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Isaac Long Barn Remembered

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.

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Delbert Brown, Son of John and Vivian Passes

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.

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Martha B. White Passes at 90 years young

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.

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Eagle Scout Project at Gailey-White Cemetery

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.

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Revolutionary War Patriots Approved by NSDAR

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!

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Mary Spencer Betts Has Passed Away

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.

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Stones River Battlefield in Peril

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.

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Christian Eby – Revolutionary War Patriot

My granddaughter, Kali Martin, approached me about joining the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. I was elated that one of the younger generation was interested in joining a group in which I am so involve. It didn’t take long for me to get started on her application. I started with the most interesting ancestor, John Slaymaker, that I knew was related. The Slaymaker home is still occupied and is known as White Chimneys, Lancaster County, PA.

The Slaymakers are well known in Lancaster County, so what could be so hard to prove this ancestor. Ah, but for some punctuation, it was not accepted. The only proof that I found connecting the dots to the correct line was an Orphan’s Court record that names all the children and grandchildren, but used no commas to delineate who belonged to whom. Instead of beating my head against the wall to find another document, I took the easy route and found another ancestor.

This time, I researched the Eby’s, another familiar name in Lancaster County. Plenty of Eby’s, so one of them had to provide service or pay taxes in support of the revolution. Without too much effort I was able to prove that Christian Eby was a Private in the Revolutionary War and is also eligible as a patriot for paying the Pennsylvania supply tax in 1779. It is also her grandfather’s middle name. Wahooo! Kali Martin, Junior Member NSDAR. I hope she gets as much out of being a part of the largest, wholly owned and operated by women organization, as I have. So many women who have God, Home and Country as their service motto. We have almost 200,000 members and hope to reach our goal of 250,000 members by the time the United States celebrates our 250th anniversary.


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Looking for Living Charles Family Members of Pennsylvania

I am working on a project for the Hiram Charles family of Lancaster County, PA and would like to hear from any members who are willing to provide a DNA sample for family research.  Depending on your family relationship, a DNA kit may be provided.

This project will use Autosomal DNA, so you won’t be excluded because of gender.  The results may be uploaded to GedMatch, but would not be identified with any of your information.

For further questions about this project, send an email through this website.

Thank you,

Deborah