Profiles

Aug 251 min read

The Art of Jacob B. Schoener

Following up on last week's post , here are some examples of Jacob's artwork. The following three works are from my personal collection....

Aug 184 min read

The Portrait & Miniature Painter

Jacob Boyer Schoener was born in Reading, PA in 1805, the eldest child of William and Catherine ( née Boyer) Schoener. By the age of...

Jul 225 min read

The Combat Engineer, Part 3

For Part 2, click here . Elmer Shaner reported to the Group Commander at Karlsruhe Airfield on 2 April 1952 and assumed command of the...

Jul 147 min read

The Combat Engineer, Part 2

For Part 1, click here. After arriving in Hampton Roads, Elmer remained there until 1 September 1945 when he received 30 days...

Jul 78 min read

The Combat Engineer, Part 1

Elmer Ellsworth Shaner was born on 3 March 1921 in Turtle Creek, PA. He was the only child of George L. and Ruby (née Ayers) Shaner. By...

Jun 305 min read

A Blue In Gray

John Monroe Blue was born March 25, 1834, four miles north of Romney, Virginia, now West Virginia, along the banks of the South Branch of...

May 53 min read

The Sheriff of Luzerne County

John Stephen Oberrender was born on 4 September 1829 in Ebersdorf in Saxe-Coburg, Germany. He was the oldest child of Johann Nicholaus...

Apr 147 min read

The Life & Times of Daniel Shaner, Jr, Part 1

Daniel Shaner, Jr. was born in Eastbrook, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania on 18 May 1845. He was the eldest son of Daniel Shaner, Sr. and...

Oct 9, 20236 min read

A Delaware Solider At Cowpens

On 9 December 1775 the Continental Congress resolved that a battalion should be raised from the lower 3 counties of Pennsylvania to serve...

Dec 19, 20225 min read

The Rise and Fall of John T. Shoener

John T. Shoener (the spelling has frequently appeared as Schoener in multiple newspaper articles) was born 5 April 1850, in South Manheim...

Oct 17, 20224 min read

A Conductor On The Underground Railroad

Abner S. Blue was born in Troy, Miami County, Ohio on 3 April 1819. His father, James, was a Justice of the Peace in Troy, an associate...

Sep 11, 20228 min read

A Quaker in Himachal Pradesh

Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr. was born on 16 August 1882 in Philadelphia, PA into a wealthy and distinguished Quaker family. His father,...

Sep 5, 20224 min read

A Union Sympathizer in North Carolina

Joseph Benfield was born on 20 August 1807 in Lincoln County, NC. He was the son of Johannes "John" Benfield, Jr. and Elizabeth (née...

Aug 8, 20225 min read

The Surveyor General

The Cortelyou family arrived in the New World in the person of young Jacques Cortelyou. He did not come because of religious...

Aug 1, 20224 min read

Thomas Fenwick: His Lands and Island

And now the continuation of story of Thomas Fenwick (for the prior post, click Here.) Thomas Fenwick, born between 1632 and 1635, was the...

May 16, 20224 min read

1870's Mahanoy City: Highway Robbery

"Schuylkill County appears to be infested with professional robbers, at least highway robbery is getting to be quite fashionable" -...

Feb 28, 20223 min read

A Curious George Goes West

Johann George Schoener was born on 3 February 1746 and baptized in the New Hanover Lutheran Church. He was baptized on 6 days later on 9...

Feb 14, 20227 min read

Hannah and William, Part 5

(Click here for Part 4) The new court convened on 15 February 1864. Before his arraignment, William again asked for the court's...

Feb 7, 20224 min read

Hannah and William, Part 4

(Click Here for Part 3) William ran away but not for long. After Abraham Bertolet's body had been carted off, he returned home. That...

Jan 31, 20226 min read

Hannah and William, Part 3

(Click here for Part 2) William left Washington, D.C. during the last days of December in the company of about twenty men. They...