An Indentured Servant and the Farm Upon Which He Lived

Berks County, Pennsylvania was the home of at least six of my ancestral families: Alder/Alter,  Daniel/Daniels, Forster/Foster, Hoffman, Irion/Jerion/Yerion, Lederman/Leatherman, and a possible seventh lineage: Schädler/Schedler.

A total of five days was spent in Berks County earlier this month and on portions of several of those days I roamed around the back roads of Berks and neighboring Montgomery county. The area was MUCH hillier than I had thought it would be with sometimes narrow and usually winding, curvy roads. As a result, it always took me twice as long to get someplace as I thought it would. It was especially pretty with the leaves changing color, in spite of the dreary, wet weather.

One of the "family sites" on my list to visit was the Homestead of David Kaufman in Oley Township (seven miles east of Reading) in Berks County. David Kaufman is not one of my ancestors but he was the "master" of one of them.

My research on the Yarian family began in 1985 when my mother and I went on a trip to Pennsylvania. Considerable information has been gathered over the years which has been enriched by the work of other researchers.

The earliest publication I discovered was a small typewritten manuscript titled "Some Descendants of Mathias Jurian 1702-1763" by Miss Cecil H. Smith. It wasn't documented but it certainly provided lots of clues. The first Yarian researcher that I made contact with was Lowell Yarian who lived nearby in Warsaw, Indiana.  He was retired and he and his wife traveled the United States gathering information on anyone named Yarian. One side of his RV was lined with 3-ring binders full of family group sheets. He passed away in 1998 and I've often wondered what happened to all of his research papers.

James Weaver published "The Yerian-Yaryan Family: Mathias Jurian and his Descendants in America" in 1989 (though I didn't discover it until a few years later). I also made contact with Carl Bennett in 2002 and learned that he was the provider of much of the information in Weaver's book.

The immigrant ancestor is Mathias Jurian who arrived in Philadelphia on October 11, 1732 "Forty two Palatines, who with their families... were Imported in the Ship Pleasant, James Morris Master, from Rotterdam, but last from Deal..."

Matthias Jurian made his mark "M i" as shown on List 27B from Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Strassburger & Hinke, 1934)

 On List 27C his name (2nd name in left column) is written as Mathias Jeryon or Ieryon.

Since the publication of Weaver's book in 1989, church records of Tuttlingen in Talheim were found by other researchers that showed that Matthias Irion was married January 29, 1731 to Maria Magdalena Pfister. It is presumed that Magdalena was one of the 102 women and children on board the Ship Pleasant.

The "Biographical & Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pa." (pages 617-618) includes a biography of William Keppel and mentions his grandfather, it states "Daniel Keppel (grandfather), was born in this State in 1787, and died in 1824. He married Elizabeth Yearyan, a daughter of George Yearyan, of Westmoreland county. [Lists their 12 children.]... George Yearyan (maternal grandfather) was a "redemptioner," and was brought to this country by David Kaufman, a farmer, for whom Yearyan worked for three years to repay the amount of money his passage had cost. At the end of these three years' service he received from Kaufman a horse, a saddle and bridle, and two suits of clothes. His wife was a Miss Williams, of Welsh descent."

It was always suspected that it was actually Mathias Irion, the father of George, who was the redemptioner - baptismal records of Johann Casper Stoever show that John George, son of Mattheis Jergan of Oley was born October 18, 1733 and baptized December 10, 1733.

In October 2001 another Yerian researcher, Margaret Sopp, posted a message on GenForum that she had located the indenture for Mathias Jrion. Of course, at that time I was off researching other family lines and it wasn't until nearly a year later that I learned of this find from Carl Bennett. In the GenForum post, Margaret doesn't tell how she located the indenture but Carl forwarded the letter he received from her regarding that find - it's a really neat story.

It seems that Margaret was an active contributor to one of the surname lists on Rootsweb. One of the other subscribers was Ken McCrea who was going to be leading a research group to Salt Lake City. Margaret signed up for the group and in the process of preparing for the trip mentioned the Yerian surname to Ken who was also a  frequent lecturer giving talks on immigration, among others. As part of his immigration talk he discusses indentures, of which he had only ever seen one, and he uses it as an example in his lectures... and yes, it was the indenture was for Matthias Jurion!

A copy of the indenture can be found on the genealogy site of Carol Diane (Holland) and David Paul Knight. Additional information is also posted there on Matthias Irion.

My transcription, below, differs somewhat from that posted by Margaret Sopp.

This Indenture made the first day of November In the year of our Lord one-thousand
Seven hundred & thirty two. Witnesseth that Matthias Jrion late of Durlach in Germany ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ for & in Consideration of the Sum of Sixteen Pounds & Nineteen Shillings lawfull money of Pensilvania [paid for] his passage from Holland to Philadelphia in the province of Pensilvania of his own free & Voluntary Consent Doth bind himself a Servant unto David Kaufman of Oley in the County of Philada & province aforesaid. To serve him his heirs Execrs Adminrs or assigns from the day of the date hereof the full Term of Three years & Nine Months ~ ~ Thence next Ensuing to be fully Compleat & Ended During all which sd Term the said Servant his sd Master his heirs Execrs adminrs or assigns faithfully and honestly shall serve and the sd Master his heirs Execrs adminrs or assigns During the sd term of three years & nine months ~ ~ shall find & provide for the sd servant sufficient Meat Drink apparel washing & lodging fitting for a servant during the sd term and after the expiration of the sd term give the sd Servant two suits of apparrel one whereof to be new ~ And for the true performance of all & Every the sd Covenants & agreements Either of the sd parties binds himself unto the other firmly by these presents. In witness whereof they have Interchangeably herunto set their hands & seals. Dated the day & year first above written ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ David Kaufman
Sealed & Delivered In the presence us us } John Astancad  [?]Jnr [and] Henry Pastorius

In 1958 the Kaufman farm was included in an "Historic American Buildings Survey" by the National Park Service (HABS No. 1042), which provides a description of the house and also states "The buildings on the Kaufman farm are the finest complete known example of a Pennsylvania-German farm group in the Oley Valley." A second survey report (HABS No. 1059) includes several photos of the barns taken in 1958.

In 1983 the entire township of Oley was included in the "Oley Township National Register Historic District Survey." An article I found in the Reading Eagle dated November 7, 2002 showed that the David Kaufman farm was still owned by a descendant and had been continuously owned by a family member for 275 years - since 1727 when the farm was established.

In 2008, Carl Bennett sent me a more extensive survey done by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I have not found this document online.  The report was dated March 30, 2007 and stated that the farm had passed out of the hands of descendants. It went on to say that the "Current owners are conducting a comprehensive maintenance, preservation, and documentation project with the objective of preserving the integrity of all historic elements of the property.  Restoration consultants are carefully inspecting and analyzing construction elements and techniques to determine the history of each building and collecting and interpreting archeological findings.  Their goal is to provide for the future establishment of a museum that will depict an historic Oley Valley family farm of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries."

The "Manor House" was constructed circa 1763 but "Two of the barns David built still exist; the stone ground floor barn mostly original and the log barn, altered after the wooden members of this building burned and were replaced by a frame barn on the same foundation."

Jacob Hill Kauffman, the 3rd generation to live there, owned the farm from 1804-1843. "He took down the original log house and replaced it with the existing stone cabin at a higher elevation. He designed the new cabin to be nearly identical in dimensions, making it possible to remove structural elements of the cabin and reuse them in the stone house.  He used the summer beam, the fireplace lintels, and the floor joists."

It is possible that Mathias Irion had a hand in the construction of the older barns. Even if he didn't, it was still exciting to visit the area just knowing that he had lived on the farm for a few years. There did not appear to be anyone at home so I stopped the car alongside the road and took the photos below without going onto the property.

The west side of the Manor House.

 The Manor House from the front (south side).

I could be wrong, but I think the larger of these two buildings is the Stone Cabin built in the 1800s that used some of the elements of the original log cabin. The smaller building is the spring house.

Photos of the Kaufman farm were taken on October 4th and October 9th, 2012.

Mathias Irion is my 6th great-grandfather. The surname has been found in records under numerous variations but descendants in my line adopted the spelling of Yerian or Yarian.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "An Indentured Servant and the Farm Upon Which He Lived," Kinexxions, posted October 24, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/10/an-indentured-servant-and-farm-upon.html : accessed [access date])

What's Going On?

It's been a while since my last post... Hey, folks, I'm not in Indiana any more!

I left Northern Indiana two weeks ago (September 5th) heading East to meet up with a friend at Acadia National Park in Maine. Took U.S. 30 from Columbia City, all the way through Ohio into Pennsylvania. It was a long day of driving and getting through the Pittsburgh area was a challenge. I stopped that night at Keystone State Park near Latrobe (a few miles west of Pittsburgh).

About mid-morning on the 6th, I made my way to the very nice Westmoreland County Historical Society in Greensburg. If you have ancestors in Westmoreland County you will definitely want to spend some time there. The staff is nice and very helpful. My time was limited but I managed to spend four hours there with possible confirmation (or at least a clue) to a connection to the Williams (Willems) family.

George Yarian (Yerion, Yearian) married Margaretha Williams about 1770 (They are my 5th great-grandparents). Several years ago, I received a few pages (without sources) from "Early German Hawk Families of Westmoreland County, PA" by Kenneth Hawk Slater which included information on Sarah Willems who married Conrad Hawk. She is reportedly a sister of Margaretha Willems. Also listed as their siblings were Catherine Willems, who married Abraham Frantz (France) and Anna Maria Willems who married Nicholas Kepple (two sons of Anna Maria and Nicholas married into the Yerion family). The parents of the Willems children are reportedly Thomas and wife Naeima Willems. The above named children, along with brothers Daniel and Thomas Willems moved from Northampton County (originally part of Bucks) to Westmoreland about 1780.

An article about Abraham Frantz was published in volume 11 number 3 of 'Old Westmoreland' magazine, which the Historical Society has. It appears to confirm some of the above information. Again, however, no sources were included so much research remains to be done to verify that connection.

It was nearly 2 p.m. when I left Greensburg. Traveling east on U. S. 30 about 3 o'clock I realized I would pass by the Flight 93 Memorial and decided to take the time to stop.

To be continued...

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun :: Eli Yarian

Randy Seaver's challenge for this Saturday night is to pick an ancestor or relative with a military record and a gravestone then write about them.

I've chosen Eli Yarian, my 2nd great-grandfather, primarily because I haven't written about him previously!

Eli and his brother Benjamin enlisted in Battery D, 1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery on January 28, 1862 and were mustered out on July 15, 1865. Their brother David enlisted with Battery A, 1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery on August 11, 1862 and was discharged with the regiment in 1865.

Another brother, Jonathan, served with Company A of the 35th Regiment Indiana Infantry in which he enlisted in September 1864 while living in Noble County, Indiana. He and his wife, Jane Hook, had moved there in the summer of 1860. Jonathan joined General Thomas' command in Tennessee, and was with his regiment during the concluding campaign in the western part of the Mississippi Valley. He fought at Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. On December 16, 1864, during the second days battle at Nashville, Jonathan was severely wounded and taken to Cumberland Hospital, where his left leg was amputated. He was honorably discharged on May 26, 1865 and returned home to Noble County, eventually moving to Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana.

Some of the battles that Eli and Benjamin participated in were:

Munfordville, Kentucky... September 14-16, 1862
Lavergne, Tennessee... December 26, 1862
Siege of Knoxville... November 17 to December 4, 1863
Kingston, Georgia... May 24, 1864
Siege of Atlanta... July 28 to September 2, 1864
Franklin, Tennessee... November 20, 1864
Nashville, Tennessee... December 15-16, 1864

Eli was wounded at the Battle of Nashville, but not seriously. He was transferred to the Eastern Army at Fort Fisher and then to Cleveland where he was discharged in July 1865. In the spring of 1866, Eli and Benjamin moved to Elkhart County, Indiana and made their homes in Locke Township. In the fall of 1866 they both got married. Eli on the 22nd of September to Lovina Berlin and Ben married Eliza Coppes on the 25th of December. Lovina's family had lived in Portage County, Ohio and moved to Elkhart County in 1864 so it is likely that Eli and Lovina knew each other prior to coming to Elkhart County. Purely conjecture on my part, but it's possible that the reason Eli came to Elkhart County after the war was because Lovina was there! Maybe, maybe not.

I'm very fortunate to have a photograph of Eli, which was sent to me in May 2006 by Kathy Foster who is distantly related to William Walker, the husband of Eli's sister Susanna. I wrote about that “Happy Dance” moment in February 2009.

Eli's life came to a tragic end at about noon on Monday January 28, 1895 as he was assisting a neighbor in cutting down a tree. It fell in the opposite direction than was expected, striking him in the head. Death was instantaneous.

Eli is buried alongside his wife Lovina and two young daughters in South Union Cemetery, Locke Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. Note that his inscription has the year 1894. His obituary was published in the Nappanee News on January 30, 1895 and his estate entered probate on March 1, 1895. This photo was taken on July 12, 2004. I've visited the site several times since then, the last time being in the spring of 2009.

The inscription on the gravemarker reads:

Yarian

Lovina

1845 – 1932

Eli

1839 – 1894

The inscription on the footstone reads:

ELI YARIAN

CO. D.

1ST OHIO L.A.

Eli and Lovina were the parents of seven children:

1. Estella E. Yarian (29 Oct 1867 – 07 Feb 1935) married Theodore B. Irvine and had two children: Harry and Frederick.
2. Willis Oscar Yarian (18 May 1870 – 07 Dec 1948) married Grace Melvin and had two children, Harold and Grace Maxine.
3. Susie Lula Yarian (05 Jan 1872 – 29 Apr 1956) married Henry Phend and had 10 children. See Phend Family Index to Posts. Susie and Henry are my great-grandparents.
4. Edith M. Yarian (19 Feb 1875 - 01 Mar 1875)
5. Lydia Blanche Yarian (17 Sep 1878 – 03 Jul 1889)
6. Mary Winifred Yarian (26 Dec 1881 – 22 Mar 1945) married Earl Glen Rosbrugh, had three children: Pauline, Mildred and Glenwood.
7. James Arthur Yarian (31 May 1884 – 12 Feb 1930)

The Estate of John Rupert :: Executors Bond

The will of John Rupert, dated October 17, 1828 was admitted to probate in Columbiana County, Ohio in August of 1831. The Executors Bond was signed on August 22, 1831.

Executors Bond. Estate of John Rupart. Packet 1439.

Family History Library microfilm 2032592.

The Executors Bond was a preprinted form. Information that was handwritten into the form is shown below in bold-face type.

Know all men by these presents, that Conrod Yerion, David Ehrhart, Samuel Meek & Benj Stackhouse of the County of Columbiana, Ohio, are held and firmly bound unto the State of Ohi in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars, to which payment well and truly to be made unto the said State of Ohio, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators and every of them jointly and severally firmly by these presents,

Signed and sealed this 22d day of August eighteen hundred and thirty one

THE CONDITIONS OF THIS OBLIGATION IS SUCH, that if the above named Conrod Yarion & David Erhart, Executors of the will Administrator of all and singular the goods, chattels, rights, credits, monies and effects of John Ruppart late of said County, deceased, shall faithfully perform the duties required of them as such Administrator Executors by law, and shall administer agreeably to the statutes of Ohio in such cases made and provided, then this obligation to be void and of none effect, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue in law.

Conrod Yarion

David Ehrhart

Benjamin Stackhouse

Saml Meek

Ah, Yes! John Rupert...

[Originally published on 24 June 2011 - minor correction made on 7 March 2019]

After a fruitless search for the estate of John Rupert in the microfilm of “Estates 1834-1837” I returned to viewing land records. There was quite a list and many more that I wanted to look at and it was in my last week at the Family History Library.

As luck would have it, the next deed that I looked at was the cause of this incredible "Happy Dance" moment. The big find wasn't for John Rupert, in some ways it was actually better, as it had to do with the wife of Jacob Switzer, discovering her full name and the name of her father, Andrew Brinker! (More on that in a future post.) Why am I mentioning this now?

Well, basically to let you know that I didn't work in a straight line, I used more of a zigzag methodology, skipping around from one type of record to another and from one ancestor to another and then back again. Perhaps not the best approach but there were so many things that I wanted to find on different people.

I think I “shut down” for a while after the “big find” and didn't get much accomplished the rest of the afternoon. This was on a Saturday and the library was closed the next day. Though it didn't seem like it at the time, that was probably a good thing - it gave me time to absorb what had been found and devise a plan for the three remaining days that I had left for research at the library.

Saturday evening and Sunday was spent searching for family trees online for Andrew Brinker and using the Library Catalog to see if any of the sources mentioned in those trees were available at the library. A new “to do” list was also created with the desired film and call numbers for microfilm and books to be checked.

Monday morning I found the books I wanted, barely looked at them, quickly scanned the desired pages for future reference, and then returned to the estate records. In addition to looking for the estate of John Rupert who presumably died before July 14, 1836 (though I didn't know how much before), I was now also looking for Andrew Brinker who died in 1828. And there was another ancestor, Detrick Hoffman, who died in 1826. So I was looking for his estate record too. If you're looking for one, it doesn't really take any longer to look for three on the same roll of film!

On Saturday I had viewed the film for estates in 1834-1837 so I pulled out the film for 1832-1834 (packets numbering 1514 to 1693). A little over an hour later I had nothing. Except negative results. Sure would have been nice if those packets were indexed! Then it was on to the next roll for 1830-1832, which included estate packets 1355-1513. Time was in slow motion, it was taking forever to go through those films!

After a short break to relieve crossed eyes and blurred vision about midway through the roll, I resumed cranking away. And then, there it was! The Estate Packet for John Rupart! (#1439) Hooray! Hooray!

Included amongst the 24 images in his “packet” were some small miscellaneous financial papers, the estate inventory, the sale bill, and most important to me a document dated October 17, 1828 – his will.

Anything that appears inside square brackets [ ] has been added by me. Emphasis has also been added in several spots using bold face type.

[first page]
“In the name of God Amen the Seventeenth day of October Eighteen hundred and twenty Eight. I John Ruppart of Columbiana county in the State of Ohio, being in perfect mind and good memory although weak in body, therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say principally and first of all, I give and recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner, nothing doubting but at the General resurrection I shall receive the Same again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate as it has pleased god to endow me with, I do devise and dispose of in the following form (Item) I do allow all my Lawful debts and funeral charges to be paid out of my Estate after my decease. (Item) I do allow and bequeath unto my wife Barbara all her clothing bed and beding her Spinning wheel and reel all my household furniture which I may have at my decease, during her natural life time and also all the rents interest and income of my place for her Support and maintenance during her natural life, and after her decease I allow my real and personal property to be sold by my executor and the money Collected to be paid equally divided”

[second page]
“Children namely Elizabeth, Barbara, Margaret, Sarah, Catharina, Eva, Lea, Rachel, Ruppart excepting Richard Rupart I allow and bequeath unto him the Sum of one dollar to be paid first by my executors as I have given him his share of my estate in my life time. (Item) I do Likewise nominate constitute and appoint my Son in law, Conrad Yerion and David Ehrhart [the latter name was inserted above Yerion] to be my whole and Sole executors of this my last will and Testament Investing him [two words crossed out] with full power to execute this my last will and testament, I do hereby utterly dis allow revoke all and every former wills or bequeathments by me in any wise before named ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament In Witness whereof I John Ruppart have hereunt set my hand and seal the day and year aforesaid in the presence of those Witnesseth present. mb [?] David Ehrart interlined before signing.”

Signature of Johannes Rupart [in German and his seal]
[witnesses] Jacob Watson and Joseph Swinger

The signature of John Rupart from his will dated October 17, 1828.

The signature of John Rupert from Deed Book 9 page 48 dated August 24, 1824. Is this the actual signature of John or was it written by the recording clerk? Quite a difference in four years, but then I don't write my name the same every time either.

First page of the will of John Rupart. Estate Packet 1439.

Family History Library microfilm 2032592.

Second page of the will of John Rupart. Estate Packet 1439.

Third page of the will of John Rupart. Estate Packet 1439.

Declaration of the witnesses.

Signed by Charles D. Coffin, Clk. Com. Pleas

Cover page of the will of John Rupart. Estate Packet 1439.

Is the date in the upper left corner ( August 7, 1831) the date the will was admitted to probate or the date of death of John Rupart? How soon after death is the probate process started? There was nothing in the estate packet to indicate when John had passed on.

The will tells us that his wife Barbara was still living when the will was written on October 17, 1828 and that he had seven eight daughters and one son living at that time: Elizabeth, Barbara, Margaret, Sarah, Catharina, Eva, Lea, Rachel, and Richard Rupart.

Now why didn't he include the married names of his daughters as many testators do? I should be happy that we got the names of two of his sons-in-law (or is it son-in-laws?): Conrad Yerion and David Ehrhart. After all, the naming of Conrad Yerion provides that definitive link for me to John! Seems like we always want more though.

In the post Father of Eva Rupert :: Is it John or Adam? we found that Hannes and Barbara Ruppert/Rubbert had three children baptized in the Bermudian Church in what would have been York County, Pennsylvania at the time (now Adams County): Eva, Jacob, and Salome. The latter two are not named in John's will so do we assume that they had died without heirs prior to the time John wrote his will? Were there other children that were not named in the will?

If you are a descendant of John Rupert or researching the Rupert Family, PLEASE contact me at kinexxions@gmail.com

Oh, John? I'm Looking for You!

My heart sank as I went through the Grantee and Grantor Deed Index Books for Columbiana County. There was just one entry for John Ruppard between 1803-1850. Lots of entries showed up for Adam Rupert and Jacob Rupert during that time period. But just a single entry for John.

That entry (v9 p47) showed that John Ruppard and Barbara his wife and Andrew Richard Ruppard and Mary his wife of the county of Columbiana in consideration of the sum of $300 sold a parcel of land to Durs Walser in the SW 1/4 of Section 26 of Township 15 in Range 4, which quarter section was confirmed to John Ruppard by Patent under the hand of James Madison President dated the seventh day of December Annon Domini One Thousand eight hundred and nine... [description of the land...] containing 70 and 79/100 acres.

Bottom of page 47 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9

from microfilm 926865 at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City

John Ruppard and Andrew Richard Ruppard selling land to Durs Walser

(As always, double-click on the images to view a larger version.)

Page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9

page 48 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 9

Signatures of John (in “German”), Andrew Richard, Mary, and Barbery Rupert/Rupard

That was nice, to say the least!

The deed confirmed that Barbara was John's wife. And, Township 15 in Range 4 is Hanover township. And that means that he is probably the John Rupert mentioned on page 157 in the “History of Columbiana County, Ohio” (Mack, 1879).

“John Rupert, a German, who upon his arrival in Baltimore from Germany, being unable to pay his passage money, was sold by the captain of the vessel to a person who, in consideration of receiving Rupert's services free for the ensuing three years, paid the captain's demand. Rupert lived in Hanover until his death, after reaching the age of one hundred years. The farm he owned is now owned by C. Pfeffer, in section 26, Hanover twp.”

But just as interesting was the fact that John Ruppard had obtained the land by Patent. A quick search of the patent records at the BLM Website using his last name, as well as variations, brought up nothing. A search for township 15, range 4, section 26 displayed three entries – for the NW 1/4, the NE 1/4, and the SE 1/4. That was a bit confusing. What happened to the SW 1/4?

In a moment of serendipity later that day, I decided to take a look at the May issue of “Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library” that was still sitting in my email unread. That issue included an article by John D. Beatty on Ohio Public Land Records. Talking about the BLM database, Mr. Beatty states “While Ohio is represented, the database does not contain the names of those who bought land on credit before 1820.”

That could explain why John Ruppard does not show up in the BLM database! A trip to the Allen County Library will be forthcoming since “the records of Ohio’s public land sales, including those omitted from the GLO database, are available on microfilm in The Genealogy Center.” The article continues by providing a resource, also at the Genealogy Center, to find out whether an ancestor purchased land on credit.

There were two enticing grantor entries for “Conrad Yarian Exr etal” one in 1834 selling land to John Sheets and the other in 1842 selling land to Wm Ehrhart. From this entry in a WorldConnect database I knew that Catharina Rupert (presumed daughter of John Rupert) had married David Ehrhart.

In the 1834 entry, Conrad Yarian and George Snoke were the executors of the estate of John Snoke. For $2,000.00 they sold 190 and 75/100ths acres in the SW corner of Section 6 Township 8 Range 1 to George Sheets. Date of transaction was July 3, 1834. John Snoke (Snook) was married to Mary Rupert, daughter of Adam. I moved on to the next item.

As I began reading the deed record of the 1842 transaction (v33 p649), my heart skipped a beat and then started pumping faster. The names David Ehrhart and Conrod Yarian were there but the name John Rupart nearly jumped off the page! The record stated, in part:

“This Indenture made this sixth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty two between David Ehrhart and Conrod Yerrien Executors of the last will and testament of John Rupart late of the county of Columbiana and state of Ohio, deceased, of the one part and William Ehrhart of the same county and State of the other part witnesseth that whereas the said John Rupart by his said last will and testament did authorise, impower and require his said executors to grant, bargain and sell the West 1/2 of the South West 1/4 of Section 26 Township 15 Range 4 in the said county of Columbiana...”

Page 649 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33

David Ehrhart & Conrod Yarian executors of John Rupart

Selling land to William Ehrhart

Page 650 in Columbiana County, Ohio deed book 33

It was almost “happy dance” time, but not quite. It still didn't prove that John was Eva's father. I was thrilled that I had found this because it meant that he DID have a will, and there would be estate papers! But when did John Rupert die?

I pulled microfilm (927750), which contained “Probate records, v. 11-13 1841-1846” and found an entry for the estate of John Rupert (I neglected to write down the volume number, but it was on page 360 and dated the August term of 1842, so probably book 11). But all it contained was the financial accounting of the final settlement of the estate. No mention of a distribution to heirs. It did, however, provide a clue to his date of death in an item for “Cash for Rent of Real estate” dated July 14, 1836.

Presuming that John died prior to July 14, 1836 when money was received for renting his land, I pulled the microfilm (2032650) “Estate records, no. 1694-1862 1834-1837” and went through the entire roll without finding anything on John Rupert. It had taken over an hour to read that roll of microfilm, looking at the names on the packets and hoping for positive results. I was concerned when I kept seeing the “Missing Packet” place holders and I was more than a little disappointed that I hadn't found the estate record for John. Was his one of the missing packets?

Delving into the Deeds

In addition to the Yarians, Ruperts, and Switzers I have Berlin, Coy and Hoffman ancestors who lived in Columbiana County, Ohio. All of them in the 1803-1860 time period and all in the northeastern tier of townships: Unity, Fairfield, and Salem, and Green (which would become part of Mahoning County when it was formed in 1846).

By the beginning of my second week in Salt Lake City, I had pretty much gotten through my original, rather short, “to do” list except for one item that I knew would consume a huge amount of time. It simply said “Land Records – Columbiana County.” I've had good luck before with land records naming heirs of an ancestor and was hoping for some more luck, especially in the Rupert and Switzer lines.

If you have never done any work with deed records, be forewarned that it can be tedious and confusing. But it can also be extremely rewarding. First you have to search for the desired name in the General Index to Deeds. There are generally separate books for those purchasing land (grantee) and those selling land (grantor). The index will provide the name of the grantor and grantee, the date the transaction was recorded (could be just the year, and the recorded date could be many years after the date of the transaction), the location of the land (in the case of Ohio it is by Range, Township, and Section), the type of deed, and the volume and page number of the deed book in which the transaction is recorded.

This nice tutorial Taking The Mystery Out of Land Records is helpful as a reminder or as an introduction to working with deeds as is this list of Terms used by the Register of Deeds. (There are many others “out there” on the internet, these are two that I've used in the past.)

There were four rolls of microfilm with the grantee index and five rolls with the grantor index covering the years 1798-1897. It would take nearly two full days, but I transcribed each entry in the index books for my known or presumed ancestors John D. Berlin, Henry Coy, Detrick Hoffman, John Hoffman, John Rupert, Jacob Switzer, and Conrad Yarian along with a few entries for others with the surname Rupert and Switzer..

The first day I made it through the grantee index, writing them out by hand. Then, that night back at the campground I typed each entry into a spreadsheet. Duh! Duplicate work. The next day I arranged the netbook so I could type directly into the spreadsheet. A little awkward, but it worked quite well.

After getting the entries from the grantor index entered I sorted the spreadsheet several different ways to review the data. One was attempting to match up the sale of a piece of land to its corresponding purchase, another sort was by township, and yet another by surname.

All of that was done so that I could determine which deeds should actually be looked at. There were too many of them to review them all. Top priority was given to those that were sold by “so and so, etal” (etal means “and others” which could indicate a sale by heirs of the owner of the land) and to those that were sold with a “Quit Claim” deed (sometimes indicating a sale to another family member). I then went to the Library Catalog to get the film numbers and added that information to the spreadsheet.

A small portion of my list of deeds.

I actually looked at about 1/3 of the entries on my list. I had highlighted the records that I really wanted to look at and had sorted the list by film number so I could see what else was on the same roll of microfilm. Even then, I didn't always look at everything from my list on the same roll of film – sometimes I got distracted by what I found in certain deeds and went off on another tangent looking for something else! That's the beauty of being at The Library where a wide variety of sources are available.

As I looked at the deed records I abstracted information from those that were “of interest” to me, adding that information to the spreadsheet. Some documents were scanned while others were just abstracted. There simply wasn't enough time (or even a need) to scan them all.

The spreadsheet with data added after reviewing the deed.

Was it worth the time it took to make that extensive list of land transactions? Yes, indeed! (Pun intended.) It was definitely worth it. What I found in those deed books was cause for more than one Happy Dance and in future posts, I'll summarize a few of the things I found and the discoveries which followed.

Father of Eva Rupert :: Is it John or Adam?

Online trees are certainly a “mixed bag” when it comes to reliable information but sometimes you find a gem that provides a clue or lead to follow-up on. Such was the case with the WorldConnect database of another descendant of Conrad and Eva/Eve (Rupert) Yarian. Her parents were given as John and Barbara Rupert and it had a source for her baptism - the Lower Bermudian Church in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

From her modern gravemarker in Unity Brick Church Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio we know that Eve was born on December 21, 1786. In addition, the 1850 census gives her age as 64, and in 1860 she is 75 years old. In both census records (Unity Township, Columbiana County) her birthplace is given as Pennsylvania.

Photo taken September 19, 2009 by Becky Wiseman

A resource I had found in the early days of my research (forgotten but recently reviewed) was a short typewritten manuscript titled “Some Descendants of Mathais Jurian” (compiled by Miss Cecil M. Smith, Hollis, New York, no date) It has two slightly conflicting dates for Eve's birth. On page 6 her birth is given as December 24, 1786 while on the next page it is given as December 21, 1786. It also states that Eve was born in born York County, Pennsylvania. (Keep in mind that in 1800, Adams County was formed from part of York.)

A search of the Library Catalog showed that the 1943 typescript “Church record of the Reformed & Lutheran congregation at Bermudian, Latimore Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, 1745-1864” by William John Hinke was available on microfilm.

The last entry on page 21 shows [Infantes] Eva b. Dec 21, 1786 bapt. --------, 1787 [Parents] Hannes Rubbert and Barbara, [Testes] John Adam Rubbert and Margaret

Having looked for these people “out there” on the internet recently, I've found a lot of conflicting information. It seems some researchers think that John Adam Rupert and John Rupert are one and the same person. Of course, without further research into Pennsylvania records I can't say conclusively that this Hannes Rubbert (John) with wife Barbara and John Adam Ruppert with wife Margaret shown here in Adams County, Pennsylvania are the same individuals who lived in Columbiana County, Ohio. But I can say that Hannes and John Adam are definitely two separate individuals!

The first entry on page 22 is the birth of Johannes born Nov. 9, 1786 to Johannes Adam Ruppert and Margaretha with witnesses Hannes Ruppert and Barbara.

The fifth entry on that page (the last entry on the scan) is the birth of Anna Catharina born Febr. 23, 1789, bap. Apr. 13, 1789 with parents Adam Rubbert and Margaretha and witnesses Henrich Flliker and Christina.

Other family trees on the net (from some of the researchers who don't subscribe to the premise that John and Adam are the same person) show four brothers - Adam, John, Martin and Michael Rupert - with unknown parents. The first three reportedly all ended up in Columbiana County, Ohio at the about the same time.

This record is from page 71 of the Bermudian Church Records showing the birth of a son Johannes on Jan. 29, 1780 bapt. on May 14, 1780 to Martin Rupert and Elisabeth with witnesses being Peter Arnold and Margret. Is Martin one of the four brothers?

On page 73 we have the birth of Jacob on June 1, 1782 bapt. June 23, 1782 with parents Johannes Ruppert and Barbara and witnesses Georg Hermann and Apollonia.

On page 74 of the Bermudian Church Records is the birth of Salome on Nov. 5, 1782 and bapt. in 1783. Her parents were Johannes Ruppert and Barbara with witnesses being Felix Thiel and Elisabeth. As a side note, this record was on a page with births for both 1782 and 1783. It is highly unlikely that Salome was born in November 1782 if Jacob was born in June of the same year. This is a transcription of the church book so the record could have been copied incorrectly or the church cleric could have inadvertently written the wrong year.

As a final “exhibit” from the Bermudian Church Records is page 101 listing the “Communicants, 18th Sunday after Trinity, 1787.” In the first column at number 23 is Johannes Rubbert, number 24 is Barbara, wf. In the second column is number 30, Adam Rubbert.

Among other sources that I reviewed on microfilm (No. 317346) at the Family History Library was “Wills of Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties” compiled by Henry R. Baldwin, no publication date. I didn't find a will listed for John Rupert but did find an abstract for that of Adam Rupert.

This is a snapshot taken with the camera. The record refers to Book 10 page 376 with a year of 1838. Heirs of Adam Rupert were his wife Margaret, sons John and Adam, daughters Catherine married John Sheets, Margaret married Adolph Saschtebergen, Mary married John Snoke (Snook), Elizabeth married Henry Sentzenisen. Grandchildren (Sentzenhisen) May, John, Daniel, Adam, Jacob, Samuel, Benjamin, Margaret, Sitter, Eliza, Ester, Henry, Lewis. Executors were John Sheets and Adam Rupert. Witnesses were William Chain and Solomon Greenamyer.

Note that Adam's wife is Margaret and there is a son John and daughter Catherine, corresponding with the Bermudian Church records.

Armed with this information and hoping to find something to help verify that John Rupert was the father of Eve, I began looking at land records for Columbiana County, Ohio.

They were Shouting “Hey! What About Me?”

Sometimes, for various reasons, you have ancestors that you simply put on the back burner. It gets complicated when you have men of the same age in the same area with the same name. You don't have the resources you need to sort them out. You just don't have the time or energy for them. Or maybe you just don't know where to look for them. So you go on to other ancestors. You know, the ones that may be easier to find “stuff” on.

That's what I've done with my Switzer and Rupert ancestors. I've had their names for many years – John and Barbara Rupert and Jacob and Mary C. Switzer. Both families were “from Pennsylvania” and ended up in Columbiana County, Ohio. A daughter from each family married a Yarian.

Eva Rupert (1786-1866) was married to Conrad Yarian (1780-1860) on July 22, 1805 in Columbiana County where they would raise their family of 13 children, four of which apparently died young.

Jacob Yarian (1812-1895) was the fourth child born to Conrad and Eva (Rupert) Yarian. He married Elizabeth Switzer (1815-1894) on April 2, 1835 in Columbiana County. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom survived into adulthood and had families of their own. Jacob and Elizabeth are my 3rd great-grandparents. (Their son Eli married Lovina Berlin and their daughter Susie married Henry Phend and their oldest son was my grandfather, Rolland Victor Phend.)

The Ruperts

There were a few clues available back in the late 1980s when I found the Ruperts and Switzers but not really sufficient information regarding where to look for them beyond Ohio, after all “Pennsylvania” is a good-sized area! And besides, I didn't even know if John and Barbara Rupert really were Eva's parents – their names actually came from a query on GenForum in 1998. And there were some researchers who said that Adam Rupert was her father. The only information I had found on the Ruperts were the following three short items in the “History of Columbiana County, Ohio” (Mack, 1879).

On page 157 was this short paragraph: “John Rupert, a German, who upon his arrival in Baltimore from Germany, being unable to pay his passage money, was sold by the captain of the vessel to a person who, in consideration of receiving Rupert's services free for the ensuing three years, paid the captain's demand. Rupert lived in Hanover until his death, after reaching the age of one hundred years. The farm he owned is now owned by C. Pfeffer, in section 26, Hanover twp.”

On page 246 of that same book was found: “Adam Rupert, a Revolutionary soldier, located on section 17 in 1802, where he reared four sons, - John, Jacob, Adam, and Benjamin, whose descendants yet live in that locality or in Fairfield.”

And on page 288: "George Hoke was an early settler of Beaver Township (now in Mahoning County). Jacob Rupert was also an early settler of Beaver Township."

The Switzers

There was a little more information available on Jacob and Elizabeth Switzer. A biography of their son Jonathan in the “Standard History of Elkhart County, Indiana” (Weaver, 1916 v2 p756) states: “The maiden name of his [Jacob Yarian] wife was Elizabeth Sweitzer, who was born in Columbiana County near Lisbon, September 23, 1815. Her father, Jacob Sweitzer was born in Switzerland, was reared in that country, and at the age of twenty seven came to America, locating in Columbiana County where he secured a tract of timbered land and literally hewed a farm from the wilderness. Both he and his wife survived to be old people, and he passed away at the age of eighty-seven and she at the age of eighty-three.”

In the biography of Jacob Yarian, Sr. in “History of Portage County, Ohio” (Beers, 1885 p808) it says: “Our subject was married April 2, 1835, to Elizabeth Switzer, born in Columbiana County, Ohio, September 24, 1815, daughter of Jacob and Mary C. Switzer, natives of Pennsylvania, who located in Columbiana County, where they died.”

And, in the section on Salem Township in “History of Columbiana County, Ohio” (Mack, 1879 p237) we find that “Ephraim Holloway and Jacob Sweitzer, brothers-in-law of Martin Hoke, entered section 25 about the year 1804. The property passed into other hands. One of the early schools was kept on this section.”

Still, it wasn't much to go on. In the late 1980s my mother and I went on a research trip to Ohio, stopping in Columbiana County where I found the estate settlement file for Jacob Switzer (4962 dated November 7, 1859) which listed his heirs: widow, Leathy Switzer; Jacob Yarian & wife; Jacob Monanack & wife; Peter Buckecker & wife, Daniel Deemer & wife.

Marriage records of Columbiana County provided the first names of the Switzer daughters: Barbara married Jacob Manaweck, Rebecca married Peter Buckecker and Susan married Daniel Deemer.

But there was a very big problem with Jacob Switzer... there was more than one of him! Well, actually there was only one of him, but there were at least three men by that name in Columbiana County in the same time period (1803-1860).

In 1820 and 1830 there was one in each of the townships of Centre, Fairfield, and Salem. By 1840, we had five men named Jacob Switzer. One each in Centre, Elk Run, and Fairfield and two in Salem township. By 1850 we're back down to three: one in Fairfield born about 1789 with wife Catherine and three daughters, one in Salem born about 1785 with wife Catherine, and the third in Salem born about 1821. Yeah, two of them had a wife named Catherine!

I knew that I'd never be able to sort out those Switzers with the resources available to me at the time. Remember, this was back in the 1980s. Back in the dark ages of genealogical research. No internet. No email. And I was still working at a 9-5 job (usually more than the standard 8 hours a day) and didn't have the time or energy to take on that kind of major research task. And I didn't have the time or funds to do extensive research on-site in Columbiana County.

So there they were. Neglected for 20+ years. Shoved aside for “more important” things. And probably somewhat indignant because I hadn't even given them their own entry in my database – simply a few words in their daughter's notes.

That is, until the recent trip to Salt Lake City. There they grabbed hold of me, got my attention, finally, and shouted “Hey, what about me?”

The Berlin Family :: John D. and Susannah

Born on December 8th, 1792 near Abbottstown in York (now Adams) County, Pennsylvania, John D. Berlin was the eldest of nine children of John Frederick Berlin whose wife was reportedly Juliana Dietzler.

A record in the “Orphan's Court” of Adams County, Pennsylvania dated August 25, 1845 shows that John Sheffer, as heir at law of Frederick Berline in right of his wife Loretta, petitioned the court stating that “Frederick Berline died intestate September 18, 1843 leaving issue eight children, to wit: John, Henry, George, Loretta (wife of petitioner), Eli, Joel, Polly and Frederick. All over the age of twenty-one.”

Census records suggest that John D. Berlin may have resided with his father through 1810 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. I have not located John in the 1820 census where he would have been 28 years old and single.

It is not known when John D. Berlin settled in Columbiana County, Ohio but on February 16th, 1826 he was married to Susannah Huffman in that county. They resided near Washingtonville which lies on the line delineating the counties of Columbiana and Mahoning.

Susannah Huffman (or Hoffman) was born March 9, 1804 in Columbiana County, Ohio. She was the second of eleven children of John and Catherine (Coy) Hoffman. There arises some confusion in several published biographies of Coy family members. It seems that Susannah's aunt, Elizabeth Coy, also married a man by the name of John Berlin! Those biographies state that Elizabeth and John Berlin resided in Nappanee, Indiana. Not true. Elizabeth Coy did marry John Berlin but they lived in Ohio. That John Berlin was born January 8, 1777 and was probably the son of John Nicholas Berlin (brother of John D. Berlin's grandfather) which would make John and John D. first cousins once removed. A record on Find A Grave shows that that John Berlin lived to be 101 years old. He is buried in Stark County, Ohio while his wife Elizabeth is buried in Summit County.

I have never seen a record that indicates what the “D” stands for in John D. Berlin's name but suspect that it was used primarily to distinguish him from that other John Berlin. Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Summit counties are all in the northeast corner of Ohio, which is where both of them lived at various times. His mother's maiden name is reported to be Dietzler, so perhaps he used the “D” in her honor.

On May 26, 1827 Solomon Berlin, the first child of John D. and Susannah, was born. They remained in Columbiana County, near Washingtonville, for the next 19 years and had eight more children: Catherine, 1830; Lydia, 1832; Josiah, 1834; Jacob, 1836; Mary, 1838; Sarah, 1840; Elizabeth, 1843; and Lovina, 1845.

In 1846 John D. Berlin moved with his family to the Rootstown area in Portage County, Ohio where they lived for 18 years. Their youngest son, Joseph Milton was born there in 1848. He was killed in the spring of 1856 in a wagon accident, at the age of seven years.

As with the majority of my ancestors, John D. Berlin was a farmer. As a result, there doesn't seem to be a lot of records on him. I've found him in land records and census records: In 1830 and 1840 in Columbiana County, Ohio as John Barlein and Jno. D. Berlin, respectively. In 1850 in Rootstown, Portage County, Ohio he is enumerated as John Elsworth! He and his family were listed on the lines immediately after Dolly Elsworth. The names and ages of the children match his family completely so there is no doubt that it is the family of John D. Berlin. In 1860 he was enumerated as J. D. Berlin and was still in Rootstown. At that time only the four youngest daughters were still living at home.

Solomon Berlin, the oldest child of John D. and Susan, married Fianna Slabaugh in 1851 and shortly thereafter moved to Locke Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. Catherine Berlin, the next oldest child, was married about 1854 to Frederick Daniel Richmond. They lived in Iowa for several years (where their first two children were born) before settling in Elkhart County about 1858. Jacob Berlin, fifth child of John D. and Susan, was living with his brother Solomon in Elkhart County in 1860.

Susannah's sister, Elizabeth Coy, had married Jacob Stauffer and they had moved with their family to Elkhart County in 1852. John D's sister, Loretta (full name Clarissa Loretta) and her husband, John Shafer, and their daughter and son-in-law, Anna and Isaac Rodibush (or Raudenbush) moved to Elkhart County, Indiana prior to 1860 where they are enumerated in Union township.

With family (and undoubtedly some friends too) already living in Elkhart County, Indiana it was not surprising to learn that John D. and Susan moved there also. Family letters show that John D. and Susan left Portage County, Ohio just a few days after the marriage of their daughter Sarah to George W. Greene (they were married on August 28, 1864). Traveling with John D. and Susan were their daughters Elizabeth (aka Lizzie) and Lovina, and their son Josiah along with his wife and two sons. Three daughters of John D. and Susan remained in Portage County – Sarah, Lydia and Mary Ann. Lydia had married Myron Collins in November 1858 and Mary Ann was still single.

John D. Berlin and Susan were found in the 1870 census in Locke Township, Elkhart County. Residing with them were his brother Frederic (a blind potter, age 60) and his sister Polly (age 58). By then the two youngest daughters had married: Elizabeth to Samuel Coppes in 1867 and Lovina to Eli Yarian in 1866. Lydia, Mary Ann, and Sarah were all still living in Portage County, Ohio.

Lydia's husband, Myron Collins, had died of disease in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee in April 1865. Nine years later (September 1874) she would marry Henry Woodruff and move to LaCygne, Linn County, Kansas. Henry died in 1898. Shortly thereafter, Lydia went to live in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Toward the end of 1866 Mary Ann Berlin also moved to Indiana. She was living in Elkhart County in 1875 when she married Lewis B. Winder.

Thus it was that Sarah (Berlin) Greene was the only member of the family who remained in Portage County, Ohio. She would live in the Ravenna area the rest of her life, giving birth to seven children, five of whom would live to adulthood. One of her children, Harry B. Greene, would move to Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana prior to 1900.

On November 11, 1879, John D. Berlin passed away at the home of his daughter Mary Winder in Locke, Elkhart County, Indiana. His wife Susan died five months later, on April 22, 1880 also at Mary's home. They are both buried in the Primitive Baptist Cemetery in Locke Township, Elkhart County, Indiana.

The family of John D. and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin

front row: Elizabeth, John D., Susannah, Lydia , Solomon

back row: Mary, Sarah, Lovina, Josiah, Catherine

A copy of the above photograph was received in the late 1990s from a descendant of Solomon Berlin. It is not known who now has the original or whether there were any markings on it to indicate where or when it was taken. I'm guessing that it was taken between 1862 and 1868. The son Jacob is not included – he was killed on April 7, 1862 (the second day of fighting during the Battle of Shiloh) – and Josiah died in March 1869.

John D. and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin are my 3rd great grandparents. Their daughter, Lovina, married Eli Yarian and their daughter Susie Yarian would marry Henry Phend. They were the parents of Rolland Victor Phend who would marry Hazlette Brubaker. And they would become the parents of Virginia (Phend) Wiseman, my mother...

Additional information on The Berlin Family:

• Bible Records
• Introduction to The Letters
• The Cast of Characters
• List of The Letters

Happy Dance Moments :: Making Connections

When I selected the topic of "The Happy Dance. The Joy of Genealogy." for this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I did so thinking it would be an easy topic for me to write about. But here it is, just a few hours before the deadline, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to write! The problem is that it really doesn't take much for me to do the "happy dance" and in 25+ years of research, I'm pleased to say, there have been quite a few of those joyous moments. Sure, there have been some disappointments too, but it's the moments of unadulterated joy that make it all worthwhile.

In the early years of research, after manually cranking through rolls of microfilm for hours on end, finding an ancestor in the census records was just cause for a mini-celebration. Most of the time the celebrations were quiet ones with my brain shouting out with joy, but not a peep escaping from my mouth. After all I was in a library. Occasionally though, I just couldn't help myself and the little squeal of delight would also bring smiles to the faces of other researchers who were also cranking the microfilm readers.

Okay, I see a "theme" developing in the random thoughts I just wrote down, so I've decided that the happy-dance moments I'm going to share will be some of those that involved making connections (kinexxions) with distant relatives and the results of those incredible experiences. These are just a few such moments.

In the spring of 1984, I began my quest to find the descendants of my 2nd great-grandparents Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend by writing lots and lots of letters to anyone with the surname Phend. As replies came back, they led to more letter writing with those contacts leading to even more contacts and information. And photographs. And documents. Virtually every reply brought on a mini-celebration. But a major celebration in the journey to publish a book came about on August 18, 1985 when the first reunion since 1942 was held that included descendants from nearly all of the children of Jacob and Louisa.

I can't even begin to describe the feelings of joy that overwhelmed me that day. My grandfather, who was 92 years old at the time, met his first cousins Jacob Phend and Elizabeth Phend Young for the first time! Jacob was 65 years old at the time and Elizabeth was 63. It would be a few more years before I finished the book, which was published in July 1991, and there would be many more of those special moments during that time. The joy of finally getting the book published was tempered somewhat with disappointment in the final product that came from the printers (someday I might write about that!), but even with its printing problems, the book was a huge success, and it was all due to the wonderful responses received from previously unknown relatives.

One of my "most favorite" genea-happy-dance moments came in June 2000 when I was contacted by Beth who turned out to be my 5th cousin once removed. Our common ancestors are my 5th great-grandparents Lewis Sisley (1765-1826) and his wife Margaret Ellis (1773-1870). A distant relationship to be sure, but her mother, Marge, had the original pages from the Sisley Family Bible! But, to top that off, they lived on the southwest side of Indianapolis, just a three-hour drive away. Of course, my mother and I made the trip south and spent a very pleasant and exciting day with Marge and her family. You can read more about that visit, as well as view the bible pages, in this post that was published in September 2008 and submitted to the Show and Tell version of the Carnival of Genealogy.

A relatively recent happy dance moment came in May 2006 when I was contacted by Kathy Foster. She had found my website with pages on my 3rd great-grandparents, John and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin. Kathy was a descendant of Susannah's sister Mary (Hoffman) Walker. At that time the only information I had on Susannah was that she had been born in Columbiana County, Ohio and could be the daughter of John and Catherine (Coy) Hoffman. That info had come from another researcher in 1999 but with no documentation. Other things took up my time and I never got around to doing anything with that info. Kathy had the estate settlement papers for John Hoffman that named all eleven of his children, including Susan Berlin! In addition, she had done extensive research on the family and was able to take me back another generation on both the Hoffman and Coy sides. So not only did I now have the names of Susan's parents, I had the proof to go along with it, and the names of both sets of her grandparents!

A second happy dance was done in August that year (2006) that also involved Kathy. I received an email from her that said she had just gotten an old photo album from one of her relatives which included pictures of Eli and Lovina (Berlin) Yarian, my 2nd great-grandparents! You see, Kathy's ancestor, Mary Hoffman was the second wife of Thomas Walker. Their son, James Madison Walker, was Kathy's ancestor. By his first marriage, Thomas Walker had several children, among whom was William Walker who had married Eli Yarian's sister, Susanna! Kathy and I aren't related at all through that connection, but the families obviously maintained a relationship even though her family was living in Stark County, Ohio and mine in Elkhart County, Indiana. In addition to the pictures of Eli and Lovina she sent pictures of Susanna Yarian and her husband William Walker. I had previously obtained several pictures of Lovina from the Nappanee Library but did not have any photos of Eli, so this was truly one of those amazing happy dance moments.

Eli Yarian, my 2nd great-grandfather.

(1839-1895)

Photo received from Kathy Foster in August 2006.

Hidden Gems of Family History :: Found 'em in the Newspaper!

Newspapers are one of my favorite resources. Many precious tidbits of information have been found within their pages that have added to the "humanization" of my family tree. Recording the events of their daily lives, newspapers can be a goldmine of information. Obituary notices are, of course, most commonly found, and they are wonderful (some more so than others). But it is those extra tidbits that, oftentimes, can only be found by reading the microfilm until your eyes are crossed, your head is pounding with a headache, and your stomach queasy from motion sickness! Ah, the joys of newspaper research. But the treasures that can be found make it all worthwhile.

From local newspapers, I've learned a few interesting things about some family members:

During the early 1900s Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker are Royal Entertainers. I sorta knew that from my grandmother's writings, but thought it was neat that one of their parties made the local news.

In July 1902, Franklin H. Foust had eight or ten Sheep Drowned as a result of the floods.

On May 1st 1909, Curtis W. Jones remembered the worst May Day "ever perpetrated on the people in this vicinity." That was in 1851. . .

It was in May 1905 that my great-grandfather, Henry Phend, pulled a gun on poor Dr. Souder when he came to check on the family. Henry had been quarantined with his wife and 7 children for 11 days, The children ranged from 6 months to 12 years old.

We learned that in January 1911 about "Mrs. C.R. Brubaker, who went to Traverse City, Michigan, to look after the shipment of the household goods, was stormbound for three days and did not arrive here until Wednesday. A great snow storm was raging in northern Michigan. The C.R. Brubaker family will make their home with his father, Wm. Brubaker in Troy township." This was after the tragic death of C.R.'s brother Hale Brubaker.

In August 1914, within a week of each other, there were Fires at the Brubaker and Phend Homes. Thankfully, little damage was done to either house.

In August 1917, Henry Meier and his friend, a Miss Burnworth, spent the day with friends where he had an encounter with a Runaway Colt. Ten days later Mr. Meier and Miss Doris Burnworth eloped to Michigan to get married.

In December 1917 Two Fellows were Home From Camp Taylor, one of whom was my grandfather, Victor Phend.

In July 1918, we find that Roy Parkinson Has a Fine Store at Wolf Lake.

The next month, Mildred Jones Married an Illinois Man. She had to resign a very fine position as physical director at the Y. M. C. A. in Detroit, Michigan. And he was going to be entering an army training camp the first of September.

In January 1919, a letter that Vic Phend Writes From France to his sister in Columbia City was published in the local paper.

In 1921, the Brubaker-Phend Marriage joined together my grandparents, Vic Phend and Hazlette Brubaker.

Fast forward to May 1947 when a Larwill Girl was Married in a North Webster Church. That girl would become my mother and she was marrying the man who would become my father.

On September 4, 1952 Henry & Susie Yarian Phend celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. A family celebration was held the previous Sunday. "Seventy-five people attended the dinner at noon which was served on the lawn. In the afternoon 150 guests called between 2 and 5 o'clock." I was there, but being only 4 years old at the time don't remember the events of the day.

In November 1957, Henry Phend Celebrated his 92nd Birthday at the home of his son Gerald.

These are just a few of the "special" items I've found buried in the pages of local newspapers. When I first started my research I didn't always take the time to read the other stories, even those on the same page. I was fixated on finding a specific article. One day I came home from the Nappanne Library so excited. I had found the obituary of my 2nd great grandfather, Eli Yarian. I won't go into detail here as he will be the subject of a future post, but Eli died on January 28, 1895 in a "frightful and very sad accident" whereby he "met instant death by being struck on the head with a limb of a falling tree." The story of his demise took nearly an entire column of the first page; it was full of the rather gruesome details surrounding his death.

I showed the copy of the article to my mother. As she finished reading it, she started laughing. I didn't understand why it would be so funny to her. When I asked her, she handed the copy back to me and pointed to a little article in the next column.

"Last Saturday, Frank Smith paid a fine and costs amounting to $8.30 imposed in Justice Corns' court for using profane language. The affidavit was filed by Jonathan Yarian. Young Smith, with others, were hauling logs, and some difficulty arose about loading, which caused the young man to so far forget himself as to heap some abuse on Mr. Yarian, among other things, language calculated to reflect discredit on the name of the latter's mother, and supplementing it with a threat to chop off his leg, or some things to that effect. As he might have carried out his threat without bodily harm to Mr. Yarian, he was simply caused to plead guilty to using profanity. Frank will probably be a little more discreet in the future, in the choice of language."

After reading it, I too began laughing. You see, we knew that no "bodily harm" would have come to Mr. Jonathan Yarian even if Mr. Smith had followed through on his threat. Why? Because Jonathan Yarian had a wooden leg, which was the result of injury and amputation during the Civil War.

After that little incident I was more conscientious in my reading. Doing so, however, comes with a price - more time spent looking at that microfilm! But what fun it is, especially when you find those hidden gems of family history!

Contributed to the 57th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy :: I read it in the news!