he received his Navy commission, and served as an officer in California during WWII.

While in the Navy he encountered other Livesays and developed and interest in family history.
Jim acquired a lengthy  list of Livesay addresses and sent inquiry cards to the list. Following responses a meeting was held
in Roanoke [Cloverdale] VA, where the Livesay Family Association, later named the Livesay Historical Society was formed.
Jim has been a guiding light and inspiration to the friendship, research, and organization of our Society. He  has led the
extended family in research, recording presentation, and publication of our family history. His example of discovery and his
encouragement of others  have given the strength, depth and breadth of the LHS.

FAMILY
Below are the closing thoughts from a presentation by James J. Livesay Aug. 1980,
delivered at the annual LHS meeting.

“…a strongly-held conviction I have about the idea of family.-
Deep within us all, in spite of our sophistication and our pose of self-sufficiency in our
technological and materialistic society, is the longing to go home—the belief that life
doesn’t have to be lonely and dehumanizing. Deep within us, too, is the feeling that God
has given us the family for our own wholeness.  If the Livesay Historical Society can
point the way—at all levels of family—to both the immediate and the extended families
as a place where we can be accepted for what we now are and be given the
encouragement to become better than we are now—where we can be forgiven after our
failures—where we can begin again—where we can find courage after our world falls
apart—where love never ends, then our raison d’etre—our reason for being—will indeed
be affirmed.
…if we can achieve this, then with the grace of the loving God, the family he brought
forth in this new land, ..can be an example to others..to the nation, and the family of man
of the conditions that make for peace. If we can..in part, make this kind of contribution to
society, then we will, in the spirit of Him who was the servant of all, indeed be a chosen  
people.”
pub. Livesay Bulletin Vol. XXIII No. 2, Feb, 1981.
Virginia Smith Historian
Over 40 Yrs of Growth and Achievement
Over 40 Years of Growth and Achievements for the Livesay Historical Society

The Livesay. Historical Society has come a long way since its formation in June 1957 at the Traveltown Motel near Roanoke, Virginia.
Twenty-two adults and eight children were present. They had come together at the invitation of James and Mary Lee Livesay, of
Jackson, Mississippi. In 1957 family research was not the popular hobby that it is today so not everyone understood the reasons
people from so many distant states would gather to meet others whom they knew slightly or not at all. The only thing they shared was
an interest in the Livesay family.
To quote from Jim Livesay's paper on "The Beginning of the Livesay Historical Society" published in 1980:     "Every moment was filled
with the feeling that we were part of something exciting, something deeply significant, something that reached back into the deep past
and would extend into the unknown future… something historical."

There were many talented, dedicated people among those first members who gladly gave their time and talents to work for the growth
of this new organization, the Livesay Family Association. They elected officers and agreed that they would meet again the following
year. Their main goal was to collect and share information about the early history of the Livesay family. To make this possible it was
also necessary to reach out and draw more and more people into the excitement of researching the family.

For the first few years the annual meeting alternated between Tennessee and Virginia because there was a larger concentration of the
Livesay name in those states but people attended from many distant states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
Gradually the meeting was expanded to include three days and was held in other states. Locations in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and
West Virginia were chosen because they were connected in some way to the various branches of the family. The meeting is usually
held in July and is attended by an average of 130 people. It is welcomed as a time for fellowship, the serious exchange of Livesay data
and the renewal of our support for the goals of the Society. It is also an opportunity for new members to compare notes, meet other
Livesay descendants and find their particular Livesay family line.

The members of the Society spread the news about their research by mailing out a newsletter and the officers and members wrote
many personal letters to new contacts. As the membership grew, it was necessary to increase the newsletter's contents and it became
a quarterly publication. Dues increases were necessary to support this important part of the Society. The mailing list grew from 50 to
150, then to 600 households receiving> the Livesay Bulletin and finally leveled off to our current number of 400 members. The number
of pages in>the bulletin has also increased. It now contains pictures, genealogical records, research reports on various family lines.
and information about the current activities of the Society. The Livesay Bulletin is sent to 43 states in the United States as well as other
countries including Canada, England', Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and Africa. It is also sent to 17>libraries free of charge for
their genealogical collections.

As more and more research material was sent to the LHS Historian, it became apparent that although there were many different
spellings of the family name in the USA, all connected to the family in the Lancashire area of England. The Society is interested in
researching all these families with the various spellings. Livesay, Livesey, Livasy, Livacy, Lifsey, Livezey and Levascy are just a few
spellings that have been documented.

In 1970 the first book of Livesay research was published. It was "Livesays in the United States: The Joseph Line", by Ann Livesay
Harrison and Arkie Livesay Longmire. Since that time the Society has published seven books including a variety of research information
such as census records, lineage charts and histories of various branches of the family.

Many people have contributed family records, genealogical charts and research papers to the Livesay Historical Society; files which are
now contained in 14 file drawers and numerous boxes and books. These files are kept at the home of the LHS Historian so they can be
used to help members with their research. It is also necessary to have these files and records available to be used in books the Society
will be publishing in the future.

In 1995, following a 2 year search, officers and members accepted the offer of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana
to house copies of the LHS research records and files. They would bind the loose papers into books and make them available to
researchers. The Library has the second largest genealogical collection in the United States and it was felt they understood the
underlying goals and aims of the Society. It was an honor that they accepted and appreciated the value of the LHS collection to future
researchers. The Society met in Fort Wayne in 1994 and 1998 so members could visit the Library.

The process of organizing and copying these records has taken over 4 years and was made possible by a generous donation by Lacy
and Rita Livesay, of Lakeland, Florida, to cover the cost of the project. Lacy was one of the founding members of the Society. All files
and records have been copied and forwarded to the library but the work continues. As new charts and research records are received
from members, they are copied before they are placed into the LHS files. The copies are sent to Allen County Public Library. In this way
both the LHS files and the collection at the Library are kept up-to-date.

The Livesay research files now cover 17 documented immigrant lines and others whose immigrant ancestor has not been established.
The files also contain a great deal of material on the Livesay/sey family in England and some of the connecting families such as
Marsden, Heskins, Whalley and Cunliffe. We urge new members to share their family charts and history with us.

It is through the generosity of LHS members that the Society has been able to collect so much research data and to expand the areas
of LHS research. One area where this is evident is the research of the family in England. Members who went to England on their own,
established friendships and through their letters and phone calls kept the avenues of knowledge open and working. They then shared
this new information and the names of their new contacts with the Society. This finally led to three successful Livesay Heritage Tours to
England and the Lancashire area in 1989, 1992 and 1998, where the roots of the Livesay family have been recorded for generations.
They visited Livesay sites and gained a new and more profound knowledge of the family history. During these tours several English
LHS members welcomed the group into their homes.

One of the first projects undertaken by the Society was the establishment of the Livesay Scrapbooks as a method of recording the
progress of the Society and its members. It started with one scrapbook in which the scrapbook editor placed pictures and news items
sent to him during the year between meetings. This collection has now grown to include 22 scrapbooks. These books are brought it to
every meeting to be viewed by the people attending and they contain a visual history of the early LHS meetings and the people who
have worked so diligently for the advancement of the Society.

As the Society grew In numbers. and the scope of their research increased, many changes were necessary. The: officers, board
members and members in Ea1£worked to keep the Society growing in the right direction, never losing sight of the original goals of the
organizing members.
The Livesay Family Association became the Livesay Historical Society and was incorporated in the state of Tennessee. Several new
officers were added to the executive board to help with the additional work of the Society. Committees were appointed to take on
special projects. LHS members always responded to requests for help in every area and so many worked behind the scenes without
taking any personal credit.

The family crest of Sir Michael Livesey of Kent, England has been used informally as a logo on meeting programs and other printed
material but we have not claimed any direct connection to this branch of the Livesay family. It is probable that this family connects with
other documented family lines in England many generations back in time. Recently a newly designed pin has been introduced to the
Society, which contains the LHS name and the date of our first meeting.

Computers have added a new dimension to the preservation of the LHS files and this project has been ongoing for a number of years.
The latest use of this new technology is through the scanning of the pictures from the files. These were then shown on a large screen
at the 1999 meeting and are also available for viewing on the Livesay Web Page. This is another ongoing project and will grow as new
members send in pictures of their Livesay ancestors.
The Livesay Web Page was established as a means of contacting more people and making them aware of the work of the society. On
the web page we list information about both past and present LHS meetings and list current LHS projects.

LHS dues are $20.00 for a regular membership and $15.00 a senior citizen membership. Donations are welcomed to help fund special
projects. All officers and board members serve the Society without any monetary gain. All resources of the Society are used for the
work of the Society including the publishing of the quarterly bulletins, sending new research to the Allen County Public Library and
other libraries, publishing books on the family and covering expenses for the annual meetings.

The growth in members and in the scope of the Livesay research could not have been accomplished without the devotion, generosity
and active participation of so many Livesay descendants, their spouses and friends. It is their work and conduct that we should look to
as star guide as the Livesay Historical Society moves into the new century.
- Virginia Smith, Historian reviewed 12/2003
NOTE:

The LHS archives are kept by our historian: Virginia Smith,  107 Linden ave, Mercersburg, PA, 17236-1407  email:


LHS archives, filed in the Allen Co. Library: http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/  


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, P.O. Box 2270, 200 East Berry St., Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270   Phone:
260.421.1200