Chasing History

Week 17: The theme for Week 17 is "DNA." DNA has helped countless people make discoveries in their family history – some good and some not. Has DNA helped you solve a genealogical question?  No, DNA has not helped me... YET.  When I took my Ancestry.com DNA test a few years back I was certain that I'd find a sibling I never knew about (joking, but not really). Alas, my DNA test didn't reveal anything new; it just reinforced familial ties that I already knew about.  This is where the YET part kicks in. I'm sure most of you are sick of hearing about this, but I am hoping to uncover the identity of the Newberrytown Unknown Civil War Soldier using genetic genealogy. In the past few years, there has been a tremendous amount of crimes solved and unknown persons identified through genetic genealogy. The Newberrytown Unknown Civil War Soldier was buried way back in the late 1800s, probably between 1890 - 1900. He is buried in Paddletown Cemetery. The cemetery does not hav...

  One if by Land, and Two if by Sea Paul Revere arranged to have a signal lit in the Old North Church – one lantern if the British were coming by land and two lanterns if they were coming by sea – and began to make preparations for his ride to alert the local militias and citizens about the impending attack. This happened 250 years ago TONIGHT, 18 - 19 April 1775. Tonight, 18 April 2025, members of the Newberrytown Events Committee (NTEC), along with family, gathered at the Newberrytown Veterans Memorial located at 1895 Old Trail Road, Etters, PA 17319 (Newberry Township Multi Emergency Services Complex).  Two lanterns were lit on the Veterans Memorial brick walkway, which currently features more than forty local veterans, with more memorial bricks to be added this spring.  Two Lights for Tomorrow is a nationwide initiative to commence the celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States of America. The famous ride of Paul Revere occurred overnight on April 18 – 19...

  Week 16: The theme for Week 16 is “Oldest Story.” What is the oldest story that’s been passed down in your family? Have you figured out if any of it is true? We've always joked that the Gross family landed in Newberrytown and never left. We're not totally wrong. They landed in York County and never left and have inhabited Newberrytown since the mid 1800s. Theobald Gross was born in Germany and came to America in 1941 via Philadelphia. He then settled in the Manchester, York area. Theobald's son, Samuel Gross , lived in Manchester, until moving to Newberry in 1820. Samuel's son, Daniel Gross , was born and raised in Manchester, York County. He remained there his entire life. His son, John Henry Gross , lived in Manchester until 1860, when he moved to Newberry. He would remain in Newberry for the last six years of his life.  John Henry's son Samuel moved to Newberry with his father in 1860 and lived there most of his adult life. In 1890 he and his wife moved to a ...

Week 15: The theme for Week 15 is "Big Mistake."  Our ancestors weren’t perfect. They were real people who sometimes made mistakes. Likewise, we aren’t perfect, and sometimes we make mistakes in our research. This is a good week to write about an ancestor who chose poorly or a time when a research mistake made your work harder. For this week, I'll tell you about a research mistake I've made because of naming schemes.  For some reason, the men on my maternal side of the family tree loved the name Johann. I have Johann Spahr, Johann Rudisill, Johann Strominger, and the list goes on. Each Johann had a few sons named Johann and a few grandsons as well. One branch decided they really like the combination of Johann George. There are at least seven Johann Georges on one side of my family tree. There are Johanns, Johans, Johns, and other variations on the spelling. Many of them went by their middle names (Michael, George, Daniel, etc or even Hans).  While this isn't a mis...

Reintroducing Jeremiah Miley Spahr, Sr. For years, I've been searching for a photograph of Jeremiah and haven't been able to find one until today!  Looking through a drawer full of pictures, I found a photograph of Jeremiah amongst pictures of his daughter, Amanda.  Jeremiah Miley Spahr Sr 19 Jul 1840 – 26 Nov 1926 3rd great-grandfather Jeremiah Miley Spahr was born on July 19, 1840, in Warrington Township . Jeremiah Miley Spahr joined the military on September 19, 1861, in York, Pennsylvania, when he was 21 years old. Unfortunately, after the Third Battle of Winchester, Jeremiah's story takes a dark turn. https://a.co/d/40ArEsU https://yorkblog.com/cannonball/a-murder-in-warrington-townshi/ ARREST ON THE CHARGE OF MURDER. On Friday last, Jeremiah Spahr, Henry Spahr, Levi Reirer, Lewis Spaht, and Lewis Rester, of Warrington Township, York County, were arrested and brought to this Borough, charghed with killing a certain colored man whose name is unknown, but who came into t...

Week 14: The theme for Week 14 is "Language." Have you researched an ancestor who spoke a different language than you or dealt with records in another language? What about an ancestor who was known for their use of language? Johann Jacob Bruner 25 Feb 1703– 14 Nov 1783 7th great-grandfather Johann Jacob Bruner was born on February 25, 1703, in Schifferstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The Brunner family  originated in Rothenstein, Switzerland, but before 1679 had migrated to the Palatine village of Klein Schifferstadt, six miles north of the  city of Speyer. Johann Jacob Brunner was the first to arrive. Baptized at  Klein Schifferstadt on Pebruary 25, 1703, he had married in 1725  Maria Barbara Sturm, the daughter of Christian Sturm. One son,  Johann Peter Brunner, had been born to this couple in 1726. Early in  1728, perhaps as advance agents for the larger emigration which was  to follow in the next year, Jacob Brunner and  his small family,...