Genealogical Gems

W. Henry Williamson and Lt. Samuel Williamson, Civil War soldiers, are buried together in the Cheyney Burial Grounds. The cemetery is located in Thornbury Township , Chester County . The Cheyney land, including the university that now stands there, crosses both Delaware and Chester Counties .   William Henry enlisted in the Co. D 124 th Regt. Pennsylvania Infantry. He was, according to his stone, just 19 when he died at the Stafford Court House in Virginia on 3 February 1863. He was also known as William Henry and William Harry, according to the National Park Service (NPS), which lists his rank as musician.   Samuel was a lieutenant with Co. D 5 th Pennsylvania Calvary (65 th Volunteers). He was, according to his stone, just 20 when he was killed on 7 February 1863 in an engagement in Williamsburg , Virginia .   Samuel enlisted as a Sergeant on 30 July 1861. He was promoted up to Full 2 nd Lieutenant on 26 January 1862 and to Full 1 st Lieutenant o...

Four German boats burned at the docks in Hoboken, NJ On This Day in 1900. Over 300 people were killed in the incident. The fire could be seen by all in the New York City area. The four ships were the Saale, the Bremen , the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, and the Main . The Saale was the first to go down. Many of her crew drowned, not knowing how to swim. The fire spread to 27 ships in all, the shore and local businesses. The wooden pier was rebuilt using steel.   Source: This Day in History.   History.com. 30 June 1900.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

The Germans invaded and occupied Lvov On This Day in 1941. Lvov is located in eastern Galicia, in Ukraine. Source: This Day in History.   History.com. 29 June 1941.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Dr. Jonathan Deyo, born March 1846, was a physician for many years. Although he was married, he and Emma never had any children. They were married in 1878, according to the dates provided in the 1900 US Census. According to the Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929 , he died of heart disease.   His obituary reads: Dr. Jonathan Titus Deyo, seventy-five, of No. 821 Beverly Road , Brooklyn, died suddenly last night in front of No. 521 Fifth Avenue , Brooklyn, while on his way to a patient in South Brooklyn . Mrs. Deyo said Dr. Deyo was not well last night but the call was from an old patient and he felt he must respond. Dr. Deyo was born in Ulster County , New York . He practiced in Manhattan for about thirty years before going to Brooklyn twenty-five years ago.   Source: The evening world. ( New York , NY ), 28 Oct. 1921. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.    Year: 1900 ; Census Place : Broo...

It was On This Day in 1862 that the Confederates captured the St. Nicholas on the Chesapeake Bay . The plan, laid out by George Hollins and Richard Thomas Zarvona, was to take the St. Nicholas and use her to marshal other Union ships.   Zarvona recruited a band of pirates who boarded the St. Nicholas as passengers. Hollins boarded separately. They surprised the crew and took the ship. Their original plan was to then take the Pawnee , a Union gunboat, but it had been called away. Instead the took three commercial ships.   Source: This Day in History.   History.com. 28 June 1862.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

I knew the Deyo clan was rather large before we even went to New Paltz earlier this week. My husband, ironically, seemed surprised at how vast the Deyo/Deyoe family is and what an impact they had – and continue to have – on the community there. Today, I too was surprised by the Deyo clan. Skimming through Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, I came across an article, dated 26 August 1908, about one group of Deyos. The headline reads: Fugitive Who Attacked Deyo Family Up the State Trapped at Greenwood Lake . The dateline is Middletown , NY .   The article states: “Weak from loss of blood and in a starving condition “Bill” Monroe, the desperado who murderously assaulted six members of the Deyo family and burned a barn at New Paltz on Friday afternoon, was trapped at Greenwood Lake to-day.”   Monroe himself was in a weak condition and bleeding from pistol wounds. A family finally let him in and summoned the physician who examined him. Monroe had sta...

It was On This Day in 1844 that an Anti-Mormon mob murdered Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in Carthage , IL . Smith, born in 1805, was the founder of the Mormon religion. The religion, also known as the Church of Latter Day Saints , was criticized for some of its practices – such as polygamy. Having settled in Nauvoo , IL , Smith had announced his candidacy for president of the United States earlier in 1844. It was two years later that Brigham Young, Smith’s successor, led the Mormons out of Nauvoo into the Valley of the Salt Lake , where the Church is headquartered today. Source: This Day in History.   History.com. 27 June 1844. On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

  Captain Alfred Sanderson, one of the founders of the Daily Intelligencer, has moved on, according to the Daily Intelligencer On This Day in 1882. Sanderson is now at the Philadelphia Press. Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 26 June 1882. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

We finally made it up here! This is the first year … oh gosh probably since our honeymoon … that we have been able to get away and have a real family vacation. On top of that we finally made it to New Paltz, New York where the Deyo family was one of the original patentees! Oh, I should back up … my husband is descended from the Deyoe family of New York . Now all this time, I have been thinking he has actually been listening to me when I talk about the Deyo/Deyoe line. I lost count of the times he began a sentence with “Oh my gosh my family …”   My goal while we were up there was to connect the famous Deyo line with his Deyoe line. I have a probable connection. I just really wanted proof. One way or the other. Just proof.   Sunday we went to the free Family Day at the Historic Huguenot Street . Basically the HHS is a street – literally – where the original patentees of the town built their homes and settled. Today it is a historic site consisting of seven home...

The account of General John Augustus Sutter’s funeral was covered On This Day in 1880 in the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer . General Sutter’s died on 18 June and his funeral was 24 June 1880.    He was known for a discovery of gold in California . He had been president of the New York Society of California Pioneers for many years.   Many notable people flocked to his funeral. His remains were laid out in the front parlor of his home in Lititz, as was the norm in that day. The funeral processed to the Moravian Church in Lititz where services were conducted by Rev. Charles Nagle.   Sutter left behind a wife, two sons (John A. and Emil) and a daughter (Mrs. Dr. Link). John was the US consul at Acapulco , Mexico . Emil was the consul of Greece at San Francisco . The daughter also lived in Acapulco .    Sutter had been born 15 February 1803 in Baden , Germany , just miles from the Swiss border. He immigrated to America , coming to New Yo...

Over 2,000 people call Mount Joy , Lancaster County home. The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported On This Day in 1880 that the population of Mount Joy was 2064. That figure included 310 pupils at the soldiers’ orphans school. The population is less than it was in 1860.   Today, the borough is home to 7,410 (as of the 2010 Census).   The Mount Joy School (the soldiers’ orphans school) operated from 1864 to 1890, according to Genealogy Today .   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 24 June 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Family vacation to New Paltz, NY

Happy Father's Day to my incredibly awesome Daddy!  

The National Civil War Museum will hold a Community Free Day Saturday, 20 June. The newest exhibit, titled “The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls,” will honor Smalls.   After the Civil War, Robert Smalls became a businessman. He served in the South Carolina State House and Senate and became a United States Congressman. Smalls was born a slave in South Carolina . He piloted eighteen slaves to freedom on a boat in Charleston Harbor in 1862. During the Civil War, he helped the Union Army and Navy. He died in 1915.    Tonight (Friday, 19 June) his great, great grandson Michael Boulware Moore will present "The Life and Legacy of Robert Smalls," offering additional insights and personal, family recollections on his accomplishments at the Museum’s wine and cheese reception.  "The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls," a traveling exhibit on loan from the Robert Smalls Collection and managed by the South Carolina State Museum , will open f...

My 3x great grandfather’s brother Benjamin Franklin VanHorn fought in the Civil War, came home, married and moved. First they moved to Virginia then onward to California . On Wednesday I finally found the land patent!   Benjamin was born on 8 March 1843 in Pennsylvania to George Washington Vanhorn and Jane Dudbridge. He was one of seven children. As I mentioned he did fight in the Civil War. He enlisted on 2 September 1863. He was captured at Weldon Railroad in August 1864 and was held a POW in Liberty Belle Island Prison. At the war’s end he was released and came home. On 24 April 1867 he married Margaret Hensel in Philadelphia . They moved to Virginia , where they had their first child in 1868, and then pushed onward to California . The other seven children were born, starting in 1870, in San Jose , Santa Clara County , California .   On Tuesday, I read a post on Jana’s Genealogy and Family History Blog which spoke of a land patent for one of her ancestors. I fo...

James Duffy’s in Marietta was the venue for the annual dinner of the Farmer’s Club On This Day in 1880. Many distinguished gentlemen came from Philadelphia to join in the celebration. Many Lancaster “farmers” attended as well.   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 17 June 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

William Aldus Eckman (1871-1950) is buried at the New Providence Mennonite Cemetery in New Providence, Lancaster County . He is buried with his wife, Annie E. Stively (1869-1911) and their infant son Horace W. Eckman (1907-1908).   William was born on 20 April 1871, the son of Aldus John Eckman and his first wife Amelia Kunkle. He died in September 1950.   I know little of Anna Elizabeth. Horace Whitman Eckman was born on 23 March 1907 and sadly died the following year.   William and Anna had five children: Elizabeth A.; Horace Whitman; John Frederick; Martha; and William Edward.   I have looked for William for some time. His father, Aldus, is my husband's great grandfather. William had one brother (in addition obviously to the step siblings from Aldus' second marriage) Ulysses, who is buried over at Zion UCC also in New Providence, with their mother Amelia Kunkle Eckman.   Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers. ...

A slight accident was reported On This Day in 1880 at a coal yard in Quarryville, in Southern Lancaster County. A “gondola car was run over the trestlework”. The wheels on the car broke off. The coal yard was that of David Buffenmyer’s. Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 16 June 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Thomas Cheyney lies in rest at the Cheyney Cemetery near Cheyney University in Chester County . He is one of those men locals learned about in school – until the schools stopped actually teaching US history.    Born about 1732, he fought in the Revolutionary War. He provided information about the location of the British troops directly to General George Washington which aided Washington and his men to evade the British.  It is widely accepted that his persistence to speak with Washington saved not only Washington and his men but was a vital point in the fight for our freedom. He married twice. First he married Mary Taylor. She passed in 1766 and three years later he wed the widow Mary Bennett Vernon. He had, according to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, eight children! The children were: Ann, Lucy, Richard, Mary, John, Alice , Elizabeth, and William. The account did not specify who mothered whom.    He died on 12 January 1811. His land is...

A mounted policeman named Grayburn was murdered, reported the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer On This Day in 1880. Grayburn was murdered by Indians. He was stationed at Fort Walsh , which is near Fort Benton . The article states that the authorities at Fort Benton refused to arrest the Indians unless a reward of $2,000 was provided. Fort Benton was located in Montana . Fort Walsh was located in Canada .   A personal note: I thought it interesting that the paper listed this article under “British America” when the incident clearly occurred in Canada .   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 15 June 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

"The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope. Love of the past implies faith in the future."   Stephen Ambrose 1936-2002

James McGovern, a well known local railroad contractor, died on 20 May 1880. He was born about 51 years ago in Ireland in the County Cavan . He was not married but did have siblings locally.   His obituary reads: James McGovern, brother of John R. McGovern, Manheim Township , and of Patrick McGovern, all well known railroad contractors, died yesterday about 4 p.m., from a complication of ailments from which he suffered for a number of years. Deceased was an unmarried man, of about 51 years of age. He was born in County Cavan , Ireland , and came to America when a young man. He has been engaged on railroad work in all parts of the country and helped to build the Lewistown and Sunbury road. He went to Brazil on the ill starred Collins expedition and lost health and money in the venture. Returning to Lancaster , he suffered acutely from rheumatism at intervals and was much shattered in bodily health. Some weeks ago, while staying at his sister’s Mrs. Redman’s, his le...

A child was exhumed On This Day in 1881 in Lancaster and a coroner’s inquest was held.  Elizabeth (correction is in the paper on 15 June 1881) Shaub’s child died at the house of Zach Boot in Faegleysville. Shaub is a single mother. Her child, born on 25 May, had been sick about a week. A doctor saw the child and thought the cause to be dysentery. The child died on Saturday, 11 June, and was buried in the Lancaster Cemetery on Sunday.   Constable Lentz, in the Sixth Ward, heard about the incident and informed Coroner Mishler. Mishler in turn ordered the child exhumed and an inquest be held. No foul play was found. The jury adjourned without verdict.   At some point overnight the jury requested Alderman Samson to arrest Elizabeth Shaub on the charge of infanticide. Shaub was to be held until a verdict was determined. Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 14 June 1881. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library ...

Friday I received a lesson from the grave, as it were! I went down Quarryville to get new brakes on my car. Well, it's actually Daddy's car and he prefers I stick with the Ford dealer down there and they have always been good and fair to my parents so no argument from me. Anyway, I got there a half hour early - forgot school was out already and I allotted for school buses on the road - and he got an early start on the car which in turn meant I got out of there earlier than expected. So, what does everyone do with an extra half hour? I stopped at a cemetery on the way home. I chose the New Providence Mennonite Cemetery. Good choice. I will be posting the next couple Tombstone Tuesday prompts using some of the photos I took. But there is one in particular I would like to share today, along with my lesson from the grave. I walked up to the stone and squatted down to take my photo of Richard B. Eckman (1910 - 1992) and his wife Verna Aukamp (1918 - 2003). It's been aw...

The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported an abnormality this morning. On This Day in 1881, a Monday, an unusual event occurred in the Lancaster City lock up … not a single person was in there. The short, one sentence paragraph states: “This morning there was not a single person in the lock-up, which is something very unusual for Monday morning.”   Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 13 June 1881. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015