The Welcome Society of Philadelphia Pennsylvania and the Shoemaker Family

I haven’t written in a while about the Shoemaker’s, but thought I would give a little update.  I had been working on a Welcome Society application for two  clients when I realized that I was eligible.  That has led me to a quest of completing the application for my ancestor.  It has been a long time coming, but I think I now have it all sorted out that George Shoemaker, who married Sarah Wall is my eligiblity.  Sarah arrived in Philadelphia in 1682 with her father and grandfather, Richard Jr. and Sr. Wall.  Richard Jr. died and Sarah was the only child to survive to inherit her grandfather’s land and home.

The home Sarah inherited is still standing in all it’s glory in Elkins Park, PA.  It is owned by Cheltenham Township and may be visited on the 4th Sunday from 1-4 pm.  I happened to be there on an off day, but got a sneak peak of the inside.  How wonderful to still have this historic home of our family available for viewing and being preserved.  They have a cd available at their gift shop or visit their website.  http://www.cheltenhamtownship.org/pview.aspx?id=3593&catid=26.

For those interested in The Welcome Society, it is an organization of descendants of those who came on William Penn’s twenty three ships in 1682.  If you can prove your descent, this is a very interesting organization.  A very helpful article was written about the ships by Marion Balderston, William Penn’s Twenty-Tree Ships with N0tes on Some of Their Passengers.  This may be found in Passengers and Ships Prior to 1684, Vol. 1 of Penn’s Colony, by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr.  through Heritage books or from Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

First Families of Pennsylvania

Well it finally happened.  It was a long time coming, lots of research, but I finally made it into First Families of Pennsylvania through the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania.  It is a wonderful program that honors the Pennsylvania ancestors and preserves your research.  There are 3 levels of participation:  Colony and Commonwealth: 1638-1790; Keystone and Cornerstone:  1791-1865; and Pennsylvania Proud:  1866-1900.  I was awarded a Colony and Commonwealth certificate for proving my 8th great grandmother, Sarah Shoemaker, came to Philadelphia in 1686, with her 7 children and bought 200 acres of land in Cheltenham area.  She must have been a very hardy soul.  Her son, George married Sarah Wall, who inherited a house from her grandfather, Richard Wall.  The Wall house still stands in Elkins Park, PA and is owned by Cheltenham Township.  You can tour the house on Sundays or just relax in their lawn any day.

What have you done lately to preserve your history?