Snapshot of Private Leo J. Staub

A few weeks ago, Mike and Bo had lunch at the Knights of Columbus in McSherrystown.  Mike came home and said that someone was sending him a JPEG image of the original Civil War discharge paper for Leo J. Staub, Sr.  Of course, I got excited!  Now that I have the image, I want to share this with the Staub family.  I apologize for the lengthy explanation, but I can't just share a photo without telling the story, now can I?!

Leo, 4th generation descendant of John Adam Staub who immigrated from Germany to America in the mid 1700s, was born in 1826 and died March 27, 1899. He and his wife Catharine are buried in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery, New Oxford. Their 5th child, James Augustin Staub, was the father to John Lawrence Staub, married to Myrtle 'Mammaw' (Groft) Staub. 

Leo mustered in on the 29th day of August, 1864, at age 38.  His beloved wife, Catharine, and eight children, remained behind waiting for his return one year later, the 3rd day of August 1865.  He served as a Private with Company C, the 202nd Regiment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Leo returned home to his wife, children, and farming.   Three more children followed after his return. 

You probably wonder why I am telling you all of this.  It helps to know how, in the scheme of things, who this Leo was and how he is related to you.  Below is a short outline.

1. Johannes (John) Adam Staub  (1717-1773) buried in Conewago Chapel Cemetery
2. Jacobus (John) Adam Staub  (1750-1821) buried in Conewago Chapel Cemetery; also the oldest remaining Staub headstone in the cemetery
3. William Staub (1799-1852)
4. Leo J. Staub  (1826-1899) buried in Immaculate Conception Cemetery
5. James Augustin Staub (1856-1917) buried in Immaculate Conception Cemetery
6. John Lawrence Staub, Sr. (1890-1948) buried in Conewago Chapel Cemetery

The discharge paper above is available to you as a JPEG.   Just send me an email, and I will share it with you. The owner of this original document is James William Staub, Jr., aka. Snook?  I think this is correct.  Bo and Mike can clarify that for you. 

In summary, I enjoy digging in old files looking for interesting facts about our family past.  I hope you enjoy learning about these as I find them. 

Stubby Staubs at it again...

Meet a small representation of the Staub family.  Today, they are gearing up to walk in the American Cancer's Relay for Life in Hanover, Pennsylvania.  Their goal was $6,000; they raised $7,638 so far. By noon tomorrow, that number will have increased. 

Cancer touches our lives whether we want it to or not.  It has touched our own family more than once.  Research is gaining ground on this disease; yet it still exists.  You can still contribute and help the team.  Clicking here will lead you to the team's web page on the Relay for Life web site.

From sidetracked to on-track ...

Happy Fourth of July, everyone.  Our house is just too quiet, as our children relax and celebrate the holiday at their homes.  I miss the grandsons and their parents, but we have been fortunate to have celebrated previous holidays with them. So, I am directing my energies elsewhere today. 

It has been quite a while since my last post, and there is a very good reason why.  I knew it, and  I broke the rule. What rule?  Research one family at a time.  This is difficult to do when the Staub, Smith, Wilt, and Groft families overlap.  But then I discovered some of my Wildasin ancestors married one of the aforementioned Staub ancestors.  I got sidetracked, and my punishment was three days of sorting, rechecking my database, and filing.

Another rule that I broke I made up myself:  all newly found research should be added to my database within 24 hours and not tossed aside.  I couldn't read my writing and some papers became mixed with others making it confusing to make sense of it all.  After three afternoons, I finally got the mess contained, a new filing system established, and have photographs to scan. 

In a nutshell, this is what I have been up to and where my work is headed:

• Nothing new or earth shattering has been uncovered. 
• The Staub family lineage data entry is complete to my satisfaction.  However, I won't be satisfied until I confirm each person with the U. S. Census data, city directories, farm directories, and church records and that they really did exist and that the information is accurate.  Good citations are a MUST in any research.  The wonderful lady who gave me this information told me where she got the information and that much of the information came 'word of mouth,' but that is not good enough.
• I plan on identifying each of the relatives who joined a religious order and who also served in the military.  I found several who fought in the War of 1812 and Revolutionary War as well as most recent wars.  This research will not stop the final step, and that is to create a DVD to provide to family members. The Staub book will be too expensive to print - double sided the number of pages totals nearly one ream of paper. 

Be safe this holiday and remember to be ever grateful of our ancestors who fought for our independence.  Their sacrifice ensured our freedoms that we enjoy today.