Genealogical Gems

A mica mine was discovered in Hereford Township , Berks County . The mine was discovered by Simon P. Romig of New Jerusalem. Hiram Hollenbush, a mineralogist from Reading , came out to inspect the mine and found it of good quality. Mica (in 1882) was worth $4,500 per ton at its best quality!   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 16 October 1882. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.    On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Thursday’s “On This Day” post revealed an article in the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer about Charles Deyo of Shawangunk , Ulster County, NY. Deyo was shot by a “playfellow” on Tuesday, 12 October 1880, according to the paper. This particular piece had caught my attention because my husband is descended from the New York Deyo/Deyoe family.   To clarify, the Evening Gazette out of Port Jervis, NY, stated that the 14 year-old boy had been shot on Friday, which would have been the 8 th of October. He was shot in the abdomen and his recovery was “doubtful.”   Charles Brodhead Deyo was born 30 May 1866 to Brodhead Deyo and Sarah C. Bruyn. The 1870 Census shows four-year old Charles had three older sisters. They were: Nelly (then 17), Anna (then 13), and Jennie (then six). The family lived in Shawangunk and their post office was Tuthill. In 1878, his sister Nellie married Alpheus R. Brigden, of Fleming , NY .       He is buried at the New Hurley ...

A Lancaster artist was charged with being naughty On This Day in 1880. Artist Lewis Reidenbach was charged and will appear before Alderman Barr. His crime was that he painted a white man black. The man had been sleeping in the American house. Reidenbach painted the man’s hat as well.   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 15 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Charles Deyo was fatally shot at Shawangunk , Ulster County, NY on Tuesday, 12 October. The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer reported, On This Day in 1880, that Charles was accidently shot by a “playfellow.”   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 14 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Write relatives for information. I personally found it easier to ask one or two questions per letter, especially with older relatives.   Remember the basics: who, what, when, where, why, and how.   Take notes. Do not ever assume you will remember something by the time you get to the car or home. If your grandparent, or whomever, is not comfortable being tape recorded, at least take notes. If you do record, take notes anyway just incase something goes wrong with the recording.   Always always always thank the person for their time.   Tuesday’s Tip is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.   © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

It was On This Day in 1919 that the last train pulled out of Dorsey Station, thus ending more than 40 years of service to the Southern End of Lancaster County. The station, located about a half mile east of Peach Bottom, was a part of the Lancaster, Oxford & Southern Railway. It was a combination passenger and freight train.   It is the last of the original stations to have survived on the railway’s 28 miles of narrow-gauge track between Dorsey and Oxford . The railroad's tracks were pulled up and sold for scrap after World War I. Today, the wooden two-story station is in disrepair.   Dorsey Station was built in 1876 by Samuel Dorsey, a local miller. It is included on Lancaster County Preservation Trust’s annual Most Threatened Historic Properties list. Friends of Dorsey Station are trying to save it as an educational center.     Photo: Courtesy Historic Preservation Trust   On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical ev...

Yellow fever claimed 14 lives last week in Havana, reported the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer On This Day in 1880. Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 12 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015