Genealogical Gems

Susan Elizabeth Lefever, it was announced On This Day in 1880, purchased the “ Ark ” at a public sale. The sale was a public sale for the executors of the estate of the late Daniel Lefever, of Drumore Township .   Susan, Daniel’s widow, purchased a tract of land containing 39 acres with improvements known as the “ Ark ” for $143 per acre. She also purchased a 100 acre farm, also near Quarryville.   The auction was held on 30 November by B.F. Rowe. A third tract of land consisted on 201 acres in Drumore Township was purchased by Henry H. Lefever and Jacob Keen.   The “ Ark ” is Quarryville’s oldest building still in existence today. It was built in 1791 by Martin Barr. It is located on North Church Street .   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 1 December 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical even...

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...

New Paltz was founded in 1678 by the French Huguenots. The name of the town is said to have been suggested by Christian DEYO  in 1675. The name he gave was probably that found in the record of the first meeting of the New Paltz Reformed Church in 1683.  Deyo - and his son Pierre - were among the "Twelve Men of the Duzine "  acquired the royal patent of over 33,000 acres, which stretched all the way from the Shawangunk Mountains to the Hudson River. The other patentees were Louis DuBois and his sons Abraham and Isaac, Simon and Andries LeFevre (brothers), Jean and Abraham Hasbrouck (brothers), Antoine Crispell, Louis Bevier, and Hugo Frere The early settlers built their homes along the area now known as Huguenot Street. That area today is home to seven museums, an old cemetery, library, archives and more. The area is home to several historic houses of those "Twelve Men of the Duzine." They include: The LeFevre House, The Jean Hasbrouck House, The Deyo...

I received an email about an earlier post on Alonzo Smedley Eckman recently and the woman mentioned she had not heard of Ulrich Eckman. So who is Ulrich? Ulrich is the father of Johannes Eckman and his brother Hans Jacob Eckman. Hans and his line settled in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania before some trickled down to Maryland. Johannes and his line settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where few have left. Alonzo's parents did leave but after their passing he returned to live with an aunt and uncle in Fulton Township, Lancaster County. Following Johannes ... Johannes immigrated in 1727 and came into Philadelphia. He is listed as the "primary immigrant" so I think it is safe to conclude (esp when combined with other information) that his father Ulrich did not immigrate. (Source: COUSINS, ELIZABETH. Immigrants Into Pennsylvania, September 1727-September 1732. np: Pathfinders, nd. 51p. -- as per Ancestry.com). Johannes married Eva Dorthea Seitz in Germany and the ...