The mission of the Friend Family Association of America is to collect, record, preserve, and share the history of all family groups, to strengthen all family relationships, and to deepen appreciation for those who came before us and the values they cherished.

The organization was started 30 years ago by Colonel Lester Friend with the purpose to collect, record, preserve, and share the historical and genealogical history of all family groups and to strengthen family relationships, and to deepen appreciation for those who came before us

We do this by:

• Promoting historical and genealogical research.
• Providing a strong and purposeful organization to be a resource for the local school system, libraries, interested students and historians and the general public.
• Providing a National Heritage Museum as an educational institution.
• Creating an educational environment to make the public aware of their lines of descent from those patriots who came to the American shores in search of freedom and a better way of life.

The Friend Family Association of America is now a national organization with memberships in Europe also. 

The headquarters building is located in Friendsville, Maryland, which houses the  museum and library.  Although the library is a non-lending library, research information may be requested for many lines including but not limited to the FRIEND family..

Through the years, as  our files have grown, we have added information for many other associate lines, some of which are; Bittinger, Brant, Broadwater, Browning, Casteel, Coddington, Custer, Cummingham, DeWitt, Enlow, Fearer, Fike, Forsythe, Frantz, Frazee, Garletts, Glotfelty, Green(e), Harvey, Hoye, Riley, Savage, Sines, Sisler, Ward and Wilt, plus many more too numerous to list.  As time reveals our ancestral lines we discover even more associate family names. It has also become apparent that there are several lines of Friends, coming from Sweden, England and Germany.    

It is hoped that you too will share your genealogical research with the association in order to assist others with their research; find new links to your own family line, and to help preserve the records of those who have gone before us. Information may be submitted by CD, pedigree or family group charts.

Having a connection to the FRIEND line is not a requirement for submitting, requesting information, or for becoming a member of the FFAA.  The association is open to all.  Become a member today and receive our quarterly newsletter, The Friendship News. 

 If you have questions regarding this site or would like further membership information, please contact Pat Thompson. (Pat's E-mail)

If you are in the area of Friendsville , Maryland , we invite you to stop by, visit the Friend Museum , the Friend Store, and take a stroll along the river nearby.

WANTED
Family Stories

The Friend Family Association is looking for family stories and pictures for a new Friend Family Story Book.

Mail them to:
FFAA PO Box 96, Friendsville, MD 21531

All appropriate stories will be included in the book. The contributor of what we consider to be the "best" story will receive a Friend Family gift basket, which will include a color copy of "John Friend, Sr." (Old John) genealogy book. The gift basket has a retail value of over $200

Please be sure to include your name, address and phone number when submitting your story.

For more information contact Becky at  president@friendfamilyassociation.org

Stories & Pictures must be received by August 15, 2009

The Friend Family Association of America is proud to announce fourteen (14) new books that are only available through our organization !

"Josiah Green Friend of Swanton, Maryland" book one and two

"Friendsville, Maryland: A Brief History"

"A Brief History of Friend's Delight, Sang Run, Maryland"

"Joseph Friend, Sarah Green and Their Descendants of Friendsville, Maryland"

"William Edmundson Friend of Friendsville, MD (The Gun Maker)"

"Collection of Obituaries"

"Elijah Friend (1814 to 1869) of Sang Run, MD"

"Cornelius Ward Friend"

“John Friend Sr. of Friendsville, MD”

"John Friend Jr. of "Friend's Delight" Sang Run, Maryland"

"Andrew Friend and His Family: The Earliest Pioneers of the Potomac River"

"Selected Cemeteries and Gravestones of Garrett County, Maryland:

"The Maps and Papers of William H. H. Friend"

Genealogical  Research

FFAA Newsletter

Friend Family Photograph Album

We have numerous links to assist you in your research for your ancestors

and

Our own Friend Family Association of America Document Archive Center is now online and available to all members of the Friend Family Association of America.

Please visit the Research Center for more information.

The FRIENDship NEWS is the official publication of the Friend Family Association of America, which is published four times a year.

Some copies of our previous newsletters are available to members in our Friend Family Association of America Document Archive Center and more are being added.

Click here to learn more.

We hope you enjoy our collection of historical photographs. To browse our collection  please click on the photograph album image above or click here.

 If you have any photographs you would like to share, or information about the subjects you see here, please contact :

Jeff Custer

Friend Family Store

National Headquarters

FFAA Message Board

The Friendship Store has unique gifts! Are you FRIEND proud? Have you shopped at the Friendship Store lately? Take a look around in our new online store. And see many of the most unique gifts you'll never find any where else but at the Friendship Store in Friendsville, Maryland. Check out the store's online catalog

While our members come from all over America and England, our Headquarters is located at the intersection of First & Maple Streets in Friendsville, Maryland.

It is housed in the old Bank building and it is the home of the Friend Family Association's library, museum and store described at the  National Headquarters web page.

A little more sophisticated than a chalk board and chalk, we use ProBoards, the Internet's premier forum provider, to assist our members and friends to keep in touch with each other.

Visit the Friend Family Association of America Message Board

Click here to enter

Membership

Gathering of Friends

This Date In History

We Want You!

To join us in our adventure of researching our families and their histories.

Are you a member yet?

Come join us and received a great Newsletter and much more!

Click here to learn more!
 

The 2008 "Gathering of Friends" is now history!

To view some of the events that took place, Please click here or on the "Gathering" Button above for more information on our "Gathering of Friends" event

New In the Friendship Store

New in the Photograph Album

New In the Friendship Store

See more information on this new edition to our available books

The inside of David Sheridan "Bud" Custer's store on Water Street in Friendsville.

 

See this new addition to our Photograph Album!

The "Friendship Jar" has just been added to The Friendship Store

The Friend Family Association of America
P.O. Box 96
261 Maple Street
Friendsville, Maryland 21531
Contact us by telephone at (301) - 746-4690 (during our open season)
or by e-mail at ffaa@pennswoods.net (year round)

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