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.

I forgot what to do what?!

This little cutie is the center of attention at this Staub family reunion. The photo was taken in the 1973/74 time period.  How many do you know?

Mr. Manners

No, Mr. Manners was not related to Ann Landers.  Nor did he write a book on etiquette, and this really cute doggy is not 'Mr. Manners.'

I learned about this 'Mr. Manners' when researching a Valentine Wilt, who may have been the ancestor that the Wilt family, aka Helen Wilt's great, great, great......I haven't counted back that far yet.  Valentine Wilt settled in the York, Pennsylvania area and was quite wealthy.  Evidently he donated money to several Catholic churches, St. Patrick's in York would be one.  His will stipulated that his widow continue to donate 5 pounds annually to a 'Mr. Manners' from the Adams County area.

Now, Mike knew of 'Mr. Manners' and that this was a real person, but 'Manners' was not his given name.  Does anyone care to guess?  The name was assumed to protect himself from non-Catholics at this time in history.

Use the comment box below to send me your thoughts. 

Grave findings ...

For the past year I entered a lot of data about the Staub Family Tree and am ready to do some in-depth research into the Staub ancestors - verifying Census data, church records, and land deeds.  Before I begin the next leg of my research journey, I needed a break.  So I started digging through files and family genealogy books to learn about the Wilt family tree. 

The story about Ephraim Wilt, grandfather to Helen Elizabeth Wilt, continues.  To read more on the Wilt History, click here to open and continue to read the story on Ephraim and his life. 

This headstone was found at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Littlestown, PA.   The monument marks the grave site for Ephraim, his wife Mary, and sons George and Isaac. 

George W. Wilt, son to Ephraim and Mary, is propped up against the larger monument.  All of the four headstones are broken off the footer and in bad condition. 

Helen Elizabeth Wilt Smith

In remembrance of Helen Elizabeth Wilt born March 18, 1904.

Folks, I am now beginning to unravel the Wilt family ancestors.  As I opened my database this afternoon, I selected Helen's record and discovered that this Sunday, March 18 would have been her birthday - just 108 years young. 

(NOTE:  If the birthdate and year are incorrect, please use the comment section below to tell me so I can change my database.)

Happy birthday, Helen!

Loving Sentiments

"There is a language, little known,

Lovers claim it as their own.

Its symbols smile upon the land.

Wrought by Nature's wondrous hand;

And in their silent beauty speak,

Of life and joy, to those who seek

For Love Divine and sunny hours

In the language of the flowers."

--J. S. H., from The Language of Flowers, London, 1875

The poem is taken from the book, A Heritage of Herbs, History, Early Gardening, and Old Recipes.  On this day when people young and old celebrate their love for each other, it proved to be even stronger.  Eleven years ago on this day our daughter Laura was told that she had cancer.  She took it like a trooper, but in desperate need of having her love, Ian, with her.  And as fate would have it, Ian walked in just moments after the doctors left us,  surprising her with his love, support, and red roses for his love. 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Twiddling thumbs?

Since my last post one might wonder, how is Mary doing with this Staub research?  Did Mary take up twiddling her thumbs like Mammaw Staub? 

Well, I had a slight setback and couldn't sit at my computer for very long.  Then I got sidetracked and began to explore another family - the Wilt line.  If you are a Smith, you will know what this means. 

I can report that I am back on track, close to the end of the Staub Family Tree book, Volume I.  I don't know how many pages I have typed, but the total number of records to date is 24,000 and growing.  Slower, but growing.

How is this growing slower?  You would have to see the book to understand.  It is on file at the John Timon Reily Historic Society, if you are interested.  But the last section is an overlap of the previous sections.  Families are connecting - lots of Staub and Smiths and Grofts intermarried, and it is still happening.  No surprise, right? 

I started the Staub research about a year ago.  Next I want to add photos of your ancestors and visit the Adams County deed office to find land titles.  I am nosey, right?

My son Justin and daughter-in-law Jess gave me a fun gift for Christmas.  It is the DVD creator for my software so I can bring this history to your computer or to the television.  Perhaps one day we can convince the Staub men to not turn on the TV at the reunion and watch the video!

I am sure that what I am doing is not exciting right now.  I felt compelled to give you an update on what I am doing, and warn you that I will begin asking for photos.

Now, if anyone wants to be a part of my adventure in finding photos, I would like to hear from you and partner up. 

Civil War Veterans Reunited

This is about a Civil War veteran soldier footage, captured between 1913 and 1938, and is an awesome video clip composed by the Rio Norte Junior High School in Valencia, CA.  Even if you are not a war buff, click to open, I encourage you to watch it. 

As I uncover this family's history I find ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, etc.  Without spoiling the surprise, watch as  two sides come together once more in an amicable situation and without the bloodshed.   Let me know what you think.

The all-American pass time ...

"As Ruth stepped back, Willie shot another pitch through the strike zone. It was a 'quick pitch', then legal in the National League, but Umpire Charlie Pfirman refused to call the Big Bam out because the quick pitch was barred in the American League. A wild scene followed . . ." - from an article in the July 1960 Baseball Digest about Willie Sherdel pitching to Babe Ruth in the 1928 World Series.

"Probably the most efficient relief pitching job ever was performed by Wee Willie Sherdel of St. Louis July 30, 1924. . . three outs on a single pitch in relief!" - from an article in the June 1977 Baseball Digest about Sherdel getting George Harper to hit into a triple play

This is an excerpt from one of several web sites about William Sherdel (aka. Wee Willie Sherdel).  So how did I learn about him?  His wife was a Strasbaugh, and when I came across her file while adding Staubs into my database (22,000 records and growing), I needed to know more about her husband. And what a treasure I found. 

He was born, raised, and returned to McSherrystown where he died.  After retiring, he and his wife opened a restaurant in McSherrystown. The Fr. Lawrence Sherdel is a descendant of William Sherdel.  Read this clip to get his stats and to learn more.

This is an image of a baseball card being sold on Amazon for a cool $200+. 

A chapter was written about Sherdel in the book, Hanover Raiders, written by Hanovarian John G. Coulson.  You can find it at the Guthrie Memorial Library, but only after I return it next week.

How does Sherdel fit into the Staub family?  His wife, Mary Ethel Strasbaugh, was the great, great, great granddaughter of the infamous German immigrant, Adam Staub.  (FYI - open the Staub tab at the top of this blog to read about Adam's life.)

Another notable Staub ancestor, Louis R. Staub (aka Bull Durham) is a direct descendant to the Staubs.  Adam Staub was his great, great, great grandfather.  So both families are distantly related.

Please feel free to share with your cousins, uncles, and friends.  The more the merrier who follows this blog, the better.