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.
