Genealogical Gems

  Roman Timozek  14 December 1872 to 30 May 1936 Mary Timozek 1 March 1887 to 19 June 1956 buried at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA   Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers in which an image of a gravestone is featured. It may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor.

Cyrus James Eckman, Sr., 67, of Cherry Hill Road in Peach Bottom, died peacefully at his home Sunday, January 6th. Cyrus was born in Rising Sun, Maryland, the son of Ruth A. Weaver Eckman of Christiana and the late Cyrus E. Eckman. Cyrus and his wife, Pamela Joyce Keeble Eckman, had celebrated 45 years of marriage in December. A truck driver his whole life he last drove for J.F. Energy Co. in Lancaster and previously drove for C.R. Leffler Co. Cyrus enjoyed growing roses and photography. Surviving besides his wife and mother is a brother, William R. Eckman of Holtwood; a stepson, John M. Wilhelm Sr., husband of Jane L. of Peach Bottom; and brother-in-law, Sidney Keeble of Peterbough, England. A son, Cyrus James Eckman Jr ., and stepson, Barry A. Wilhelm Sr., preceded him in death. A Memorial Service will be held at Dewald Funeral & Cremation Services, 227 W. 4th St., Quarryville on Monday, January 15 at 6:00 p.m. Friends may visit with the family immediately fo...

  Today - 26 July - is my maternal grandmother's birthday.   She was born Mary Rose Welsh in 1911 to Martin and Catharine O'Flaherty Walsh in Phoenixville, Chester County, PA. She told me once they changed from Walsh to Welsh because there were some other Walshes in Phoenixville but they were trouble and her family did not want to be associated with them! The photo above shows her with my grandfather (obviously her husband) Lloyd Pierson Still. The photo was taken in Unionville, specifically in Uncle Tom's kitchen. It was their anniversary but I do forget which one. She passed away on 20 May 1989. She would be 102 today!

How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise May Levenick provides suggestions on preserving family photos, heirlooms and genealogical records. The text is divided into three sections. The first section is "I inherited Grandma's Stuff, Now What?" The second is "Break the Paper Habit" and finally the last section is "Root Your Research in Strategies for Success." Regardless of the "stuff" left behind, someone has to sort everything and organize it all. Levenick identifies three roles: the curator, creator and the caretaker. These roles, and how you see yourself, will factor in to how things get organized. The curator organizes items like a museum would - both preserving and exhibiting. Creators may create scrapbooks, pedigrees, biographies and family medical histories. A caretaker simply does not necessarily organize the collection but rather simply archives it. Recognizing your role is an important aspect to archiving family keepsakes. In...

  Pelehart Alek 1880 - 1944 Mary 1877 - 1957 buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA     Alek, Mary and their first-born John immigrated from Poland. The four other children were born here in the States. They were: Stella, Josephine, Mary and Esther.     Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers in which an image of a gravestone is featured. It may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor. 

Stephen L. Eckman, 55, died Wednesday evening at home. He was the husband of Yolanda "Joan" Eckman. Born in Lancaster, he was the son of Robert Eckman, Dillsburg and Lois Kemrer Eckman, AZ. Steve graduated from Penn Manor and was employed as the maintenance supervisor at Nissan Foods, Lancaster. He previously worked as an owner-operator trucker. He loved his grandchildren, especially taking them to see trains of all kinds. He also enjoyed riding his motorcycle. Steve will truly be missed by his family. In addition to his wife are his children, Cindy Peters, Ironville; Justine Peters, Marietta; Dana Peters, Conestoga; Riki Shiffler wife of Scott Scheffler, Marysville; 10 grandchildren; brothers, Mark Eckman, Marticville; Norm Eckman, AZ. Funeral services will be held from the Clyde W. Kraft Funeral Home, Inc., 519 Walnut St., Columbia, PA on Wednesday at 11:00 AM with the Rev. Mark S. Kopp officiating. Interment will be held at the convenience of the family....

My great great great grandfather Chrispin Pierson Van Horn (Chrispin - Sarah - Pierson George Still - Lloyd Pierson Still - mom - me) belonged to the Kenilworth Castle #12 of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, according to his personal records. Aside from being a fraternal organization, I have been able to find little on this organization. From his correspondence, I found that Castle (similar to a Masonic Lodge) #12 was in Philadelphia, which makes sense since he had lived there a while before settling in Mortonville, Chester County. There was a Castle (#9) in Coatesville but he opted not to transfer his membership. I learned from the Chester County Historical Society that the fraternal organization was founded in Baltimore, Maryland 6 February 1873. It was introduced in Pennsylvania on 1 October 1875. Chrispin incidentally lived 1839 to 1902. A recent search led me to a family historian who wrote of the KGE on her blog " My Ancestors and Me ." She linked to a ref...

  Mary Holbrook daughter of Alex & Mary Pelehart 1915 - 1981 buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Twp., Chester Co., PA

J. Howard Eckman, 62, of Middletown, passed away on October 1, 2011 at the Community General Osteopathic Hospital. He was the husband of 34 years of Phyllis A. Drake Eckman. Born in West Grove, PA, he was the son of the late Ross E. and Stella Miller Eckman. Howard had worked at Estes Freight Lines as a truck driver and was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving during the Vietnam War. He was a member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Royalton, Middletown Moose Lodge, #410 and the Teamsters Local 776. Howard was an avid motorcyclist, enjoyed working on cars and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Surviving in addition to his wife are his children, Teri Over of Middletown, Veronica Gipe (Dan) of Oberlin, Gregg Eckman of Mount Joy and Howard Jay Eckman (Nicole) of Hummelstown; his brother, Ross Eckman (Pam) and his sister, Kathryn Pierce, both of Peach Bottom; his grandchildren, Ryan Lawson (Whitney) and Audree Colvin, bot...

It is only fitting to cover the Grange this Society Saturday since today - 13 July - is Grange Day! The Grange is a fraternal organization known as The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The Grange was founded in 1867 to promote the economic and political health of the agricultural community. It is therefore the oldest agricultural advocacy group. Oliver Kelly was commissioned by then President Andrew Jackson to access the situation of the Southern farmer after the Civil War. Many Southerners did not trust Kelly but, using his Masonic connections, he was able to meet with many farmers and came to realize some sort of organization was needed to unite farmers across the mending nation. The Grange was that answer. The first Grange Hall was Potomac Grange #1 in Washington, D.C. It was founded by seven men and one woman. Kelly was one of those founding members. The lone female founding member was Caroline Hall, Kelly's niece. Having women members was unusual...

Like many cities and towns, war took its toll often on our young cities. While Lancaster did not directly see the war and her battles, the then borough still felt its effects. Goods were manufactured to aid the militia. Those goods included the Conestoga Wagon and the Lancaster Rifle. The Lancaster Rifle is also known as the Pennsylvania Rifle and is sometimes called, in error, the Kentucky Rifle. When the British occupied Philadelphia from September 1777 to June 1778, the Pennsylvania government called Lancaster home. The prison held British soldiers yet their officers were paroled to be allowed to rent space from Lancastrians in their homes. Some notable dates in Lancaster: 1744 - the Indian treaties were negotiated at the courthouse in Lancaster 1760 - Union Fire Co. #1 formalized 1763 - the Conestoga Indians were mascaraed by the Paxtang Boys on 27 December. 1763 - the Juliana Library opened her doors 1777 - the Continental Congress met in Lancaster on 27 September 1794 - ...

  MANKOW   John 1877 - 1956 Mary 1877 - 1949 buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA   John was born in Poland and worked at the Lancaster Steel Office. According to his World War II draft registration, he had a paralyzed hand. The 1940 Census shows the Mankows living in Caln with their two sons: Joseph (b. 1915) and Peter (b. 1918). In 1940, John - who was a pitman at Lukens Steel Mill - was naturalized; however, Mary - also born in Poland - was still an alien.

Liberty Belle Island was a Prisoner of War (POW) camp during the Civil War. My great-great-great- grand-uncle, Benjamin Franklin Van Horn, was captured at Weldon Railroad Yard and held at Liberty Belle from 19 August 1864 to 15 June 1865. He served with Company H, 90th Pennsylvania Volunteers . Today that 54 acre island serves as a city park in Richmond, Virginia. Originally known as Broad Rock Island, it is believed that the island was first explored by Captain John Smith in 1607. Over the years, the island has housed a fishery, a nail factory of the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Company, even a village home to a school, church, and general store. During the Civil War the island was a POW camp. Accounts differ on the exact number of prisoners but it is safe to say that approximately 30,000 Union soldiers were confined there between 1862 and 1865. Conditions at the camp were horrific. The daily meal was often simply corn bread and some rice soup. The...

Edna M. Eckman, 98, a life-long resident of Quarryville, entered into rest after a brief illness on Thursday, October 20, 2011 at Hospice of Lancaster County in Mt. Joy. Born in Quarryville, she was a daughter of the late Jacob C., and Nora (Groff) Snyder. She was married to the late Delmar Eckman. Edna was a manager at the former Quarryville Tidy Products Sewing Factory. She was a member of St. Paul’s Church and past president of the former Solanco Independent Seniors Club. Edna was nominated for the 1989 Jefferson Award for Outstanding Community Service. She was an avid Phillies fan and enjoyed playing bingo. Every year, Edna looked forward to entertaining friends and family during the Solanco Fair Parade. Surviving are 2 nephews: Joseph Carroll, husband of Sally of Lancaster, Barry Carroll, husband of Wanda of Quarryville; a niece, Debbie, wife of Timothy Shrom of Quarryville; and a sister-in-law, Thelma Snyder also of Quarryville. Edna was preceded in death by 2 brothers: Ro...

Nine Pennsylvanians signed Declaration of Independence and Lancastrian attorney George Ross was among them. He was in fact the last representative from Pennsylvania to sign the Declaration. Born 10 May 1790 in Newcastle, Delaware, he was a son of the Reverend George Ross, rector of Episcopal Church, and Catherine Van Gezel. Ross was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar at the age of 20. The following year (1751) he began his own practice in Lancaster, where he was well liked and respected. On 14 August 1751 he married Ann Lawler, daughter of the widow Mary Lawler. The two had three children: George, James and Margaret. He was elected to represent Lancaster in the Pennsylvania Assembly (1768-1776) and the Continental Congress (1774, 1776-77).  He was vice president of the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1776 and a Judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania in 1779. He was also a member of the Saint Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia, a s...

  MONKO Father Harry 1868 - 1954 Mother Helen 1878 - 1944 buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA

The PA National Guard Armory, located at 438 North Queen Street in Lancaster City, is being sold. There will be a public meeting tonight - Tuesday, 2 July - to discuss the Armory and the upcoming sale. Staff from the PA Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs will be on hand to explain the process of disposing of the various state armories and to answer any questions from the general public. They will provide information about the advantages of acquiring armory property under a historic preservation covenant. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Lancaster City Council Chambers, 100 South Queen Street. The meeting is slated to last 45 minutes. The Lancaster Armory sits on .6 acres and is approximately 27,300 square feet. It was built around 1927 and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. This means the buyer would have tax benefits but he would also have specific requirements that must be maintained for a historical building. The building was last appraised ...

150 years ago this week the most critical and the bloodiest battle of the Civil War happened in Gettysburg. This three day battle in 1863 was the result of an ambitious invasion of the North by General Robert E. Lee. He was met in Gettysburg by the Union Army of the Potomac, under the command of Major General George Gordon Meade. The Union Army showed a new energy born out of desperation. The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg resulted in Lee's retreat to Virginia. It was also the final break of the Confederate spirit and will. During the days of the battle anniversary, with July 4 focusing on the battle's aftermath, the park will offer the following interpretive program opportunities, free of charge: Living History Camps - Two full battalions of Union and Confederate infantrymen accompanied by artillery and other supporting units will present demonstrations and programs near the Pennsylvania Memorial and at Pitzer's Woods throughout the day to illus...

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