On Saturday, July 7, 1882, my Great, Great Grandfather Frank Boyle, was working in the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's No. 9 mine, in Lansford, PA. At the time, there were over 200 men at work within the mine. An accident occurred, wherein a fall of coal breaking a safety lamp of the fire boss caused an explosion. This caused the caving in of one breast and destroying a shute and a portion of a monkey gangway. There were 16 men at work in this section of the mine, when the explosion occurred. Nine of the men were more or less severely injured, including my Great, Great Grandfather. He had suffered a dislocated thigh with his face and body being severely burned. Two of his sons, John and Daniel were also employed at the mines at this time. John, my Great, Great Uncle, started as a slate picker, at the age of eight years of age. His employment record is shown below, along with a photograph taken with him and other slate pickers, taken in 1875.

During the National Suicide Prevention Month and In remembrance of those that we have unnecessarily lost to suicide, I am posting this story about my Great, Great Uncle Charles Bennett. He was a very rich person, but lacked the understanding to reach out to others when despondent. He and my Great Grandfather founded Bennett & Co. If you find yourself in need to talk to someone, please call the national suicide prevention hotline, 1-800-273-8255.

On October 22, 1847, the emigrant ship "Ocean" docked in Philadelphia. Among the passengers were the Knoll family from Schielberg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Father Francis, mother Francisca (married on April 29, 1833), brothers Gus, Englebert (my great, great, grandfather), Joseph and sisters Agnes and Theresa settled on Conarroe Street in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia with other German immigrants. Pictured is Gus Knoll (1838 - 1899). His brother, Joseph, was killed in a horrible accident in one of the woolen mills in the early morning hour of 8:30 AM on August 17th, 1864. His left leg got caught in one of the belts and his leg was torn out of the socket, instantly killing him at the tender age of 17.

This morning, after nearly 55 years, I was finally able to find and visit my grandfather's grave in Tamaqua, PA.

My Mom's dog, Toby (back in the day).

Heinrich Frey, my 8th Great, Grandfather was born on June 17, 1663 in Altenheim, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France from his parents Jacob and Anna (nee Hirtzeller) Frey. Heinrich had emigrated to America before Pennsylvania was established. Jacob had wrote a letter from his home in Heilbron to his son, Heinrich, who was then in New York, in which he said:

"Dear Son: Your letter from far away America reached us and gave us great joy; and when, a few days later, the father of your true friend came to see us, our joy knew no bounds." He speaks next of the persecution in Germany, and says that thousands would gladly leave the Fatherland if they had the means of doing so. "A merchant from Frankfurt was with us last week and informed us how along the Rhine a number of families have banded together to accept the invitation of an Englishman named William Penn, who had recently visited that community, to settle in that beautiful land and there establish new homes."

The elder Frey's letter continues: "After I had received this information, I went at once to our minister, whose parents live at Worms on the Rhine, and begged him earnestly to learn what truth there was in these reports and to find out if possible if there would be any opportunity for us to join them and go to the New World. He then informed me that these reports were all true and that he had been informed by one who had inside knowledge that in a place called Kriegsheim near Worms many were preparing themselves to go to the New World. When I gave the good man your letter to read, he was greatly surprised and said that you were on the land to which these emigrants were going. It is the providence of God that has shown these burdened people so glorious a land. We, as also the Platenbach family, are only awaiting a good opportunity when the dear Lord will take us to you. Your brother Peter is learning shoe-making and will soon be free (from his apprenticeship). America is the only dream of Elisabeth. Catherine, only six years old, asks us daily, 'Will we soon be going to our brother in America?'"

Only Heinrich's brother Peter, the shoemaker's apprentice, had his ambition satisfied. He came as an indentured servant to Germantown in 1685.

I thought I would share the above letter with you all, so that you may appreciate what transpired with our family, so that it would not expire from history.

Yesterday, I visited the Schuylkill County Archives, perusing the Molly Maguire files. I come across testimony regarding my Great, Great Grandfather, Francis Boyle. Apparently, on the 4th of July, 1875, he and Barney Boyle went to the field next to the High School in Lansford, PA and set off rounds from a "cannon" (actually, a small powder tester, as shown). They did it so much, that the cannon eventually broke! Neat little story, that I never knew!

I am flying both of the flags, this year, of Ireland and County Donegal, for the Boyle family. Today, I had visited the grave of Barney and Hannah Boyle in Hanover Township. They both testified in the trial of James Boyle. Barney was found guilty of perjury and spent three years in prison. He later moved from Lansford, PA to Wilkes-Barre, PA, where he died on Penn Street. RIP

The house on the left was the home where my Great, Great, Great Grandparents, Great, Great Grandparents and Great Grandmother lived in Lansford, before they moved to Philadelphia. The house on the right is where their cousins lived, including James Boyle. The brick building to the extreme right is newer, which had replaced the residence of my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents, Patrick and Hannah (Sharpe) Boyle.

Below is a painting of the Ship "Houghton", which brought my Great, Great, Great Grandfather Patrick Boyle and my Great, Great Grandfather Frank Boyle, as they emigrated from Donegal, Ireland to New York City on November 13, 1849 during the Irish Potato Famine. They eventually settled in Lansford, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Patrick's wife, Margaret, along with another son, Patrick, followed on another ship and arrived, a day later. In the photo to the right, is the Ship "Houghton" in the New York City harbor.

The pictures below are of a model of the packet ship Shenandoah was built in 1840 by John Vaugn & Son at Philadelphia, Pa. for Thomas P. Cope & Son, better known as the Cope Line. Wealthy Philadelphia Quakers, the Copes transported about 60,000 passengers—mostly Irish immigrants—from Liverpool to Philadelphia from 1820-1870. Of these passengers, our GGG Grandfather, William Bennett, brought his wife, Elizabeth Scholefield Bennett and their two sons, Samuel and our GG Grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Bennett, from their home in Calverley (Leeds), Yorkshire, England via Liverpool to Philadelphia on December 26, 1846.

Measuring 143’ long and 738 tons, the Shenandoah spent nearly its entire career on the Philadelphia–Liverpool passage. It made 14 voyages for the Cope Line from 1839-44. In 1845 it sailed for the Dunham & Dimon Liverpool Line out of NY, but the following year it returned to Philadelphia for the Black Diamond Line. By 1847 it served the New Line, clearing Philadelphia on the 1st of the month and leaving Liverpool five weeks later, on the 8th of the following month. In the late 1840s, it lost its popular captain to the new Collins ocean steamship Atlantic. Many of the old sailing packet companies lost their captains to the newer and faster transatlantic steamship lines. The Shenandoah was abandoned at sea in August 1854.

On Mother's Day, I wish to thank my Great, Great Grandmother, Mary Givens, who left Glenties, Donegal, Ireland in 1852. The following is a contemporary news article of the conditions she left at the age of 11, bringing with, her little brother, John, 7 years of age.

In 1845, when the great Famine of that and following years was about to break upon Ireland, "The Times" newspaper appointed Thomas Campbell Foster as its "Commissioner to report on the condition of the people of Ireland". In this article, there appear extracts from his letter written at Gweedore on September 3, 1845, in which he described the towns he passed through, namely, Donegal, Glenties, Dungloe, and the island of Arranmore.

From Donegal town, he "proceeded to Glenties, a village which is the property of the Marquis of Conyngham, whose chief managing agent is Mr. Benbow, M.P. for Dudley. The whole of the country for many miles in the direction of Dungloe, and beyond that town--in fact, almost the whole barony of Boylagh--belongs to this nobleman, together with the island of Arran, or Arranmore, on the west coast. Once in the course of his lifetime--two years ago--the Marquis of Conyngham visited this estate for a few days. His chief agent, Mr. Benbow, usually comes once a year, and the sub-agents visit the tenants every half year to collect the rents. At short periods of a few years the farms are visited to see what increased rent they will bear, and this is the extent of the acquaintance of the Marquis of Conyngham with his tenants.

This nobleman, himself, bears the character of a kind-hearted, generous man--fond of yachting and amusement, and having an excessive distaste for every kind of business or trouble. From one end of his large estate here to the other, nothing is to be found but poverty, misery, wretched cultivation, and infinite subdivision of land. There are no gentry, no middle-class,-- all are poor--wretchedly poor."

"Every shilling the tenants can raise from their half-cultivated land is paid in rent, whilst the people subsist for the most part on potatoes and water....Every rude effort that they make to increase the amount of the[ir] produce is followed immediately by raising their rents in proportion--as it were, to punish them for improving; they are, naturally enough, as discontented and full of complaints as they are wretched in their condition."

Foster reported in minute detail what he found when he visited some of the homes, if such they could be called, of the noble marquis's tenants.

"Into these cottages I entered. They were stone-built and well-roofed, but the mud-floor was uneven, damp, and filthy. In one corner was a place for the pig, with a drain from it through the wall to carry off the liquid manure, like a stable. Two chairs, a bedstead of the rudest description, a cradle, a spinning-wheel, and an iron-pot constituted the whole furniture. An inner room contained another rude bedstead; the mud-floor was quite damp. In this room six children slept on loose hay, with one dirty blanket to cover them...The father, mother, and an infant slept in the first room, also on loose hay, and with but one blanket on the bed. The children were running about as nearly naked as possible, dressed in the cast-off rags of the father and mother; the father could not buy them clothes. They had not been to mass for a twelvemonth for want of decent clothes to go in.

"These men assured me that their whole food was potatoes, and if they had a penny to spare they bought salt or a few sprats, but very seldom these. Instead of buying salt they sometimes bought pepper and mixed it with the water they drank. This they called 'kitchin'--it gave a flavour to their food."

Part 7 - From a contemporary news source from March 11, 1876 regarding James Boyle - "James Boyle is in the Pottsville jail on a charge of complicity in the murder of Police Chief Benjamin Yost. Looking at Boyle as he sat facing Kerrigan testify against Boyle, we wondered that if it were possible that such a manly, handsome-looking specimen of manhood could possibly by guilty of the terrible crime of murder, and we concluded in our own mind that if the evidence against him was not simply conclusive that we would be induced mentally to give him the benefit of the doubt, for a more happily innocent-looking face we never saw occupy such an unfortunate position."

This article had the same euphemism that my grandfather would use, "A fine specimen of manhood". He must of got it from his mother. The picture below is of James Boyle. The picture to the right is the gallows that he was to hang on June 21, 1877.

Part 6 - So what happened at James Boyle's trial? So many different versions and viewpoints, I will copy from Wikipedia. The first trial of defendants Hugh McGeehan, James Carroll, Thomas Duffy, James Boyle, and James Roarity for the killing of Yost commenced in May 1876. Yost had not recognized the men who attacked him. Although James Kerrigan has since been described, along with Duffy, as hating the night watchman enough to plot his murder. Kerrigan became a state's witness and testified against the union leaders and other miners. However, Kerrigan's wife testified in the courtroom that her husband had committed the murder. She testified that she refused to provide her husband with clothing while he was in prison, because he had "picked innocent men to suffer for his crime". She stated that she was speaking out voluntarily, and was only interested in telling the truth about the murder. For the prosecution, Franklin Gowen cross-examined her, but could not shake her testimony. Others supported her testimony amid speculation that Kerrigan was receiving special treatment due to the fact that Pinkerton Detective James McParland was engaged to his sister-in-law, Mary Ann Higgins. This trial was declared a mistrial due to the death of one of the jurors. A new trial was granted two months later. During that trial, Fanny Kerrigan did not testify. The five defendants were sentenced to death. Kerrigan, although implicated in two murders, was allowed to go free. Below are the two men that testified against defendants. Top photo is James McParland and bottom photo is James Kerrigan.

Part 5 - It seems as if the Boyle family had paid a dear price during the period of violence in the middle 1870's in the coal region. Yesterday, I told you that two of James Boyle's cousins were sentenced to prison for testifying on his behalf at his trial, for perjury. Let me relate to you what happened to James' brother. Dennis and Margaret (Gallagher) Boyle had five children - Bridget, John (Jack), James, Mary and Anna. James was found guilty of the murder of B.F. Yost in Tamaqua. Before his sentence was carried out, his brother Jack, left Lansford for the village of Eckley, in Luzerne County. Today, the village of Eckley is preserved as it was in the old times, as a coal town. It was used for many scenes in the Sean Connery and Richard Harris movie film in "The Molly Maguires". Jack was a miner and would travel back and forth on the train to work in the mines. One month before his brother was to hang in Pottsville, I found this article in the contemporary newspaper - "Jack Boyle, of Eckley, a son of the widow Boyle and a brother of James Boyle, to be hung on the 21st day of June, in Pottsville jail, for the murder of Policeman Yost, was killed at Stockton, Monday. He was thrown off the No. 1 train on the Lehigh Valley railroad, and fatally injured. He was taken to Hazleton, where he died about two o'clock in the afternoon". How does one get "thrown off" a passenger train? There is only one possible way, that I see it. The train was run by the Lehigh Valley Railroad. They were patrolled by the Coal and Iron Police. I will soon be traveling to the Luzerne County Coroner's Office to ascertain and collect any information into the cause and manner of death into John (Jack) Boyle. I believe that the Coal and Iron Police may have committed a homicide and threw Jack Boyle off the train, in retribution of what his brother was accused. I don't know what became of James' sister, Bridget, other than she married a John Boyle and they had seven children in the Borough of Lansford. As for James Boyle's other two sisters, Mary and Anna, they escaped the violence of the coal region and settled in Philadelphia, Eerily, their home was located at 405 Ripka Street, in Philadelphia. That is only a half of a block away from my house where I was born and raised. Below are pictures of the town of Eckley, where Jack Boyle lived.

Part 4 - I had said that other members of the Boyle family had received the ire of the justice system of the coal region. James Boyle was on trial along with three others, for the murder of B.F. Yost in Tamaqua. Two cousins were witnesses for the defense to provide an alibi for James. Bernard N. Boyle swore he was with his cousin, on the night of the murder. Bernard had testified that both he and James were drinking at another cousins tavern. Upon cross-examination, the prosecutor asked Barney his age. When Barney replied, that he was 19 years of age, the prosecutor asked what year was he born. Barney had to count backwards in order to figure his birth year. The prosecutor slammed Barney for not telling the truth. It's easy for an attorney, learned in the art of argument and logic, to disparage a person with a sixth grade education. The prosecutor tore up the witness on the stand, accusing him of perjury. Kate Boyle, 16 years of age, also testified as knowing that James Boyle was drinking that night. She was also vilified on the stand and accused of perjury. At the end of the trial, during the closing arguments, both Barney and Kate were arrested for perjury and sent to Schuylkill County Prison. On September 27, 1876, both Barney and Kate were found guilty of perjury. Barney was sentenced to 36 months of hard labor. Kate was sentenced to 30 months of hard labor and solitary confinement. Below is a picture of Bernard P. Boyle, where Barney and Kate swore James was drinking in his tavern.

Part 3 - As I told you yesterday, my Great, Great, Great Grandmother, Margaret Boyle ran a boarding house on Bertsch Street, Lansford, Pennsylvania. One of James Boyle's friends, Hugh McGeehan, which you will hear more of later, was targeted by the Lehigh Coal and Iron Police and was shot and wounded in 1875. He lived, but was a targeted man. Later in the year, the LC&IP tried to assassinate him again and shot up his house. McGeehan fled with his whole family and was protected within our GGG Grandmother's boarding home. When McGeehan and James Boyle were arrested for a murder of a policeman in Tamaqua, our GGG Grandmother testified at the trial. The prosecutors and the press were vicious. The Philadelphia Inquirer, in 1876 described her as, "McGeehan's boarding mistress". Others described my GGG Grandmother as, "...having the appearance of the harlot...who tried to provide his alibi for the night of July 5". The prosecution was determined to discredit anyone, regardless of consequences. They were the ones in power and providing alternative facts. This is personal, This is family. During this time, our GGG Grandmother remarried a gentleman, with the last name of Burns. McGeehan had married someone else. Margaret Boyle's other son, Patrick Boyle (my GGG Uncle) did marry Hugh McGeehan's sister, Margaret. Our GGG Grandmother paid the price of testifying, through humiliation and ostracizing throughout the press. Other family had testified and paid a different price. That will be another story. The picture below is one of the prosecutors of the case against James Boyle, Franklin Gowen. He was relentless against discrediting our GGG Grandmother.

Part 2 - How are we related to the Boyle's of the Molly Maguires? In the picture below, in the middle, is my Grandfather, John Warren Smith. His mother, Mary, to the left, her maiden name is Boyle. She was born on May 7, 1863 in Lansford, Carbon County. Her father, Frank Boyle was married to Mary Givens. Our Great, Great, Great, Grandmother's name was Margaret Boyle. She was also known as the Widow Boyle, because our Great, Great, Great Grandfather died early. Margaret Boyle ran a boarding house to make ends meet, to put food on the table, since she was a widow. My Great Grandmother, my Great, Great, Grandfather and my Great, Great, Great Grandmother lived in a house owned by Margaret's brother-in-law, Dennis Boyle. Dennis lived in another house next door with his family. Dennis' son was James Boyle, who was hung in Pottsville on June 21, 1877. So Frank Boyle, my Great, Great Grandfather and James Boyle were first cousins. And they lived next door to one another. In the 1875 map, below, you can see the Boyle's homes, next to one another, with James Givens, next door. Now that you know how we are related, tomorrow, I will continue to discuss some astonishing and not so pleasant stories about our family.

With St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, I will be discussing, over time, about our relatives in Carbon County. One in particular, James Boyle, was hung 140 years ago, on June 21, 1877, in Pottsville, Schuylkill County. Several other family members were killed, injured or jailed, because they assisted other immigrant Irish/Irish-Americans. So today, and over the weekend, I'm flying the Irish flag outside my home.

This is one of my favorite pictures, taken 100 years ago, of my grandmother, in 1914.

 Thanks to my Uncle Frank Smith, Pacific Theater, U.S. Army, WWII.

Another thank you to my Grandfather, John Warren Smith, U.S. Navy WWI.

Thank you to my Great, Great, Grandfather Benjamin Franklin Bennett, Private, 112th Regiment, 2nd Heavy Artillery, Battery F, who served in the Civil War and is one of the soldiers in the photograph, protecting Washington DC before heading South.

Claire Smith Betz 1921-2014

I found out, today, that Claire Smith Betz (my mother's second cousin) had passed away at her summer home in Key Largo, Florida on February 6, 2014. The funeral home of Kirk and Nice in Plymouth Meeting were making arrangements for services, but apparently the immediate family would prefer their privacy. I understand.

Claire Smith was born on January 11, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Engelbert E. Smith and Clara V. Cunningham. They lived in a large home at 365 Green Lane, in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. If anyone is familiar with the house, it sets on top of the hill, on Green Lane, on the east side of the street. On the opposite side of the street, my great, grandfather Francis Rudolph Smith, ran a saloon/parlor.

Claire Smith married John Drew Betz in 1942. From the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Mr. Betz began his career as a young boy washing dishes in the laboratory founded by his father in 1925. Having worked in almost every job in the company, he eventually served as president, chairman and chief executive officer until being named chairman emeritus in 1975. Under Mr. Betz's leadership, the company grew from a small family partnership to a large and successful publicly owned corporation with annual sales in excess of $500 million and 3,400 employees at 22 plants throughout the world. The Trevose company deals with industrial and municipal waste-water treatment. In 1981, Mr. Betz and five partners, including the Phillies' then-executive vice president, Bill Giles, purchased the baseball club for $30.18 million. Mr. Betz said at the time that he had bought the club because his wife, Claire, loved baseball. "I guess you could say I talked him into it," Mrs. Betz said recently. ''He wasn't sure how he felt about it at first, but he's enjoyed it so much." It was estimated, in local newspapers, that Claire's estate was worth over one billion dollars, but I would rather share another story.

A lifelong lover of the environment and wildlife, Claire was deeply concerned with the preservation of open spaces and wildlife areas. She and her husband funded many environmental projects and gave 180 acres of farmland adjacent to their property in Gwynedd Township to the Natural Lands Trust for a wildlife sanctuary, and provided funds for its perpetual maintenance. A great article from the trust is provided, as an insight to Claire -

Faced by the pressures of encroaching development and the escalating costs of maintaining farmland, some people sell off their land bit by bit. Claire Betz and husband John D. Betz did just the opposite. Over 35 years ago, the Betz family began acquiring small and medium-sized parcels of land so that their original holdings of 67 acres grew to over 300 acres. They were concerned about preserving the special rural character of their community.

By making these bold land purchases and donating large parcels to area conservancies to ensure their permanent protection, Claire and John Betz provided a wonderful gift to their community and all of Montgomery County. Neighbor Phoebe Driscoll notes that the land purchases made by the Betzes inspired at least seven other neighbors to preserve their own land, creating an expansive greenway in this verdant corner of our region.

When Claire and John (who passed away 17 years ago) first moved from a more densely built suburb, they fell in love with the landscape. Claire completed raising seven children on the farm. She notes that country life was new to her at the time, but she dug in and reached out to her community, inviting Phoebe and others to continue using the land for riding. Many years later, in a recent visit to Claire’s home, Phoebe brought eggs over from her chickens. Claire, long-known by neighbors for her cooking and baking was delighted. Claire speaks of other neighbors and the fond memories she has of their friendships. Each July, Claire hosts an extended family reunion that features extraordinary fireworks to the delight of her neighbors up and down Swedesford Road.

Once the Betzes had acquired additional acreage to prevent its sale for development, they realized it would be costly and impractical to maintain the land. It made sense to not only preserve it, but to share it with others. In 1986, they donated 110 acres to Natural Lands Trust. Pleased with the Trust’s initial efforts, John and Claire made additional land donations of 66 and 35 acres and helped with other land purchases in Lower Gwynedd Township to form Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve. Open to the public and host to an array of habitat types supporting a diversity of wildlife, the Preserve currently has 235 acres of meadows, woodlands, wetlands and meandering trails. Claire says, “I get letters from new neighbors and people I don’t know telling me how happy they are to walk on the land.”

A substantial gift made by Claire and John also made it possible for The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association to acquired Evans-Mumbower Mill and its adjacent land in 1987. The historic, abandoned grist mill at the other end of the neighborhood was badly in need of repair. With continuing support, the mill was carefully restored in its special setting. Not only is the mill now open to the public for tours, but its millstones will once again grind grain thanks to the generosity of the Betz family.

Claire likes to give husband John much of the credit for making the early decisions to preserve land in their community, but she has been steadfast in her support of area conservancies, wildlife groups, and watershed organizations.  When asked how she felt after the land was preserved for all to enjoy, Claire said she felt, “Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!”

Welcome!

To add to my other genealogical website (www.hillanbrand.blogspot.com), that you may link from the right hand side, I thought I would add this blog regarding my mother's side of the family. As I collated facts to input into the computer, I also collected stories and memories to treasure in my mind. I hope to pass it along, in writing this blog, to my family.

The stories will come in bits and pieces. Some will be about individuals. Others will be about whole families. If anyone wishes to share stories with me, please do so by commenting.

As I compiled names of family members, I utilized Family Tree Maker software to save all of the information. To date, I have over 3,000 names within my family tree. My intent for this blog, is an exchange of family memories to pass onto successive generations. I do not wish to open skeletons within the family closet (although, I did indeed stumble over a few!), I do believe that information, especially medical family history, is important to share.

The countryside of Germany reminds me of a greener bucolic Pennsylvania. I had lived in Germany for nearly four years while in the military and I felt at home in the pastoral setting. I WAS home, I thought. I did not know that my ancestors lived not far from my rented apartment. A short day trip away, to a sleepy village awaits our exploration of the Smith (Schmidt) homestead in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Other families, such as the Knoll's, Reichert's, Rothmann's and Kern's originated near Karlsruhe of Baden-Wurttemberg. A long history of German emigration ended in the gathering of these families, celebrating their common faith at St. Mary's of the Assumption Church in Manayunk. Another German family, the Bittle's, arrived prior to the American Revolution to the Philadelphia area.

The Bennett family came from the textile center of England, in the heart of the City of Leeds and brought their craft to the mills of Manayunk. They had some measure of success, as we shall see, but then lost their fortune during the Depression. I hope that you will take this journey with me, and again, if you should have additional stories or photographs to share, please share.

Next installment...The First To Arrive.