Tag: genealogy

1912: Also a Leap Year

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Thursday, February 29, 1912:  I was quite conscious of the fact that this comes only once in four years. This day I mean. We had a visitor at school today. Two I may say. One was the county superintendent. By good luck he wasn’t there, when we had a hard study to go through.

A hundred years ago the country superintendent probably came down this road with a horse and buggy as he entered the McEwensville. The road wasn't paved back then.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

It’s interesting that it was also a leap year a hundred years ago. (If I had thought about it, I would have been able to easily figure out that both years were leap years, but somehow I was surprised.)

I wish that I had a better understanding of how school systems were organized in 1912. Then, as now, the state was responsible for public education.

Counties were the intermediary unit between the state and the schools a hundred years ago in Pennsylvania. There were not large school districts back then. Many of the consolidated districts—including the Warrior Run School District that now includes McEwensville— were formed in the 1950s.

The superintendent of schools for the county probably visited McEwensville High School because of the mid-year change in teachers.  McEwensville High School got a new teacher just ten days prior to the writing of this entry. The superintendent probably came to see how the new teacher was doing. I hope that he passed with flying colors!

Sister Visiting A Friend: Peace and Quiet, But More Work

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Wednesday, February 27, 1912:  I helped Ruth decide a question this morning. She was invited out to spend the evening and staid all night.  I decided that she should accept the invitation and so she did. But the other part is that I will have her milking tomorrow morning.

Recent photo of the barn that Grandma milked cows in a hundred years ago.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

There are trade-offs to everything. In this diary entry Grandma was weighing the benefits and “costs” of her sister Ruth staying overnight at a friend’s house.

Benefit

Peace and quiet: Grandma got a quiet evening alone without Ruth. She shared a bedroom with her sister, so she also would have had the room to herself.

“Cost”

More work:  In exchange for the peace and quiet Grandma had to milk more cows than usual in the morning.

Received Report Card

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Monday, February 26, 1912: Went through the snow to school this morning and came home through the rain. One good things I didn’t have to walk this evening. Received my report card today. I knew what my marks were for I had caught a glimpse of them some time previous. Mine has the downward tendency this month.  Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

How did Grandma know what her grades were going to be prior to receiving the report card? Was she again snooping around the teacher’s desk?

Grandma’s teacher caught her cheating in late January—and she did not cheat when she took her tests in February. It’s too bad that her grades didn’t reflect her better behavior—though I suppose they more accurately reflected what she knew.

Remodeling Aunt’s Cast-off Dress

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Saturday, February 24, 1912:  I fixed over a dress for myself this afternoon. It was one of my Aunt Annie’s cast-offs. I had one trying time a getting the waist and skirt together. I have it fixed now and tried it on to see the result. I’m not so much pleased with my sewing. It seems rather short in the back.

Click on photo to make larger.

Annie Van Sant is the woman in white in the center of the photo.

John and Sarah Derr Family. Taken about 1900. L to R. Front Row: John, Annie Van Sant, Sarah. Back Row: Miles, Fuller, Alice Krumm, Elmer, Phoebe Muffly, Judson, Homer. Phoebe (Derr) Muffly was the mother of Helen (Muffly) Swartz.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Thirty-five year-old Annie Van Sant was Grandma’s mother’s youngest sister. She was married to Benjamin Van Sant who was a physician in nearby Turbotville. The Van Sant’s visited the Muffly’s the previous week.

I suppose that Annie was relatively well-to –do since she was a doctor’s wife—and had some relatively nice cast-offs to give her niece.

It’s amazing how people often remodeled clothes a hundred years ago. Clothing was much more expensive back then—and people often remodeled outfits instead of buying new items.

A hundred years ago, women’s shirts were called waists. Based upon the wording of this diary entry the top part of a dress apparently was also called waists.

An aside–I apologize for using this photo several times over the past year or so. I wish that I had more photos of my ancestors–but I have very few so sometimes need to use the same photo a couple times to illustrate entries.

Could Hardly Get Through the Mud

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Friday, February 23, 1912:  It was so awful muddy this afternoon. Didn’t hardly know how I would get through mud and everything else coming home from school.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Mud was a huge problem a  hundred years ago. Neither the streets in McEwensville nor the rural roads that Grandma needed to walk to get home from school were paved.

A muddy Main street in McEwensville in the early 1900s. Photo from Watsontown, McEwensville, and Delaware Township: A real Photo Postcard History by Robert Swope, Jr. (Photo used with permission)
Recent photo showing the same section of Main Street. The paved road is a definite improvement on muddy late winter days.

An Uncle Who Was a Great Tease

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Saturday, February 17, 1912:  Uncle Ben and Aunt Annie were here today. I was very anxious to see Uncle Ben as I hadn’t seen him since I was a little kid, so you see I really wanted to see what he looked like. He is a great tease, but doesn’t look like it at all. Puts him arms around you and strokes your hair. Really, I was surprised.

Annie (Derr) Van Sant (circa 1900)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This diary entry refers to Benjamin and Annie Van Sant. Annie was the youngest sister of Grandma’s mother.  Ben was a physician in Turbotville which is located about  6 miles northeast of the Muffly farm.

In February 1912, Ben was 48 years old and Annie was 35. They did not have any children.

Since they lived so near the Muffley’s it is amazing that Grandma had not seen her uncle in many years.

That said, I’m not exactly sure what to make of this entry.  .  .

I’m at Least 0.4% Swiss!!

Wednesday, April 19, 1911: Missing entry (Diary resumes on April 28.)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

I believe that there are only two spots during the entire four-year diary where  Grandma failed to write a daily entry—one place was in January 1911 near the very beginning of the diary; the other spot is here.

I will use these days to provide additional background information about Grandma. Today, I’d like to share some genealogical information about the Muffly family.

It looks like the Muffly family originally came over from Switzerland. I recently contacted Rootsweb—Northumberland County to try to find out more about the Muffly family. Bill Dietrich responded. He had traced the Muffly paternal line back to Bern Switzerland. Bill-thank you!

I organized the information by generation.

My cousin Stu Kurtz provided some additional details based upon census data  that  he found on the Church of Latter Day Saints’ FamilySearch site.

The Muffly Family in the United States

Generation 1

Nickolas Muffly (1707-1786). Immigrated from Bern Switzerland to Northampton County Pennsylvania; later moved to Centre County, Pennsylvania and eventually died in Centre County (At that time Centre County was part of Northumberland County.)

Generation 2

Peter Muffly (1739-1816) and Catherine Regina Wannemacher (1744-1831). Peter was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania; later moved to Centre County, Pennsylvania (which was part of Northumberland County)

Generation 3

Heinrick Muffly (February 15, 1772 – February 4, 1853) and Julia Marie Walker (1774-1861).  Heinrick moved from Centre County, Pennsylvania to Montour County Pennsylvania (which was also part of Northumberland County at that time).

Generation 4

Samual Muffly (April 21, 1797-July 1, 1873) and Anna Maria Kleppinger (1795-1868). Samual lived in Montour County Pennsylvania.

Children:

Samuel K. (December 14, 1827-1896)

Catherine, born circa 1830 (20 years old in 1850 census)

Maria, born circa 1832 (18 years old in 1850 census)

George, born circa 1835 (15 years old in 1850 census)

Stephen, born circa 1837 (13 years old in 1850 census)

James W. (1842-1860)

Generation 5

Samuel K. Muffly (December 14, 1827-1896) and Charlette Treon (1827-1905). Samuel K. was born and died in Montour County, Pennsylvania.

Children:

Anna Maria (1852- )

Mentures (1854- )

Mary Eve (1855- 1912)

Albert James (1857-1949)

Oscar L (1860-1919)

Emma (1862- )

Elizabeth (1864- )

Samuel (1865- )

Asher (1869- )

Essie (1872- )

George (1874- )

Note: Stu looked at census data and found many of the names in this generation in  the 1870 census—but he did not find Mentures. Mentures apparently died young.  Stu says that according to an online dictionary menture means “intellect” or “mind” in Latin. In the 1800s Latin was commonly taught in schools, so maybe a version of  the word was used as a name.

Generation 6

Albert James Muffly (November 23, 1857- 1949) and Phoebe Jane Derr (1862-1941). Albert was born in Montour County; As an adult lived in Northumberland County.

Children: Bessie F. (1888-1981),

Ruth E. (1892-1977)

Helen(a) Mae (March 21, 1895-November 26, 1980)

James A. (August 30, 1905 – July 14, 1988)

Please note that this list may be revised. We’re still double checking some of the information—but I wanted to share what I had.

My son asked what proportion of my ancestry was Swiss. Well, nine generations ago I had 256 great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents. At least 1 of them came from Switzerland, so I’m at least 1 / 256th Swiss—in other words, I’m at least 0.4% Swiss.