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. 

 

 

 

 

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. 

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.