Genealogical Gems

The Chester County Historical Society recently sent out an email asking for help to save  Passmore Williamson's Prison Visitors' Book . The request states that over 500 people visited Williamson when he was in prison. So, who was Williamson and why is he so important? Passmore Williamson was an abolitionist. He spent 100 days in the Moyamensing Prison, having been committed on 27 July 1855. His crime was that he refused to cooperate in recovering Jane Johnson, a slave, and her two sons, Daniel and Isaiah. Slave owner John H. Wheeler brought Johnson and her sons with him while he traveled from North Carolina to New York then onto Nicaragua. He stopped in Philadelphia, presumably to visit his in-laws. While there, Johnson connected with some free blacks who got word to the Anti-Slavery Society on 18 July 1855. At that time, any enslaved person - such as Johnson - who was brought into the state was considered free under Pennsylvania law, if he or she so ...

Do you have a history lover on your Christmas gift list? Fear not. Here are several suggestions to make your history lover happy without sending you to the poor house. Membership Give them the gift of history that lasts all year long. Get them a membership to a local historical society or to Ancestry.com . Season passes would fall into this category as well. If your community has a Renaissance Faire or similar venue, consider a season pass. A word of caution here tho - check it out first. My daughters work at our local Renaissance Faire and there is little historical about it. It is a fun fair; music and food is good. However, as someone interested in history, it leaves a lot to be desired. Simply said, you may have to simply ask your history buff if he or she would like something like that. Museums Groupon.com offers lots of great deals. I just purchased four tickets to the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg for just $22. Normally an adult ticket is $11 each and stud...

Normally when I think of occupations and my grandfather (Joseph Ruczhak), I tend to think of Lukens Steel. He was a grinder there for many years but before that he owned a steak shop with my grandmother and he was bartender for awhile! That's him on the right! On the left there is a sign for Haller's Reserve Whiskey. The Haller's name, according to BourbonEnthusiast.com , was produced in Philly by Continental Distilling. When Continental closed, the label was sold to Medley, which in turn sold it to Heaven Hill. The 1940 Census reveals he and my grandmother, Anna Kurenda, are married and living at 1048 Rock Run, in Valley Township which is just outside Coatesville. He is 21 and she is 19. They live next door to her sister Catherine and her husband John Yuzwiak. The week prior to the census, Gigi (that's my grandfather) had worked a 48 hour week. The census indicates he was a bartender in a tavern.   I am not entirely sure of when he went to work for the M...

These veterans - who we especially remember today on Veterans Day - are buried at the Bethel AME Church, 450 Strawberry Street, Lancaster, PA. The church was founded in 1817. Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.

Veterans' Day is a day to remember, appreciate and thank all the service members and their families who have served our country. The day got its start in November 1919, when - a year after World War I, known as "the Great War", came to an end - President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as Armistice Day. Today was known as Armistice Day for many years as people remembered the horrors and the heroes of the "war to end all wars" ... and then it happened again. We found ourselves in the midst of the Second World War. In 1954 the wording was officially changed from Armistice Day to Veterans' Day. In addition the wording was changed from honoring those who fought in WWI to "honor American veterans of all wars." Today that has loosened up - though not officially - to honor all those who have served, including those in peace time. Each year the sitting President releases a Presidential Proclamation announcing Veteran's Day as a solemn legal nationa...

On 13 October 1926 Alma A. Bliss, of New Orleans, LA, wrote Mr. Thomas F. Russell of 1709 Lovespring Avenue, Wilmington, DE concerning her family line. The letter, found in a collection of Bliss letters, was stamped "unclaimed" and returned to Alma Bliss. The letter reads: Dear Sir, Please let me have all information you can possibly give regarding your father's family. We are trying to complete the Russell Family Tree. If you will kindly assist us by [sending] us your family data, writing names in full, with dates of births, deaths and marriages, should we be successful in connecting your family. I will gladly send you a copy of records we have been successful in obtaining. I have been working at this for 2 yrs, assisting a cousin who has been on this job almost 3 years. To save time please give all the family data you can in first letter. Please pardon pencil scribbling, etc. Thanking you for your kindness, I am. Very sincerely, Alma A Bliss A brief...

Many Years is what we say in church when it is someone's birthday or anniversary ... as in God Grant you Many (more) Years. Today GeneaBloggers  reminded me that Genealogical Gems (that's me!) is celebrating its anniversary. The first post was a " Welcome " post on 10 November 2010 followed that same day by a link to an article on E-How about research in Lancaster County. Today though is not just about Genealogical Gems! Rebel Hands - a genealogy blog focusing on Australia, Ireland, London and Wales - also began four years ago today. Happy blogiversary! My cousin Zach Mains turns 23 today. Happy birthday, Zach! He is currently studying at Lock Haven University ... what great taste he has! (LHU is also my alma mater, having graduated in December 1991 ... 23 years ago!) It is also the 239th birthday of the US Marines. Many family members have served in our US Armed Forces and several of them served as Marines. I will attempt to list them all tomorrow on...