My husband Bill and I would like to thank all who attended the reunion. I know we had a great time and we can’t begin to express our absolute joy in hosting this event. Folks said it was very well organized and we appreciate the feedback. I’ve done event work and planning for most of my career and I’m a detail person by nature. However, as those in the field know, organization is one thing; follow through by all concerned is another. We cannot begin to thank all of the vendors who participated and carried through with the many details that we discussed, and they did it all with a flourish! In fact, everyone involved became interested in our Van Sant family and the Van Zandt Society.

Our Convention Bureau in Peoria was a tremendous help. They generously printed our name badges and included our itinerary on the reverse side. Everyone thought this was a great idea. A written copy with additional information was included in each packet as well. I might add to those who attended, the lanyard we used is actually intended for a USB stick. So, for all those who wished they had brought an empty USB this year…attach an empty one on there right now and be prepared for our next reunion!

As a special welcome from the Bureau, they gave us Hershey bars with customized wrappers that included our Society name, Van Zandt crest, and reunion date.

In the course of preparing for the reunion, we continued to furiously do more research to fill in gaps here and there. We had a lot of information on our local Van Sant line; but, wanted more and hoped to find some additional family members. One of Bill’s first cousins, Rose Twomey, found out about the reunion from the Van Zandt Society website. It was such a thrill to connect after all of these years and Rose has since joined the Society.

For over 30 years I’ve been searching for family from the second marriage of Bill’s great-grandfather George. As luck would have it, we found a close cousin who lives only ten miles away from us—Pat and husband Bob Moser. They’re also new members of the Society. Pat had just prepared all of her Van Sant clippings and pictures in albums. Need I say more? We prepared several large tri-fold displays complete with pictures and information. We had enough to fill three display tables, and if we had more time, there could have been more.

The additional wealth of information and pictures coupled with what we already had brought such life to this event—whether you were directly related to our branch or not. We now had everything in place for an authentic reunion! That had been our goal: to recreate the times, the lives, and journeys of “The River People.”

The beginning: Following the rivers was how our John Wesley Van Sant, who I’ll refer to as “JW” (1810-1902), son of Nicholas, grandson of Captain John, came westward. He had married Lydia Anderson (1812-1831) in New Jersey and they and their first two children began their journey in 1835. By December of 1838 they were in a tiny log cabin in Rock Island, IL where son Elias was born. It was Elias who later came to Peoria. Originally, JW came down the Ohio and then up the Mississippi River to the Rock River where they lived for a time before going to LeClaire, Iowa in 1862. He purchased the Marine Railway, a shipbuilding and repair business. At one time he employed over 100 people. He was known as “Father Van Sant.”

At our first dinner on Thursday night, Russ Crawford, president of Heartland Water Resources Council, set the stage with a short talk on the condition of the Illinois River and the work being done to preserve it. The Illinois River runs from Chicago to St. Louis where all of the great rivers meet before flowing towards the deltas. The rivers were the expressways of the early years.

Son Elias came to Peoria in 1876. He was first a preacher, had worked as a lawyer, then was a ship captain, and was known to be an eloquent speaker. His father, JW, and his entire family were avid readers. All of JW and Lydia’s children, especially the boys, were well known and accomplished in their respective fields. We discovered that in Peoria, Elias was known as the “Great and Good” Van. We found no less than five obituaries praising him as a “highly respected citizen.”

Friday was our day to explore Peoria’s 300+ years of history. Our tour guides, Dr. John and Marilyn Leyland, were impressive and led us through the looking-glass so we could envision Peoria as it was when our Van Sants arrived and lived here.

lunch on Friday was held at Glen Oak Park on the old porch deck of the grand Victorian building built when she was just 16 years old. It was an ice cream parlor and she lived upstairs and served lunches and ice cream below on what was once the main floor.

The wind that day tried very hard to blow us away. And whoops—we experienced one snag as the caterer was working from an outdated schedule and we almost missed lunch. My daughter and her friend saved the day and so did the caterer and lunch was finally served and well worth the wait. It gave us more time to share with old and new friends.

Our final stop on Friday was to visit the home of Judge Flanagan, one of the oldest homes in Peoria. It was prepared for a Victorian funeral circa 1900. The home where Elias had died was within a couple of blocks of the Judge’s house. No doubt the Judge knew Elias and most likely attended his funeral in 1898.

We set up the displays again that evening. Bob Marx, president of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau gave the Society members a “Welcome to Peoria” speech and overview of the Tri-County area. He was accompanied by Mike Smith who had been so helpful the past two years in making this event extra special. Bob and Mike were both impressed with the displays about the family and with the work the Society is doing to research, promote, and strengthen the ties between all of the Van Zandt families.

After another delicious meal prepared by the Two25 Restaurant located in the Mark Twain Hotel, Sally presided over the Van Zandt Society Meeting. We surprised everyone with a few hand-made door prizes!

Saturday we were off to LeClaire, Iowa. The 90-minute drive in the beautiful Peoria Charter Coach went by quickly. On the way we shared information on the landscape and points of interest. (A list of websites is listed at the end of this report.)

I told everyone we would not be able to tour the Old Mill House as the lady now renting the main floor had a spa so we would have to stand quietly and have our picture taken, back on the bus, and off to lunch. Well, I didn’t quite tell the truth! As we approached, I told them to look ahead, the Van Sant family and all of their cousins were being welcomed Home!

And, what a welcome it was! The owners, Chris and Patty Ensey were there to greet us. Bev Paulsen, who rents the main floor was there and welcomed us into the house. This was the John W. Van Sant home—what a thrill. To top it off, on the back porch was the musical group, The Great River Grasshoppers, to greet us. In the picture, look at the sign in the center of the house; Chris and Patty had it prepared and made sure it was up in time for our group to see it when we arrived.

Bev loves lavender so she had prepared a special treat of lavender tea (very good!) and cookies with a hint of lavender. Each person received a small gift bag with a sample of one of her products. (I have to admit that I went back and bought more.) Everything was perfect. To put our hands on the rail of the original stairway and climb the old, authentic steps was beyond our expectations. It was John Wesley’s words printed in his obituary that captured my imagination when I stood on the porch and viewed the river. “O, I want to live as long as I can see the Mississippi flowing by…”

There was one planned surprise that didn’t happen. A lovely woman named Donna Walley from the LeClaire Tourism Bureau had studied and prepared to portray Lydia Van Sant. She was going to greet us at the Mill House and welcome her grandchildren and great-grandchildren home and tell us a little about herself. Sadly, just before the event, Donna and her husband had to leave for California to attend a family member’s funeral.

During the festivities, a newspaper reporter from the North Scott Press interviewed me. We now have a copy of the article.

A small local restaurant, Big Dave and Holly’s, provided a beautiful and bountiful picnic lunch for us at the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. No one should have left hungry. The museum houses many pictures and artifacts belonging to the family as well as the history of steamboats and Marine Railway. The term “Railway” refers to the rails used to pull the boats out of the water. The Enseys found old rails buried in the yard behind the Mill House.

Bob Schiffke, director of the Museum, had tables set up for lunch on the old steamboat “Lone Star,” which is the last surviving steamboat from the era of the Van Sant boats. After lunch there were several special presentations. The Great River Grasshoppers had tee-shirts and hats for lucky members of our group. In addition, Chris and Pat Ensey presented us with an official “Welcome to LeClaire, Iowa” certificate signed by LeClaire’s mayor, Bob Scannel; Chris and Patty Ensey; and Bev Paulsen.

Giving the Museum time to prepare for our tours, we boarded the bus and went to the old Glendale Cemetery and visited the graves of John Wesley and Lydia Van Sant. Also in the family plot is son Samuel Rinnah, his wife Ruth (Hall) Van Sant, and their son Grant. Samuel was the 15th Governor of Minnesota who started out as a steamboat captain. His unusual middle name came from one of JW’s dear neighbors, Rinnah Wells.

JW and Lydia’s son Adam Clark’s ashes are there in Glendale Cemetery, too. Adam is best known for having originated the touch system for typing, and along with his daughter, Elizabeth, established a business school and wrote shorthand and typing manuals. On the internet, it curiously names him “Cuspis Van Sant,” and it should be noted that Adam began his professional life as a dentist and even served as the first President of the Illinois State Dental Society.

After our tour of the museum and walk-a-bout in old historic LeClaire, we headed home.

Sunday’s highlight was a trip on our beloved steamboat, Spirit of Peoria. Captain Alex Grieves was well prepared for our group and allowed us to purchase tickets in advance of the general public. We had a beautiful ride, a little nippy around the edges if you stayed out on deck; but, worth every minute. We were allowed to stay on the boat after docking and take pictures; Captain Alex is even in some of them.

Bill and I would like to give a special “thank you” to our son Andy who stayed with us throughout and took hundreds of photos to capture the reunion weekend.
You can view Andy’s photos: http://vanzandtsocietyannualreunion2011.shutterfly.com/
We would like to strongly encourage all of our Van Zandt Society friends to consider hosting a reunion as the rewards are many.