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 good 'ole days ...

... well, to our generation the days back in the 1950s may not have been so great.  Try living without Facebook, computers, cell phones, the microwave, dishwashers, and cable TV.  These are a few of the things that we take for granted.  But in 1959, to Mammaw and your aunts and uncles those days were great.

A few weeks ago I posted this photo of Mammaw with her grown children on my blog, Blogging through History.  I asked if anyone could name the people in the photo.  A few of you did, but not too many that I am aware of.  So, the names of the Staubs in the photo are:  (back row left to right)  Marguerite Stuller, Ethel Felix, Ann Klunk, Lillian Stuller, Clyde, Raymond, and Earl; (front row left to right) Mary Keefer, Joan Riser, John, and Carroll.  How well did you do?

Doing genealogy research has grown to be quite a habit.  Everyday I learn something new.  One thing that I did learn, and probably has not changed much from the 1950s, is that Mammaw's family would gather on Sundays for a picnic and a pickup baseball game, girls vs. boys.  The first Sunday in July was their annual family reunion, and the uncles would play a 'World Series' baseball game.  These Sundays were spent in Aunt Ethel's orchard in Mount Misery.

My research continues on the Adam Staub, who immigrated from Germany, and of his ancestors. As soon as I have this data in my computer, I will post a PDF of the family tree for you to view.  Would you believe that there are over 14,000 people in this database, and I haven't researched the Grofts, Smiths, or my family in depth yet. 

Share this blog with others in the family.  In a few days you may see changes to the Family Legacies link on my Facebook wall.  All of this is being done with the hope of finding your global ancestors who have roots to Ludwig Staab, Frederick Krafft, and Charles Smith.

Thanks for visiting!

Generations ...

... On Saturday, August 6, 2011, three generations of Raymond and Gladys "Nell" Staub's family held its first of many family reunions.  I am sure that Raym and Nell were watching over everyone, and enjoying their grandchildren and great-grandchildren from above.  (I wonder what they may have been thinking.)  The little ones don't quite understand what happened that day, but someday they will.

A few years ago I began to research our family history, and life got in the way.  I recently resigned from my job and found my unfinished projects.  Genealogy was one of those projects.  Several months later, over 200 clocked hours, and a database of 7,000+ people (and it continues to grow), I am finding interesting facts about Raymond's parents, John Lawrence Staub and Myrtle Groft, not to mention their ancestors who date back to the mid-1600s.  To share this with everyone at the reunion would have been challenging. 

So I will use this blog to share what I find, and to perhaps connect to distant relatives.  I hope that you will find it as interesting as I do.  For those of you who use Facebook religiously, this blog is connected to a page on my Facebook.  Feel free to help with this research by sharing your memories and photos of your grandparents, Myrtle (aka. Mammaw), and even asking your cousins about the family and what they remember.  Please know that I respect your privacy and will not post personal information of living relatives.  Consider this your family portal for continuing our legacy.

History lesson number one: At age 21 (and as far as I can find, he sailed without relatives) and in 1738, Johannes Adam Staab arrived in the Port of Philadelphia on the passenger ship, the Winter Galley, and settled in Berks County, PA.  His wife Catherine Bewertz, arrived a year later on the Loyal Judith with her father and siblings.  They met and married a few years afterward.  He moved his family to what is now known as Adams County, mainly Brushtown.  In the image below, you can see McSherrystown towards the upper right corner of the image.  If you follow Rte. 116 to the left you will see three tracts of land (highlighted in yellow).  These three tracts were owned by Johannes Adam Staab and his wife, Catherine.  A complete story of his unfortunate struggle to hold onto his land rights can be found by clicking here.

Please let me know what you think of my postings and of this research.  Until the next time ...