My Family Calendar This Week

This week is a tough week. We have two birthdays but we also have seven deaths. One of those is my great grandfather who I am so fortunate to have known him before he passed. Another is my husband’s father. His death was a surprise and hits hard each year.

Birthdays

Happy birthday this week to Donald Epps, and Eileen (Eckman) Walkling! May God grant you both Many Years. Donald is married to my cousin and Eileen is my husband’s sister.

Memory Eternal

Monday (12 January) will be the 38^th anniversary of the passing of my great grandfather, Pierson George Still. PG. He is buried at the Old Doe Run Cemetery in East Fallowfield, Chester County. I was a month shy of being eight when he passed away and I remember little things – like how windy it was at the top of that open field! I’m sure he had one but I do not recall a service. I remember him in great detail – perhaps tomorrow I will delve more into my memories of him. The photo at left here is of him with my cousins Ken and Beth. I am on the far right.

Also on Monday, it is the 307^th anniversary of the passing of Johann Martin Seitz. He died at age 57 in Waldorf, Pfafz, Germany. He was the father of Eva Dorthea Sietz who immigrated here with her husband, Johannes Eckman, and their young family. Johann Seitz is my husband’s 7^th great grandfather.

Tuesday (13 January) is the 106^th anniversary of the passing of Benjamin Franklin VanHorn. I have written extensively about him over the years and I will elaborate again come Tuesday in his memory. Everyone has that one person in their tree who, although not a direct lineal ancestor, they feel a connection with … and he is mine, for whatever reason. Benjamin is my 4^th great uncle. His brother, Chrispin Pierson VanHorn, is my 3^rd great grandfather. (Side note: I am so grateful FTM figures those relations for me sometimes!) Benjamin was born in Pennsylvania, fought in the Civil War, was a POW at Belle Island Prison, married a Virginian lady, moved to California where he passed in 1909. At right is Benjamin during the Civil War. The photo was given to me by a cousin, one of his direct descendants.

John Henry Eckman, my husband’s 5^th great uncle, died on 15 January in 1781 in Lancaster County. To be honest, I have not yet explored his branch. He is the son of Jerome Heironimus (numerous spellings on that one!) Eckman and Anna Barbara Slaymaker. His brother, John Martin, is hubby’s 4^th great grandfather.

Friday we remember my cousin Bessie Matys. She was the daughter of my uncle Frank Matys and Helen Volschusk. Bessie was the last of their four children. She was just 17 days old when she died 16 January 1921. She is buried at St. Cecilia’s in Coatesville.

Friday will also be 21 years since my father in law passed. Frank Raymond Eckman died on 16 January 1994. That was a rough winter. He is the son of John Charles Eckman and Mabel Florence Eckman. Dad was the Chief of Police for Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, at the time of his death. He had also been a Philadelphia office (Highway Patrol) and before that he was a truck driver. His death was unexpected.

Saturday is the fifth anniversary of the passing of Joseph C. Morris. He is my late cousin Joan Welsh’s husband. He was 70 when he died.

My Family Calendar This Week will be a weekly feature.

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Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he found hi

Living History Offers Opportunity to Step Back in Time

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to work the fields on a plantation during the Revolutionary War? Or stroll through an 18th century village? Or fight in battle during the Civil War? Living history offers an interactive perspective which incorporates historical activities and dress providing a sense of stepping back in time. So, how can YOU step back in time? Rock Ford volunteer Nancy Bradley in the Study of the mansion Rock Ford Plantation, in Lancaster County, PA, will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event on Sunday, 22 March. They need tour guides for its upcoming tour season. Built circa 1794, Rock Ford was the home of Edward Hand and his family. Hand, an Irish immigrant and physician, served as Adjutant General to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Volunteer tour guides at Rock Ford bring the past to life for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and trainin

Genealogical Gems

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