Genealogical Gems

Ulysses (Bud) Grant LeFevre, Jr., 70, passed away on March 27, 2014, at the Willard Walker Hospice House in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was born on October 29, 1943 in Lancaster, PA, although Watertown, NY was his hometown where he grew up. He graduated from Adams Center High School, NY, in 1961, where he was an accomplished athlete in baseball, basketball and football. After high school he attended Valley Forge Military School and then Winona State University. He was the owner of the Triple B restaurant in Burrville, NY for many years. Before moving to Fayetteville in 2009, he was a resident of Myrtle Beach, SC, where he owned a pool service business for many years. Bud was preceded in death by his father, Ulysses Grant LeFevre, Sr., and his mother, Dorothy Vollrath LeFevre. He is survived by his companion of 45 years, Kay Mentry DeVito, one sister, Bonnie Patrick, one brother Robert LeFevre, his aunt, Betty Ann Vollrath, numerous nieces and nephews and a cousin, Mary Louise Co...

On Tuesday, Patricia Ann Ladun was included in the Tombstone Tuesday . She is buried next to John and Anastasia Ladun. John (13 May 1916 - 4 November 1979) was born here in Pennsylvania. However, I do not know his parents' names. The 1930 Census shows John living on Newlinville Road in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County with his grandparents, Frank and Helen Witok. The Witoks immigrated from Russia, according to the census, in 1914. Frank worked retail at a grocers. Aside from three boarders, he is the only one living with his grandparents. The three boarders worked at the steel mill. Living next door though is 33 year old widowed Mary Ladun with her three sons: James, Joseph and Nicholas. She has three boarders: 56 year old married Romon Jemorcek from Russia, 56 year old married Iean Devatock from Russia and 39 year old single Paul Hellan from Austria. All three boarders worked at the steel mill. Helen Witok passed away on 3 July 1933, according to the Chester Co...

  Daughter Patricia Ann Ladun B&D 23 August 1953   buried at 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.

Last summer, Professor Joseph Diamond and the SUNY New Paltz Archaeological Field School excavated six units at Historic Huguenot Street and the New Paltz Reformed Church. These units revealed evidence of early Native American presence, circa 1200-1575 AD. It also revealed pottery, projectile points, prehistoric food remains, and more! New Paltz was founded in 1677 by the Huguenots who fled Northern France and the persecution of the Catholic Church. The Deyo family was among the men who purchased land from the Esopus. The other men were from the Bevier, Crispell, DuBois, Freer, Hasbrouck, and LeFevre families. Professor Diamond will present his findings this Thursday, 27 March 27. He will also answer questions regarding his work. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in Deyo Hall of the Huguenot Historic Street . General admission is $8. Members and seniors are just $5 and students are free. Diamond is a professor in the Anthropology Department at SUNY New Paltz .

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? What was it and how did you learn it? How did you feel when you found out? Over the years, I've had quite a few surprises from the women in my family. I've come to simply accept them. My first surprise - that I recall as a surprise - was the fact that Margaret Still had a child out of wedlock back in 1808. Margaret is my 4th great grandmother. The bigger surprise though with regards to her was the rape charge she filed later against a David Philips who possibly fathered her second child, No clue who fathered my 3rd great grandfather George David Still though. Another surprise was from my Baba & Gigi. My grandparents had two boys - my father and Uncle John. When I had my miscarriage in 1995, they were so sweet and so helpful in me getting through that difficult time. It was then though that they me that Baba had...

  Oleon Deviatak 1884 - 1947   buried at 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.

Today - St. Patrick's Day - seems like the perfect day to post about my immigrants, specifically my Irish immigrants. Michael WALSH believed to be from Dublin. An aunt had told me once that the family were haberdashers there. Once here, they settled in Shenandoah, Schuylkill County working in the coal mines. Anna KEATING Believed to be from County Mayo. She was born in 1855 and came here with her siblings when she was five. Her parents are assumed to have stayed in Ireland. The Keating siblings settled in Ringtown, near Shenandoah. She married Michael Walsh. Michael and Anna had six children. One of whom was Martin Joseph Walsh, my great grandfather. At some point the Walsh family moved to Phoenixville. My grandmother mentioned once it had something to Martin playing baseball. In Phoenixville, which is in Chester County, he married Catharine O'Flaherty. She is the daughter of Dennis and Martha Durkin O'Flaherty. Dennis O'FLAHERTY Dennis was born in 1839. ...

Anna Keating was born in 1855 in County Mayo, Ireland. Today being St. Patrick's Day, I thought it the perfect day to select one of my Irish ancestors to focus upon! Anna is one of several children of Martin and Knapy Penelope Keating. My Aug Peg had told me years ago that Anna immigrated when she was five. She came over with her siblings - not sure how many but Aunt Peg did say "brothers and sisters". No one ever mentioned her parents coming over so I have always worked on the assumption that they remained behind in Ireland. Her and her siblings settled in Ringtown, PA. Aunt Peg had said that the state came in and claimed eminent domain and took the family farm for a highway. A couple years ago however I visited the Ringtown Public Library and the Shenandoah Historical Society and no one recalled any eminent domain cases around then for a highway. She married Michael Walsh, an Irish immigrant as well, who was living nearby in Shenandoah. They had six children. Eve...

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Social Butterfly. What social organizations or groups did your mother or grandmother belong to? Sewing circle, church group, fraternal benefit society or lodge? Describe her role in the group. Several women on my dad's side of the family belonged to the Sisterhood at church - a woman's organization. My Baba and her mother were members. Gigi's mom was member as well. My Aunt Mary (Gigi's sister-in-law) was a very active member of the Sisterhood. She lived right across the street which helped but she was always at the church. She was always involved with various activities. My oldest daughter and myself are also involved with the Sisterhood. My three girls and I are all involved in the Ukrainian Orthodox League - senior and junior - as well. The women on mom's side of the family were active in church but not - at least that I recall - in any specific organizations.

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Write a six-word memoir tribute to one of your female ancestors. It is hard to choose just one but ... Anna Kurenda Ruczhak Six word tribute: 1. Baba 2. Classy 3. Beautiful 4. Devoted 5. Family 6. Crochet  

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column? My first thought is of my Aunt Helen! I speak of her often here. She was so helpful in my genealogical quests! That's her below here - isn't she beautiful? This was taken in 1990. A little background: Aunt Helen was born Helen Still on 24 August 1903 to Franklin and Sarah Jennie VanHorn in East Fallowfield, Chester County. She was the youngest of six children. On 30 December 1924 she married Elwood James Webster. They had two daughters: Gloria Elaine and Janet Leona. She attended West Chester State Normal School (now West Chester University) to teach in a rural school but she said she hated teaching so she ended up doing odd jobs. She finally got a job at Unionville High School where she remained for 13 years. Everyone loved her - everyone! One year the studen...

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Moment of Strength: share a story where a female ancestor showed courage or strength in a difficult situation. ... We all show courage and strength at some point during our years however one person comes to mind: Margaret Still. Margaret Still is my (mom, Pops, Pierson, Franklin, George) great-great-great-great grandmother. She was born in 1788 in Chester County to Charles and Margaret Rhoades Still. She was one of four children. She was the only daughter. Her father - and possibly one or two of her brothers - owned a tavern in Uwchlan Township. In 1880, at the age of 20, still being single, she gave birth on 3 May to her first of two children: George David Still. George was born in East Fallowfield Township. Her parents - according to my Aunt Helen who was the youngest child of George's son Franklin - "put her out" on a farm. Aunt Helen said that when Margaret got pregnant, her fa...

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation. All the women in my family - both sides - have worked at some point outside the home. My mom was an accountant with Penn Dairy. A year or two after I was born, she quit to stay home. Daddy worked at the Mill so a second income back then was not as vital as it is now. Mom was always doing something and loved to knit, do ceramics, and make various crafts out of a variety of materials. When I was in seventh or eighth grade (I was still going to school in Coatesville not yet Octorara but I forget when exactly), she finally started her own business. She called it "Stitched With Love." Mom's business was quite successful and soon took over the kitchen, the dining room and finally when a large two car garage was added onto the house, it took that over too. She never did like crowds ...

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: Did you have any female ancestors who died young or from tragic or unexpected circumstances? Describe and how did this affect the family? My aunt Mary Ethel Still passed when she was just 13. She was born 04 Jun 1893 to Franklin and Jennie VanHorn Still. Some personal letters addressed from the school to her father, I learned that she attended the Pennsylvania Training School F. M. C. in Elywyn. It was always abbreviated on the letters and envelopes and the correspondence was all financial records or invoices. A Google search revealed FMC stood for Feeble Minded Children. Her sister - my Aunt Helen Still Webster - had told me that she was sent to the home because she took epileptic fits.   She passed away on 15 Dec 1906. Aunt Helen was three when her sister Ethel passed. She described for me once how she was laid out at home, as was the norm then.

  Stephen Chabanyuk 1887 - 1953 buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County 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.

Historic Huguenot Street will host "Book Talk: Espionage in the American Revolution" on Saturday, 15 March. Award-winning author John A. Nagy will speak about an intriguing, secret part of the Revolutionary War based on his book Invisible Ink: Spycraft of the American Revolution . Explaining cyphers, codes, paper masks and hidden compartments, Nagy tells stories of the Revolution’s unsung heroes, including several based in the Hudson River Valley. Tickets are $8 at the door ($5 for seniors, free for students). The talk will be held in Deyo Hall, Broadhead Avenue, New Paltz, NY.   Note: The above was from a press release from Historic Huguenot Street

March is Women's History Month and as such GeneaBloggers' prompt today is: What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn’t they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity? Religion played an active role in most of my lines. Daddy's side (here) almost all belonged to the same church I attend now - the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church. My Baba and her mother, Gigi's mom and at least one of his sisters were active in the Sisterhood. My mom's maternal side is Roman Catholic and her father's side is Presbyterian. There are a few more recently who have chosen other religions and several older generations who attended a local Methodist Episcopal Church. They all attended church and I feel safe in saying that religion was a special part of their lives. One aunt wanted to become a nun and was close, I understand, until she met someone so special that ...

March is Women's History Month and as such Geneabloggers' prompt today is: Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc.) To be honest, I would much rather have information (and photos and documents) rather than traditional heirloom items. Hence, photo albums and documents are my most treasured keepsakes. That said, I do have Baba's "good" silverware set. I do not know what time of silver it is or how good/unique/special it is and quite honestly that really does not matter. What matters is that it is a part of her and Gigi and that it is functional.  

I often seek out family names on eBay and a recent search brought me to this postcard. According to the listing , the house is the "stone house on Main Street, across from Ramsey High School." I saved the photo - including the seller's mark you can see across the card - to remind me to add this to my "to do" list. My husband's mother was a Deyoe. Her father was Morgan G Deyoe from New York. However, after his father passed, I did find one census with him, his mother, and two brothers I had not previously known about, living in Bergen County, NJ. Ramsey is in Bergen County so, as you can imagine, the coincidence is just too great for me not to follow up on it! Once I have more info on that possible connection, I will include the finds here!

March is Women's History Month and as such Geneabloggers' prompt today is: How did they meet? You’ve documented marriages, now, go back a bit. Do you know the story of how your parents met? Your grandparents? My paternal grandparents (Joseph & Anna Kurenda Ruczhak) met at school. Baba was a year older than Gigi and her command of English was better. He spoke only Ukrainian in the home. So, the teacher at the school asked her to help him learn English. I have no clue how my mom's parents met. I'm not sure I ever heard that story. My parents (Joseph & Barbara Still Ruczhak) met at a dance. Mom was there with her cousin Denise O'Flaherty (Coblentz) and Daddy was with some friends. Daddy and Aunt Denise (and her husband Ray Coblentz) went to school together. They attended Horace Scott HS in Coatesville. Daddy saw mom at the dance and asked Aunt (really a cousin btw but she's mom and dad's age so ...) Denise to introduce them!  

March is Women's History Month and as such Geneabloggers' prompt today is: Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one. My paternal grandparents - Joseph and Anna Kurenda Ruczhak - were married at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church. They were married on 16 July 1939 at the Coatesville church. They were supposed to be married the year before but Baba's father - John Kurenda - passed on 27 February 1938 so it was pushed back a year due to the period of mourning. The photo at left is their wedding party. My maternal grandparents - Lloyd and Mary Welsh Still - were married in the rectory of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Phoenixville. She was Roman Catholic and he was Presbyterian at the time so they could not be married in the church. They were married on 21 October 1939. I do not have a photo of their wedding ...

March is Women's History Month and as such Geneabloggers' prompt today is: Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree. My name is unique within the families. My mom always said she wanted something smooth to flow with the harsh Ruczhak. I however thought of family names when naming my children! My oldest is Mary Theresa is named after my maternal grandmother - Mary Rose. My Mary would have been named Mary Rose as well but with a last name of Eckman, I did not think her initials would be appropriate (MRE), especially since I married into a law enforcement/military family. Theresa was simply selected then because (I was Catholic at the time) my favorite saint then was St Theresa the Little Flower. (Photo at left here is my maternal grandparents: Lloyd an...