Genealogical Gems

Politics were a big deal in 1880 and some men apparently bet upon results. In Lancaster, William Wilson, a porter, and Theodore Beck, a barber, bet who would carry Maine . Wilson bet that the Republicans would carry that state. The condition of the bet was that if they did not carry Maine , then Wilson would wheel Beck, in a wheelbarrow, from the Cooper house, where Wilson was a porter, to the Pennsylvania railroad depot and back. The Republicans evidently did not carry Maine , as the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported On This Day in 1880, that Wilson paid his bet “like a little man” that afternoon.   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 15 September 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckm...

Joseph Henry Dubbs and his wife Mary Louisa Wilson Dubbs are buried in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster City. I took the photo one day last year simply because, being part Irish, the Celtic cross grabbed my attention. Joseph Henry Dubbs was born 5 October 1838 and passed on 1 April 1910. Mary was born on 4 January 1843 and passed on 17 January 1921. They had four children. On the stone, Joseph has an abbreviation after his name: D.D. L.L.D. The D.D. probably means Doctor of Divinity but I was unable to find L.L.D. He was, according to his Death Certificate and Census records, a clergyman and college professor at Franklin & Marshall College. Joseph was born in North Whitehall Lehigh County to PA native Joseph S. Dubbs and NJ born Eleanor Lerch, according to his Death Certificate. Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers in which a tombstone is featured.