RESSLER FAMILY - THANKSGIVING DAY 1915 - Part 1

Update 9-10-16

Mom and I spent last weekend going over these pictures, plus with some help from cousin K. HESS, we were able to have an "ah-ha" moment and come up with some answers.  There are actually 4 known photos taken of the John RESSLER family at the farm on Thanksgiving Day 1915. I will add the other 2 at a later date. 

The photo above is written in Uncle Andy's handwriting (son of Frank RESSLER) so it is from his perspective.  Dad is Frank RESSLER, Aunt Stella is Estella (RESSLER) ANDREWS, Uncle Harry is Harry RESSLER, and Uncle John is probably Daniel RESSLER - these would be the four living children of John and Elizabeth (YOST) RESSLER at this date.  John (1850-1925) and Lizzie (1855-1925) are the seated couple.

Update 9-10-16: Many of the people in this picture are still not named, however, we are making progress. The seated couple is John and Lizzie RESSLER with their living children and grandchildren.  There are also some misc. people in the picture that so far no one has figured out. 

 The back row has 2 unnamed women, Harry RESSLER, Frank RESSLER, Claire RESSLER is directly in front of Frank,  Galen ANDREWS is behind Lizzie's shoulder,  Daniel Ressler and Stella (RESSLER) ANDREWS.

 The second row is Emma RESSLER, unnamed seated woman holding Grace RESSLER(?), John and Lizzie, unnamed woman, probably Paul RESSLER. 

The children in the front are: Blanche RESSLER, unnamed, Anna (big bow in hair - daughter of Daniel), Reba GARNER is the small one in front of her, unnamed 2 boys (?) in front of Lizzie, Martha (?), Anna (daughter of Frank) and Stella (daughter of Harry).

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

MARY IDA (WOLF) HAHN STOVER

MARY IDA (WOLF) HAHN STOVER:

This is the family story as I know it from being told several times by older family members:

Mary Ida (known as Ida) WOLF married Jacob HAHN and they had one son - Irvin.  The husband left the area (speculation was whether due to something illegal or job hunting) and told Ida he would contact her as soon as he could and send her some money. This would have been in the mid 1880's.  Time went on and she did not hear from him.  Per the marriage license of her and John STOVER, she divorced Jacob earlier in 1889 for desertion. She went on to marry John STOVER in 1889. She and John had several children of their own.

               (Source of certificate: Lancaster County Archives)


The story continues that her parents (Lazarus and Elizabeth WOLF) did not like Jacob HAHN. When they had both died and the house was cleaned out, a box of letters from Jacob HAHN to Ida were found unopened in the attic. 

There is no clear indication that Mary and Jacob ever saw each other again after he left, and I have not done a lot of searching yet to see what or where I can find information on him.  Both Mary and her son Irvin are buried at Terre Hill Cemetery in Terre Hill, PA.

Fact: Her marriage license to John STOVER states she was divorced due to desertion.

Fact: She was 8 months pregnant with their first child when she and John married.

08/08/2017 update: The first name of Mr. HAHN was supplied by the divorce papers of 1889 and from Irvin's obit.

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

BARTON SYLVESTER STOVER

BARTON SYLVESTER STOVER (1889 - 1974) - I remember vague references to "Uncle Sylvester" from my father and his siblings,  but nothing now that I could actually tell about.  He was a brother to Jennie C. (STOVER) APPLEBACH, making him the son of John J. and Mary Ida (WOLF) STOVER. He was the oldest of John and Mary's children.

 On Find A Grave, he is memorial #82857511.

 In the 1910 Lancaster Co (Earl Twp), Pennsylvania census he is listed as age 20, a farm laborer, boarding in the household of Harry ZIMMERMAN.

In the 1920 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania census he is listed as age 30 and married to Gertrude with 2 daughters. He is listed as renting and a farmer.

In the 1930 Lancaster County (Earl Twp), Pennsylvania census he is listed as age 40 and married to Gertrude with children: Dorothy, Evelyn, Alfred, Lucille, and Leonard. He is still farming.

In the 1940 Lancaster County (Earl Twp), Pennsylvania census,  he is listed as age 50 and married to Gertrude with children: Dorothy, Evelyn, Alfred, Lucille, Leonard, Donald, and Gerald.  He is still farming.

WWI draft registration:

 

WWII draft registration:

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

WINFIELD SCOTT APPLEBACH - MARRIED 65 YEARS

WINFIELD SCOTT APPLEBACH - MARRIED 65 YEARS

(Source: New Era, Lancaster, PA 8/31/1977)

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

ANNA MOSSER/MUSSER 1836-1917

ANNA MOSSER/MUSSER: According to her marriage license to Benjamin Franklin MUSSELMAN, she was the daughter of Michael and Fanny (ALBRIGHT) MOSSER/MUSSER. She was born in 1836 and died in 1917, apparently a life long resident of Lancaster County, PA. She was the mother of Elizabeth MUSSELMAN, who married Charles GARNER - making her my gr-gr-gr- grandmother.

The marriage license of Benjamin F. MUSSELMAN and Anna MOSSER/MUSSER on Jan. 25, 1853 in Lancaster, PA. Benjamin and Anna are known to have had at least 10 children over a span of about 15 years.

This photo is undated, but prior to April 1912 when Benjamin died.  The couple on right is Ben (standing) and Anna (sitting). The woman on left is labeled as a daughter, but I have no idea which one. Does anyone out there know?  Please contact me if you know who the other 3 people in the photo are. I am thinking it appears to be a 4 generation photo..

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

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MUSSELMAN 1831-1912

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MUSSELMAN:

Benjamin was born in 1831 and died in 1912. He apparently resided in Lancaster County, PA his entire life. He was the father of Elizabeth MUSSELMAN, who married Charles GARNER - making Benjamin my gr-gr-gr grandfather.

The below photo of him during the Civil War was given to me in among all the other photos from Grandma GARNER.  It was not labeled and I set it aside until it could be identified.  Later 2 different distant cousins mentioned it but R. SCHNEIDER actually shared a labeled copy  - I was excited to know who the person was.

He served in the Civil War in Company E of the 135th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry from Aug. 1862 until May 1863.

Personal collection:

                           Benjamin is line 4 on the above document.

Source: AG McMillin, Reba Garner, Ron Schneider

                      Benjamin Franklin Musselman in uniform 1862-63

Source: Ron SCHNEIDER

                    Ben and Anna's marriage license 25 Jan. 1853

Benjamin Franklin MUSSELMAN is listed as the son of David and Elizabeth (BRESTLY) MUSSELMAN on his marriage license to Anna MOSSER/MUSSER on Jan. 25, 1853 in Lancaster, PA.


    **I want to thank a distant cousin,  Ron Schneider,  for sharing his thoughts and research on our mutual  ancestors**

MEMORY OF RALPH G. GARNER

Ralph GARNER was an amazing man.  By his own admission, with only a 2nd grade education he worked hard and raised a family. He had a amazing amount of common sense.  

His oldest daughter (my mom) remembers sitting at the kitchen table working on her homework, while at the other end of the table her Mom was teaching Ralph how to read using the family Bible and the newspaper. 

 My memories of him include him proudly reading the Lancaster newspaper from cover to cover. I don't remember seeing him write, but he had no problem in the math area of figuring out money.

I think he was a classic example of taking lemons and making lemonade.  His life could not have been easy, especially as a child and young person. When I was growing up, "the scandal" was still being whispered about - even though at that point he was grown with children and grandchildren.  

You see, his parents were not married when he was conceived, which is not necessarily a scandal. The story goes like this: When Cora GROFF told Ben GARNER in the early spring of 1906 that she was pregnant, instead of doing the responsible thing and marrying the young woman as was proper, Ben took off for Ohio to take sanctuary with family members there.  

When Cora realized she had been abandoned,  she went to Ben's parents (Charles and Elizabeth GARNER). Charles and "the boys" (Charles' brothers?? Ben's siblings?? Cousins?? - I never heard any explanation for "the boys") went to Ohio and drug Ben back objecting to having to marry Cora or claim the baby. Cora and Ben married in Lancaster in April of 1906, and Ralph was born August 5, 1906.

Cora and Ben went on to have 4 other children and by all accounts grew close and happy. However, Ben looked at Ralph as the fault of all this mess and by Ralph's own account he was not treated well as a child by his father.  He was shuffled from family member to family member who had work to keep him busy, and is why his school education was lacking. In the 1910 census he is listed as age 3 and living with his parents and a sister.  In the 1920 census he is living with his maternal grandparents (Joseph and Josephine GROFF) on their farm in Lancaster county. In the 1930 census he is living with his parents and 3 siblings.

I remember him as a loving husband, father, and grandfather.  He was far from perfect, but I believe he wanted a good relationship with his own family and worked hard to have this.  In my memories, he did seem close to his mom and siblings. I do not ever remember him making unkind or bitter comments about his father, he simply did not talk about him.

Reba said that after they married in 1935, she realized she would need to be the bridge to mend the relationship between father and son.  Apparently as Ralph got older, the relationship did mend between these 2 men, but no one has ever told me they were close.

                                                         Ralph Garner 02-14-1985

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