Generally, a family association or family organization is an organization formed by people who share a common ancestor or surname. They join together for a variety of purposes including exchanging genealogical information, sharing current news about family members, having reunions, and promoting family pride and unity among living descendants. Family organizations or associations centered around a more distant common ancestor are often referred to as "ancestral family organizations," while those centered around a commonly shared surname are commonly referred to as "single surname family organizations".
Some family associations strive to collect information about people with their surname all over the world, while others consist of a relatively small family group in a specific geographic area. Some groups put a lot of effort into family research while others prefer to concentrate more on family reunions and current family news.
Family associations and organizations often figure prominently among the Overseas Chinese. Family association buildings are often prominent features of Chinatowns. They also figure prominently among descendants of Mormon pioneers and other early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Famous quotes containing the words family and/or association:
“At best the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from one another—generosity and love. But it is also, all too often, where we learn nasty things like hate, rage and shame.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (20th century)
“It is not merely the likeness which is precious ... but the association and the sense of nearness involved in the thing ... the fact of the very shadow of the person lying there fixed forever! It is the very sanctification of portraits I think—and it is not at all monstrous in me to say ... that I would rather have such a memorial of one I dearly loved, than the noblest Artist’s work ever produced.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)