LEGENDS
FAMILY STORIES AND MYTHS
Proving or Debunking Them
Written and Copyrighted by Alice L. Luckhardt
A Smashwords Edition in 2009
Introduction
Probably most everyone at some time in their lives has heard stories told by family members of ancestors who either met a famous person, accomplished some great feat, was a war hero, invented a time saving device or somehow brought honor and glory to the family name. There may also have been a few tales of the “black sheep” of the family who even had a shady past or reputation. As a rule these accounts were handed down over the generations by word of mouth and so can be unintentionally twisted, changed or modified by the time the current generation listens to the story. Most of the time the narratives were taken as the absolute truth just because it was grandmother who told the legend and she would certainly have known the facts, even if the event occurred over a hundred years prior to her birth.
With so many individuals interested in genealogy, these varied family legends are being better researched and the truth is finally being learned, sometimes disproving the story completely. It may be discovered that some have a basis in truth, but have been misconstrued over the years while others have no facts to support the story at all. But the one thing they all have in common is that they make for very interesting family tales, before and after the truth is revealed.
This book contains a collection of thirty actual family legends from many different individuals followed by a corrected version of the story and the events surrounding the legend. Many of the tales are fairly close to the truth and now include additional heretofore unknown information. But when a person does genealogical research, they also have to be prepared to uncover a “family skeleton” or two in the closet or that “black sheep” individual. Even if you are not totally into genealogical research, you can still do some interesting detective work to disclose the facts.
The special enjoyment will come from reading these varied timeless stories, examining how the truth was discovered (the research methods used) and learning the actuality of that person’s life. Remember, these ancestors were ordinary people, leading a simple life in different parts of the country throughout our history. There are plenty of legends regarding our American heroes that have taken on mythical proportions. For example, George Washington and his father’s cherry tree or Abraham Lincoln writing the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope. Everyday folks and what happened during their lives to make them a bit distinguished and perpetuating their memory to future generations is embraced in the writing of these legends.
I have included key elements a family member should consider about a legend to know if it is truth or myth. Keep in mind there is usually some aspect of the truth, slight that it might be, in every tale. Some genuine family stories can turn out to be just as intriguing as the embellished ones. Examples are given of how to search for that truth, including interviewing various family members allowing each to give their own version and writing their recollections down so you can compare what is possible vs. what is just a little too bizarre. The reader will be given instruction on how to document, check and compare sources to gather accurate information. Included will be a range of resources available for anyone to use when checking out those infamous family legends. Overall, it is hoped the reader enjoys the many different tales gathered from my own ancestors and those of friends related in the following chapters and how the eventual truths were discovered.
QUOTES ON ANCESTRY
“If your descent is from heroic sires, show in your life a remnant of their fires.”
From: Nicholas Boileau (1636-1711)
“Nothing is so soothing to our self esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. It seems to absolve us.”
From: Van Wyck Brooks (1886 - 1963)
“None of us can boast about the morality of our ancestors. The record does not show that Adam and Eve were ever married.”
From: Edgar Watson Howe (1853 - 1937)
“Hereditary honors are a noble and a splendid treasure to descendants.”
From: Plato (BC 427 - 347)
“ If you can not get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”
From George Bernard Shaw
CHAPTER 1
HEROIC SAVE OF A PRESIDENT
Great Granduncle John was physically a large man with an imposing presence about him. He was the son of a Civil War veteran, Capt. Joseph Groff, who was one of Frederick, Maryland’s leading citizens in economic development and political activities during the late 1800s. Capt. Groff’s sons were all entrepreneurs, outstanding businessmen in their own right and leaders within the community. But then there was the middle son, John Groff, who found his life’s work in law enforcement. The family legend was that John was content to be the town’s jailer, looking after prisoners in small towns of Maryland. The biggest accomplishment he made was securing a position on the Washington, DC police force at the turn of the 20th century and later becoming one the guards at the White House. The family stories did not show John to have accomplished anything special while as a guard and in fact, dying of a heart attack at an early age while on duty at the White House. Not an impressive career for a family rich in endeavors and making money. So was the legacy of John Groff until extensive research uncovered what really occurred while he was a Washington, DC policeman.
The nations of Europe were at war with each other in 1914, just as they had been for centuries. The United States wanted to remain neutral and it did for years due to the calm attitude of the country’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson. But oh, how different the United States and the world may have been if it had not been for the heroic actions of one traffic policeman on the Washington, DC force.
Woodrow Wilson had recently been sworn in on March 4, 1913, as the nation's chief executive and had worked hard to set up his cabinet and work towards new legislation. He had many ideas on his mind and several things to consider in his New Freedom campaign for the country. One way President Wilson found to unwind from the problems of the day was by going for brisk walks in the evening along the streets of Washington.
It was a late summer evening on September 6, 1913, when the President headed out of the White House accompanied by Dr. Cary T. Grayson, the White House physician. The two gentlemen walked several blocks unnoticed. As they walked up F Street they started in a diagonal fashion across Fifteenth Street towards G Street. A motor vehicle was driving at a safe speed on Fifteenth Street at the same moment. The driver did not see the two pedestrians and the two walkers did not see the vehicle which was coming up behind them. In a flash, DC police officer, John Groff, was on the scene to render assistance. He instantly stepped between the pedestrians and the vehicle and waived at the auto driver to immediately stop his vehicle. The driver reacted to the officer’s frantic motions and barely managed to halt the car in time, just a few feet away from striking the President. If it had not been for the quick actions of Officer Groff, the new President could have been seriously injured or killed.
This small heroic achievement may have saved the United States from an early entrance into World War I, preserved the conception of Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the formation of the League of Nations. The question arises just how extensive would world events have been altered if President Wilson had been struck that September evening.
The narrow escape by the President and the quick action of Officer Groff was witnessed by onlookers and documented in the newspapers over the next couple of days. It is not known if a special certificate was awarded to John Groff for his heroic deed but he must have taken great personal pride in his knowledge that he saved the life of a United States President.
To search for the deeds of John Groff, first a check of the Washington, DC police force personnel records was done. There was documentation of his serving as a policeman from 1901 to his death in 1921. Then newspaper archives were checked for his name during his service period. Articles were located about John being a jailer in communities in Maryland, then a deputy sheriff in Frederick and even his acceptance as a Washington, DC police officer. His being a deputy sheriff was not known by later family members. There were listings of Groff being the police officer on duty for certain occasions in and around Washington but then the articles surfaced about the September 6, 1913 incident with President Wilson. Several different articles in Washington and Frederick documented the events. So great granduncle John, in his own way had achieved some greatness and certainly made future family generations very proud of his heroism.
Sources: Family vital records, US census 1880-1920, Washington, DC police records.
Washington Post Newspaper , Washington, DC, September 8, 1913, page 8.
The Daily News, Frederick, MD, September 8, 1913, page 6.
CHAPTER 2
REVOLUTIONARY AIDE TO WASHINGTON
When personal family history can date back over two hundred years in America some ancestors may take on a “bigger than life” status. Their accomplishments were magnified over the decades and have been accepted as truth. There was the family legend of Sgt. Lawrence (also spelled Laurence) Everhart of Maryland during America’s fight for independence from Great Britain between 1776 and 1783. The legend was that he enlisted as a young man in 1776 and remained a soldier throughout the length of the war until he was discharged in 1783. He fought bravely in many battles including the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. But the two most notable events to the legend were when Everhart was taken prisoner and unknowingly presented to notorious British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The British officer stated, “I am Colonel Tarleton, Sir!” to which the American patriot retorted, “And I am Sgt. Everhart!”. The other major element in the family legend was that Sgt. Everhart served during the war as the personal aide to General George Washington, commander of the American forces.
Investigation revealed that this ancestor’s tale begins when the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from England in July 1776. Lawrence Everhart was a strong, tall and brave young man ready to help secure the colonies’ independence and to become a new nation. He enlisted as a private (age 21) on August 1, 1776, at Taneytown in Maryland with the Militia Company, The Flying Camp, headed by Capt. Jacob Goode. The next day he began his great adventure and his chance to be a part of history in the making. He first marched to Annapolis, Maryland, and then on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for training. Lawrence was then assigned to General Beall in New York. His first battle was at White Plains in New York and where he had his first taste of retreat as the forces backed off and headed for Ft. Washington. But after reaching the fort, Lawrence was taken prisoner along with the other troops. No one was going to hold this patriot, so along with several others he escaped from the British guards and made it to Ft. Lee.
After Ft. Lee he went on to Hackensack, New Jersey. There Lawrence met with General George Washington on the front porch of his headquarters. The General was extremely upset with the lack of trained soldiers and supplies provided by the Continental Congress. Lawrence stated that Washington was frustrated to the point of tears. Lawrence could see how personally concerned the General was in getting the necessary military troops and provisions if the rebellion from Britain was to succeed. From Hackensack, Lawrence was sent to Morristown and then on to Elizabethtown, where he was discharged from The Flying Camp after serving his required enlisted time. But he came back very shortly to the regiment and remained with the officers to provide assistance to them. He recognized that every man served a purpose and he wanted to do what he could for the cause.
After General George Washington was successful at Trenton, New Jersey, Lawrence arrived in Philadelphia again to support the officers, and lingered until the spring of 1777. Lawrence returned to his home in Frederick County, Maryland, to lend a hand to his family, and remained until after harvest time of 1778. But the American colonies were still fighting the British and Lawrence wanted to return. That inner drive, that spark of patriotism drove him to return each time and kept him from turning his back on his new nation in its time of need.
He enlisted again under Captain Swan with the Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Washington (a cousin of General George Washington) in Fredericktown, Maryland. By March 1779, he was marching with Lt. Col. William Washington as a Sergeant of the Cavalry and as an aide to Washington traveling towards Fredericksburg, then to Petersburg. When Lt. Col. Washington had to go farther north for meetings, Sgt. Everhart was an aide to Capt. Stith. At the end of 1779, Sgt. Everhart once again became Lt. Col. William Washington’s personal aide.
In April 1780, the Cavalry was in Charlestown and Dorchester, South Carolina. There were skirmishers with the British led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and Lawrence was slightly wounded at Stony Church. Other battles included those at Monks Corner, Buford’s Defeat, and Rugley’s Mill. But the end of 1780 and on into January of 1781 set the stage for a major conflict between the patriots, the loyalists, and the British forces. That was when Lawrence would face his greatest encounter.
Lt. Col. Tarleton was pushing General Daniel Morgan’s forces from the back country of South Carolina amidst terrible rainstorms in mid-January. A stand was finally made by General Morgan at Cowpens, a crossroads and grazing area near the Green River Road. Morgan put out the call for the militia to assist him at Cowpens. By the morning of January 17th, Lt. Col. Tarleton had his artillery ready and his Dragoons on either side. He pushed the British regulars forward only followed by the feared Dragoons with their sabers. It was then that Lt. Col. William Washington's Cavalry came charging into the battlefield. The British Dragoons were taken by surprise and the British suffered several casualties in the clash.
Sgt. Everhart was with the Cavalry in that charge when a bullet hit him in the right elbow and his horse was shot from under him. He subsequently received a smashing blow to the head with a saber. Dazed by the blow he was captured early that morning by Quartermaster Wade of the British Army. He was taken and presented before a British officer. Sgt. Everhart asked if General Morgan and Lt. Col. Washington had been captured. Everhart expressed his belief that the fighting would continue even if there were only 200 men left and that he “hoped to God that it would be another Tarleton defeat”. To that the British officer replied, “I am Colonel Tarleton, Sir!” The American patriot’s firm retort was, “And I am Sgt. Everhart!”. Colonel Tarleton must have been impressed with the young patriot’s attitude, because with Everhart’s open bleeding head and elbow wounds evident, the Colonel immediately dismissed Everhart to be cared for by the British surgeon. Afterward, he was released and returned to Lt. Col. Washington’s camp. There, he learned how Morgan’s forces had broken the British charge and had turned the tide of the battle. Many British redcoats surrendered and Lt. Col. Tarleton, along with some of his men, fled down the Green River Road. It was Lt. Col. Washington who pursued Tarleton, engaging in hand to hand combat. But Tarleton managed to escape and headed back to General Cornwallis’ camp with news of the defeat.
Sgt. Everhart went on with the Cavalry to Guliford Courthouse for further medical care. By March, the patriots were engaged in the Battle at Guliford Courthouse, with hundreds of British soldiers killed or wounded, as Everhart recovered from his earlier wounds. The Sergeant was later sent to Yorktown, Virginia and had the opportunity to meet General LaFayette from France. He remained there through the surrender period involving General George Washington and British General Cornwallis on October 18, 1781.
Everhart returned to his home in Frederick County, Maryland, at the end of October. Within the next month he received a letter from Colonel Bayler to return to his former regiment to assist Bayler at Petersburg, Virginia. Before going, he married his longtime sweetheart, Mary Anna Beckenbaugh, in Middletown, Maryland. Lawrence Everhart was finally discharged during the late summer of 1782 and returned back to Frederick County, Maryland, by September.
Lawrence Everhart was not a “sunshine patriot”, but one who stayed and returned again when needed. He stood his ground even when faced with the enemy. He was, and remained, a true soldier for independence. Family legend was partially correct about his bravery and his military service for most of the war. In depth research, however, made it possible to fill in the extraordinary details. He was, in reality, the aide to William Washington, not George Washington, even through he had met General George Washington on several occasions. Nothing can take away from his service to this new nation in its time of need and the Everhart family for generations can be truly proud of its war hero.
To research details of Sgt. Everhart’s military service, my best source was the Federal Pension Records (#W. 9431), completed in April 1834, by Lawrence Everhart’s verbal accounting of his military service for his pension application. True, his oral accounts were years after the war, but his reputation had already been well established in Maryland. Copies of the handwritten details of his military responsibilities were acquired from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and proved to be a great resource. It took careful reading to follow the many hand written pages but it proved worthwhile. Also, reading the book Revolutionary Patriots of Frederick County by Henry C. Peden, Jr., which included the section titled, “Sgt. Lawrence Everhart (1755 -1840)”, was very helpful. Research was done on some of the various militia companies, commanders, and battles Sgt. Everhart was connected with to assure that dates and events matched his written version. Sources included various web sites on the Internet covering individuals such as Lt. Col. William Washington and British officer Lt. Col. Tarleton, for background information.
Sources: National Archives Pension and Military Records on Sgt. Lawrence Everhart (#W. 9431), Revolutionary Patriots of Frederick County by Henry C. Peden, Jr., Internet web sites on American Revolution - its battles and generals.
CHAPTER 3
A TWENTY DOLLAR MATCH
Henry was the only son of the senior Henry Sherman family and inherited the large 200 acre family farm in Manheim, York County, Pennsylvania, during the last quarter of the 19th century. This large piece of Pennsylvania land had been in the Sherman family for decades. Henry, the only son, had a son of his own, so it was thought the land would continue in the family. The family myth was that the Sherman property remained in the family with Henry’s descendants into the 20th century. Discovery of two articles written back in May 1906 from the town of Hanover and for York County opened the doors to learning what really happened to the Sherman property.
Henry was not only the lone son but also the youngest of the seven children. After his father’s death, as executor, he made sure that his sisters received their rightful share in money as promised by their father. Once his obligations were fulfilled, Henry figured he had it made. Now being a wealthy landowner, with a large home, he had plenty of hired help to take care of all his own family’s needs. By the end of the 19th century his opulence lifestyle also included showing off how wealthy he was to his friends by lighting his cigars with a crisp twenty dollar bill. As his smoking habit increased, so did his wild spending adventures in the towns of Hanover, York, Gettysburg, and Harrisburg. There were, over the years, many doomed speculations, rash business ventures, and overall reckless spending with no thought to the future. His wife, Catherine, and their five children never knew where he was or questioned how he spent the family money.
When his mounting debt finally surpassed his income and the Sherman family farm had to be sold at a Sheriff's auction, Henry's family knew they were in a grim financial situation. Pride kept them from asking for assistance from relatives or even letting them know of the critical situation but what were they to do for support ?
If Henry had been very foolish and irresponsible before, he only became worst as a penniless, broken man. There was not adequate food or shelter for the family; they were looked down on with pity by their neighbors. Henry felt since he could not earn necessary funds, his only recourse was to steal money for his family.
On Friday night, May 4, 1906, he was discovered tampering with the safe in the office of Bowman and Huff Cigar Factory on York Street of Hanover, Pennsylvania. He managed to escape from the shop but was later captured and arrested by Hanover Police Officer Dutters. He was put in the York County jail on Sunday, May 6th. When Catherine was notified of her husband’s arrest the family shame was almost too much for her to endure. She and a couple of her younger children now had to move in with a married daughter’s family just for survival. She also tried to secure an attorney to represent her husband in court.
The next couple of weeks were very hard on Henry, both physically and mentally. He already suffered from asthma and had a heart condition. He knew he had totally disappointed his family and disgraced the Sherman family name. It was Wednesday, May 26th, around 4 PM, when he suffered a fatal heart attack while in jail. Henry’s last words, overheard by the jailer, were, “Here's where I get some of that good bread, the kind that mother used to bake." He was pronounced dead by York County Coroner David H. Smyser.
When word of his death spread to the other family members they all donated money to insure that he had a proper burial. Catherine remained living with her daughter, Lydia and son-in-law in nearby McSherrystown. But bad luck continued to haunt the Sherman family. Only five weeks later, Catherine’s daughter, Lydia, died of pulmonary tuberculosis.
The opening decade of the 20th century reflected the strict social structure of a Victorian and Edwardian time. This was especially evident in the small towns along the southern border of Pennsylvania. The head of the household was the husband and he “could do no wrong“. Well, this was not always the situation and most of the time the “sins” of the husband were paid many times over by the wife and the children in the social disgrace they faced for years. The shame of the truth may have given rise to this family myth that the original Sherman property was still in the family’s hands.
Sources: Thursday, May 31, 1906, York County newspaper-Sentinel and Hanover Herald, Sun., May 27, 1906. US Census records for 1870-1910.
CHAPTER 4
MARRIAGE TO AN INDIAN PRINCESS
When doing family research many family legends have to be approached with a bit of skepticism. This cynicism is especially true if the legend involves a Native American Indian princess marrying an American colonist. To say such events never happened would be incorrect, but they were very rare and not accepted by colonial society. Plus, the concept that the native Indian was also the daughter of a Chief raises even more red flags. So the family legend of a very early male ancestor of the Plymouth Colony marrying an Indian princess did warrant further investigation.
The story had been repeated for countless generations and well into the 20th century about the ancestor, Gabriel Wheldon, coming from England between 1629 and 1630, to settle in the established Plymouth Colony. He was a recent widower, Mary Davis was his first wife, with several young children to raise on his own after her early death. So the story goes that he took as his second wife the daughter of the brother of the Chief of the neighboring Wampanag Indian Tribe. Her given name was Margaret but no “Indian name” was ever known.
Since Puritan society would not have look favorably on such a union the possibility seemed remote. Checking Gabriel’s will of 1655, he left all of his property to his second wife, Margaret, to which his adult children from his first marriage protested. It appears that they were even ready to take Margaret to court over the estate when she decided to embark on a ship headed for England. Taking all her possessions she apparently had no intention of ever returning to the Colony. On the same ship was Rev. Marmaduke Mathews of Wales along with his wife, Elizabeth. A Mr. Mathews was one of the witnesses when Gabriel signed his will. Whether Margaret was related to Rev. Mathews is still unknown. But, it raises suspicion that she would have left the Plymouth Colony or North America to live the rest of her life in England if she was not originally from Europe.
So the descendants of Gabriel Wheldon were all from his first marriage to Mary Davis. The youngest of Gabriel’s children was born about 1628, before his arrival in Plymouth about 1629. There were no other records of additional children born to Gabriel and Margaret. If there had been, they would surely have been mentioned in his will, as was the practice in the 1600s. So my best conclusion is that there were no descendants in the long family line that can truly claim a Wampanag Indian princess as their mother.
Sources: Family History Center - International Genealogical Index (IGI), Internet web sites on Plymouth Colony during 17th century, Internet web sites on Gabriel Wheldon, Internet web sites on town of Yarmouth and Barnstable County on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The History of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633-1785.
CHAPTER 5
VERDICT FOR THE VETERAN
The list of accomplishments for this young immigrant were impressive and family members had a right to be proud but there was also a hint of some scandal, something he did, about which there was very little discussion. John James Barnes (original spelling “Baris or Baniene”) came with his parents and siblings in October 1882, from their village in Lithuania, to start a new life, an opportunity not available back in Europe. The family selected the rural central Pennsylvanian area of Mount Carmel because of the large Lithuanian population that had already settled in the community. The workers required in the coal mines were another motivation for the family settling in Mount Carmel. John was able to attend school and learned English very quickly.
He grew up very proud of being in his new homeland and took the opportunity to serve his community, state, and nation as a volunteer during the Spanish American War. He was a private with Company “B“, Infantry, Second Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers in Cuba between 1898 and 1900. Upon his return to Mount Carmel in late 1900, John was welcomed back as a hometown hero. He resumed working in the coal mines and started to make a life for himself.
In addition to his earlier military service, John volunteered again between 1917 and 1919 while the United States fought in the Great War (World War I). John fulfilled his military duty with the Company C, the 14th Regiment of Pennsylvania and served honorably. After the war, he returned to Mount Carmel, for the second time, a hometown hero, especially within the Lithuanian neighborhood. These accomplishments were known to the family over the decades and served as a source of enormous pride, but little, if anything, was known about a wife or his life between 1900 and 1917. All that was ever mentioned was that John served his nation twice and that was it. To learn more about those unknown years, I started researching local newspapers in the Northumberland County area, since he had been a local hero. In deed, that research revealed some interesting events.
The summer of 1913 turned out to be a major turning point in John’s life. It started as a warm June night, the skies above were clear with the brilliant stars scattered across the heavens. Inside a neighborhood dining parlor along North Coal Street that night, a couple sat staring only into each others’ eyes. There was no view of the outside for them; in fact they preferred to be concealed from any observant eyes. Theirs was a surreptitious meeting, one with whispers and stolen moments. To the uninformed, this couple may have been any adult pair out for dinner in this small Pennsylvania town of Shenandoah on a Saturday evening, but they truly had reason to be on guard. There was Patrick Kerns, a young man of thirty years, a native of Pennsylvania, and highly respected in the William Penn community. Patrick was keeping company with Edith Hulcey Barnes, a thirty-two year old native of Pottsville. But this night’s dinner was not their first time together. Nearly a year earlier they had met when Edith moved into the basement apartment of Patrick’s home in William Penn Township. Patrick was immediately enthralled with Edith, the way she talked, her sparkling eyes and quick wit. Only problem was that Edith was also a married woman. Her husband was John James Barnes, of Mount Carmel, now age forty. They had been married since November of 1910 and were now living in Kerns’ basement apartment. Patrick was well aware of her marital status, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter to Patrick, he just had to be near her whenever possible.
Edith did not halt any of Patrick’s advances, despite her being John Barnes’ bride of only 30 months. In fact, she loved the attention this new suitor showered on her. Over the months that followed, regardless of their concealed affair, John learned of the advances Patrick made toward his wife. John laid sole blame on Patrick for trying to entice Edith away from him. There were many heated arguments between Edith and John, each one hinged around Patrick. Edith was truly torn, believing in her heart she was still in love with her husband, but also very much enchanted with this younger man. She needed some time to think things over. The couple decided to move away from William Penn Township and resettle in the neighboring town of Shenandoah but each would have their own residence. Edith and John would not live together for awhile to see how things developed.
As the third part of this love triangle, Patrick was extremely distressed with the Barnes’ moving out of town. At first, he thought he might be able to forget about Edith, but his heart overtook any better judgment he may have had at the time. He remembered every aspect of her entire being and remembered every moment they had spent together. No matter what it cost him, Patrick was resolved to seek Edith out and to be with her.
Even with the separation from her husband and time away from Patrick, Edith was still confused weeks later. Then Patrick contacted her and pleaded with her to meet him at Paskey’s Dining Parlor in Shenandoah that Saturday night, June 14th. Missing his romantic advances, she agreed to the late night dinner. What neither of them knew was that John had learned of this secret dinner, also. While they thought their identities were a secret behind a screen in the restaurant, John had discovered the couple. He entered the establishment, marched past the host, and confronted Edith and Patrick. All of John’s rage was directed at Patrick, as he blamed him for alienating his wife. Patrick was told he had been the cause of their moving, and then their separation, and John demanded that he leave immediately. Patrick was unshaken by this verbal outburst and absolutely refused to leave. To stop any further scenes in the public restaurant, John hastily exited the front door. Edith now saw Patrick as her knight in shining armor for the way he had stood up to her husband. Unconcerned, the twosome continued with their meal and conversation for a couple of hours.
In John’s departure from the restaurant he felt that his world and life had been destroyed, possibly ruined beyond any repair. Not only had his wife been estranged from him by Patrick, but his public display was now well known in this small town. His thoughts and feelings seemed to be bouncing off the walls within his skull and he was losing any rational control. He raced back to his boarding house and into his room. John thrust his arm under the mattress and retrieved a .38 caliber revolver and rushed back outside. He quickly walked the several blocks back to North Coal Street and to the restaurant. But he did not enter again, instead choosing to wait for the couple to emerge.
Perspiration ran down his face as John waited for them to depart the establishment. Over and over again, his mind’s eye was seeing Edith with this other man. He envisioned Patrick holding her hands and stroking her hair. The imagined scenes were becoming too much for him to tolerate as the minutes he waited seemed like hours. Then the entrance door opened and Patrick held it steady as Edith exited. They were arm and arm, giggling softly and whispering to each other as they walked towards the street. John stepped out of the dark shadows to confront Patrick. John accused Patrick of aliening his wife’s affections. Again, John demanded that Patrick leave Edith alone, but Patrick fully refused. At that moment John pulled his revolver from his coat and immediately fired two shots in their direction. The first bullet tore into Patrick’s chest very near his heart. The second shot ripped into Edith’s skirt, barely grazing her hip, but did not hit her directly.
The immediate reaction from the couple was to escape. Edith ran as quickly as she could down Coal Street. Despite having a bullet in him, Patrick ran down Bear Valley Street until he dropped on the road in front of a garage from loss of blood. Two men on the street near the scene swiftly grabbed John Barnes and yanked the gun out of his hand. The local police were notified and arrived on the scene. After hearing what had happened, they detained John, located Edith on Coal Street, and transported Patrick to Dr. Grubler’s medical office. But it was too late for Mr. Kerns; he died of his wound at the doctor’s office within a few minutes of his arrival.
Chief of Police Walsh arrived and took charge of the murder scene. He questioned John Barnes, his wife, Edith, pedestrians on the street and patrons from the restaurant. Chief Walsh then placed John under arrest for murder, after word was received of Patrick Kerns’ death. The Chief also arrested Edith Barnes, so she could be held as a material witness. A preliminary hearing was held the next day, Sunday, before Justice Bernstein, on the charges. John pleaded not guilty and a jury trial was set for September of that year. The Barnes’ shared an attorney, Mr. J. J. Bell. No bail was set for John and a $500 bail was paid for Edith and she was released. News of the murder and John’s arrest made the newspapers across a broad area including Adams, Schuylkill, and Northumberland counties.
There was only about eight weeks before the September 4th start of John’s murder trial, which would be held in Pottsville. Two attorneys were used for John’s defense, Mr. Beecher and Mr. Mahoney, and together they needed to be prepared for this first-degree murder case. On Thursday morning, September 4th, John and his defense team were ready. After a jury was selected, the defense and prosecution teams began their opening statements. Barnes’ attorneys spoke to the jury about the humiliation that John had suffered as Patrick Kerns alienated his wife’s affections. John felt he was justified because even after moving away, Kerns pursued his wife. Later in the trial, John gave testimony that he was merely defending his own life because he believed that Kerns was about to pull a revolver and shoot him while they spoke outside the restaurant. Unfortunately, no gun was found on Kerns, but the defense speculated that Patrick may have gotten rid of his own gun when he ran away from the scene.
Edith was also called to the stand to tell what happened that June night. Her testimony confirmed John’s feelings that Kerns wanted to have Edith all to himself with John out of the picture. The trial in No. 2 courtroom continued all day on Thursday, and into Friday and Saturday. Late Saturday, the jury was given the case to make their final verdict. The Honorable Judge Koch gave his finally instructions to the jury advising that they could find John Barnes innocent of all charges, guilty of first-degree murder, guilt of second-degree murder, or manslaughter.
John waited nervously in his jail cell, counting off the minutes in his head. His mother and siblings waited in the halls of the Courthouse, each silently saying their prayers for his acquittal. Before midnight, the jury sent a message to the judge that they had reached a verdict. Judge Koch immediately called court back into session to hear the verdict. John, with sweaty palms, stood alongside his attorneys as he heard from the foreman of the jury. The verdict was read aloud finding, John James Barnes guilty of voluntary manslaughter and thus sparing him from Pennsylvania’s electric chair. But the final outcome was still bittersweet for John. He had to serve 28 months in a state prison, and Edith divorced him. In the end, he still would not have the woman for whom he had killed a man.
John was released from prison on October 21, 1915, returned to his hometown of Mount Carmel, and again became a coal miner. He served during the Great War, from 1918 - 1919, with Company C, the 14th Regiment of Pennsylvania and was welcomed back home again as a military veteran. He returned to the coal mines but died of heart disease and hypertension on June 30, 1934, and was buried in the Mount Carmel Cemetery. Many of the people of Mount Carmel during those years appeared to have forgiven John for his violent actions of June 1913, possibly because of his other accomplishments. Today, we know the complete story of this veteran, his personal struggles, and the price he ultimately paid for his actions.
Sources: US Census records 1880 - 1930, National Archives Immigration microfilm #459, Line 23. Pennsylvania marriage record for John and Edith in 1910. A Pennsylvanian roster of Spanish American veterans.
Newspaper articles of 1913 (Pottsville Republican, Monday, June 16, 1913, Pottsville, PA and Mt. Carmel, PA newspaper articles for June 16, 1913, June 17, 1913, September 5, 1913, September 8, 1913. Gettysburg Times, Gettysburg, PA for June 16, 1913) and Mt. Carmel newspaper for July 2, 1934. Pennsylvania -death certificate for John James Barnes - 1934.
CHAPTER 6
WOODFIN SULLIVAN - A VIOLENT DEATH
The family lore passed down about Woodfin Sullivan in Florida, was that he was killed in 1935 during one of his drunken temper rages. The tale varied as to the details. One story was that he was fighting with a brother-in-law in Palmdale, Florida, then fatally shot by his father-in-law. A second story had Woodfin fatally shot during bar fight in Okeechobee or Kissimmee. A variation to the bar fight killing was that Woodfin’s death was also witnessed by his young son.
It was not until I did research for the Sullivan family, in Martin County, Florida, that the truth was finally uncovered. I started with the public library’s microfilm copies of local newspapers from 1935. It appears Woodfin did have a temper and was violent at times, based on newspaper police reports of his domestic violence. He had been arrested in the summer of 1935 for the mistreatment of his wife while they lived in Port Mayaca, Florida. After appearing in a West Palm Beach courtroom for those charges on October 16, 1935, he arrived at his home in Port Mayaca in the early morning hours. He became enraged that his wife was no where to be found. In truth, she had left earlier in the day to stay with friends in Okeechobee, some twenty miles away.
He had been drinking heavily and began shouting at the top of his voice as he stood in the dirt road of this small fishing village. He then proceeded across the street to the home of W. M. Lucius, a 70-year-old farmer in Port Mayaca. Woodfin banged on his door, waking Lucius up. Woodfin demanded to know where his wife was. Lucius called back through the door that he didn’t know where she had gone. Woodfin continued banging on the door as Lucius warned him to stay out. They continued yelling at each other as Lucius double-bolted his front door.
Another neighbor heard the commotion and came over to convince Woodfin to leave. Now infuriated, Woodfin returned to his house and obtained a machete. Woodfin marched back across the street and with one swift kick knocked in the door to Lucius’ house wielding the machete. Lucius hysterically warned Woodfin to stay out or he would kill him. Woodfin, however, moved forward. Lucius then fired his shotgun directly into Woodfin’s face. Woodfin immediately dropped to the floor, dead. Lucius remained there with the body until Martin County Sheriff deputies arrived. The deputies made a “technical arrest” of Lucius until the Coroner’s report was complete a few days later. The Coroner’s Jury called the shooting “justifiable homicide” and Lucius was released.
So, Woodfin Sullivan’s death, at the age of 38, had been violent and due solely to his own drunken, aggressive behavior. Luckily, it was not witnessed by his young son as originally thought and Woodfin’s descendants now know and accept what really happened to their uncle and grandfather.
Sources: Stuart News, Stuart, Martin County, FL - Oct. 17 & 18, 1935
CHAPTER 7
THE PLANE CRASH
The skies over England had been filled for numerous years with planes flying overhead and massive explosions occurring on the ground, but this was war. Germany’s planes were on single-minded missions to bomb England to force their surrender during World War II, but the British were tough and giving up was not part of their nature. The shriek of a plane diving towards Earth was a signal to “take cover“. During the daylight hours of a cold and damp February 21, 1945, that buzzing sound followed by an enormous explosion was a much different noise. This time it was not a German bomb but an American P-51B-15NA military plane flying out of Wormingford Air Base in Essex County, northeast of London. That plane was now cracked, broken, strewed, and scattered over a two hundred feet area near the English countryside village of North Stifford. More heartbreaking was the fact that the pilot in that American plane had not survived. The plane was wrecked and burned beyond recognition with the left wing broken off at the fuselage and found about six hundred yards from the wreckage. The young pilot who served with the 55th Fighter Group of the 8th AAF was Lt. Samuel E. Kershaw from Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The pilot’s parents were notified of their oldest son’s death, but not given many details of just how or why the plane crashed. The U. S. military stated that the crash was still being investigated. Eventually, the family was informed that the plane crashed due to a problem with Samuel’s oxygen supply, causing him to black out and lose control. It was a huge loss for the family, which included Samuel’s younger brother, Roy, and his sister, Florence. Sam was a very kind and thoughtful person and taught Roy to play baseball, basketball, football, and golf. As an honor student, Sam graduated from high school in 1939. He went on to business school and worked part-time at a Sunoco service station until 1941. Sam then worked in a war plant for over a year before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in February of 1943. He had flight training in North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama before being sent overseas to England for additional training. That was why he was flying over the English countryside that February morning, practicing maneuvers in the P-51B plane.
His body was recovered and sent back to Pennsylvania, where he was buried at the American Legion Cemetery in Doylestown. The town renamed a street in 1945, to honor their fallen hometown boy. But there were still unanswered questions for the family. Was Sam truly to blame for the crash and could it have been avoided? Family speculation and misconstrued information haunted Samuel’s relatives for decades.
More than fifty years later, an English gentleman in his mid-60s, who had seen the wreckage of Samuel’s plane in 1945, began to ask questions of his own about the crash. Being there on the scene he knew some things that the family did not know. First, it appeared Samuel had deliberately positioned the plane only moments before crashing, into an open field thereby avoiding a nearby school building. It was the conclusion of this Englishman, Ken Rydings of Essex County, that the American pilot was truly a hero, saving countless young school-age children. In the mid-1990s, a new housing development was being planned for the very site of the plane crash. Ken could not stop progress, but he felt he could honor this hero with some special plaque at the development.
He spent the next couple of years, trying to convince the developer to erect a plaque and locating additional information on the pilot. He learned Samuel’s full name and his flying squad and the location where it was based in England. But very quickly he came to a dead end, unable to discover any more about the crash or its pilot. Ken tried various military and veteran’s groups in England and the United States will little or no success. Our paths crossed when he spotted the surname “Kershaw” in an English genealogical query bulletin. I had placed the query looking for my “Kershaw” ancestors, and Ken thought that he might finally have an opportunity to learn about this American pilot. After writing to me and requesting assistance, I replied that I was not directly related to Samuel, but knew how to locate military data in the United States. Ken’s hopes swelled with anticipation at what information might be located on Samuel’s family.
Using the National Personnel Records Center of Military Personnel in St. Louis, Missouri, I submitted a request for Samuel’s military records. The response from the Personnel Records Department included copies of the Master Index Card and payroll sheets on Lt. Samuel E. Kershaw. Most importantly, the Master Index Card confirmed Samuel’s death date and provided his birth date and the family hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Next was to try to locate any living relatives of Lt. Samuel Kershaw, who might still be living in Doylestown nearly fifty-four years later. Using the Internet search engines, one name and address appeared, that of Mary Lou Kershaw of Doylestown. A letter was immediately sent to her, explaining the quest by Mr. Rydings in England and asking for any assistance she could provide. Within a week, a reply arrived from Mary. She wrote that her ex-husband, Roy P. Kershaw, was the younger brother of Samuel. Information in the letter was that Samuel also had a sister named Florence Lees who now lives in South Carolina, and Roy was retired and living in North Carolina. Samuel’s parents were Sam and Mary Kershaw, both deceased. Mary remembered that Roy had told her how the family had been very grief-stricken on hearing of Samuel’s death in 1945, and had always wondered what really happened that February morning. In her letter she included both Roy and Florence’s current mailing addresses.
After contacting Roy Kershaw, details and photos were now forthcoming about the American pilot, Lt. Samuel Kershaw, the American pilot, so that a proper plaque could be erected. In addition, the housing development company had the main entrance road to the housing development named “Kershaw Close”, in honor of this hero. The plaque and road sign unveiling took place on September 3, 1999.
From the research Ken had done, the Kershaw family learned that the crash may have been due to faulty metal structure of the plane. Also that Samuel was conscientious enough, even while facing his own certain death, to turn the plane away from the school building and into the open field. Samuel’s relatives now knew the truth about the crash, but even more, they learned of how much a hero he truly was and of his ultimate sacrifice. They were extremely touched by the permanent and lasting tribute created by Ken Rydings and this small English village.
Sources: National Personnel Records Center of Military Personnel in St. Louis, Missouri, Switchboard Internet site for names and addresses.
Story published in “IN SEARCH OF OUR ANCESTORS - 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection in Rediscovering Our Family History , editor Megan Smolenyak, Adams Media Corp, published in April 2000. “Gone But Not Forgotten” on pages 167 - 168. “Recognizing An American Hero”, published by ANCESTRY MAGAZINE, My Family.Com, Inc., North Provo, Utah. Volume 22, No. 1, Jan.- Feb. 2004 Issue, pages 62 – 64.
CHAPTER 8
A FAMILY BRAND
Various family surnames are immediately associated with well known customer products, for example: Eastman, Heinz, and Kraft, to name a few. So with the surname “Musselman” and origins in Pennsylvania, a major family legend was that the family had an ancestor (supposedly a great, great uncle) who started and owned the famous Musselman Applesauce and Apple Butter Company of Pennsylvania. Even when grocery shopping, there was no other brand of applesauce and apple butter purchased but “Musselman”, “just to keep it in the family”. Of course, the legend did include the fact that total Musselman family ownership was sold years ago because the company grown so substantially. The one problem, the legend never clarified what happened to all the money earned from the sale of the company.
To investigate this legend it made sense to contact with the present-day company to find out their history. The response from a company representative produced no information on their history. In checking other Musselman query sites on the Internet I found that anyone with a “Musselman” surname on their family tree felt they were also directly related to the founders of the company. While researching the Musselman name and the applesauce product, I discovered another researcher’s information on the origins of the company.
Jan Hall had in depth research into the early beginnings of the company in Biglerville, Adams County, Pennsylvania, to find the original owners. Sometime between 1905 and 1907, John S. Musselman, Sr. (a Mennonite), and his sons, purchased a small failing vegetable and fruit canning plant in Biglerville. John had experience with fruit canning because he already had a small fruit plant in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He soon brought in his son, Christian H. Musselman, and his daughter-in-law, Emma G. Musselman, to assist in the management and production of the canning plant. The couple’s tremendous effort apparently paid off because the plant became the leader in the production of apple products. Christian’s father and brother soon sold their interest in the company to Christian and Emma.
By 1912, a second plant was opened in Gardners, Pennsylvania. Even during the Great War, 1917 - 1919, their plants managed to maintain a steady flow of canned fruit, in spite of wartime shortages of necessary fuel and equipment. In the early 1920s, Christian and Emma created a third plant in West Virginia, and added apple butter, cherries, peaches, and tomatoes to their canned products. The company continued to succeed even after Christian Musselman’s death in 1944. It was Emma Musselman, along with her children, who assisted in running the business. The Musselman Company merged with Pet Milk Company in 1961, and then was purchased by IC Industries in 1979. The Musselman Division was sold in 1981 to private owners, who changed the name to Musselman's Fruit Products. Knouse Foods purchased the Musselman Fruit Products in 1984 and have held it ever since. Best of all, the Knouse Foods Company is still making many of the Musselman products just as they were decades earlier by Christian and Emma.
To further verify that there was no direct relationship between Christian H. Musselman and his ancestors and our branch of Musselmans, I researched and followed Christian’s line back to his father, John, to his grandfather, Christian, and to his great grandfather, Samuel Musselman (also spelled Mussleman and Mupselman). The US census records and the Family History Center records of IGI (International Genealogical Index) covered the decades of Christian’s ancestors. The line went back to Christian H. Musselman's 6th great-grandfather, Christian Musselman (Mosiman), born 1633 in Lauperswil, Bern, Switzerland. None of these individuals or their siblings coincided with our branch of Musselmans. This is not to say there is no relative related as possibly a sixth great uncle somewhere, but no known direct or indirect lineage was located. It was in fact a family myth that our branch of Musselmans had founded the Musselman Applesauce Empire.
Sources: 1850 - 1930 US Census, Family History Center (IGI records), Title: Emigrants, Refugees and Prisoners; Richard Warren Davis, 1995. Research (Musselman) from Jan Hall on her Internet site.
CHAPTER 9
WRONG SHERMAN, WRONG WAR
Numerous family legends involve not only a famous individual, but also an infamous military battle and tend to be the tales repeated countless times, generation after generation. This was the situation concerning the Sherman family of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The family’s claim to fame was that they were directly related to General William T. Sherman, famous for his burning of Atlanta, the march across Georgia to the sea, and his destructive path over North and South Carolina during the American Civil War.
No one was sure how the family was directly related, or which individual was a descendant, but they were confident it was the same family. The story was so ingrained that if an individual were visiting or living anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line, they were careful not to mention the “Sherman” name for fear that a native Southerner would be able to tie them directly to General William T. Sherman and therefore exhibit disgust towards them. For decades there was only one answer to the question, "Who was and still is the most hated and despised man in the history of Georgia?". The reply would have to be, “General William T. Sherman“.
To begin proving or disproving the legend, the research started with William Tecumseh Sherman, a native of Ohio. I learned that William’s parents came from Connecticut and had moved to the frontier of Ohio, about 1815. His branch of the Sherman family had lived for nearly two hundred years in the New England area, originally coming from England. William and his wife, Ellen, had eight children, four daughters and four sons, but none of the sons had sons to carry on the Sherman name. Knowing that our Sherman relatives, since the late 18th century, were all from south central Pennsylvania and north central Maryland, it appeared very unlikely that it was the same branch of Shermans.
But, as with any family myth, there appears to be some thread of truth hidden in the story. Checking back with the known Shermans of the 20th century and moving backward into the 19th century, the spelling of the surname remained the same. Not until the first half of the 1800s was there a variation detected in the spelling, mainly using; “Scherman“, “Shirman”, and “Schirmann”. These are recognized as German, Swiss or Austrian spellings, not English. By checking the US census, from 1900 back to 1790, the Sherman family had remained in the same area; predominantly in the Berks, York, and Adam Counties of Pennsylvania.
The original Pennsylvania Sherman ancestor was George Jacob Scherman, who was born in Pfalz, Bayern, Germany, and immigrated in 1749, arriving in Philadelphia on the ship "Lydia". Using land records (Berks County, Pennsylvania Land Warrants and Pennsylvania Archives - the Third Series), I learned that George purchased property in Berks County and married a woman born in the county (Christ Church and Christ Church Cemetery records in Pennsylvania). They had four known children between 1752 and 1768, some born in Berks and others later in York County. With America’s War for Independence, George Scherman, then a man in his 50s, served as a private with the 4th Co., York County Militia. His son, Conrad Sherman, also was very active in the war (Pennsylvania Archives, Edition of 1907, Vol. 5, pp 149, 150).
In 1776, Conrad Sherman served as a sergeant with Capt. John Lesher's Company (part of Colonel John Patton's Battalion, known as German Battalion, Heidelberg Brigade), organized of men from Bethel and Tulpehcoken Townships in Pennsylvania. Sgt. Conrad Sherman so distinguished himself over the next few years that he was promoted to Captain and held command of the Sixth Battalion of the Berks County Militia. He was in charge of 46 privates, 1 fifer, 1 drummer, 4 sergeants, 1 ensign, 3 corporals, and 1 lieutenant. They fought bravely in the Battle of Camden on August 15, 1780, in spite of a British victory at that battle. Even after the conclusion of the American Revolution, Conrad served with the militia in York County. By February 21, 1794, he was Lt. Colonel Conrad Sherman of the Sixth Regiment in the Brigade composed of the Militia of York County, commanded by Brigadier General Henry Miller. He remained active and served with the York Militia into the 19th century, reaching the rank of brigadier general.