Civil War

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...

Jul 4, 202312 min read

Colonel Smith And the 71st PA At Gettysburg, Part 2

The story continues. For Part 1, click here. Colonel Richard Penn Smith, Jr. was standing with General Alexander Webb near the Copse of...

Jul 3, 20238 min read

Colonel Smith And the 71st PA At Gettysburg, Part 1

A family history story in honor of the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg Richard Penn Smith, Jr. (R. Penn Smith) was born on...

Jun 18, 202312 min read

"Whose Father Was He?"

Welcome to my 200th post! Here is a story for Father's Day. Since it began by a woman honoring her father who fought during the Civil...

Nov 14, 20226 min read

The Pattons, Part 2: Brothers George & Tazewell

The story of the Patton family continues. Click here for Part 1. George Smith Patton was born 26 June 1833, in Fredericksburg, Virginia,...

Jul 3, 20227 min read

Gettysburg: The Semicentennial

This year marks the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought the from the 1st to the 3rd of July 1863. It was considered...

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...

Jan 24, 20227 min read

Hannah and William, Part 2

(Click Here for Part 1) After boarding the train, William Howe and the 116th Pennsylvania Regiment stopped in Washington, D.C. where it...

Jan 17, 20225 min read

Hannah and William, Part 1

Hannah Krebs Shaner was born 14 July 1833, the second child of Charles and Elizabeth Krebs Shaner. Her mother died on 6 March 1837. ...