Category: Gettysburg Residents
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George W. Weikert: Farm, Family, and Missing Carpet
George W. Weikert was in prosperous circumstances in 1860. At least, that’s what the Census indicated. In one page in 1860, the Adams County Census taker managed to capture many of the families, wealth, and farms that would be devastated just three years later. One could almost overlay that page on the Elliott Burial Map…
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Confederate Burials Near Basil Biggs’ Home
Burial records of Confederate dead frequently refer to someone interred near the home of Basil Biggs. Basil is probably the best known black resident of the era; he is celebrated for his role in the Underground Railroad as well as work in helping to create the National Cemetery and the Lincoln Cemetery. Basil would later…
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Confederate Burials on the Codori Farm and Sherfy Farm
The Codori farm, lying north of the Sherfy farm and astride the Emmitsburg Road just south of Gettysburg, was one of the most significant landmarks in Pickett’s Charge. On July 3, 1863, thousands of Confederate soldiers crossed the Codori fields as they advanced toward the Union line at the Angle. The farmstead, with its stone…
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Joseph Sherfy: Creator and Guardian of Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard
Today, the peach orchard of Joseph Sherfy has become The Peach Orchard even to the casual student of the town and battle. Books and books have been written on its importance, the violence that took place within it, and its overall strategic impact on the three-day battle. Most don’t know, though, that the peach orchard…
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You Can Never Go Home: Nicholas J. Codori, Gettysburg’s Prodigal Son
It might have seemed like a storybook ending. Just before Christmas in 1916, after fifty years missing, when friends and family had given him up for dead, Nicholas J. Codori returned to Gettysburg. The town’s wayward native son, relatives of which were still living in town or nearby, had come home. But this is not…
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Growing Up Palm: The Turbulent Upbringing and Life of Alfred S. Palm
You may recall from the story of Mag Palm that, at her lowest point, she attempted to drown her son and commit suicide. That son was Alfred S. Palm, named after his father, and the local papers reported the incident. You may also recall that Mag suffered through a kidnapping attempt that bore some resemblance…
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The Men behind the Infamous Mag Palm Kidnapping
The Mag Palm kidnapping attempt is perhaps the most told event of her life. It has some striking similarities to the kidnapping of Catherine Payne in the motivations that triggered it. In the story, Mag is blindsided by three white men who attempt to load her into a wagon to be sold South into slavery…
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Annie Keefer’s Unique Journey: Born of Scandal, Raised by Relatives?
You may recall the story of Isadore Keefer, his out-of-wedlock relationship with Caroline Shenabrook, who had three children with John Wolford of Adams County. You may recall that Annie Keefer resulted from the encounter between Isadore and Caroline. Annie Keefer (sometimes recorded as Anne) was born about 1867 in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
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Discover Gettysburg’s Codori Farm: History & Memorialization
Like the farms of Abraham Trostle, George Rose, Francis Bream, George Bushman, John Edward Plank, and John Slyder, the Nicholas Codori farm was a hive of activity during the battle, a site of miserable suffering and death, and the initial resting place for dozens of soldiers. For years, the burials made it nearly impossible to…
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Revealing John Wolford: His Legacy and Connection to Caroline Shenabrook
Previously, we looked at the case of Isadore Keefer, Caroline Shenabrook, and John Wolford. You may recall that Shenabrook had a child out of wedlock with Isadore Keefer—a girl named Annie that we’ll cover in a subsequent article. However, census and death records show she also had three other children out of wedlock with a…