Jonah Harbaugh and Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh

Jonah and Elizabeth are two of my ancestors who leave me with many more questions than answers. I do know that death and heartache were profound elements of Elizabeth's life.

Jonah had a twin brother named after their father, John. His mother, Rachel, was a Quaker.  I don't know exactly how involved Jonah was with the local Quaker congregation, but his body was buried in the Quaker cemetery near Fishertown in Bedford County.  

Elizabeth was the 4th oldest of 14 children. She was an active member of the Dunkard church. In her later years she enjoyed bringing her grandchildren to church with her.

Jonah and Elizabeth were married sometime before 1840. Their son, George, was born probably around 1841 or 1842. On 4 July 1843, Jonah died, making Elizabeth a very young widow and single mother.  The first of many tragedies in her life.

To complicate things even more, their daughter (my 2nd great-grandmother), Elizabeth Ellen, was born exactly 2 months following Jonah's death. A little less than 2 years later, Elizabeth's mother died.  Think about that - as a very young widow raising 2 small children on her own, Elizabeth lost her mother. 

As I try to put myself within the culture of the day, I would think that extended family was just kind of a given and was, I guess, completely ubiquitous. Almost everyone, it seems, was within spitting distance of extended family members of some type or another.  That's not to say that those closest to you are somehow diminished or less important by any means, but at least there was always some type of back-up plan should ultimate tragedy occur.  This had to provide some kind of comfort and support.  At least, I would like to think so.

If you remember from previous posts, Elizabeth's mother was a Reininger and had married a Callihan. The Callihan and Reininger farms were adjacent to each other. 

As the families grew and the farms expanded, additional homes and dwellings would be built within close proximity to each other.  US census records can help tell the story and put some of the pieces together.  The 1840 census shows Jonah Harbaugh and his wife living among the Callihans and the Reiningers.

It was during the 1840s when Elizabeth lost her husband.  By 1850 she and her children were living apart. Elizabeth was living with her Uncle George Reininger and Aunt Susan in a house on the Reininger farm.  Aunt Susan was a Harbaugh, though I don't know if or how she was related to Elizabeth's deceased husband, Jonah. Also living in the house was Elizabeth's younger sister, Sarah, who was only 2 yrs. old when their mother died, as well as a young farm hand.

Elizabeth's 2 children, George and Ellen, were living with Jonah's parents, John and Rachel Harbaugh.  I don't know why Elizabeth didn't have her children living with her, I don't know how far away her parents were (though it wouldn't have been more than a few miles), and I don't know how often she saw them. I just hope this was an arrangement that was, for whatever reason, good for everyone.

By 1860 Elizabeth was living next to her brother George and his family.  Her daughter Ellen is living with her.  (The census taker didn't get their last names quite right, but no doubt this is Elizabeth and her daughter.)

By 1860 son George would be in his very early 20s.  There's a George W. Harbaugh listed in an 1860 census in Frederick, MD with some other Harbaughs from Pennsylvania.  He's working as a farmer. I'm not convinced at all that this is Elizabeth's son, so I'm not exactly sure where he was in 1860. 

I do know the 1860s were a very eventful and tumultuous time.  The 12th of April 1861 brought the beginning of Civil War. We don't know the exact date, but at some point in the early 1860s Elizabeth's son, George, enlisted in the Union Army. In December of 1863, her daughter Ellen married Adam Ickes. She was probably already pregnant on her wedding day.

On the 11th of July 1864 Elizabeth's son George died from wounds he had received in battle at Petersburg, VA on 16th of June. He was buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Hampton, VA. 

Just 7 days following her son's death (but probably prior to her being notified that her son had died), her first grandchild was born.  John Elmer Ickes, son of Ellen and Adam, arrived in the world on 18 July 1864.

But as the war between the states continued it further affected the family.  In October of 1864 son-in-law Adam enlists as a substitute in the Union Army.  Thankfully, on 6 July 1865  Adam is honorably discharged from service and returns home sometime afterward.

At some point during the 1860s Elizabeth marries a man with the last name of Smith. The marriage is somewhat short-lived as either Mr. Smith dies (which is most likely) or something else happens to dissolve the marriage.  We believe this to be the case because by 1870, as shown in the census, Elizabeth is living with her daughter Ellen and family in Pleasantville. 

Elizabeth was living with Ellen's family when Ellen gave birth to a son, Sheldon Ross, in Jan of 1871, who died less than 3 months later.  She was also there when Ellen gave birth to a son, Henry Beecher, in March of 1872, who died when he was just 2 days old.

The 1880 census shows Elizabeth still living with daughter Ellen and family in Pleasantville.

That's the last known record of Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh Smith.  There is simply no record of her to be found after 1880.

In 1884 Adam moved his family to Nebraska.  I know from what Adam's daughter Allegra (Aunt Alle) recorded as well as documented evidence from Nebraska State census records that Elizabeth did not go to Nebraska with them.  

Elizabeth and Ellen didn't have a mother-daughter relationship in which the daughter cut the apron strings and pursued a life of her own away from everything parental.  These women's lives were closely intertwined through birth and death and war and uncertainty and heartache and loss. I can't imagine, after all that Ellen and Elizabeth had been through together, that Ellen would ever consider moving a lifetime away and not taking her mother with her if she were still alive.  Elizabeth must have died after 1880 and prior to 1884.  I just can't believe anything else.  But I really wish I knew for sure.

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Dunnings Creek Church of the Brethren

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian tradition with German origin.  It has also been known as the German Baptist Brethren and the "Dunkards" because of their belief in baptism by immersion.

The Dunnings Creek congregation began meeting around 1841 and a log meetinghouse was begun in the fall of 1843 and completed in 1844. It was built on land sold to the church by Christian Mock for $5 and was located a short distance southwest of Pleasantville.

Although the adjacent cemetery was often visited and cared for, after many decades of use the meetinghouse eventually fell into disrepair.  

Fast forward to the late 20th century when Clair Mock, great-great-grandson of Christian Mock, a long-time member, deacon, and volunteer of the Mock Dunkard Church, convinced a group of friends to help him restore the old church. It has since been used for Christmas services and other special events.

After taking several outside shots I placed my camera lens up against the window glass hoping to get some type of clear image inside. Imagine my surprise when the image came into focus and I spotted Brent within the shot.  The church door was unlocked and visitors were welcome inside. 

This was the church where the Callihans and the Reiningers were members.  This was the church adjacent to the cemetery in which Robert Callihan and Margaret Reininger Callihan, among other members of their family, were buried. It was a multi-generational church attended by many past generations of my family.  Remembering fondly the days of his youth, my great-grandfather, Horace Ickes, wrote, "I would walk 2 1/2 miles with my grandmother to her church, set way back in the woods.  The old Dunkard church." This was where they worshiped God, studied scripture, and prayed.  They prayed for each other. They prayed for their crops and for their animals. They prayed for beneficial weather and much needed rain. They prayed for their families and their children: the born, the unborn, and the dead.

Since 1844 at least 5 generations of my direct-line ancestors made cherished memories in this little log church set deep in the woods.

 And 2015 brought at least one more.

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The Mothers

My great-grandmothers virtually had no voices.  Most of them never owned property and they left no wills.  If they were not the head of the household (which is the case for all of my great-grandmothers) their names were not listed on any US census records prior to 1850.  Any information we would have about them would have come from family, church, or cemetery records.

All of my Bedford County great-grandmothers were farmers' wives, though a couple of the later ones were able to branch out of the farm life.  We can't hear their stories from their mouths, but we can consider the words of other farmers' wives during similar times and in similar places:

"As a class, farmers’ wives are expected to do more work than any other housekeeper.  We do our own washing, ironing, taking care of the milk, meat, chickens, which women of other callings do not.  We do our own sewing, making over an infinite number of old clothes to save the expense of new ones."

"There are compensations to living on a farm anywhere, and particularly here, that I am sure no other hard way of earning one’s living brings; but it is hard, and oh! The needlessness of it is the hardest part to bear!  It is not what money brings that I or any other sensible person wants, but just to do a reasonable amount of useful work and then a chance to lift one’s eyes and thoughts above the daily grind."

"I happen to be married to a man who considers it an unpardonable crime for a woman to sit down to read or study, or to take a minute to rest."

"I weigh 120 pounds.  I milk seven or eight cows night and morning; run a separator (device which separates cream from milk); get breakfast, dinner, and supper; do all of the washing and cleaning; do most of the garden work and rake in some haying.  I feel very good most of the time, only when I get too tired I have a headache and pain in back of my neck.  I mend, read, and such, but I don’t have much time to rest."

"Many farmers’ wives are despondent.  I think some are so despondent as not to care to put forth enough energy to even lift the head.  What causes the state of affairs?  Is it the treadmill?  Is it lack of society?  Is it poor food?  Is it poor clothes? – good clothes are a moral support it is said.  Is it unappreciated toil?  Is the farmer so much among animals that he comes to regard his wife as a beast of burden?  I have been five years trying to answer these questions.  I hesitated years before consenting to marry a farmer because I saw that these things were so and I could not tell why."

"I will try and tell you some of my experiences and what a woman can endure. I was married when twenty years old, went to keeping house the first of July. [We soon] found plenty of bugs. Of course there wasn't much rest for many nights. I would take everything outdoors and'sweep it down from top to bottom and then scald the logs and then whitewash them and so on. We lived that way for nearly twenty years."

"I was married at nineteen and then my farm life began in earnest .. . I would always rise in the morning at four or half past, winter and summer, and have built my own fires, milked from four to eight cows, prepared the breakfast and had it at six. I always did my own churning, and many are the books of poems, histories, stories and newspapers I have read while churning .. . I have always done my own washing and weaving of carpets as I have a large house and it is furnished with rag carpets. . . . One summer I piled up one hundred cords of wood and did my own housework. . . . Not many modem wives would think they could pull flax, cut corn, dig potatoes and do all things on a farm as we used to."

"I used to say that I could select the farmers' wives from a crowd of women of all classes. They seemed to have a sort of hopeless spiritless look." 

"Before leaving your bedroom, open [the] window and put your bed to air. Be sure to ask divine help to carry you through the day. Have your breakfast well on the way the night before. Clear the table and wash [the] dishes right off; don't let them stand to dry or call flies. Sweep and dust; clean lamps. Then do chamber work. Prepare dinner. . . . Can you tell me how to do this and at the same time crowd in the care of milk from five cows, churning twice a week, baking for seven in [the] family, attending to poultry, washing, ironing, mending, sewing, etc., etc.? I must confess I don't know how to do it and keep sweet-tempered as a wife and mother should. God alone knows I would like to be able to do it."

"I am a farmer' s wife, sixty years old today . Thirty-one years I have spent on an isolated hilltop, with work, work, work, and starved for something to read." (from http://tcpl.org/local-history/documents/ithaca-tc/women-roots/lifestylesp19-27.pdf)

And from another source describing the family life of early colonial America:

"By the mid-1700s, across the American colonies . . . travelers described Americans as coarse-looking country folk. Women and girls kept their hair covered with hats, hoods, and kerchiefs. Colonials made their own clothes from linen (flax) and wool; every home had a spinning wheel and a loom, and women sewed and knitted constantly, as cotton cloth would not be readily available until the nineteenth century. Plentiful dyes like indigo, birch bark, and pokeberries made colorful shirts, pants, dresses, socks and caps.

 "Americans grew their own food and ate a great deal of corn—roasted, boiled, and cooked into cornmeal bread and pancakes. Hearty vegetables like squash and beans joined apples, jam, and syrup on the dinner table. Given the poor quality of water, many colonials drank cider, beer, and corn whiskey—even the children! As cities sprang up, cattle drank beer, yielding a disgusting variant of milk known as “swill milk” that propagated childhood illnesses.

 "Infant mortality was high, and any sickness usually meant suffering, and often, death.  Women, expected to bear between five and 10 live children, could anticipate a dozen pregnancies. Bodies wore out fast, and women aged rapidly. Overall life expectancy hardly tells the tale of the everyday life, where work was hard, the most minor sicknesses potentially life-threatening, and pleasures few. 

"Despite the reality of this coarse life for common folk, it is worth noting that by 1774 American colonists already had attained a standard of living that far surpassed that found in even most of the civilized parts of the modern world." (from http://www.patriotshistoryusa.com/teaching-materials/bonus-materials/everyday-life-in-america/)

I calculated the average statistics of my 18 Bedford County great-grandmothers for whom I have information. They were an average of 21 years old when they gave birth to their first child.  They had an average of 8 children each over a period of 17 years.  This is actually a very generous estimate as odds are they had far more miscarriages, stillbirths, and cases of infant mortality than what was written down and recorded.  Their average age of death was 69.  By contrast, the average age of their husbands' death was 77.

They were tired.  Overworked,  Exhausted.  And broken.  Let's call it what it really was. Their primary roles were that of work horses and baby-making machines.  They sacrificed themselves - their essence and very identity - for the welfare of others. Some appear to have had a few years of rest toward the end of their lives. Others worked hard every single day. And then they died.  The more children they had, especially boys, the more farm help they provided their husbands.  But more children added even more to their own overwhelming work load. I imagine they had no choice in the matter. The men owned everything else and probably claimed ownership to their wives bodies as well.  Something meant to be tender, loving, and unifying could easily become one of these women's greatest sources of dread and loathing. And the heartache.  The incomprehensible heartache with the premature death of a little one.  It happened far too frequently, and I can't imagine the pain ever lessened. 

Here's my tribute to my Bedford County great-grandmothers.  As much as I appreciate and admire my great-grandfathers' contribution to colonization, the war effort, and evolving affluence, their commitment and sacrifice pale in comparison to the lived experiences of their wives.  Help me honor them by thoughtfully reading each of their names as you carefully consider the implications of their life's statistics: 

My 2nd Great-Grandmothers

Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes

first documented child born when she was 20 years old

at least 8 births in 12 years

she died at age 75

Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh Ickes
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California

       

son Sheldon Ross Ickes
died at age 2 1/2 months
Hoover Cemetery     

son Harry Beecher died at age 2 days

place of burial is unknown

       

My 3rd Great-Grandmothers

Elizabeth Lingenfelter Ickes

first documented child born when she was 21 years old

at least 8 births in 19 years

she died at age 50

Elizabeth Lingenfelter Ickes
Hoover Cemetery

daughter Mary Ann Ickes died at age 4 months (her first born)

buried in an unmarked grave, Hoover Cemetery

son William Ickes
died at age 17 years
Hoover Cemetery

       

daughter Mandilla Ickes
died at age 12 years
buried next to her mother, Hoover Cemetery

son John Clayton Ickes died at age 11 months

buried in an unmarked grave, Hoover Cemetery

       

Daughter Eliza Virginia Ickes Wilt
died at age 19 years, 1 1/2 months after giving birth
Pleasantville Cemetery

     

   

Elizabeth Callihan Harbaugh

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old     

at least 2 births in 4 years

her age at time of death is unknown

her place of burial is unknown

son George Wisegarver Harbaugh died at age 25 years (killed in Civil War)

place of burial is unknown

My 4th Great-Grandmothers

Mary Haverstock Ickes

first documented child born when she was about 21 years old

at least 12 births in 24 years

she died at age 65

Mary Haverstock Ickes
Old Union Cemetery

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter

first documented child born when she was 21 years old

at least 12 births in 30 years 

she died at age 60 

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter's broken headstone
Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

son George Lingenfelter died at less than 1 year of age

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

daughter Rachel M Lingenfelter died at age 18 years

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

son David A Lingenfelter died at age 1 year

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

daughter Sarah Ann Lingenfelter died at age 6 years

Horn United Methodist Church Cemetery

Elizabeth Wisegarver Lingenfelter's broken headstone surrounded by
smaller, unmarked headstones which could be marking her
deceased childrens' graves

          

Rachel Hammond Harbaugh

first documented child born when she was 24 years old

at least 9 births in 16 years

her age at time of death is unknown

her place of burial is unknown

Margaret Reininger Callihan

first documented child born when she was 17 years old

at least 14 births in 27 years

she died at age 47, 2 1/2 years after her last recorded birth

Margaret Reininger Callihan
Mock Dunkard Church Cemetery

My 5th Great-Grandmothers

Maria Elizabeth Stambaugh Ickes 

first documented child born when she was about 25 years old

at least 5 births in 10 years

she died at about age 73

Maria Elizabeth Stambaugh Ickes
Old Union Cemetery

Margaret Reighard Haverstock

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old

at least 8 births in 22 years

she died at about age 84

buried in an unmarked grave

Mount Eaton Lutheran Cemetery, Wayne County OH

Elizabeth Blackburn Wisegarver

first documented child born when she was 24 years old         

at least 11 births in 17 years

she died at age 72

her place of burial is unknown

daughter Eve Wisegarver Griffith died at age 25 years (probably died giving birth)

her place of burial is unknown

Rachel Blackburn Hammond  

first documented child born when she was about 25 years old

at least 8 births in 19 years

she died at age 70

her place of burial is unknown

Mary Proctor Callihan

first documented child born when she was about 28 years old

at least 6 births in about 14 years

she died at about age 84

Mary Proctor Callihan
Callihan burial ground

Mary Hine Reininger 

first documented child born when she was about 21 years old

at least 11 births in 25 years

she died at age 71

Reininger Cemetery

My 6th Great-Grandmothers

Maria Imler Reighard

age at first documented birth is unknown

at least 3 births in about 6 years

age at death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Mary Elizabeth Steel Wisegarver

age at first documented birth is unknown

at least 4 births in 12 years

age at death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Elizabeth Griffith Blackburn

first documented child born when she was 24 years old

at least 9 births in 18 years

she died at about age 74

buried in an unmarked grave in Friends Cemetery

Deborah Dicks Hammond

first documented child born when she was about 22 years old

at least 6 births in 16 years

her age at time of death is unknown

place of burial is unknown

Rebecca Harlan Blackburn

first documented child born when she was about 18 years old

at least 13 births in 26 years

she died at age 44 giving birth to her 13th child

place of burial is unknown

"...no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child."   Jeffrey R. Holland


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My Bedford County Family

Adam Ickes (not to be confused with his grandfather, Adam Ickes) was born in Pleasantville, Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 1845.  Here is his Bedford County ancestry:

Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh, Adam's wife, was born in 1843, also in Bedford County PA.  Here is her Bedford County ancestry:

All of their ancestors shown on the pedigree charts on a blue background lived in Bedford County.  I have no evidence to believe that the names printed in blue with a blue border around them ever lived in Bedford County (but I included them just to balance out the pedigree charts).  The names on Adam's pedigree in light blue still need more documentation to prove they actually fit in this line. More research is needed.

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Pre-Trek Prep

Multiple generations of my dad's family lived in Bedford County Pennsylvania beginning in the mid 1700s. My direct-line ancestors left Pennsylvania in 1884, but many descendants of some of my early ancestors still live there today.

My 2nd great-grandfather, Adam Ickes, (born 1845) and his wife Elizabeth Ellen Harbaugh had a daughter named Allegra. She was their youngest child, born in 1873 in Pleasantville, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. She lived to be over 100 years old. I actually met her when I was a young girl. She was living in a nursing home in Fort Collins, Colorado at the time. It's hard to believe I actually met (and kissed on the cheek) the daughter of a Civil War soldier. At some point in her life she had become interested in genealogy. She handed over all of her research, documents, photos, keepsakes, etc. to my dad sometime back. Several years ago he passed everything on to me.

Allegra Ickes at age 18 

Growing up I knew the basics about many of my identified ancestry: names, relationships, birth places, etc., but in order to take the most advantage of a trip to the homeland of this particular family line I needed to find out a whole lot more.

I've identified 39 direct-line ancestors that lived in Bedford County. The vast majority of them, I believe, were German and Irish immigrants. Several men were Revolutionary War veterans. Two of my 5th g-grandfathers were directly involved in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. There were active abolitionists in their families, risking their lives and freedom to help secure freedom for others. Most of the men were hard-working farmers looking to make better lives for themselves and their posterity. Many of the women experienced great heartache from the untimely death of young children. From my research of wills and historical church records, they all seemed to be very devout Christians from various denominations which included Lutheran, Quaker, Methodist, German Baptist, and Independent.

Many online resources were used to get as much information as I could prior to roots trekking in Bedford PA. I scoured findagrave.com for burial locations and any historical info attached to each person. I found historical accounts and stories in old local history books available on archive.org, google books, and familysearch.org (viewable at any local Family History Center). I looked for land records on the PA State Archives website and also found old maps from 1861 and 1877 (St Clair, Union/King, and Pleasantville) showing actual locations of houses and farms labeled with the occupants' names.

My great-aunt Alle's (Allegra mentioned above) research was extremely helpful to me. Many of my ancestral lines have been heavily researched with family research websites available online. Other websites specific to the history and early settlers of Bedford County were very informative as well. I'm sure I'm missing other key resources, but hopefully I'll remember to mention them in subsequent posts. (There was A LOT of incorrect information online as well, especially within ancestry.com family trees.  Those are not primary sources and should not be treated as such.)

I sent emails; matched up old maps with Google Earth; compiled all the information I found by event, family name, and venue; printed simple pedigree charts to keep track of everybody; and made one custom google map showing every cemetery, church, parcel of land, and historical venue I wanted to visit.  My husband, Brent, accessed my Google map on his phone while he navigated our way around Bedford County.

It was the third week in October, 2015. We actually flew into Columbus, Ohio where our daughter and son-in-law are attending grad school at OSU. We left the airport and headed toward PA, only having to return after 30 minutes on the road to exchange our rental car - a delay I was none to excited about - but we arrived with a couple of hours of daylight left on our first day. (From now on I think I'll do my best to avoid flying first thing Monday morning and I'll NEVER book on Travelocity again! But that's another story for another day.)

We finally got a rental car we KNEW we could trust!

We were blessed with awesome weather. We had just missed the peak foliage as the first freeze had happened the previous week, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. The title image above (may not be visible on a mobile device) was taken from Barefoot Road near Pleasantville at dusk.  I captured 484 images over 2 1/2 days.

All the people we met were incredibly friendly and helpful. The Bedford County phone book listed 63 people with the last name of "Ickes". I've never seen more than one or two "Ickes" listings - myself and/or my dad - in any other phone book. I actually met my first Ickes outside my own immediate family (excluding my dad's sister and great-aunt Allie).

After 3 days in Bedford County we made a quick side trip to Kirtland, Ohio to visit some historic LDS church sites, and we ended up in Columbus, Ohio where another son, his wife and 2 kids joined us for the weekend. The purpose and focus of our week spanned 11 generations. We had a great trip and a great time!

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All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016.  All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.