I Read it on the Internet! It Must be True!

Don’t you love to hear that expression? “I know it’s true, I read it on the internet.”  Thank goodness for Snopes.com! We can check all of those rumors that circulate today. Back on September 10, 1914 there was no place to check when you read the newspaper. Did you take it for granted that what you read was true and pass on the information? or did you verify any of it at all?

Last night I found a newspaper article about my grandparents upcoming wedding in an online newspaper.  The Harrisburg Patriot published the following three sentences on the society page of the September 10, 1914 issue -

Invitations have been received in this city for the marriage of Miss Nellie Niess and Robert Sherman, both of Washington, D.C., which will take place on September 16, in the Congregational church in Washington. Miss Niess is a graddaughter of Jeremiah Carvell, a former pastor of the Fourth street Church of God, also a granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. B.F, Niess, 117 Dock street, and has frequently visited her relativges (sic) here. Mr. Sherman is a grandson of the late General Sherman.

Just three sentences and each one of them has a major error in it!

• Sentence Number 1: The grooms name. Every piece of paper I have ever seen (including that Wedding Invitation, of which I have one!) states that the groom was William F. Sherman, not Robert. My very own father was William F. Sherman, Jr.!
• Sentence Number 2: Grandparents. The bride’s grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim H. Niess, not Mr. and Mrs. B.F. Niess. Her uncle was B.F. Niess! B.F. for Benjamin Franklin
• And Sentence Number 3: As anyone who has studied Civil War history, and that of General William Tecumseh Sherman can tell you, he had no grandchildren with the Sherman surname! I know of one son who died young, one son who was a Catholic Priest (and if he was our relative, we certainly wouldn’t be carrying the Sherman name, now would we?) and supposedly another son who died a bachelor in another part of the country.

In actuality, after more than 25 years of researching, I am no closer to discovering who my great-grandparents were on my grandfather’s side than I was when I started. My grandfather was less than honest about his background (or much else, it appears) and I would be surprised if Sherman was actually the name he received at birth. My father went to his grave confused about his father’s background and my brother’s DNA does not match anyone, or even come close to anyone carrying the Sherman surname!

I keep hoping I’ll find the answer . . . where else, but ON THE INTERNET!

 

Catharine is always in mourning

If you read Catharine’s diary, the theme is established.  It is full of family, friends and neighbors either close to death or dying.  She seems to be obsessed with unhappiness.

Catharine Auxer Niess in mourning

This picture seems to be a theme in her life. Catharine is the one on the right. I believe the woman on the left may be her eldest sister, Anna Maria Lehman, since this picture was taken about the time Anna Maria’s husband died in 1912. Catharine’s husband died three years later, and she probably wore the same outfit. I have the head covering in my collection. The border on this scarf matches the border in the previous collection, over the years the ends have become either frayed or torn, but it is the same scarf.

Catharine's scarf in Linda's home

Catharine was born in the Elizabethtown area of Lancaster County on 19th April 1844 to Philip and Maria (Leader) Auxer.  At the age of 15 she is found working as a domestic in the household of Christian Graybill in East Donegal Township.  Five years later she is married to Ephraim Niess.

By the 1870 census, she had two children and the family lived in Harrisburg. What the census doesn’t tell you is that she had already lost her first two children and her youngest would die in the next year.  She was married to an alcoholic and life was a constant struggle to make ends meet.  Her husband was a Civil War veteran who had seen battle in Chancellorsville.  Life was not easy for Ephraim as he fought his inner devils until his death.

The 1880 Census shows the family, minus the daughter on the 1870 census since she had died in 1871.  Their son Edwin (shown as Edward in 1870) is now 12 and he had a new sister, Catharine, who was nine.  There were three other children born after the 1870 census, and they had also died.  Catharine also lost her mother in this decade.

There is no 1890 census, but the family remained at 115 Dock Street in Harrisburg, Ephraim continued to drink and was still employed by Bailey Iron Works and the family grew by two boys, John Ephraim and Benjamin Franklin.  They would live to adulthood.  Sadness and grief was recorded in her diaries, a copy of which still exists in one of her descendant’s loving care.

I am fortunate to have had this shared with me and have transcribed it.  It covers the years 1888 through 1894 in her life and this is where I find the sadness and illness that plagues her life.

The 1888 diary starts out with two mentions of death in the first month:

Jan 8th
This was a blessed sabbath for me, I read a great deal, I could not go out on account of the weather and my health, this evening I feel very sad, Mrs. Fogerty is very sick, they do not think she will live until morning, I feel sorry for them all, she is a very kind Mother and a good neighbor, they keep a bakery two doors from us, I hope she is saved, how necessary to live for christ, when in health, O help me to drink deep of his sweet spirt of submission, that will enable me to meet, yea, even to welcome, the sorest cross, saying yes, Lord, all is well, just because it is they blessed will, take me, use me, chasten me, as seemeth good in thy sight,

Jan 11th
The weather has changed, is very cold – I feel better, but cannot go out much, Mrs. Fogerty was buried to day, she had a very large funeral, but this is the way we all must go, sooner or later, every day is proclaiming anew the lesson, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, O that I may seek to live, so that that (sic) time can not come upon me to soon, or too unexpectedly, Oh that I may live a dying life, how blesed to live, a dying life how blesed to die, with the consciousness that there may be but a step between me and Glory.

and then later in the month:

Jan 27th
Two years ago to day Father died I can never forget his happy death, I think of him very much he always seemed so happy, and waited patiently until he was called, to take his departure, to a home beyond the skies, where there is no sickness, nor sorrow, here he was sick a long time, but our afflictions, and our sorrows, are meted out by a tender hand, he would often request us to sing,

Mid scenes of confusion,
And creature complaints,
How sweet to my soul,
Is communion with saints.
Home, sweet Home,
They sung the piece at his funeral, O how he warned us to live, an honest christian life and be ready for this change that was soon to take place with him O how peacefully he passed away it did not seem like death,

. . . and so the years go. She had faith, but was always thinking about death.

Ephraim and Catharine Auxer Niess on their 50th anniversary

Catharine always referred to Ephraim as “my husband,” never by his name in her diary.  They were married 51 years when he died. They had gone to Washington DC in October of 1915 where Ephraim attended the GAR National Encampment and had seen their first great-grandson who was born in September of that year.  That great-grandson was my father.

Ephraim died on 25th of November of that year.  The entry in a notebook she kept simply says:  “He took my husband.”

“He” took her six years later on 27 May 1921.

 

My Favorite Cemetery

Since I love cemeteries, I thought I’d try to narrow it down to my favorite cemetery.  I visit so many,so often, you’d think I have a favorite.  Well, I do!

Entrance to Donegal Presbyterian Church

I love the peacefulness and stillness I feel when I visit the cemetery at Donegal Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  It is in the country, surrounded by an old stonewall.  The old Church is right across the drive and down the hill are the Donegal Springs with a bench to sit and comptemplate whatever it is you wish to contemplate!

Donegal Springs, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Is this my favorite cemetery?  No, but it is one of my favorites!

Lancaster City has many, many old cemeteries, all beautifully maintained, for the most part.  Two blocks away from my home is the old Shreiner Cemetery where the great Abolitionist, Thaddeaus Stevens is buried.  Today the cemetery is right on the edge of a major thoroughfare thru the city, and in the middle of a wonderful old neighborhood.  It is surrounded by an iron fence, and mowed and weeded regularly.

James Buchanan's gravesite, Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, PA

The final resting place for Jacob Auxer and his family is in horrible shape.  I have removed weeds, trash and dirt from this site.  I cannot sit the stones upright, but I have filled in gopher holes that have undermined headstones.  Perpetual care?  hmmm-m-m-m-m-m-m-m

Auxer site, bottom of the hill, Woodward Hill Cemetery

Is this my favorite cemetery?  Once again, no, but high on the list.  High on the list because it gives me something to maintain.  Someplace that makes me feel that I am indeed honoring my family ~ however distant it maybe ~ and somewhat of a cause.

Harrisburg Cemetery, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

No, my favorite cemetery, without a doubt, is Harrisburg Cemetery! This awesome cemetery stands in the middle of the city, with a view of the State Capitol. It once was on the edge of the city with the entrance to the west. The entrance is now to the south, through a less than desirable neighborhood.

This is the cemetery in which my ancestors first spoke to me and encouraged me to continue in my search for their stories.  This is the cemetery where three generations all lie together for eternity.  This is the cemetery that keeps pulling me back, if only to place a few flowers, pull a few weeds and sit quietly for a minute or two.

Ephraim Niess, his wife, Catharine Auxer Niess and five of their young children have their lives all noted on the same headstone, Catharine’s brother, mother, father and grandmother share the plot with them.

Ephraim and Catharine Niess and 5 of their children, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

This picture was taken when spring had just arrived.  The grass is green and the leaves on the trees shade the cemetery’s occupants final resting places.  It is Mother’s Day and I’ve taken my annual pilgrimage to the various cemeteries through out the midstate region, leaving a small flower at grandmother’s grave. I have graves from Snyder County to Shippensburg and Harrisburg down to Lancaster to visit, but it is worth the effort.  I am sure some of these graves have not been visited for years and I love to show my respect and love for these wonderful women who paved the road I travel today.

Abraham Auxer

Maria Leader Auxer

Philip Kleiss Auxer, Catharine Niess' father

Susannah Bischoff Leader Kaylor, Catharine's grandmother

In reality they all could be my favorite cemetery, but Harrisburg Cemetery, is without a doubt my favorite cemetery, because of it’s history and meaning to my family and because my ancestors still speak to me when I visit them.

I guess you can say, I do play favorites . . . . . .