Former slave Emmanuel Johnson returned to St. Martin Parish in 1866, after his discharge from the War of Rebellion in New Orleans, in search of his mother and siblings.

Upon his return to the Teche Area, Johnson began sharecropping at age 25 and soon became enchanted with Rosalie Bailey.

The two married in 1871 and wasted no time having 13 children, according to family historian Wilbert Woodfork.

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The lineage of these two former slaves gathered this past weekend in New Iberia for much more than a family reunion.

The Johnson-Bailey Family gets together every other year, a gathering of descendants, relatives and friends linked by these two former slaves.

Woodfork is the group’s organizer and said they have met since July 1991 “to recognize and honor those coming before them, telling their stories and uniting as one family.”

 Woodfork has been planning this year’s three-day event for the family from his home in Seoul, South Korea.

The group met Friday evening at The Gougenheim for a banquet, where it reminisced and heard a presentation from Woodfork’s in-depth knowledge of the family’s genealogy.

A picnic was held Saturday in West End Park with a ceremonial tree planting and marker honoring the lives of the group’s ancestors.

Many family members and friends came far distances to attend this years events.

Jerry Green, 28, of Atlanta, brought the youngest attendee, 3-month-old Marie Louise Aaliyah Green.

“It’s become very important to me to follow my roots,” Green said.

“I see family values diminishing in the U.S. and it’s just so important to keep everyone in touch with one another.”

Glenn Boulware, 46, and his daughter Sabrina, 6, made the trip from Philadelphia and were having a tough time beating the humidity at Saturday’s picnic.

“I think its so important for my daughter to understand her lineage,” Boulware said. “So many African-Americans aren’t aware  of their family history. It’s important to me that she knows all of it.”

The group, with Woodfork at the helm, is busy uncovering and learning about its family history, including a Web site where genealogical information can be shared, newsletters, a book ready for print and a cookbook, to be completed by 2010.

More information is available at the groups Web site www.jbf-reunion.org.