USING FIND A GRAVE (FAG) IN YOUR FAMILY RESEARCH

USING FIND A GRAVE (FAG) IN YOUR FAMILY RESEARCH

 I have been asked several times recently what I think of the website Find A Grave (FAG)for helping with family research. Honestly, I think it is a wonderful tool. 

Plus if you have a desire to volunteer on your own schedule it is a great way to give back by taking photos in cemeteries or adding your own research.

However, just like on-line family trees, be careful.  Some people are very careful with the content and photos - others seem to just put anything on the memorials.  I personally think some people "collect" memorials like baseball cards.  Use the information on any memorial as a clue for more possible information.

I strongly recommend that if you will be using this site a lot to set up a free account.  While you can look around all you like without an account, if you want to add photos, request corrections, or ask that relatives memorials be transferred to you an account is necessary.  

This is how the homepage looks today (below).  The photos change based on the season. Beware that there are a lot of genealogy related ads on this site, which can slow down how long it takes to load.

Basic searching: 

Searching for a memorial can be done several ways.  I usually start with a name, death year (options are exact, before, or after) and a place (such as county and state).  Below is a very basic search for my grandfather, Ralph Groff GARNER.

This is what comes up from that basic search:

If I click on the listed memorial, this is what I see: 

This memorial has burial info, family info, photos, and connections to other family member's memorials.

Sometimes you will have to do a broader search and you will get a list of memorials instead:

If I am looking for John GROFF in Lancaster County, PA who may have died before 1840 the list will look like this. Remember this may not be a complete list as the list is based strictly on memorials that have been made based on gravestones or known people.  Not everyone has a gravestone or even a memorial.

 According to the above screen there are 6 "John GROFF's" buried in Lancaster County, PA who died before 1840.  Now I (or you) can look at the list and make some choices based on years or cemeteries. 

I (or you) look over the list and find the one "John GROFF" we are looking for.  Great! Check the info with what you have or know. Use the links to various relatives as clues for more research.  I tend to screen shot the images into a Word document and put with my research.  

What if I can't find my "John GROFF" in Lancaster County, PA?  I usually will drop the county out the search first and just do the state.  People tended to be buried close to home or at their church's graveyard which may actually be in another county. In the case of "John GROFF" when I searched for all of them in PA who died before 1840 I still only got the same 6 as the above screen.  

So I will broaden the search again to include all of the US:

This time I got 11 memorials. Besides PA, burials were in NJ, Maryland, and NY. So you can see that changing the search criteria may bring other results.  Keep trying different spellings, years, and locations.

Some tips:

• Try different spellings of the name.
• Remember that not everyone has a middle initial, or uses their first name (maybe he/she used a middle or nickname instead).  Be flexible when searching.
• Be generous with the years.  If you are looking for someone who you think died in 1842 put in 1845 and before. 
• Be flexible with locations.  There are options to search for actual cemeteries.  Or you can search by county and state, or just by state.  Thanks to volunteers around the world, there are also some non-US cemeteries on here now.  Explore and see what you can find.
• It is possible to request a correction to a family memorial.  Be polite, supply the correction, and  always explain the source for the info. 
• Remember that with the exception of the FAG staff, everybody else is a volunteer or a family member.  They have lives and may not get to your requested edit as quick as you would like.  Be patient.
• Also remember that the person who has your relative's memorial does not have to change the information on the memorial.  If you feel the info is important, it is possible to contact the staff at FAG and have them look into it.  Always be polite and patient.
• The more you explore FAG and learn, the more information you will find.

Happy Searching.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

AUNT MARY GARNER – the scandalous relative we do not discuss

 AUNT MARY GARNER – the "scandalous" relative we do not discuss 

Every family has at least one. The relative we do not discuss…

 I recently had a chance to do some research on my Gr-Aunt Mary GARNER.  I did not find her to be particularly a scandalous person, but for her time I can just imagine the gossip.

 Mary’s parents were Ben & Cora (GROFF) GARNER, who married in April 1906.  (See my blog for that story: https://lancastercountyfamilyties.blogspot.com/2020/05/garner-ralph-hoopla-around-his-birth.html ). The children of this union were:

**Ralph 1906-1986

**Mary 1908-1966

**Ella 1910-1994

**Clyde 1913-1956

**Lester 1915-2012

I do not find many photos or papers for gr-aunt Mary in either my mom’s or grandma’s photos or papers.  However, my mom had a lot of memories of visits with her, so I did not get the feeling Mary was some sort of social outcast. At least not an outcast at my grandparent’s home (which should surprise no one considering the family gossip about my grandfather). Two siblings that were close in age, and both the butt end of gossip.

I only have one photo of young Mary.  She is among numerous other GARNER relatives at a reunion in June 1923.  She would have been in her mid-teens. She had a profoundly serious look about her.

Source: my personal collection

    Growing up I knew Gr-Aunt Mary was married to Ben KREIDER and that they had no children.  But anything else was hush hush.  She was dead before any of my own memories, but I can think of many questions I would have liked to ask her if I had had the opportunity.

According to a clipping from the Lancaster New Era, Ben KREIDER and Mary GARNER married on March 24, 1928 at the parsonage of the First Methodist Church by Rev. A. M. WITWER.

Source: Ancestry & Lancaster New Era newspaper

According to some military documents that I found on Ancestry; Ben was in the Army from at least 1941-1943. Was their union already in trouble prior to him going off to war, and this was the final straw?

Going back to the Lancaster New Era newspaper, Ben KREIDER filed for divorce in Oct. 1942 on grounds of desertion.  They separated in 1940 so I would have to say there were already obvious problems before Ben went off to war.

Source: Ancestry & Lancaster New Era newspaper

    Whatever happened divorce-wise, Mary took back her maiden name.  My impression from comments made was that Mary was truly angry and bitter toward Ben until she died.

The Ben GARNER family was together on the farm in Quarryville during the summer of 1943 and took time to pose for a photo.

Source: my personal collection

This photo was taken in the mid to late 1940’s at my grandparents’ home in Lancaster, PA. Obviously Mary was welcome (despite her scandalous behavior) and was part of the family group.

Source: my personal collection

Here she is with her parents, probably on the family farm in Quarryville, PA circa 1950.

Source: My personal collection

Ben & Cora GARNER celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in April 1956. The family had a professional picture taken.  Clyde was sick with cancer at this point and would not live out the year.

Source: My personal collection

Mary died in 1966, also of cancer.  She is listed in her obit as “Miss” Mary GARNER.  There is no mention that she ever married. She worked at Hamilton Watch Factory for many years.

Source: My personal collection

Obviously, Gr-Aunt Mary worked and supported herself.  She had gotten some education and was a member of a church.  She was welcomed by family for at least some family functions.  Why did she and Ben divorce really?  She deserted him why? I do not remember her name ever mentioned with another man when she was discussed.  Whatever happened between Ben Kreider and Mary was known at the time, but not discussed to those of us who had no reason to know.

Let’s face it, every family has those relatives we do not discuss.  Sometimes why is kept quiet, other times it is common news in the papers for all to see.  Let me encourage you to just keep asking questions and keep searching. 

Before social media, people tended to regard personal privacy as a normal thing.  The why of happenings is not going to be easily found, but that does not mean the answer is not out there.

As for Mary, I am going to keep looking on Family Search and Ancestry to see what other information is available.  I will also try to order the divorce papers from the Lancaster County Archives too – who knows what information will turn up in that……

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

MY THOUGHTS FOR ON-LINE FAMILY TREES

 MY THOUGHTS FOR ON-LINE FAMILY TREES

I have been asked several times recently what I think of on-line family trees and how do I personally use them. 

First we all need to remember that on-line family trees are done by people - some do the research, and some just put on whatever they feel fits, with no research or sources.  

Second, I do look at on-line family trees, HOWEVER, I use them as clues for where to look for sources. They are great to find clues and tips, but do not take them as "fact" until you do your own research and have found enough sources to back up what is there.

Obviously, some trees are well done and have sources attached - this is very helpful.  Sometimes it can even confirm your own research. Just as obviously, some trees are just thrown up there with no research and what appears to be little thought. I recently saw one for my own family where one set of the great grandparents had married when they were in the single digit ages - obviously there is a big problem.

Below is a print off from an on-line tree for Ben MUSSELMAN I recently found on Ancestry. It actually correlates pretty well to sources and research I have done for myself. There are reliable sources attached to the tree and even  a few photos. 

However, I questioned why there would be two daughters with basically the same name - my gr-gr-grandma Lizzie MUSSELMAN (1864-1925) and another sister Lizzie (1868-1942). The second Lizzie will need some research since both grew to adulthood and had families, it is unlikely that parents would recycle a name for a living child.  

In my documentation there is a daughter named Flora who would fit in this slot so maybe Lizzie was a nickname or maybe it is a mix up on an otherwise helpful family tree. 

So what can I glean from this family tree?? Obviously there are names and dates.  I personally was struggling with the dates for Ben's parents - this tree gave me better dates to look at.  I also did not notice before that his parents died in the late 1840's, as did another set of my gr-gr-gr-grandparents who were in Lancaster County at that time.  

The death dates of Ben's parents plus another set of 3 x gr-grandparents tells me I need to do some checking on epidemics going on in Lancaster during that time. 

The photo of Ben is him in his Civil War uniform.  I already have the documents for his military service, but if I did not this would be a clear clue to be looking for those records.

I print them off and put the print-offs in the binder or folder of that person.  I write notes on them and use them as a "working" paper.  Several months later, I will go back to the same tree on-line and see if corrections or additions have been made since I last looked. 

It is even possible to contact the owner of the tree and ask questions or make (kind) comments.  I have been able to trade info with other shirt tail relatives this way.  It can be very helpful.

No, I do not maintain an on-line family tree.  I tried years ago to do one on Family Search.  What I put on there was documented.  However, others could add info and soon it was full of stuff that had nothing to do with me.  I gave up arguing with the contributors and the website, and have not looked at it in a couple of years.  One good thing about Ancestry is that the trees cannot be changed by just anyone.

I encourage you to take a good long look at on-line family trees.  Do not take them as "gospel" but do use them as a way to get clues, and to complete or even confirm some of your own research.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

RESSLER, DANIEL 1801/02 - 1901

RESSLER, DANIEL 1801/02 - 1901

Daniel RESSLER was the son of Jacob and Susanna (BOEHM/BEAM) RESSLER.  At the bottom of this post are several links to other posts on this blog with more info on them and their family.

I wanted to share a photo that I found posted on Ancestry this week titled "Daniel B. RESSLER before 1901".  I have never seen a photo of Daniel.  I wanted to believe it was really a photo of him, but I am all about "proving" it. 

Source: JD Ressler Ancestry family tree - titled Daniel B. Ressler before 1901

After comparing the photo to his son John both as a young man and as an elderly man, I do think that this is a photo of Daniel RESSLER.  Wow, what a find - thanks so much to the person who posted it.

Here is a photo of Daniel's son John both as a young man, and then as an elderly man with his living children in 1915.

Source: my personal collection (previously in the possession of Reba (RESSLER) GARNER)

Source: Personal Collection (previously in possession of Reba (Ressler) Garner)

Other posts with info about Daniel RESSLER:

https://lancastercountyfamilyties.blogspot.com/2012/11/resslerrossler.html

https://lancastercountyfamilyties.blogspot.com/2017/12/dar-application-accepted-ressler.html

https://lancastercountyfamilyties.blogspot.com/2019/01/revisiting-jacob-susanna-boehm-ressler.html

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

APPLEBACHSVILLE, PA IN THE NEWSPAPER 21August 1949 and SOME INFO ON THE TOWN ITSELF

APPLEBACHSVILLE, PA IN THE NEWSPAPER 21August 1949 and SOME INFO ON THE TOWN ITSELF

This is the second article involving Applebachsville, PA that Aunt Fran gave me.  It was in the Philadelphia newspaper. Following the article is info on Applebachsville from a book.

The article is titled: Latvian Refugees Find New Life in Bucks County Community

The article basically speaks of how the small village is going from Pennsylvania Dutch (with associated names) to a place of refuge for Latvian refugees after WWII. The article is interesting and well worth reading.

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Info on Applebachsville - according to the book, "Place Names in Bucks County Pennsylvania" by George MACREYNOLDS on page 8-10:

• Applebachsville is a village on the Bethlehem Road in northwestern Haycock Township.  The land the village is on was apparently originally named Stokes Tract or Stokes Meadow as it was owned by the STOKES family from approximately 1735-1837. 
• The land was sold to George F. DUTCH in 1837. His son (not named in  book) owned the land in 1842 and sold it to the APPLEBACH brothers in 1847.
• Gen. Paul APPLEBACH and his brother Henry in 1847 were already successful in the horse and cattle business.  They laid out part of the tract in building plots on both sides of the Bethlehem Road in 1848. Soon there were 30 brick homes along the road.  A daily stage went through between Bethlehem and Philadelphia.
• The post office was established in 1874. 
• The Lutheran church was built in 1855.  Paul and William APPLEBACH were part of the building committee.
• The family was started by immigrant Johan Heinrich AFFLERBACH who was from Wittgenstein, in Westphalia Germany, where they are said to have been manufacturers of iron. Johan Heinrich AFFLERBACH (who would become known as Henry APPLEBACH) embarked at Rotterdam on the ship Sally which arrived in Philadelphia on 29 Oct. 1770.  He gave his age as 31 and occupation as smith.
• He appears in Springfield Township in August 1775 on a roll of a company of Associators. He married Maria RENSHIMER, daughter of a nearby farmer. Their third son, Daniel, started the Haycock branch of the family. Daniel married Catherine APPLE 02 June 1811. Daniel became Justice of the Peace on 15 May 1833 and held the office until his death.
• Daniel and Catherine's three sons: Paul, Henry, and William were all prominent locally.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

LAZARUS WOLF - 1870 AGRICULTURE SCHEDULE

Lazarus WOLF - 1870 AGRICULTURE SCHEDULE

Source: pg.71 of Agriculture Schedules and Federal Census Schedules 1850-1880 by James E. FREY 1997

Lazarus is listed as having: 

• 45 acres improved land valued at $2300
• Farm machinery valued at $50
• Total wages paid $10
• 2 horses, 2 milch (milk) cows, 1 other cattle, 4 swine valued at $315
• 131 bushels wheat, 100 bushels Indian corn, 260 bushels oats, 25 bushels Irish potatoes, orchard products valued at 5200 pounds, butter, and 6 tons of hay
• Animals slaughtered valued at $98
• Estimated value of farm production $962

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

GARNER, Ralph - Hoopla Around His Birth 1906

GARNER, Ralph - Hoopla Around His Birth 1906

It was certainly no secret in our family that "Pappy" (Ralph GARNER) had been conceived out of marriage by his folks.

So the story goes like this:

When Cora GROFF found out she was pregnant in the early spring of 1906, she told the father of said pregnancy Ben GARNER. His response was to take off for Ohio to hide with Mennonite or Amish cousins there. Cora complained to her parents, who complained to Ben's parents.  Ben's father (and possibly brothers) went to the cousin's home in Ohio and drug Ben back despite his protests and made him marry Cora.  Remember they were both minors and Ben admitted that the baby was his.

Notice on the below marriage license that both fathers had to give permission for the wedding to take place.

Source: my personal collection

While I never personally witnessed any unkindness toward my grandfather due to the hoopla of his conception and birth, from comments made in my hearing, it must have been quite the scandal at the time. Apparently it took my gr-grandfather several years to get over his snit at being forced to marry Cora, although as years went on that changed.

Ralph's early education suffered due to being shuffled around to different relatives and while in the 1910 census he is living with his parents, by the 1920 census he is living with his maternal grandparents.

My mom remembered her mom (with her 10th grade education) working with Pappy from the daily newspaper and family Bible to teach him to read.  I remember Pappy reading the Lancaster paper daily when I was around.

As an adult, Pappy told me that he only completed the second grade.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

APPLEBACH, Tillie of Applesbachsville, PA

As a teenager, my Aunt Fran gave me 2 articles about Applesbachsville, PA that had been in the Philadelphia newspaper in the 1940's.

The first one is this one about an auction that Tillie APPLEBACH had on Nov. 12, 1949 at her home in East Rockhill Township of Bucks Co, PA.  The article says that she is 77 and that she needed to get rid of a few things. The article goes on to say that she is the widow of Oscar APPLEBACH.

Page 1 of Article 

The article is a very interesting read of personalities, local culture, and a list of various items that were sold.

Page 2 

In the book, Six Afflerbach Emigrants Who Came to Pennsylvania and Their Descendants 1750-1930, by Jane K. THOMPSON is listed an Oscar APPLEBACH who was born in 1867 and later married Matilda ______ (pg. 73). According to the book, he was the son of Levi and Rachel (GREEUP) APPLEBACH.

Per the above listed book (pg. 103-104) Oscar is also stated to die in 1923.  He married Matilda in 1890 and they had these children: Preston, Harvey, Charles, William and Frederick.

Source: Find A Grave

According to the Find A Grave website, the memorial numbers are (Oscar) 92898702 and (Tillie) 92898712. Per the same source, her maiden name was ROSENBURGER and she died in 1957. They are buried at the Ridge Valley Cemetery in Sellersville, Bucks County, PA. The book by THOMPSON (listed above) also notes that Oscar's will is #29769 in Bucks Co wills of 1923.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

PHOTOS FROM THE GARNER FAMILY 1940's

PHOTOS FROM THE GARNER FAMILY 1940's

I have been trying to utilize the last few days while required to stay home (due to corona virus pandemic) to go thru family photos and papers.

It seems a good idea to share a few photos from the 1940's from my album of photos for the Ben GARNER family.

Clyde GARNER died in 1956 from cancer.  His widow was Martha (LANDIS) GARNER and their two children were Linda and Larry.

Pauline (GARNER) APPLEBACH/HAHN 1937-2016 was four years old in the above photo.  Several photos were taken the same day so I think there must have been a family gathering at my grandparents house.

The note on the back of the above photo says it was taken at the Ben GARNER farm - 1943.

This photo was taken in the backyard at 1747 Temple Ave, Lancaster, PA in 1944 or 1945 from the size of Jerry.  The small white building to the left of the photo was the old chicken house converted into a "play house" for the children of the growing family.  

The family story is that the doctor was drunk when he delivered Uncle Jerry, and there was some never discussed injury to grandma. The apparent fear was that grandma would not be able to have more children. Three more were born after Jerry: Darlene, Cheryl, and Gloria. Also there was never any discussion that I remember of stillborn or miscarried babies.

The above photo is unusual because Grandma did not like her photo taken, she preferred to be taking the photo.  I remember her using a brownie camera until she could no longer get film for it, then she finally had to switch to another camera, I believe a Kodak Instamatic. 

**********************************************************************************

Note: I have been asked if I still have the original photos unlabeled - yes. All these photos are scanned into the computer, and those are backed up on an external hard drive.  Plus, I still have the original photo in my possession. If you are a family member who wants a copy of the original, please contact me directly.

**************************************************************************

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

PHOTO: MARY, BEN, AND CORA GARNER

This photo is of Mary, Ben, and Cora GARNER.  No date written on photo but from clothing guessing in the late 1940's or early 1950's.  The scenery could be the Ben GARNER farm.

Mary was the oldest daughter of Ben and Cora (GROFF) GARNER.

Photo given to me by R. SCHNEIDER, who was the grandson of Mary (GARNER) SCHNEIDER, who was the sister of Ben GARNER.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

RESSLER, FRANK AND FAMILY 1952

FRANK RESSLER AND FAMILY 1952

This picture was take on Feb. 7, 1952 for Frank's 65th birthday. 

Frank and Bertha had nine children.  I never heard any talk growing up about stillborns, miscarriages, or small children who died - so as unusual as it is, I have to believe there were only nine children and all grew to adulthood.

Seven of the nine lived their entire lives in Lancaster County, PA.  The exceptions were Victor who remained in Texas after the Army, and Martha "Mart" who was a registered nurse and spent many years in California. Martha is buried in Lancaster County.

I do not remember ever meeting Uncle Vic, but saw Aunt Mart many times on trips to Lancaster County.

Frank RESSLER sold the farm in New Providence, PA in Dec. 1944.  My understanding was Frank and Bertha moved into a house in New Providence, but I have done no research yet to find out where they moved after the farm was sold.

The girls all married local men (including Aunt Mart).  Their married names were: 

1. Mary MILLER (married Harry MILLER) and after she was widowed she married a first cousin Clair RESSLER - Harry and Mary had three boys.

2. Emma REESE (married John REESE) - no children.

3. Anna HESS (married James HESS) - two children

4. Martha BERBERIAN (married Dr. _________ BERBERIAN) - one child.

5. Reba GARNER (married Ralph GARNER) - 5 children. 

Note: I also have the original unlabeled photo above in my personal collection. 

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

APPLEBACH, ABRAM (or ABRAHAM) - 1860 AND 1870 CENSUS

APPLEBACH, ABRAM (or ABRAHAM) - 1860 AND 1870 CENSUS

Abram/Abraham APPLEBACH was born between 1848 and 1851 depending on the document you are looking at. His father was definitely Henry APPLEBACH.  His death certificate says his mother was Catherine STAHR, which is entirely possible.  However, I have also seen her name as Catherine CORNER.

His death certificate says he was born in  Feb. 1851 and he is not on the 1850 census. His mother appears to disappear from sight about the time of his birth.  His siblings appear in the 1860 census as living with other people.

In 1860, Abram was living with Samuel and Harriett MILTENBERGER in Monroe County, PA. He is listed as 10 years old and has been in school that year.

Source: Family Search

In 1870, Abram is listed as living in Northampton County, PA with Sam and Catherine SHIMER.  He is 22, and a farm laborer.

I do not have any information yet on how Abram APPLEBACH ended up in Lancaster County, PA by Dec. 1872 when he married Elizabeth LITTLE in Lancaster, PA. They would live the remainder of their lives in Lancaster County, PA.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

JAMES & VADA APPLEBACH

JAMES & VADA APPLEBACH

Source: Ancestry 09/27/2022

Finally, I found the marriage certificate for my father and his second wife Vada. She was a sweet lady, and I enjoyed her happy spirit. 

My parents divorced on June 24, 1983. James APPLEBACH married again on August 26, 1985 to Vada JONES.

I was no longer in Montana when he remarried and chose to not attend. I find it interesting that they were married by Pastor TANNEHILL, who was a friend of both my parents.  No doubt mom felt very betrayed by that when she did find out.

It is interesting to me the untruths on the certificate that James gave. Birthplace of his father was listed as "unknown" - he was well aware of where Taylor Z. APPLEBACH was born. 

James is also listed as completing high school, but according to the high school records he dropped out during his senior year and did not go back. James did have some college, but it is unclear whether he did finish that. 

James would become an ordained minister in 1964. Mom told me he was always concerned that the lie of him graduating high school would be found out, and he would lose his ordination.

I believe Vada found out very quick that my father was not as nice as he wanted people to believe. He was a difficult person to be around. His siblings all believed that he had some sort of mental issues. 

My personal memories of him are seldom good. However, I find his family history interesting. And it took my ancestors to make me - nice or not.

James APPLEBACH died in January 2005 in Hood River, OR.

Vada died since 2010 in Oregon.  She had remarried so her last name would be changed, possibly to Henry.

Vada is listed on James' death cert as the receiver of his ashes. My sister was able to do some searching around the last time she was in Oregon. She was told that James' ashes were put in the river behind one of Vada's children's homes. 

Original Source: Ancestry

Source: Personal Collection

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

PASTOR JAMES APPLEBACH, KILGORE, NEB.

James APPLEBACH graduated from a Bible college in Omaha, NEB in 1960.  The first church he was accepted at was in Kilgore, NEB in early 1964.

I was actually looking for info on my mother-in-laws family who passed through Nebraska in the late 1800's from Missouri to Montana.  Imagine my surprise when I came across a listing for the church records on microfiche of the Kilgore Baptist Church.  The local library here helped me order it and the below images are mostly from that microfiche of the church records.

Source: Personal Collection

I only found mention of my parents on a few pages in the later part of the records, but combined with photos and documents that I already had, I felt like I knew a little bit more about them at this point in their lives.

 Jan. 26, 1964 if accepted, would church support him?

Feb. 7, 1964 - he is accepted as pastor.  

Feb. 16, 1964 - his first sermon as new pastor. The same day, James' name appears

in the notes for a business meeting.

July 19, 1964 accepted for ordination.

August 30, 1964 pastor asked for raise (my note: expecting baby in Dec.)

The above photo is (L to R) Taylor APPLEBACH, Bill HENDERSHOT, Ralph GARNER and James APPLEBACH in the Kilgore, Neb. 1964

Source: Personal Collection

James APPLEBACH was ordained in Kilgore, Neb. in September 1964. The below picture is my parents at the ordination (mom is noticeably pregnant).  The clipping is from a newspaper in Lancaster that grandma Garner sent to mom.

Source: Personal Collection

The two photos below are of James APPLEBACH behind the pulpit at the church in Kilgore, Neb.

Source: Personal Collection

Source: Personal Collection

Pastor & Mrs. APPLEBACH were made members of this church. I would have thought the church would have wanted the pastor to be a member immediately, not several months after coming as pastor.

Became members on Nov. 22, 1964 and removed from membership on Oct. 2, 1966.

Business meeting on Dec. 9, 1964

Below is the "lengthy and detailed" report mentioned in the above notes: 

Meeting for financial issue connected to building.

Another meeting over finances.

Probably end of year meeting: both Pastor & Pauline are mentioned.

Ending prayer at meeting by Pastor APPLEBACH

Pastor resigned in May 1966 and went to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Roundup, MT.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.