tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71614613355580493552024-02-07T22:04:08.650-08:00Juniata Mennonite HistoricalThis organization specializes in Mennonite Church and family history in Juniata County, but also includes local, non-Mennonite and other areas of interest.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575587554753780203noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161461335558049355.post-83644896310060531162017-10-31T11:18:00.001-07:002017-10-31T11:20:06.029-07:00John Graybill, Richfield, PA settler
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">In
1977, years of research and writing came to fruition with the publishing of
Noah Zimmerman and Spencer Kraybill’s <i><u>History of a John Graybill Family
in America, 1754-1976</u></i>. The volume, over 700 pages, is known as a
defining scholarly work on the history of the village of Richfield and the
Graybill family who first settled in the Richfield area in the 1770’s. Kraybill
and Zimmerman painted a picture of this small town in central Pennsylvania from
its beginnings until the time of the writing of the book. They gathered primary
source documents, records compiled by other historians and geneologists to
trace branches of the Graybill family who moved away from the Richfield area,
background information on the Anabaptist persecution in Europe which resulted
in a wave of Anabaptist immigration to “Penn’s Woods,” and a brief history of
the Juniata Valley prior to settlement by European peoples. Personal stories
and pictures of many of the Graybill descendants are added, bringing the names
and places to life for the reader. Even more impressive is that this book was
done long before internet was available for public use, and all the research
was conducted by collecting information in person or by correspondence. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Graybill family were of Swiss origin. Early spellings of the name were
“Krahenbuhl,“ or “Krohbiel,“ “Krehbiel,“ and other variations. Peter and Jakob
Krahenbuhl were Bernese Mennonites, with family origins in Canton of Berne in
Switzerland. A 1953 letter from Don Yoder of Franklin and Marshall College, to
Ursula Shelley, whose research was instrumental in helping to compile data for
the Graybill book, states: “From the history of Bernese Anabaptism by Pastor
Ernst Muller, published 1895, I find that Peter and Jakob Krahenbuhl lived on
the Buchelhof near Wimpfen on the river Neckar in the year 1731, and that
Michel Krahenbuhl was a deacon of the congregation in that area, his residence
being at Dreschklingen. In the same year Samuel Krahenbuhl lived at Wesingen,
eastward from Durlach in Baden. These were Bernese Mennonites in name, that is,
they or their ancestors had emigrated from the Canton of Berne in Switzerland
(lovely land) to the Palatinate in Germany. An early reference to the name in
Switzerland, also from Muller‘s book, tells us that Anna Krayenbuel was an
Anabaptist at Langnau (in the famous Emmenthal) in 1621. This is in Canton
Berne. Much more could be gathered from the printed sources, but this is enough
to show the Bernese origin of your family, which is of course the important
fact first of all to be established.“</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Anabaptist faith brought persecution from the Swiss government, due to several
controversial teachings of the Anabaptist faith. The Anabaptists faced
opposition for their unwillingness to baptize infants, and to swear oaths in court,
but most of all for their doctrine of nonresistance and its followers’ refusal
to bear arms against their fellow man. The Swiss republic had been maintained
by hard-fought battles against neighboring monarchies. The Swiss government
feared that if the Anabaptist faith were to become common, large numbers of its
citizens would refuse military service, and the Swiss republic would be in
danger from larger, stronger kingdoms around them. By the 1680’s, Anabaptists
were so severely persecuted in Switzerland that a group of about 700 left
Switzerland and emigrated to Germany about 1681. Among them were Peter Krehbiel
and his family. The Krehbiel family lived in Weierhof, in the Palatinate in
Germany for several generations. It is likely that Johannes Krohbiel, who would
later emigrate with his family to Pennsylvania, was a grandson of Peter
Krohbiel, although records that would prove that definitively have not been
found. But in Germany, the Mennonites again faced persecution because of the
doctrine of nonresistance, which was at odds with the mandatory military
service which was required of young men in Germany in the mid-1700’s. Across
the Atlantic Ocean, William Penn’s newly founded colony of Pennsylvania was a
refuge for many who were persecuted for their religious beliefs. The colony was
founded on, and governed by, Quaker principles, which were in sympathy with the
Mennonites’ doctrine of nonresistance. Johannes (John) Krehbiel, his wife
Elizabeth, and their children John, Elizabeth, Barbara, and Maria emigrated to
Pennsylvania in the early 1750‘s. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">On
June 14, 1753, John Krehbiel, Sr. applied for a land patent in Manheim
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1766, after the death of the elder
John Krohbiel, this land was passed to his son, John Krehbiel, Jr.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
younger John Krehbiel was born 8-18-1735, in Weierhof, Germany. He would have
been a teenager when he emigrated to Pennsylvania with his parents and
siblings. He married Barbara Daradinger, b. 5-9-1737.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Oral
tradition holds that John Krehbiel, Jr. went north from Lancaster County to
what was then Northumberland County in the early 1770’s, searching for vacant
land on which to settle. He made his way up the Susquehanna River to the
Mahantango Creek, where he left the river and cut a road from Millerstown or
Liverpool to an area near the Mahantango headwaters in what is now West Perry
Township, Snyder County. Finding a piece of land which would suit his needs, he
hid his axes, singletrees, wagons, and sticks in a sinkhole on the farm at the
foot of Shade Mountain now owned by Ronald Weaver. He then went back to
Lancaster County to bring his family north. John Krehbiel purchased the land
from the current owner, a Mr. Simpson, who lived at or near Philadelphia, and
the Krehbiel family came from Lancaster to the frontier of Northumberland
County in the spring of 1774. (At the time of the publication of the “Graybill
book” in 1977, the land originally purchased by John Krehbiel had been passed
down through the family so that a Graybill descendent had lived on that farm
for 200 years. The farm has since been sold out of the Graybill family but is
still a working farm, well maintained and cared for by its current owners.) </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">In
the 1770’s, much of Pennsylvania was still wild frontier. The land was heavily
wooded and game was plentiful. Travel was via waterways, on foot, or by
horseback. Roads were few; most were paths or Indian trails. Wild animals were
a danger to man and beast, and Indian attacks on frontier settlers were not
uncommon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Huge stands of virgin timber
had to be cleared for building and farming. Tools and implements for felling
trees, working the soil, and building barns and dwellings, were primitive. It
was a land rich in resources, but to settle on Pennsylvania’s western frontier
was not for the faint of heart. This was the place to which the Krehbiel family
came. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">World
events indicated turbulent times. The American colonies were on the cusp of
revolution, and would soon declare their independence from the British crown.
The Krehbiel family was somewhat geographically isolated from the events taking
place to the east of them--a Declaration of Independence, and a Revolutionary
War which was to decide the future of the nation. The revolution created a
crisis of conscience for the nonresistant folk who believed in paying
taxes--”Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s...”--but could not, in good
conscience, go to war. The Mennonite objection was both to war itself, and also
to the rebellion against the King of England, whose authority they viewed as
given by God Almighty. The Mennonites could not give their support for war, or
for rebellion against the British throne.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">On
the land which John Graybill purchased stood a solidly built stone structure,
built over a spring. Oral tradition and maps of the time show a fort on the
Mahantango Creek, called Pomfret Castle, which had been built for frontier
defense around the time of the French and Indian War. Pomfret Castle is
believed to have stood on what was to become the Graybill homestead. The question
of the existence of Pomfret Castle has been the subject of much debate by
historians. The author will explore this debate in a future post, as it seems
to deserve its own chapter of this story, rather than being an afterthought of
the story of the John Graybill family.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">John
and Barbara Krehbiel moved into this stone structure in 1774, and made it a
dwelling. They raised a family of nine children, all of whom lived to
adulthood--truly remarkable in this time and place where infant and maternal
mortality was high, illness and accident befell many, and medical care
(especially on the frontier) was scarce and primitive.</span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Their
children, in order of age, were: Christian, Anna, Jacob, Mary, John, Barbara,
Susannah, Magdalena, and Catherine.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Christian,
the oldest child of John and Barbara Krehbiel, was born 1-9-1756. He married
Maria Shellenberger (b.8-19-1762) and to this union were born seven children:
Barbara, Sarah, Magdalena, Anna, Christian Jr., Jacob, and Peter.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Christian
Krabiel, Sr., is listed in the will of his father John Krabiel (note change in
spelling) dated 2-25-1806 as receiving 100 acres of land. Twelve years later,
in 1818, Christian laid out the village of Richfield. The original portion of
the town consisted of 4 streets running parallel to each other and to the
Mahantango Creek--the northernmost street being Water St., 25 ft wide, running
along the Mahantango Creek; Lost Creek St., 40 ft wide, labeled “Road to
Mifflintown,” present-day State Route 35; Market Square, present day Market St.,
and the southernmost street being Christian Alley. The streets were connected
by (west-east): Green Alley, Ridge or Walnut St., Calhoun Alley, and Chestnut
St. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Christian
Sr. died 12-29-1825, at the age of 69.</span></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aF-2wqPrWmpuDZ-ECLyTLVo38ABGFiWGllLyZ6deEIIeZkSNOTHgQnmOXgtIlrmTU3IU-VRfUhh9N4J9YjRaU8-nQeVciDoApc4SPvRncbnFQuLl3nJuIR6aSeziD28V1W_gFVCA0gU/s1600/Richfield+original+plots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1600" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aF-2wqPrWmpuDZ-ECLyTLVo38ABGFiWGllLyZ6deEIIeZkSNOTHgQnmOXgtIlrmTU3IU-VRfUhh9N4J9YjRaU8-nQeVciDoApc4SPvRncbnFQuLl3nJuIR6aSeziD28V1W_gFVCA0gU/s640/Richfield+original+plots.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Anna,
the second child of John and Barbara Krehbiel, (no birthdate given in the
Graybill book) married Jacob Acker 5-25-1784. Jacob was a son of Peter Acker
from Lancaster County. Jacob died 4-12-1813; no death date is given for Anna.
Their children were: Anna, Henry, Jacob, Abraham, Christian, Barbara, Peter,
Emmanuel, Elizabeth, and Alice.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Jacob,
the third child, was born 6-9-1761, d. 4-20-1829. He married Magdalena
Schneider, b. 3-8-1759, d. 1-8-1826. Their oldest son, Christian, later became
known as Preacher Christian Graybill. Also born to Jacob and Magdalena were
Jacob Jr., Peter, Thomas, Herman, Hannah, and John.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
fourth child in the family was named Mary. She married a man named William
Knepp, or Knepley. No further records were available on this family at the time
of the writing of the Graybill book.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">John
Krehbiel III was born 4-20-1766. His first wife was Christina Burge. She was
born in February 1766 and died in January 1794 at the age of 28. John’s second
wife was Mary Eppler, b. 5-2-1772, d. 4-6-1853. John was ordained a minister in
the Mennonite church in 1788, at the age of 22 years. He also became a bishop,
possibly at or around the time of his ordination. The Graybill book notes that
he was the first bishop of the Mennonite churches in Juniata and Snyder
counties.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
children of John Graybill and Christina Burge Graybill were: John Graybill IV
and Elizabeth. The children of John Graybill and second wife Mary Eppler
Graybill were: Christian, Catherine, Anna & Mary (twins), Barbara, Frances,
Jacob, Hannah, Susanne, and Abraham.</span></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Y1At0kevaVE6fnilWD2CLJQLdF_MvwImZBitSOFT4b69ThH4P8vuCqrWPX8aWCc937MJWdPt7TidFPCb8whfMx9wFYppuHToxaJ-vfNdODntwF9Izwtj6X1llGpsECDGXrg55aOxs9s/s1600/Graybill%252C+Barbara+sampler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="1600" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Y1At0kevaVE6fnilWD2CLJQLdF_MvwImZBitSOFT4b69ThH4P8vuCqrWPX8aWCc937MJWdPt7TidFPCb8whfMx9wFYppuHToxaJ-vfNdODntwF9Izwtj6X1llGpsECDGXrg55aOxs9s/s640/Graybill%252C+Barbara+sampler.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sampler-show towel was created by Barbara Krebielin (1802-1878), <br />
daughter of John (1766-1838) and Maria (Eppler) (1772-1853) Krebiel<br />
<em>Ich Barbara Krebielin bin geboren Im Yahr Christ 1802 obn 28 Mai</em><br />
Translation- I Barbara Krebielin was born in the year of Christ, 1802 on 28 May.<br />
Barbara married Amos Winey and is buried with her husband<br />
at the Cross Roads Mennonite Cemetery in Snyder, County, Pennsylvania.<br />
The sampler show towel is in the possession of the Juniata Mennonite Historical Society, Richfield, Pennsylvania<br />
<em>Note: "Krebielin" is the feminine form of the surname "Krebiel"</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Barbara
was the sixth child of John and Barbara Krehbiel. She married William
Zimmerman, who died in 1802. Barbara then married Andrew Sheaffer. Her children
were: George Zimmerman, Joseph Zimmerman, Christian Zimmerman, Martha Sheaffer,
Susannah Sheaffer, and Hannah Sheaffer.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Susannah,
the seventh Krehbiel child, married John Snyder. Their children were Catherine,
Mary, John, Jr. (later to become the Rev. John Krebiel Snyder who was
instrumental in founding the E.U.B. Church in Richfield, the present-day
Richfield United Methodist church), Barbara, Hannah, Susan, Jane, Anna, Phoebe,
Elizabeth (married a Mr. Keiser), Mary, and Elizabeth (married John Varner).
(The two Elizabeths in the same family are not a misprint--this is how it is
recorded in the Graybill book.)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Magdalena
was the eighth Krehbiel child. She married Herman Snyder Jr. (Schneider). Their
children were Jacob, Cathy, Magdalena, Frances, Elizabeth, John, Hannah, Anna,
Sarah, Barbara, and Maria.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">The
youngest of the Krehbiel children was Catherine. No birthdate is given for her,
but records show that she married Peter Sechrist. To this union were born:
John, Christian, Peter Jr., Henry, Jacob, Michael, Martha, and Daniel.
Catherine died 1-19-1848; Peter died 3-13-1842.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Some
of the descendants of John and Barbara Krehbiel carried the pioneer spirit of
their parents and grandparents westward from Pennsylvania. Graybill families
were among the pioneers who went west to Kansas, Iowa, and other parts of the
United States in the 1800‘s. Where listed, occupations of Graybill descendants
and their spouses include blacksmiths, dentists, doctors, lawyers, farmers,
mechanics, truck drivers, realtors, pastors, historians, teachers, homemakers,
construction workers, and many more. Some have stayed with the traditional
Mennonite faith of their forefathers; others have embraced different
denominations. Many pastors, deacons, Sunday School teachers and various church
workers are represented in the pages of the Graybill book. Some have stayed
with the doctrine of nonresistence taught by their Mennonite ancestors, some
have served in the military by draft or by choice. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">If
the Graybill descendents were to be catalogued today, the book would be much
more extensive than the original work. A later work would almost certainly
include a greater variety of locales and life experiences than Kraybill and
Zimmerman recorded in 1977. The influence that these Pennsylvania Mennonite
pioneers, John and Barbara Krehbiel, had on the generations that followed after
has reached across boundaries of geography and culture. It is a heritage to be
treasured.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPh4GKDsRGuQi_mzz2kleY4xtKgYiZhTAwl8lqjjFNRMkoaHtNOYAelkQrT6ZUEd-i5mJimd-wtSNXSvQ0ARuMmrtw2TsdumH4ugHl4WlpZ0Xe25myXfztjhPzPoslahO1aLrG66SCz2I/s1600/Krahenbuhl%252C+%2528Graybill%2529%252C+Johannes+stone+w+Hunter+Hunsberger+10th+generation-+Cross+Roads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="758" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPh4GKDsRGuQi_mzz2kleY4xtKgYiZhTAwl8lqjjFNRMkoaHtNOYAelkQrT6ZUEd-i5mJimd-wtSNXSvQ0ARuMmrtw2TsdumH4ugHl4WlpZ0Xe25myXfztjhPzPoslahO1aLrG66SCz2I/s640/Krahenbuhl%252C+%2528Graybill%2529%252C+Johannes+stone+w+Hunter+Hunsberger+10th+generation-+Cross+Roads.jpg" width="411" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aF-2wqPrWmpuDZ-ECLyTLVo38ABGFiWGllLyZ6deEIIeZkSNOTHgQnmOXgtIlrmTU3IU-VRfUhh9N4J9YjRaU8-nQeVciDoApc4SPvRncbnFQuLl3nJuIR6aSeziD28V1W_gFVCA0gU/s1600/Richfield+original+plots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
John Kroebiel/Graybill born August 18, 1735, died February 18, 1806</div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
First settler in this vicinity</div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
A tenth generation descendant of the settler is shown with this memorial stone</div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
in the old Cross Roads Mennonite cemetery, Richfield, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.</div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 10pt;">Sources:
<i><u>History of a John Graybill Family in America</u></i>, by Noah Zimmerman
and Spencer Kraybill; interview with J. Lloyd Gingrich, <i><u>‘Twas Seeding
Time</u></i>, by John Ruth</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575587554753780203noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161461335558049355.post-44254023708816410682017-03-21T12:53:00.000-07:002017-03-21T12:53:09.489-07:00Watering Trough Farm - Juniata County, Pennsylvania<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<strong>The Watering Trough
Farm</strong></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
(John M. Gingrich
farm)</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
A few miles west of Richfield, just east of the village of
Evendale on the Snyder/Juniata county line, lies a farm that was once known as
the Watering Trough Farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the days of
horse-drawn travel, a spring just south of what is now State Route 35 filled a
trough which travelers used to water their horses when passing through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the late 1700's, the spring was owned by
George MccTeear and was part of the notably crooked county line between what
was then Cumberland and Northumberland counties, now Juniata and Snyder
counties.</div>
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The crooked county line is explained in Volume II of the
Snyder County Historical Society's History of Snyder County.</div>
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<i>“In West Perry Township a
distillery was owned and operated by the Pyle brothers as early as 1825 or
maybe before and ceased operation about 1865 or along there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No permanent record is available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This still was built over the famous [Robert
MccTeear] Spring, which is now part of the boundary and also a corner of the
Snyder and Juniata County line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
this one (distillery) is connected the story of the crooked boundary of Snyder
County, the story of how the surveyors, when they were surveying the county
line, deviated from the straight and narrow path to go up to this still for a
refreshing drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After having their
spirits revived, they turned north to the Mahantango Creek, which is now the
county line.”</i></div>
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A June 19, 1809 surveyor's document showing the Watering
Trough farm, stating that it was surveyed for Peter Kauffman (Kauffman is shown
on the document to have also owned the land bordering the farm to the
northeast) shows a 125 and three-quarter acre tract of land, part in Cumberland
and part in Northumberland counties, with a house and barn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house is on the west side and the barn on
the east side of a stream or creek of some size, originating from what appears
to be a spring in the field south of the “Publick Road” running just south of
the house, and a smaller branch from the aforementioned “watering trough”
spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This places the house in what is
now Snyder County, while the barn is across the county line in Juniata.</div>
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The farm came into the Gingrich family through the Sellers and
Knouse families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the latter part of
the 1800's, it was owned by Jerome Winey and his wife Susan (Sellers)
Winey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wineys had no children, and
upon her death, Susan's will bequeathed her possessions, including the farm, to
her sister Amanda Sellers Knouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
Amanda's death, her son-in-law and grandson, John W. Gingrich and J. Lloyd
Gingrich, acquired the farm from her estate in 1952.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father and son had formed a business
partnership; both lived on the Gingrich farm in the village of Evendale,
several miles west of the Watering Trough Farm.</div>
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In the spring of 1974, the old log barn shown in the 1809
surveyor's report caught fire on a windy day in March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glenn Graybill (a friend and neighbor of
Lloyd Gingrich) was traveling on Middle Road just north of the farm when he saw
the smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was able to get to the
barn in time to let the cattle out so that none were lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neighbors took the cattle to Merrill
Hoffman's barn, located on Middle Road, north of the Watering Trough farm.<br />
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Richfield firefighter Sam Graybill Jr. remembered the day
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Richfield fire company had
recently purchased a new 1973 fire engine and equipment which Sam described as
the “beginning of the modern era of firefighting in Richfield.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The new engine had a 1000 gallon water
capacity which was double the capacity of the company's 1954 engine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on that windy day in March, the 1973
engine was at Regesters being serviced and Richfield was only able to respond
with the 1954 truck which held 500 gallons of water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richfield was assisted by mutual aid from
McAlisterville and Fremont fire companies, who each responded with trucks with
a 500 gallon capacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wind blew the
fire across route 35 and set the field to the southeast of the barn on
fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, the firefighters were
able to put the field fire out before the fire spread significantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But with the tremendous heat of the fire,
limited equipment, and high winds, the firefighters could do little more than
stand back and watch the barn burn, and keep the fire from spreading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old log barn burned to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fire burned so hot that an entire
aluminum elevator was never accounted for in the wreckage afterward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The electrical wires above the barn, running
parallel to Route 35, were melted, causing a power outage for hours and posing
further danger to the firefighters and other first responders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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(Contrast the capabilities and available water of the early
1970's with firefighting of today—in 2017, Richfield responds to a fire with<b><i>
</i></b>5250 gallons<b><i> </i></b>of water.<b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>Each mutual aid company responds with
4000-6000 gallons of water, depending on the size of their engines and
tankers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides the water each company
responds with initially, the tankers then go to a fill site and bring more
water back to the scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Firefighting
has changed a lot since the 1970's!)</div>
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The old log barn was replaced by a new barn, completed before
the year was out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lloyd's son and
daughter-in-law John M. and Rosanne Gingrich moved to the property in 1979 to
raise their young family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A 62,000 layer
hen house was built in the field to the northwest of the house, completed in
the fall of 1979.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The farm became known
as the Gingrich Egg Farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neighbor Brent
Snyder remembers riding his bike from Richfield to the farm to work in the
chicken house when he was a teenager.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The old Watering Trough farm has kept pace with the times,
but reminders of long-ago are never far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>An addition was added to the old farmhouse in the 1990's, but the brick
fireplace in the center of the kitchen, original to the house, has been
beautifully restored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old wash house
still stands out back, now used as a garden shed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John and Rosanne's children and their cousins
have fond memories of playing in the water of the old spring, under the tall
trees that grew around it, although the watering trough of bygone days has
crumbled with the passing of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
children of the 1980's are grown, and now grandchildren come to visit, the next
generation to play in the spring and climb the apple trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the older folks of Richfield, if you
know whom to ask, there are still a few who remember the days when the old
watering trough still offered a drink for the weary traveler.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575587554753780203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161461335558049355.post-27006925528512674702016-12-31T11:45:00.000-08:002016-12-31T11:45:34.508-08:00Introduction to Juniata Mennonites<div style="text-align: center;">
Welcome to our introductory page! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the beginning of our 40th year of service to the community! Our organization may be small in comparison, but we have a large collection of valuable information that includes a library, artifacts, Family Bibles and more. </div>
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We hope to utilize this site as a window into our collection. There will be future posts related to an artifact or family Bible in our collection. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can learn more about us by accessing our website: <a href="http://www.juniatamennonitehistoricalcenter.com/">www.juniatamennonitehistoricalcenter.com</a></div>
We are open to the public at 37322 Rt. 35S, Richfield, PA, 17086. Hours: Tuesday - 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 7p.m.-9p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-4p.m. <br />
The public is welcome to access information in our library and archives during hours of operation. Members have access to the lending library. But we do not conduct a mailing service for volumes in the lending library. The quarterly newsletter, <em>Echoes</em> is available for a $25 annual membership. <br />
Keep looking for exciting posts at this location within the next few months.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15575587554753780203noreply@blogger.com0