For all Duarts, Dewarts, Maclean of Duarts and all variations of the Duart name, I just received information that the next Clan gathering on the Isle of Mull will be pushed back until June 2023, however there will be a virtual gathering of the clan 22-26, 2021. The event is free to attend, but you must register. Registration opens on Tuesday 8th June.
The dates for the rescheduled International Gathering of the Clan Maclean have been announced as Monday the 19th to Sunday the 25th of June 2023. The Gathering will be held on the Isle of Mull and further details will be published as they are announced.
I will post where to register for the virtual clan gathering when I receive the information, so please check back here around June 8th.
So proud of our Sam Hershey, for all of his sports accolades he has received this year. He was named All-American for 2020 in soccer and more recently to the 2021 Big 33 football team as a kicker. Sam also plays on the McCaskey basketball team. He follows a history of sports standouts in the Hershey family.
Trevor Hershey, Sam’s father played soccer at James Madison University and his mother, LindaLee (nee Papuga) scored the first ever goal in women’s soccer for Gettysburg University. Grandfather, Al, was an All-American soccer player for Elizabethtown College. All of them have coached on a collegiate level with Trevor and LindaLee at Millersville University. Al coached soccer at his Alma mater, Elizabethtown College and for 10 years at Franklin and Marshall College.
For those of you who do not know the Big 33, it is a team of high school seniors, chosen to represent Pennsylvania in a football game against Ohio or Maryland. Every Super Bowl has had at least one player who was on a Big 33 team.
According to the National Geographic website, cousin Erin Spencer will be featured on February 24, 2021 at 4:00 pm on YouTube. Below is copied of the information from the Nat Geo site. For more information about this program go to www.nationalgeographic.org to sign up. If you are a teacher, this is a great place to find educational programs to be used in your classroom.
“Asha de Vos is a Sri Lankan marine biologist, ocean educator, and blue whale expert. She founded the nonprofit Oceanswell to educate the next generation of ocean heroes and in 2019, Asha was named one of 12 Women Changemakers by the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Erin Spencer is a marine ecologist and science communicator focusing on fisheries conservation and management. Her recent work has focused on the mislabeling of seafood in the United States and innovative responses to invasive species management.
Asha and Erin are together onboard the OceanXplorer with scientists and technologists from around the world. They’re currently offshore in the Bahamas, which is their first stop on a mission to explore the most unreachable parts of the ocean! Join them to hear behind-the-scenes stories from the frontlines of ocean exploration.”
Cousin Bill McCord ran across a photo that belonged to Great Grandma Effie Long Bell and passed it along to me. The back of the photo reads “Isaac Long Barn of Landisville (it is really in Landis Valley), Lancaster Co., Penna. From this farm David Long came to Pfoutz’s Valley in 1812. My earliest known ancestor, Effie Long Bell.”
It is a wonderful picture of the Isaac Long Barn that is famous because it was at this farm that the first American born denomination was organized in 1766 -The Church of United Brethren in Christ Church. The farm is six miles northeast of Lancaster city.
Much has been written about this farm. The blue State Historical markers placed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated the marker June 16, 1960. The text says”The United Brethren in Christ, and the Evangelical United Brethren Church trace their origin to the joint efforts of Rev. Philip W. Otterbein of the German Reformed Church and Martin Boehm, a Mennonite preacher, at a revival held here about 1767. The barn stands a mile and a half to the north off PA 272 (Oregon Pike) at Landis Valley Museum. ” (Ref. Beyer, George R., Guide to the State Historical Markers of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Although Effie Long Bell may not have known ancestors before David Long/Lang, William Gabriel Long in his book History of the Long Family of Pennsylvania with the help of the Long Family Organization, was able to take the Long/Lang family back a few more generations. David was the son of Abraham Lang and Maria, born in 1743 Manheim Township, Lancaster County, married Catherine Hershey. Aha, I’m descended from the Hersheys as well as being married to one. Abraham Long fought in the revolutionary war as did Catherine’s father, Abraham. Both of these ancestors have been proven, by me, for Daughters of the American Revolution. Just let me know if you want to join the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution. I have all the paper work.
Abraham Long’s father was John and mother, Anna Long. The Long/Langs had lived in Lancaster County, PA until David moved to Perry County, PA. John was the son of emigrant, Christian Lang, who was said to be from the Palatinate Germany. I have not gone back any further, but it is on my list of research.
I have been very late in posting that Delbert Brown, brother of Martha Brown White, too passed away just a month and a day after her. Uncle Delly died October 12, 2020, 83 years old. As we all know, due to Covid-19 funeral services are private so no one could attend. This is a very sad time to not be able to support the family, but when Covid is behind us maybe we can all celebrate their lives.
“Delly” as known by most, was a true outdoorsman. He enjoyed hunting on his farm in East Troy, fishing and camping with family and friends. Delly was a very talented woodworker, crafting a variety of items. He took great pleasure in maintaining his immaculate yard, gardens and canning what he harvested. Everyone has a good story to share about Uncle Delly. When the nieces and nephews were young, he bought an old car with a jump seat that he enjoyed taking us for a ride in and occasionally the older girls were allowed to drive it. He also enjoyed scaring us half to death with a ride on his motorcycle. What great memories and he will be missed by so many family, friends and neighbors.
It is with sadness that I share that my Mom, Martha B. White passed away on Friday, September 11, 2020 at Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, PA. She moved to Elizabethtown 5 years ago, so I have had the privilege to share her last few years. She has been such a trooper, always ready for a shopping trip, a visit with cousins or just coming to my house for Sunday pizza and Americas Funniest Home Videos.
Her last major trip was to Hudson OH to celebrate nephew, Bill and Kathy McCord’s 50th anniversary. What a great time we had.
Mom was still very sharp to the end and always ready for a good argument about politics. She was a journaler and kept them for the majority of her life. I have them now and will enjoy reading them for years to come to see her view on current events and her trips.
We will miss her so much, but hope she is now at peace with Dad and Barb.
Prospective Eagle Scout, Jonathan Garula has chosen cleaning and restoring the Gailey-White cemetery as part of his project. He and his volunteers have replaced both bridges, removed a large tree, filled groundhog holes, righted and cleaned the stones.
Jonathan did this project this August and is now at college in Boston. We always need our mother’s help and his set up a “Go-Fund-Me” page that raised enough for the project and a donation to the scout troop. Thanks, Mom!
A big thank you to Jonathan and his volunteers for a job well done. Also, thank you to Henry Holman and his son for continuing to mow the walkway to the cemetery. They have kept the cemetery open for many years. Now is a good time to visit our ancestor’s graves.
I have been working on additional Patriots for the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) from my White and Brown family lines and have added three, with one more in the cue to be approved.
The first is George Eckert, born in 1743, possibly Earl Township, Lancaster County, PA. He paid the Pennsylvania Supply Tax in 1781, making him eligible as a patriot for NSDAR. He had not been proven before, so is a New Ancestor, if you want to check this out on line, go to DAR.org. I am related through Moses and and Rebecca (Eckert) Hess. I haven’t found his wife’s last name, but her first name is Catherine.
Next is a duo, father and son, John and Frederick Harter. John, the father, lived in Greenwood Township, Cumberland County, PA and also paid the Pennsylvania Supply tax in 1779, 1781. Frederick, the son, was from Greenwood Township and fought under Capt. David Boal, Col. Purdy in the 7th Battalion. He was also in the Cumberland Co. Militia, in 1780.
Frederick’s wife was Margaretha, possibly Wendt, but that will take further research to prove to DAR standards.
If you are looking for a project during our coronavirus stay-at-home order, this is a fun project, looking for Patriots of all the wars. I’m proud of my Patriots and want to make sure they are not forgotten, so I’m trying to prove as many as possible. Samuel Milligan/Milliken is in the cue and I hope to have Abraham Jacobs submitted soon. These are all on my father’s side. I still have many more on the White side and mom’s Brown side. So many ancestors, so much research. Happy Hunting!
It is with great sadness that I pass along the news of Mary Spencer Betts (daughter of Howard and Mary White Spencer) has left us to join Bill and Kerry. She had been fighting cancer for about a year and wasn’t expected to be with us until Thanksgiving 2019, but was able to survive an additional two months. May she rest in peace. Service details are not available at this time.
Descendants of John Wesley Duart and Joseph Shoemaker, this is for you. Our ancestors of the PA Co. C, 7th Cavalry, fought in the Battle of Stones River or Murfreesboro, TN near Shelbysville, TN. Joseph Shoemaker fell from his horse, was severely injured and continued to have issues with his badly, broken arm for the remainder of his life. He was a young man, so you can understand the sacrifice he made during the Civil War, living with this disability, as a farmer with restricted use of the arm for the rest of his life.
Forty two acres of the battlefield are being sold, probably for yet another shopping mall and with the American Battlefield Trust we can save this land. This organization continues to preserve our historic places for the generations to come, so that we do not repeat history. If you are so inclined to help preserve the battlefield where John and Joseph fought, please go on their website https://www.battlefields.org and donate today.
If you would like to know more about John Wesley Duart and Joseph Shoemaker, I have ordered their pension files from the National Archives. John’s is minimal, however I have 400 pages for Joseph. Very interesting reading, to say the least.
