Sgt. Stubby Served Bravely

I subscribe to a genealogy blog and the lead story was about a dog, Sgt. Stubby, who served during World War I.  Read the full story on AncientFaces.  The story is so heartwarming that I wanted to share with the Stubby Staubs.

 



"The noise and strain that shattered the nerves of many of his comrades did not impair Stubby's spirits. Not because he was unconscious of danger. His angry howl while a battle raged and his mad canter from one part of the lines to another indicated realization." - New York Times Obituary 1926

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesey of Arba MorrowAncientFaces

The Dig is Worth the Find

By volunteering at the York County Heritage Trust I meet interesting people, all of whom share my fascination about history and digging into the past lives of ancestors, regardless if these ancestors are mine or ancestor-in-laws! 

Last week a lady walked into the research library, introduced herself, and said that she was researching the Topper family from McSherrystown in application to the DAR.  Not that this is a big deal, but I told her that this is a Staub branch and that we need to compare notes. 

With the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, social media, and my digging in family files, I have some new updates to share with you.  I hope I can encourage more of you to help in this research, share, or even to get involved in preserving history.  So, let me begin....

Staub Family Update
This family tree is forever changing.  If I continue to put off printing what I collected, then no one will be able to read about this family's heritage.  In another month I hope to print a copy of all of Jean Staub's notes to give to her and a DVD of the Staub family to give to interested family members.  Will advise when this happens-keep your fingers crossed that I will know when to stop!

Smith Family Update
I recently learned from Jean Staub, who is digging deep into the Smith family heritage, that one particular person on the tree does not belong there.  The document Mike has is titled Descendants of Charles Smith.  The very last person on this tree, Francis Joseph Smith (1789-1863) married to Rachel Sponseller (died 1863) is not a child of Charles and Anna Schmidt.  The record of this account is on file at the John Timon Reily Society; more to come later.

Smith siblings appeared in the recent Catholic Witness, pages 6 & 7. 

Wilt Family Update
Who do we have here?! 

The lady is Laura Virginia (Wolf) Wilt, Helen (Wilt) Smith's mother.  She is holding Earl Slagle, Mary Agnes (Wilt) Slagle's son.  Henry Elmer Wilt, Helen's father, is shown standing beside the grown up Earl.

Photos are courtesy of two Wilt descendants I met online, one living in New York and the other in Virginia.  I plan to compare notes with them.  More on this later.

Ephraim Wilt is a Civil War veteran.  With his wife and two sons, he is buried in Littlestown's Mount Carmel Cemetery, located along Rte. 97 south.  Their individual headstones are broken off from the base.  I mention this because of the restoration happening at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hanover, and of their recent vandalism.  History should be preserved.  Would any Wilt/Smith relatives be interested in finding out how much it would cost to preserve some of your family heritage?  Please give this consideration and contact me! 

Krafft/Groft Update
This is one family line that I put off, mostly because I became intrigued with the connections across the Staub/Smith/Wilt/Groft lines, resulting in skipping around.  However, a Groft descendant found this blog and wants to meet with me to share notes, photos, etc. More on this later.

My task list just keeps growing. 

Have a wonderful summer. 

Be safe. 

 

 

 

 

The Schmidt/Smith Family Saga

Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Peter Joseph Smith, his wife Martha Apolonia Shorb and his children.  I have yet to identify the children as they appear in this photo.  This was found on Ancestry.com from another family tree.

Peter Joseph Smith (1870-1949) was a first cousin to Vitus Joseph Smith (1876-1934).  Why am I sharing this with you?  It started with updating my computer database with the obituary for Aunt Mert's husband, Jim (aka Gerald).  Realizing that I had a data entry problem, I got some help at the John Timon Reily Society, and finally got the families (Staubs and Smiths) connected correctly! 

Jim's first wife, Florine Elizabeth Livelsberger, was a descendant to Adam Staab/Staub. Jim's wife, Aunt Mert, is also a descendant to Adam Staab/Staub.  I unknowingly had duplicate records in my database for both Jim and Aunt Mert.  To make life crazier, I learned that Jim's father had married twice.  Long story short, I finally got it straight. While doing so, I found the picture above.  It is amazing what one can find! 

Here is how all of this relates back to Charles Schmidt and Anna Spitler.  If you get a headache reading this, you may understand why it took me this long to make the connections.  I walked away from the Smith/Staub saga several time.
 

• Charles and Anna Schmidt/Smith had a son, Peter/Petrus Schmidt.  He married Magdalena Adams. 
• Peter/Petrus and Magdalena had 11 children, two of whom are of importance to this post:
• Son Peter George Smith married Helen J. (Kuhn).
• Peter Joseph Smith, son to Peter George Smith and Helen J. (Kuhn), married Martha Apononia (Shorb).
• Peter Joseph had a son, Maurice Joseph Smith, Sr.  He was Jim's father. 
• Son Francis James Smith, and brother to Peter George, married Agnes (Fleshman).
• Son Vitus Smith was a 1st cousin to Peter Joseph and married Margaret Ann Murren.
• Vitus's son, Joseph Edward, was Aunt Mert's father.

I am so happy that these Peter's had middle names!  It made life a bit easier for me.

I could use your help ...

... It has been an interesting two years researching the Staub family, and I am still amazed at what I am finding. This would not have been possible without the help of Jean Staub, who started this research and who lives in York, and Gloria Staub who lent me her Staub book. Now I could use some help from you.

• Military - I have found Staub ancestors back though the Revolutionary War. I would love to hear from you about Staub family members who served and details like when they served, where they served, company information, medals earned, etc. Photos would be cool, too.
• Religious - A few generations ago it was not uncommon for several members of a family to enter a religious order. You may not know names of those ancestors who became a nun or priest or their order, but if you could help me with a resource (s), I would appreciate it.
• Nicknames - Did you ever wonder how someone got their nickname? Ben Staub alluded to how Raymond "Bo" Staub Jr. got his nickname. Now I want to research how Mammaw's kids and grandkids got their nicknames. Can you help?
• Stories - I know along the way you heard an interesting story retold about when your mom or dad was young. This, too, I would love to add to this database.

You are probably wondering, why?

• At some point in time I hope to give a PDF file to the eldest of Mammaw's children's on a CD. I probably will not post to Ancestry.com in the near future, and if I do, all living descendants names will not be made public. That is a promise.
• I may even post that a family tree is available upon request. Ancestry.com allows that option. However, until I cite sources for as many ancestors that are in my database, this may not happen in my lifetime.

So, if anyone can help me with one or several of my requests, I would be greatly appreciative. I would like you to send any information to my email address, staubmk@gmail.com, and not post to Facebook.

Again, thanks for sharing with me. Also, if you can think of anyone on Facebook who I can ask to become friends and to add to this group, please send me their names.