Witwer Homestead

 Last Saturday we went to an Open House at the Witwer homestead along Route 322 between Hinkletown and Blue Ball. This is where my five times great-grandmother, Elizabeth Witwer, grew up. She married Jacob Stauffer (ca.1747-1821) and is also Leroy's four times great-grandmother. 

   Elizabeth was the daughter of Michael Witwer. He was the son of Hans (John) Witwer who immigrated about 1717. A survey of 632 acres in Earl Township was made in 1731 for Hans Witwer, but he did not receive the patent before he died in 1741. 

   In 1736, Michael bought 56 acres from Jacob Sensenig. This land adjoined the land of his father, Hans. He bought an additional tract later and got a patent for 145 of acres. The house and mill were located on these acres. 

   The old stone house has no date stone. There may have been one on the left gable before the small addition was made. However, the type of construction indicates it was probably built in the 1700s. There are deep windowsills and wide floor boards, some measuring eighteen inches across. Trees that huge disappeared long ago.

   There is also a summer house next to the main house. A later owner moved an old log house and attached it to the summer kitchen to connect it to the main house. The original fireplace is inside of the summer kitchen. The hole in the wall provides access to the beehive oven outside.

The beehive bake oven covered with a red tile roof is attached to the end of the summer kitchen.

The springhouse near the pond is a later construction.

The property around the house has shrunk to 3.5 acres. The barn across the road from the house and the rest of the farm land has been sold off in pieces. Electric and plumbing has been installed in the house but much of the original construction is intact. I am always glad to see people who value and preserve old things. We are who we are because of those who lived before us.

   

Dream Come True

 And now, here are Abigail's official newborn photos taken at two weeks.

Grandma's Brag Book

 Page 1--First week of Abigail Stauffer's life

The happy parents

Daddy's pride and joy

Grandma and Grandpa time

Wide awake

Cousins meeting

A Gift of Life

 We waited for this day for nine years and it finally came! A new little granddaughter was added to our family. Abigail Ruth Stauffer  arrived at 9:19 this morning, weighing in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches. We are overcome with joy and praise to God for this gift of life.

Gerald and Kelly have been married nine years and this is their first child, born by extraordinary means. Check my post from March 6, 2020, for the whole story.

Our oldest grandchild is 27 and we already have two great-grandchildren. As the years rolled on and Gerald and Kelly remained childless, it seemed we would not have any more grandchildren. But God answered our prayers and gave them this beautiful little girl. 

Unfortunately, because of COVID, we are not allowed to visit in the hospital. Kelly had a C-section so they probably won't come home before Sunday. I will be there the first day they are home to cuddle this precious little girl. Rest assured more pictures will be coming later.

To Mask or Not to Mask

 The Coronavirus pandemic has unleashed not only illness and death across the country but sharp division as well. This week a District Judge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, invalidated key parts of Governor Wolf's pandemic restrictions, calling them unconstitutional and an overreach of power. This included his orders requiring people to stay at home, placing limits on gatherings, and shutting down thousands of businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining.” The Democratic Governor defended himself saying what he did was necessary to keep people safe. He blamed the Republicans for promoting conspiracy theories and spreading misinformation about the virus and the status of the Pennsylvania economy.

The division is not limited to politicians. Unfortunately, Christians have gotten caught up in conspiracy theories and misinformation posted on social media. One of the big issues is the wearing of masks. Some insist masks are useless and adamantly refuse to comply saying that is taking away their freedom and preparing us to accept communism. One church I know of lost a lot of members when their leaders said they should comply with the law. 

I realize some people have medical conditions (such as asthma) which make it difficult for them to breathe while wearing a mask. Exceptions have been made for that. What disturbs me is people who claim to be Christians but lie and say they have a medical condition simply because they do not want to wear a mask. 

I don't enjoy wearing a mask but the Bible says we are to obey those who have authority over us. It does not say we should obey the laws we like and ignore the ones we don't like. The only exception is when man's laws violate God's Word. Then "we ought to obey God rather than man." Wearing a mask does not violate God's Word. 

I wear a mask when I got out in public. Whether it helps or not is beside the point. People can see I am a Mennonite and refusing to comply with the law is a poor testimony. I wear a mask because I want to honor God in everything I do.

A Chance to Be Brave

 My newest book arrived today. It's a collection of short stories for children through age eight. All of the stories are about boys. I had a lot of boys in my life to provide story ideas.

The book is available from Christian Light Publications. https://www.clp.org/

This is my thirteenth book. Other titles are:
Hidden Riches

Circle of Love

Sandi's Anchor of Hope

Annie's Day of Light

A Home for Sarah

Crayonbox Collection

Aaron's Civil War

History of the Mid-Atlantic Mennonite Fellowship

History of the John F. Martin Company

Esther Starts From Home

Loyalty Test

Led By His Hand

Musselman Deed

 Once in awhile things turn up where you least expect it. Last spring we saw there was going to be an estate auction almost two miles from our place. It was a small house and didn't look like much but it was crammed with antiques and old stuff. The auction was canceled because of the virus and finally held yesterday. 

We stopped in the day before the sale to look at the things I was most interested in, a Sauer Bible, a collection of more than twenty old deeds, and two patents from the Penn family. I didn't think I had much chance of getting anything but I wanted to see the deeds in  case there was any connection to our families. They did not but there were two Musselman deeds that interested me because I knew where the Musselman homestead was in the New Holland area.

We were having a family picnic Saturday evening and I had food to make. I didn't have time to sit at a sale all morning but Leroy went. He called me when they were selling the deeds and managed to snag one of the Musselman deeds for a reasonable price.

The patents from the Penns sold for $300 or more and the 1761 Sauer Bible for $3,100. That was beyond my reach. It did not have any family records in it and was purely antique value. 

I was delighted with the one deed he bought. It is for 86 acres Christian and Mary Musselman sold to their son John N. Musselman. John was a grandson of Christian and Magdalena (Shelly) Musselman who was a son of Christian and Mary Musselman, son of immigrant Hans Musselman. The Musselman homestead has been passed down through the generations and is still owned by one of the descendants of Hans Musselman.

The 86 acres on this deed was not part of the Hans Musselman homestead but it was just across the road from the southern end of the homestead. It was originally part of the Martin Huber homestead. The thing that makes it more valuable is that it was never recorded in the Lancaster County courthouse. This is the original handwritten deed from 1842 and the only one in existence. Unrecorded deeds are a valuable source for genealogists and often contain information that was missing.

I was surprised and delighted that we could salvage this unrecorded deed. It will be of interest to the descendants of this branch of the Musselman family.