Wordless Wednesday - Flat Rock Cemetery

           © 2 July 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Delete is NOT an option

Okay, this post is only for those of you who maintain blogs on this newspaper website or those of an affiliated newspaper website. The rest of you can go do something else - sleep, eat, start a third world country. 

 Last week, tired and getting frustrated with trying to post an aethetically pleasing copy of my work online, I gave up and said, "Chuck it!" (Actually, I said, "Screw it," but I wanted to use something more family friendly and in keeping with my pristine image.) I then, because the editing tools gave me this option, elected to delete the post and start again from scratch. Finally, satisfied with the results, I tapped the "publish" button and everything was, how do you say, hunky-dorey.

However, when I later pulled up my blog on my Google Reader, (What! Am I the only narcissistic blogger out there that wants to see how my posts look in Reader?) I noticed that the deleted post and the newly published post both appeared. And the deleted post is still there, driving me nuts, staring at me with all of its larger than life flaws, begging to be deleted - WHICH I CANNOT DO! Okay, let me take a breath. In the whole scheme of things, this issue rates a 1.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 for serious problems. BUT IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! 

 So, for those of you who blog on the News-Mess or one of its sister sites, know this. Once you push the "publish" button, that baby is out there in Google Reader land and no little ole delete button is getting rid of it. Nuff said. 

 Until Next Time!

© 1 July 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

A Footnote to My Last Post

Yesterday I wrote about my 6th great grandfather, the Rev. Daniel Schumacher. One of the entries in Daniel Schumacher's Baptismal Register found listed on April 28, 1756 was for an Anna Maria Schmedder, the four week old daughter of William Schmedder and his wife Maria Catharina. An asterisk beside Anna Maria’s name indicated that Daniel had given a hand decorated certificate of the baptism, a Taufscheine, to the couple to commemorate the event.

The baptism was done at a church that Daniel called, Allemangel. The church was located in Albany Township of Berks County, Pennsylvania. 

Descendents of William Schmedder and descendents of Daniel Schumacher would move away from Southeastern Pennsylvania, and eventually both William and Daniel would have lines that would make their way, by different routes. to Sandusky County in Ohio. Almost two hundred years after the baptism, the 5th Great granddaughter of Daniel and Maria Elisabeth Schumacher would meet, fall in love and marry the 5th Great grandson of William and Maria Catharina Schmedder. How do I know this? Well, I know the couple – the 5th great granddaughter and the 5th great grandson of Schumacher and Schmedder. I am their daughter.

Until Next Time – Happy Ancestral Digging!

© 1 July 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

"Owed" to an Ugly Wife

The story goes that after a night of frolicking intoxication in Halifax, my 6th great grandfather, Daniel, woke up the next morning and found himself married. The spontaneous nuptials were bad enough, but worse, the “lady” in question was, how should I say this delicately - she put the UG in ugly. Grandpa did what anyone might do in just such a situation. He packed up, and quickly put as much distance as possible between himself and said wife. This occurred in July 1753 and but for one small detail, this story would have been an obscure forgotten incident 

The small detail - Daniel Schumacher, my 6th great grandfather, was a Lutheran minister and would be called on later to explain this little misstep in Nova Scotia. His flight took him south, all the way to Philadelphia where he presented credentials from the Lutheran pastor of New York City and from the ministerium of Lutheran pastors of Hamburg, Germany. The German papers identified young Daniel as a pastoral candidate, meaning he had studied theology at a German university. Though some were skeptical of Daniel and scandalized that he had performed the Lord’s Supper without proper ordination, there was such a hunger on the part of the German immigrants to hear the word preached in their native tongue, that a young man eager to take on the job of traveling minister was hard to turn down. 

Of course, the letters from the Hamburg ministers turned out to be bogus. And it was these very letters that the New York minister, Johann Weygand, had based his own letter of recommendation. Weygand had written to his colleagues in Hamburg 

“…candidate Daniel Schumacher. He arrived here from Halifax a few weeks ago, and, because of the deep respect we for your reverences’ testimonial, we permitted him to preach here, and since he had been quite destitute in Halifax, we furnished him with new clothing, and then sent him to Pennsylvania, where he may expect a prompt assignment, or perhaps one here in our own province.” 

Clearly, Weygand, whose financial support came from Hamburg, was anxious to let the group know that he was taking care of their young protégé.

In 1755, Weygand received a letter from Dr. Friedrich Wagner, of the Hamburg ministerium, stating that no one there could recall a candidate by the name of Daniel Schumacher. Additionally, there were complaints locally of Daniel’s cursing and drunkenness. The news of an abandoned wife in Canada had also surfaced. Slowly, Daniel’s web of lies and half truths began to unravel. 

The synod disassociated with him. He would never become an officially ordained minister, which left him particularly bitter and surly when it came to the folks of the Lutheran synod. He did, however, continue with what he perceived to be his true calling, preaching the gospel as an independent minister.

By this time, Schumacher had endeared himself to his congregations in what are now the counties of Berks, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill in Pennsylvania. In each church where he officiated, he started registers to record the events, and kept his own register with notes of all the baptisms he performed, over 1500 in all. 

For some of these baptisms, he created special, hand decorated baptismal certificates called, Taufscheine. These decorated certificates were a form of the Pennsylvania German folk art, known as Fraktur. He also decorated some of his church registers in the same manner. Daniel’s Fraktur works still exist today and are highly prized pieces of art. He also was an accomplished writer and poet.

 

An Example of Daniel Schumacher's Work from "Publications of The Pennsylvania German Society, Vol.1"

He encouraged, when appropriate, his parishioners to build churches, which were often the center of community life in the back woods of Pennsylvania. He continued to serve them and travel to their homes and churches, even though the ongoing French and Indian War made such travel dangerous. And though at times he could be found in the center of congregational controversy, he remained a popular minister whose flock was very loyal. 

He would marry a local girl, Maria Elisabeth Steigerwalt who must have met Daniel’s standard for beauty, have seven children, and own a 100-acre farm in Lehigh County in Pennsylvania. He died there in May of 1787. 

Daniel was a man of many talents and many flaws. It’s hard to believe that a large number of people with Pennsylvania Dutch heritage owe knowledge of their own ancestral history to Daniel Schumacher’s registers and that a significant number of people are walking the earth today because Daniel couldn’t stand to look at an ugly wife. 

Written for 51st Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy – Independent Spirit 

Sources:

Publications of The Pennsylvania German Society, Vol.1, Allentown, Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania German Society, 1968. Wertkin, Gerard C, editor and Lee Kogan, associate editor, Encyclopedia of American Folk Art, Routlege, New York, 2004. A History of Weisenberg Church, 1981.

Digital Images, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com, 2008.

© 1 July 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

A June Wedding

Last Friday, my husband and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of one of our favorite couples, my nephew Jeff and his new bride Lizzie. The mood for the evening was appropriately set by the simple ceremony performed amidst a summer garden, witnessed by close family and friends

I would show you a picture of the happy couple, but my nephew warned me that he would expect royalties for any likeness of him found on this blog site. Humph! 

One of my favorite moments, was my great nephew escorting his grandmother, my sister, down the garden path to her seat, and then skipping all the way back. The sight of a six year old skipping happily in a tux is just too precious to describe. I wasn’t quick enough to catch him mid skip with my camera – but below you get an idea. (Note: HE didn’t demand any royalties, thank goodness.)

 

While many brides and grooms request adults only for their reception, which of course is their right, Lizzie and Jeff did just the opposite. Because they both have young relatives who are very special to them, they centered their reception on these young guests. There was a scavenger hunt, a kid’s menu, and a DJ playing the “Hokey Pokey” to name just a few ways the reception catered to the younger crowd. And the kids all loved it! 

Watching my father twirl my mother around the dance floor, chatting with my own children and their special some ones, and seeing my three sibs and their families all under the same roof - well, you now know my definition of heaven. It was truly a special night. I want to thank Lizzie’s family for hosting such a wonderful event – everything was post card perfect.

And to Lizzie and Jeff, I wish you the usual blessings of happiness, health, and prosperity. I would also wish you a life filled with buckets of love, but judging from the way the two of you looked at each other, and the warm loving glow that flowed through the room last Friday night, I think you already have the love thing covered. Congratulations!

© 27  June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Yo Momma and Dirty Diaper Humor

Warning - those of you who have difficulty controlling your gag reflex will want to pass on this post. This post may also be offensive to those with good taste. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 

Not that this has anything to do with genealogy, more like family relationships, but I’ve been lurking on a blog entitled, “Postcards from Yo Momma.” Seeing the name, I was a little concerned that one of my three darling children may have instigated the blog as I have been know to sign my emails to them, Yo Momma. Thank goodness, none of my offspring had anything to do with the inception of this website. It was the brainchild of Jessica Grose and Doree Shafrir, who call it a “repository of modern day maternal correspondence.” If you think all mothers send their children dainty little email missives, you would be dead wrong. 

Take, for example, the mother who after seeing her child’s school grades, wrote, “What’s wrong with you?” reminding her son that she had, “enough problems, without you adding to them.”

Or how about the mom, 60 years old, who was going to be pole dancing at a wedding shower. She goes on to admonish her child to, “Look for a flask because the booze sit (sec) for the wedding is NONE!”

Ah, yes, motherly love is a wonderful thing. You should know that some mother’s actually use CURSE words when writing to their children. It’s hard to believe that any child could create such passionate, angry vibes from their maternal parent, but apparently, this happens. Not that I have ever written anything close to swearing in an email to any of my brood, I’m too smart. I know that anything out there in the written world can come back to bite you – hard! The closest thing to an off color email I have sent to any of my offspring was a link to a blog post that talked about a large, um, excrement (read poop) problem. I sent this to my middle child for a variety of reasons.

1. When this particular child was a little guy still sleeping in a crib, he became bored waiting for me to come and get him up one morning. His solution to his boredom involved reaching into his diaper and smearing the contents (read poop) all over his face. By the time I came into his bedroom, all I could see clearly was his right eye. (Do I need to tell you he had pasted the left one shut with his, um, working medium?) Had he made the same mess on a blanket, stuffed animal or even his crib, there is no doubt in my mind, I would have simply thrown the soiled article out. But one cannot throw out a perfectly good child, now can one?

I won’t tell you exactly how I managed to clean him up. I’m not sure if the statute of limitations has run out on child endangerment even if it has been over three decades. Let’s just say that the boy never sought to alleviate his boredom in this manner again.

2. Maybe owing to his earlier experience, this particular child has always found fecal matter (read poop) humor to be amusing. I blame this on the fact that he apparently inherited the “warped humor” gene from both grandfathers. Not that either of these gentleman shared this particular brand of humor, but when you combine a WH (warped humor) gene from both the maternal and paternal lines, the result can be a little over the top. 

3. For years, I have been the one clucking solemn disapproval at this son’s predilection for excrement humor. I knew he would be shocked that I had sent him the link. Sometimes you just have shake up your adult child’s assumptions about you. 

I haven’t seen any excrement references on “Postcards from Yo Momma” but nothing is sacred. So if you are not too easily shocked, can handle the idea that a female parent might occasionally swear, and just want to be sure your child hasn’t sold you out for a brief moment of fame, you will want to check out this website. You should know, it can be addictive! 

Until Next Time!

© 20 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Mary, Mary Mary? Part Two - Will the real Mary Shirkey please step forward

Yesterday, I wrote about Mary Shirkey of Seneca County, who had not one, but three different identities. Because I wanted to put the correct Mary with her children, I embarked on a little extra research of each of her supposed identities. In my previous post, I summarized my findings and conclusions on Mary Armes Thompson and Mary Beam. Today I conclude with the final Mary, Mary Good originally of Shenandoah County. 

Identity 3 - Mary Good of Shenandoah County, Virginia, daughter of William Good II and Susannah Kauffman Good. 

This theory was advanced by Thelma Shope who like me, descended from Mary’s eldest brother, Joseph Good. Velma June Good Hulvey wrote a book entitled, “The William Good Family” which traced the descendants of William Good II’s father, William Good I. 

The original book came out in the late 1970’s. Because so many people responded with new information, a revised edition was printed in 1996. This version included the information that Mary Good was the wife of John Shirkey and that the family settled in Seneca County. No supporting information or documentation was given, so in March of 2004, I called Mrs. Hulvey, and asked about the source of the information. Mrs. Hulvey was very gracious and told me that Thelma Shope (whom she had listed in her book) was the source of the information. Unfortunately, Thelma had died in July of 2003. I had never met Thelma, but had stumbled across her queries and other information as I was doing my own research. I decided I would have to reconstruct the information Thelma had used to decide that Mary Good was Mary Shirkey, 

1. Velma Hulvey in her book, “The William Good Family,” had included a transcription for a Land Deed done in Shenandoah County, Virginia dated August 27, 1830. I was later able to get a copy of this deed from the Library of Virginia. Located in Shenandoah County’s Deed Book 11, pages 495- 498, the first few sentences read as follows: “This Indenture made this 27 day of August in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty between Susannah Good, widow and relict William Good deceased, Thomas Toppin and Elizabeth his wife late Elizabeth Good of the County of Shenandoah, Joseph Good and Magdalene his wife, Jacob Good and Catharine his wife, John Shirkey and Mary his wife late Mary Good, William Minick and Nancy his wife, late Nancy Good, all of the County of Rockingham and State of Virginia, John Good of the County of Shenandoah, Michael Zirkle and Margaret his wife, late Margaret Good of the county of Clark and State of Ohio and Samuel Bulman and Susannah his wife late Susannah Good of the County of Shenandoah and State of Virginia aforesaid, children and heirs of the said William Good deceased of the one part and John Zirkle of the County of Shenandoah and State of Virginia aforesaid of the other part.” This establishes that Mary Good did marry one John Shirkey, that she was the daughter of William and Susannah Good, and that as of August 27, 1830 John and Mary were living in Rockingham County of Virginia.

2. Joseph Good and Magdalene, my great great great grandparents and son of William II and Susannah Kauffman Good migrated to Ohio in 1831. Both John Shirkey and Joseph Good were issued land patents from the Tiffin Office on May 25, 1832. As it turned out, May 25 was the only day that land patents were issued from the Tiffin Office in May of 1832. 138 patents were issued that day for land in Seneca County, Ohio. It is interesting to note that Joseph Good’s land patents were numbered 4785 and 4786 and that John Shirkey’s land patent was 4787. It is tempting to ascribe the consecutive numbers with patents that were applied for at the same time.

3. According to the Original Land Entries listed in Warner, Beers & Company’s “History of Seneca County”, 1886, for Liberty Township, only 4 land entries were completed in June of 1831. One entry was dated June 18, 1831 and was for land in Section 1 for Isaac Myers. The other three entries were dated June 3, 1831. These were Joseph Good, e. 1/2 n. e. 1/4 sec. 8, John Shirkey, e 1/2 s. e. 1/4 sec. 8 and Joseph Good, w. 1/2 n. w 1/4 sec. 9. Below is a graphical representation for original land entries for Sections 8 and 9 of Liberty Township of Seneca County, Ohio. It is easy to see that the entries for Joseph Good and John Shirkey were side by side. This together with the fact that the land was acquired on the same day makes it easy to assume that the two were acquainted prior to moving to Seneca County. This is especially true when you consider that it is a known fact that Joseph Good had a brother-in-law named John Shirkey, that the original land entries were entered on the same day and that the land was side by side and that both Joseph Good and John Shirkey disappear from Rockingham County sometime after 1831. (Note John Shirkey appears in personal tax lists of Rockingham County 1829, 1830 and 1831 – there was no record of him prior to the 1829 list nor after the 1831 list.) There were a number of Joseph Good’s located in Rockingham County at this time. It is known that a Joseph Good with wife Magdalene sold two pieces of property. One was sold in November of 1830 and a second in April of 1831. 

4. Additionally, while I was doing some searching online, I found a message on Genforum from a Good researcher who listed all the children of Susannah and William Good II along with birth years. To make the long story short, as was the custom in the Good family, a family bible was given to the youngest child in the family - in this case, that child was Susannah Good Bollman, sister of Joseph and Mary. In Susannah Good Bollman’s family, the bible was handed down through her only daughter Margaret Ellen Bollman Pearson. The researcher had heard rumors of the bible. On a visit to family in Bloomfield Iowa in 1985, she tracked the bible down. Apparently, it was being kept in cardboard box on a screened in porch and was mildewed and badly worn. The researcher wrote to me saying, “I almost promised to give up my first born in order to get it away from her long enough to run to a local grocery store to make copies and return it immediately. One of the cousins even accompanied me – as if I planned to make a break for home.” After I explained what I was trying to do, copies of the birth dates (which were in German) of William and Susannah’s children were made and sent to me. Though the copy is difficult to read, I can make out Maria’s (or Mary’s) name and the date of her birth. “In Year 1798 on 3 October was our daughter born that was named Maria” – this is the English translation of the entry. 

5. The bible inscription presented a problem as the tombstone of Mary Shirkey indicates (according to transcriptions) that she was aged 71 years 4 months and 20 days, with her death date listed as February 24, 1873. By my calculation this would make a birth date of October 4th, 1801, which was 3 years and 1 day off from Mary Good Shirkey’s indicated birthday. This was suspiciously close, and made me continue my investigating. Unfortunately, when I went to the Crissa/Andrews Cemetery myself, I was unable to read the inscription. Therefore, I had to look at other record and newspaper clippings. 

6. Census – 1850 Census, State of Ohio, Seneca County, Liberty Township, visit 2067 lists Mary Shirkey as 48 which would coincide with the date of Oct 4, 1801 as Mary’s birth date. 

7. Census – 1860 Census, State of Ohio, Seneca County, Liberty Township, visit 955 lists Mary Shirkey as 62, which would support an October 3, 1798 birth date. 

8. Census – 1870 Census, State of Ohio, Seneca County, Liberty Township, visit 183 lists Mary Shirkey as 72 again supporting an October 3, 1798 birthdate.

9. Record of Deaths, Probate Court, in and for the County of Seneca, Ohio, Volume 2, pages 51 and 52 list Mary’s death as the following: Date of Record: June 10, 1873 No: 116 Name in Full: Shirky, Mary Age: 74 Sex: (left blank) Color: White Condition: Married Occupation: Wife Disease: Dropsy Direct or Indirect Cause of Death: (left blank) Date of Death: 1873, February 24 Place of Death: Liberty Township Place of Birth: Virginia Last Place of Residence: Liberty Township Names of Parents: (left blank) The age would support a 1798 birth.

10. Newspaper Article, Seneca Advertiser June 5, 1873, page 3, column 3: Deaths – The following deaths of old citizens over fifty years of age are taken from the Accessors records: … Liberty – Rachel Kime, 65; Mary Sherky, 74; … Conclusion: Based on the above information I believe Mary Shirkey, the wife of John Shirkety of Seneca County, to be the daughter of William Good II and Susannah Kauffman Good. 

Note: I believe that the tombstone was carved incorrectly or that a 4 was mistaken for a 1 in the age listed for Mary Shirkey. Since I could not read the inscription myself, this is only a theory. So, does my research and logic make sense? Have I solved the riddle of Mary, Mary – who’s the real Mary? I leave it for you to decide. 

Until Next Time!

© 19 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder