Research, Data and Family Notes

Privacy & Copyright

Every effort has been made to keep living individual's information from being published on this web site. If you see any information for someone who is still living, please contact me. Photographs on this web site are of persons no longer living.

To insure the privacy of other researchers, I do not list my sources on this web site. I would be glad to let you know where I found my information, just e-mail me. I have not verified all sources. It would be very difficult to do that.

The issues of copyright and the internet are very complex, and I do not wish to start a forum here or create arguments. However, I believe that since I have taken information from varied sources (some include internet web pages) and have pulled them into one piece of work, i.e. this web site, then I have a right to copyright this web site. To that end you will see a copyright mark at the bottom of each page. If you'd like to read more on this subject, please go to Copyright Fundamentals for Genealogy and Copyright & Genealogy.

I am happy to share my information, as well as the sources that I've used to find that information. But many feel that information found on the internet is "fair game", and will take it and say that it is theirs. I have reduced the number of photos on my website, because I have had others just copy them and add them to their websites. If you would like to use the information on these pages, please contact me and ask permission.

Pennsylvania Marriage Licenses

During my years doing research I have requested copies of many items that, as it turned out, I didn't need. I'm hoping that by putting it on this web site it will help someone else. The information that is listed below is from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History & Biography. You can see images of these pages on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania web site. I've had copies of these lists for years and just recently decided to put the lists in surname alphabetical order so that it would be easier to find an ancestors name. These files are very large!! Please give them time to open. You will need Adobe Reader to open them. If you have trouble understanding the abbreviations of the first names, try this web site: Name Abbreviations.

Research Notes about:

Deardorff Family

The Deardorff's came to the US through Philadelphia in the early 1700's. Anthony Deardorff was one of the founding members of one of the first Brethren Churches in America. They then moved to what is now known as Adams County, PA and from there they spread to Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and further west, following the expansion of the Brethren Church. My long term goal is to link as many Deardorff's together as possible.

Benedict Family

The Benedict's came to the US in the early 1700's. I haven't verified that Jacob Benedict and his son Peter was the immigrant, but it certainly looks like it. They settled in what is now Lebanon County, PA and in the late 1700's moved to Franklin County, PA. My main goal with the Benedict's is to verify when they immigrated and to separate all the different lines.

Ricker Family

I haven't found when the Ricker's came to the US. My mom thought that she was connected to the Maine "Poland Spring Water" Ricker's. She even took a trip to Maine to do research. Neither Mom or I could connect the families. This has been a particularly hard line to research and I have run into a lot of brick walls. The spelling of the name Ricker has been the most frustrating thing. I have found it spelled Ricker, Rickert, Rickerd, Reighert and Reighart, just to name a few! Finding Adam Ricker's father is my goal with this family.

Renn Family

I believe that the Renn's and Grauel's came to the US through Maryland, probably Baltimore, in the mid 1800's. I haven't found the ship or the exact date, but I keep looking. There are Renn's in Pennsylvania and Central Maryland, but I don't think that we are connected. Growing up, I would hear about Renn's in Frederick County, Maryland. Our line came from Howard County, Maryland, just in the next county, but the lines really don't connect. John Renn, born in 1862, moved out to South Dakota and I've connected withsome of his descendents there.

Grauel Family

I'm still actively researching Ignatius Grauel and his wife Jeanette Creighton. I knew that Ignatius had several sisters. They were mentioned in his obituary, but they were not named. I have found one sister, Dora Martin, who lived in Nebraska. In 1910 she came across country to visit her brother, Ignatius. They hadn't seen each other in 42 years and an article was written about the reunion. It also told a bit more about Ignatius, how he was an educated man, a horticulturist, and a gardner in Germany for a high placed War General before coming to the United States. It also spoke of how Ignatius and Jeanette Creighton met, how she was the daughter of "noble lineage" and that her family opposed the marriage. I have since found the name of Jeanette's Uncle, but not her father or mother. I'm still very new at doing research in other countries, and I'm not making much progress.

Davis & Lombardy Family

I've only recently started on the Davis family. I put this off when I found out that James Davis was from Virginia. It would be like looking for the proverbial needle!! I started by getting James Russell Davis's death certificate. I was so disappointed when it really didn't have that much information on it. But I have made slow, but steady progress. Joe's Grandmother, Victoria Lombardy and her family have been difficult.