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Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

In the course of doing my research, I came across a number of relatives with paperwork stating that they were in the Cadet Nursing Corp. in the 1940s. I had no idea what that was and with a number of female ancestors sharing this honor, I did a little digging to uncover what this was and what role my ancestors played.

During World War II, the United States faced a shortage of nurses at home. With many nurses going overseas to serve, that left a gap in services for those left on the home front. So, on June 15, 1943, the Bolton Act, founded the U.S. Nurse Cadet Corp. and led the charge to train young women to become nurses. The women were provided with tuition and a monthly stipend. In return these young women promised to serve in military or civilian nursing for the remainder of the war. The program ended in 1948.

While most of the women trained, remained stateside and tended to our nation’s civilian sick, many of them also worked at military hospitals caring for wounded veterans.

These women answered our nation’s call during a time of war, but since they did not serve in an official military capacity, they are not eligible for any of the programs, services and honors bestowed upon veterans. Currently, Congress is trying to change that. Legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives that would grant military veteran status to these brave women who answered the call in our country’s time of need. It will be too late for the ancestors that I have listed above, but hopefully their families can benefit from their valor and sacrifice.

Reference

Case Western Reserve University (2023). The Bolton Act. https://www.case.edu/nursing/about/history/bolton-act

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

While I was researching this portion of my family tree, I discovered a disturbing trend. At least seven members of the family met their demise as a result of suicide. There were different reasons and different time periods, but it really got me thinking about the prevalence of suicide in certain families. Are certain people more predisposed toward suicide as a way out or could any of these people have been saved? Is suicide something that runs in families like Aunt Eva’s curly hair or grandpa’s baldness? Or were these people just victims of their circumstances?

Life was not easy as a farmer or a coal miner in rural Pennsylvania during any time period. The work was hard and the pay was little. Many people did not have access to things that we take for granted, like regular doctor visits. If taking care of physical health was an afterthought, then mental health was not even part of the vocabulary.

Take for example Otis Oliver Erdman. He was born on July 21, 1880, the oldest of eleven children. He married and had two children while working on a farm. In 1930 there was a drought and his crops failed. He therefore had no money to pay his bills. On March 23, 1931, he was found hanging from a rafter in his barn. He was 53 years old

His brother, Howard Homer Erdman was born on September 12, 1887. He worked as a carpenter but had been in ill health. He went hunting with his son and some other relatives on December 23, 1925 and wandered away from the group. A search party was organized to look for him. When he was found, he had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the top of his skull. He was 35 years old.

Their brother John Jasper Erdman was born on December 30, 1892. He was a carpenter by trade. On March 2, 1937 he hung himself in his garage. I was unable to find a reason, but he left behind a wife and five children. He was 44 years old.

Their sister Vesta Viola Erdman was born in September of 1896. One hot, summer day she shot her two young sons before shooting herself. Their bodies were discovered by her husband when he returned from working in the mines. Some blamed the hot weather for her actions, but it was more likely domestic problems that caused this murder/suicide. Vesta was 23 and her boys were 9 and 2.

Lastly, brother Miles Monroe Erdman who was born on February 13, 1898 was in such poor mental health that he was under death watch by his family. Early on the morning of May 14, 1940, his son who was supposed to be watching him fell asleep. He took that opportunity to hang himself by the stairway bannister in his home. He was 42 years old. He left behind a wife and seven children.

That is five of eleven siblings committing suicide, prompting me to wonder if mental health problems do in fact run in families.

Meanwhile, nephew Ray Forrest Erdman who was the son of another Erdman sibling, poured gasoline on himself and lit himself on fire on the morning of April 2, 1969. The reason for his suicide is unclear, although it could have been brought about by his son’s suicide just a year and a half prior. He was just shy of his 46th birthday.

His son, John Ray Erdman served in the Army during the Vietnam War where he was trained in the use of explosives. Upon his return he got married and he and his wife separated not long after. He was driving in his car near the home of his in-laws, which happened to be where his estranged wife was living, when the dynamite he had with him exploded and killed him. While this particular death was technically listed as an accident, it is clear that suicide if not murder/suicide was the intent. Why else would he be driving to the home of his estranged wife with dynamite in his car? He was 24 years old.

Whatever the reason, genetic or environmental, it is clear that seven members of the Erdman family were taken way too soon.

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

With family mostly from the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, it was inevitable that there would be a number of family members in my family tree who made their living as coal miners. My grandfather was a coal miner, as was his father before him. All up and down that branch of the family tree there are coal miners galore.

As a result of his years of work in the coal mines, my grandfather suffered from black lung disease. But, he was one of the lucky ones; he always came out of the mines. There are some that entered the coal mines and didn’t come out.

On May 14, 1947, Harvey Smeltz went to work in one of the Stevens Coal Company mines in Trevorton, PA. As he was removing coal that was strewn across the tracks that afternoon he was struck by a loaded coal car. He was removed from the mine and taken to the hospital where it is reported that he died several hours later. His death certificate indicated that his body was completely crushed so I’m not sure how he survived even a few hours after being struck.

On the news we hear reports of cave ins when a group of miners are trapped. Sometimes there is a happy ending in those cases and sometimes there isn’t. Deaths like Harvey’s, that probably happen more than we realize, never get national attention. It is important to know that these accidents happened and most likely continue to happen. Coal mining is a dangerous profession and my grandfather and great-grandfather were lucky to have made it to retirement age alive.

The remnants of the coal mines near Trevorton are now used for sport. People ride ATVs down the coal hills. In the midst of this recreation it is important to remember the lives lost while working those same mines.

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

This post could really be called the tale of two brothers. Born to David Schwalm Klinger and Barbara Merkel Wiest in Klingerstown, Pennsylvania they had a similar start in life. Francis was the sixth child and second son while Alexander was the youngest of the nine children. Officially established in 1807, Klingerstown was named after Francis’ and Alexander’s ancestors who settled in this part of Dauphin and Schuylkill counties in the late 1700s. Alexander chose to stay in Klingerstown while Francis, two of his sisters and one of his brothers decided to take advantage of the Homestead Act and move to Iowa.

The Homestead Act, passed in 1862 and granted adult heads of families 160 acres of land at minimal cost provided they stayed on that land for five years (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2022). The idea behind this legislation was to settle the western frontier and cut down on poverty.

So, by the late 1880s, Francis along with his younger brother Otis had settled in Fairbank, Iowa. Not far from Fairbank is a crossroads of four counties. It was at those county crossroads that Francis established a general store which proved to be so popular that another village sprang up near the site. That village was named Klinger, Iowa after Francis and still remains a small city in Bremer county today. Francis and his wife Ellen Augusta Miller, had three children in Iowa. Francis owned two general stores, one in Klinger and the other in Fairbank. He also managed a lumber yard.

Francis was involved in politics, serving on the town council of Fairbank for a number of years. He even served a brief stint as mayor just prior to his death of a heart attack on December 9, 1942 at the age of 77.

Politics played a role in his brother Alexander’s story as well, just not in quite the same way. Alexander decided to stay in Klingerstown where he married Barbara Sedora Williard and had two daughters.

On August 28, 1911, Alexander’s life took a terrible turn. At that time he was self-employed as a house carpenter. On the afternoon of August 28th, he went to a tavern in Erdman. It was at this tavern and after quite a few drinks, that he and his friend Samuel Erdman got into a heated exchange about the primary election. According to witnesses, Samuel struck at Alexander twice before Alexander kicked him in the stomach. That kick to the stomach was a fatal blow and Alexander was charged with murder.

On October 7th, a distraught Alexander tried to take his own life while awaiting trial by cutting his wrists with a piece of broken mirror. Having recovered his faculties, Alexander plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a sentence of 18 months in county jail after witnesses testified that the fatal kick was administered in self defense. He was released early for good behavior on December 31, 1912 having served 15 months of his sentence.

After his release from prison, he bought a farm and worked the land for the remainder of his life. Alexander Klinger died on November 1, 1945 at the age of 70 and is buried in Klingerstown.

Reference

Harrisburg Patriot. (1911, September 2). Gratz fugitive placed in jail. Harrisburg Patriot.

Harrisburg Patriot. (1911, September 7). Klinger is held on murder charge. Harrisburg Patriot.

Harrisburg Patriot. (1911, October 12). Held for murder, attempts suicide. Harrisburg Patriot.

Harrisburg Patriot. (1911, October 26). Timetable of homicide cases. Harrisburg Patriot.

Harrisburg Patriot. (1913, January 11). Swears off after release from prison. Harrisburg Patriot.

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. (2022). Homestead Act (1862). https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/homestead-act

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

I have spent some time exploring the lives of relatives who served in the Revolutionary War and World War I. Now, I’m taking a closer look at the Civil War and how my 3rd great-grandfather, Samuel Straub served.

Samuel was born on February 21, 1836 in Pennsylvania. I am unsure of who his parents were. He married Hannah Klinger prior to 1857; which is when my 2nd great-grandfather Tobias Albert Straub was born. In June of 1862, he was drafted by the Union. He was assigned to the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. On November 2, 1862, he was assigned the rank of Private and joined the Union Army at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg. He left behind his pregnant wife and two young sons.

It doesn’t appear that this regiment was involved in much action. They moved from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. then parts of Virginia and Maryland throughout Samuel’s enlistment period. During July of 1863, the 177th regiment was involved in pursuing Robert E. Lee. After the battle of Gettysburg from July 1-3, 1863; Robert E. Lee was pushed back into Virginia. From July 10-August 1, the 177th regiment as part of the 2nd Brigade of the Army of the Potomac continued to push General Lee, deeper and deeper into Virginia. General Lee would surrender in 1865.

On August 1st, the 177th regiment reported back to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg where Private Samuel Straub was honorably discharged on August 5, 1863. He was then free to return to his life as a farmer. In his absence, his wife had given birth to their third son.

Samuel and his wife Hannah had two more children after the war, a daughter and another son. Samuel died on October 12, 1899 in Lykens, Pennsylvania at the age of 63. He is buried in Dauphin County.

Although his regiment was not involved in many battles and only lost 24 men due to disease, I still admire Samuel’s service to our country. He was very lucky that his regiment was not involved in the Battle of Gettysburg where heavy casualties were noted on both sides.

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

Bernard Pius Leahy

1893-1918

It seems that a member of my family has served in every war the United States has been involved in from the Revolutionary War through at least the Vietnam War. Most of them lived to tell the tale. Some did not. This post is about one member of my family tree who never came home.

Bernard Leahy was born in Sawkill, New York on September 26, 1893, the fifth son and seventh child of Bernard Leahy and my second great-grandaunt, Anna J. Haggerty. By the age of 16, Bernard was working as a quarry man at a blue stone quarry. In June of 1916, Bernard was working as a special patrolman for the 74th Precinct of the NYC Police Department in Brooklyn when he was drafted for World War I. He was given the rank of Sergeant, assigned to the 307th Infantry Regiment and shipped off to France.

On the night of September 12, 1918, Sgt. Leahy was on patrol just north of Fisme, France. The Battle of Fisme and Fismette had ended on September 1st and the patrol was out to locate and establish an observation post. During that patrol, Sgt. Leahy encountered either a German patrol or outpost and received a machine gun bullet to the abdomen. Despite the severity of his injury, he managed to make it to a first aid station unaided, but later died of his injuries in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

This American hero, received full military honors upon his return to Sawkill and was remembered by his captain and company as a “splendid soldier”. Unfortunately, his life was cut short, a casualty of a war fought defending the freedoms we all take for granted each and every day. I salute Sergeant Bernard Pius Leahy and thank him for his service to our nation and for making the ultimate sacrifice for his country and countrymen.

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

From the minute I first heard Eva’s story, I wanted to know more. That is the real reason that I started this blog, to tell her story. Eva died by suicide. At least that’s what her husband said. That is the official cause of death listed on her death certificate. However, the more I think about the story, the less convinced I am. I never met Eva, but my grandmother would tell me that I looked like her sister who died. When I would ask more about her she would just say that she killed herself and that was the end of the discussion. It wasn’t until many years later, that I heard the story of her death.

Eva was born in 1915 on a farm in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania to John Schoffstall and his wife Lillian (Willier) Schoffstall. She was the second daughter born to the couple. She grew up on a farm, one of nine children. In March of 1936 she married Blair Wiest and that is where the story takes a turn. It seems that Blair was a philanderer and Eva and Blair were prone to arguing.

On the day after Christmas in 1951, the Schoffstall family gathered at the home of Eva and Blair. Eva’s parents as well as her brothers and sisters and their families were there. An argument started between the couple and they left the house and took their argument out to their barn. Just after 2:30 p.m., the family gathered in the house thought that they heard a gunshot. Minutes later, Blair returned to the house and told those gathered that Eva had committed suicide.

The state troopers were called and it was determined that the cause of death was a bullet wound to the forehead from a .22 caliber bullet. These types of bullets are used as ammunition in rifles. Immediately, I was suspicious. I did not know Eva, but in general, the members of my family are not long armed individuals. I’m not saying it was impossible, but it seemed improbable that she was able to shoot herself in the forehead with a rifle.

Talking to two of her sisters who were there that day, they expressed that they always thought that Eva’s husband had murdered her. When I asked them why they didn’t tell the police that at the time, they said they didn’t want her son to grow up with neither of his parents around. At the time of her death, Eva’s son was 13 years old. Would a mother willingly leave her 13 year old son?

Blair provided all of the information to the police and the coroner as he was the only witness to what occurred. Was he telling the truth or covering up his crime?

At this point, I was left to ponder this story and what might have happened in the barn that day. I thought about Eva. If she did commit suicide, why would she have chosen that day with her family gathered in her home? How badly must she have been hurting to leave her son behind? Mental health was not something that was talked about in that time period. Might she have been suffering in silence? Had she contemplated suicide before? There are endless questions with no answers.

They were in the midst of an argument in the barn. That could lead someone to want to commit suicide if they saw no way out, but murder of one of the participants is just as likely in that scenario. I have not had a chance to talk to those who knew her to see if the relationship between Eva and Blair had ever turned violent, but I plan to follow up with more questions about their relationship and Eva’s life. If the fights often turned violent, that puts a whole new spin on what might have happened.

We will never know for sure what happened in a rural Pennsylvania barn on that day after Christmas 1951. There was only one witness and he took the answers with him to the grave. But, I feel that there is adequate reason to be suspicious. Was it suicide or murder? I’ll keep investigating, but in the meantime, you be the judge.

Exploring histories mysteries, one leaf at a time.

On September 4, 1934, the body of William F. Miggins was found by five boys on their way home from school. He was discovered in the Sawkill Creek. It was unclear how long he had been there or what circumstances caused his death.

William F. Miggins was born in 1879 in Kingston, New York, the fifth child and third son of William Miggins and Ellen Haggerty Miggins. By 1900, the family had moved to Hallihan Hill in Sawkill where William worked as a stone cutter. On November 12, 1901 he married Mary E. Neenan in Kingston. The couple owned a house on Hallihan Hill in Sawkill and had three children.

By 1915, William and his three children had moved in with his brother Patrick, sister Bridget and brother-in-law William Birmingham. His wife, Mary passed away in 1912. In 1922, William started a blue-stone quarry with William Goldpaugh, the husband of his younger sister Jennie. It is unclear what happened with this venture.

At the point of his death, William was working as a foreman of town roads. He was seen a couple of times walking past a ball field the afternoon before his death by people who were attending a game and was also spotted in the village of Sawkill that evening. His hat was found in a cemetery that borders the bank of the creek.

At the location where William’s body was found, the bank was 15 to 20 feet high. The injuries on his body were consistent with him falling down the bank instead of drowning even though he was found in the creek. But, did he fall or did something more nefarious happen? Rain, in the morning, prior to the body being found obliterated all traces of what led to William’s death.

Ultimately, the coroner ruled that William fell down the embankment and fractured his skull. It was ruled an accident. Perhaps that is the case. William was obviously well liked within the community because the announcement of his death warranted an article on the front page of the local newspaper and his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Sawkill.

William F. Miggins was my great-granduncle and although we may never know what caused the slide down the bank that took his life, at least now we know his story.

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References

“Sawkill,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 3 August 1922, p. 10, col. 3.

“William Miggins of Sawkill Found Dead,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 4 September 1934, p. 1, col. 3.

“Local Death Record,” Kingston Daily Freeman (NY), 8 September 1934, p. 10. col. 2.

Exploring histories mysteries, one leaf at a time.

Yes, you read that right. I am related to Eva Braun. Not the Eva Braun you might be thinking of but, the name got me thinking if maybe my Braun family was related to THAT Eva Braun’s family.

The Eva Braun in my family tree was actually born Anna Eva Braun on August 8, 1729 in Tulpehocken Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Although she was born Anna Eva, she went by Eva. She was the first of her family to be born in the United States of America. Her mother and father both emigrated to America from Germany in 1710. Her father, Johan Philip Braun, Sr. came to the United States, at the age of 13, with his family from Undenheim which is in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate is located in the central, western portion of Germany close to the borders of Belgium and France. Eva Braun Hitler’s family was from Munich which is in Bavaria, located in the southeastern portion of Germany. Undenheim and Munich are separated by almost 200 miles. So, they are not from the same area, but families could move around in 200 years. As it turns out, Anna Eva’s mother, Elisabetha Magdalena Loesch was born in Hernsheim in Bavaria but she married into the Braun family and was not a Braun originally.

Anna Eva grew up in Berks County, married Jacob Artz and had five children, including twin boys. She died in the same town where she was born in 1783 at the age of 53. She died just before the end of the Revolutionary War.

By contrast Eva Braun Hitler was born in 1912 in Munich, Germany to Friedrich Otto Wilhelm Braun and Franziska Kronberger. She was the daughter of a teacher and a seamstress. She was raised Catholic and became a photographer. She met Adolf Hitler in 1929 while she was working for a photographer for the Nazi party. They were married in Berlin in April 1945 as the Soviet Army was closing in. They both committed suicide shortly after their marriage. Eva Braun Hitler was 33 years old at the time of her death.

Although there is a possibility that we are related at some point, it is a pretty slim one. Eva Braun Artz and Eva Braun Hitler may share a name, and both died near the end of a war, but other than that, they are so disconnected by time and space that any family connection would have been dissolved over 200 years ago when my portion of the Braun family left Germany to embark on a new life in America.

Exploring histories mysteries, one leaf at a time.

This is a story of perseverance over tragedy. How one man, picked himself up and made a happy life for himself and his family.

Fred’s story begins in New York City in 1878. His family lived on West Fifty-Second Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in what appears to be tenement housing. His father, Joseph, was a German immigrant who worked primarily as a brewer. His mother, Lena worked as a seamstress. Between 1878 and 1892, the Uhls had five children; Frederick, George, Joseph, Tessie and Irene. With young children in the home, it is likely that Lena worked out of her small apartment while raising her children.

Life was not comfortable for working class people in New York City during the late 1800s. The city’s population swelled due to an influx of immigrants, primarily from Germany, Italy and Ireland. As a result, many people were forced to live in very small apartments often in close quarters with other people. These tight living spaces with many people in a small space were a breeding ground for the diseases of the day including cholera, malaria and tuberculosis.

Looking at maps from the time period, it appears that the Uhls had better living conditions than most. While they lived down the street from a cigar factory, they also lived across the street from a Catholic church and school and near a hospital. A majority of the people who lived in that area were either German or Irish immigrants. While still not ideal living conditions, at least they were not hemmed in on all sides but unsavory businesses.

In 1896, Fred’s mother Lena passes away at the age of 41, leaving Fred at 18 years old to fend for himself and his four siblings, the youngest of which was just four years old. The family moves from New York City to Kingston, New York where Fred and his siblings move to Hudson Street to live with their maternal grandmother Elizabeth and her second husband Jacob Fox. Fred finds work as a laborer while his younger brother George, works as a tobacco stuffer and his youngest brother Joseph works as a brush maker. Joseph is forced to work full-time at the age of 16 instead of attending school.

It is unclear why the Uhl siblings were entrusted to their grandmother rather than being raised by their father, Joseph, who also moved to Kingston and remained there until his death in 1918. Nevertheless, with the help of his grandmother and brothers, Fred provides for his youngest siblings.

In 1905, Fred marries Mary Dittus and he moves from his grandmother’s house on Hudson Street to a home owned by his in-laws on Spruce Street. Fred and Mary have six, living children before moving into their own home on Spruce Street in 1920. Fred has a successful career as a well-respected carpenter in Kingston.

In 1948, Fred Uhl passes away. In his lifetime, he survived tenement living in New York City, the death of his mother and providing for his siblings at a young age. He persevered through that adversity to have a successful career and a loving family. My grandmother was his daughter. I am proud to call a man of such courage and strength my great-grandfather.