Category: Gettysburg
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Lewis Bushman: From Farming to War Impact
Lewis Bushman was definitely his father’s son. Born in 1833 as the first child to George Andrew Bushman and Mary “Polly” Kepner, Lewis followed in his father’s footsteps in just about every way he could, and like his father, he would own a farm that the battle would make famous. Lewis was just six years…
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Aunt Polly Culp: Gettysburg’s Beloved Figure of the Civil War Era
Elizabeth Culp, known to the locals as Aunt Polly Culp (no, we don’t know why), was intertwined in most of the major families of Gettysburg and familiar to almost everyone. Born to Heinrich Reiff and Barbara Eyster in 1780, she was the oldest of at least eight children. She grew up in Rockland Township, Berks…
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Jacob Culp: Steward of Adams County Alms House
Jacob Culp was related to the other Culps featured on this site. All of them descended from the German couple Christophel Kolb and Maria Caterina Leise. Their name became Culp within a generation, and one of the children of that couple owned the farm that included the hill now known as Culp’s Hill. Jacob was…
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Julia Eyster Jacobs: A Legacy of Faith and Family
These days, no ink is spilled on Julia Eyster Jacobs, wife of Dr. Michael Jacobs. Likewise, little has been said or written in decades about their daughter, Mary Julia. But these were powerful women, steeped in deep faith who made tremendous sacrifices for their beliefs. The first time we find mention of Julia Eyster is…
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Memories of Gettysburg: Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs and the Changing Landscape
Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs took after his father, Dr. Michael Jacobs. He followed him into the Lutheran clergy; he was a teacher, a writer, and a keen observer of the era he lived in. The oldest of four, he was born in 1844 when his parents had been married for 11 years; his father was…
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The Mysterious Story of Ida Millberry in Gettysburg
An odd headline in Gettysburg popped in 1905 related to Ida Millberry who was buried in the Lincoln Cemetery. Ida was not a longtime resident of Gettysburg but had come north from Maryland to live with her daughter there. The article, in many ways, is sort of mindblowing. None of us really wants to be…
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The Legacy of Lincoln Cemetery in Gettysburg
One of the lasting monuments to Basil Biggs and his commitment to equality is the Lincoln Cemetery in Gettysburg. Biggs worked with a local group of black men to form the Sons of Goodwill, which raised funds for the creation of the cemetery. Its original mission was to be a resting place for veterans of…
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Impact of Civil War on Enslaved Lives: Albert Butts and Richard Jordan
In 1895, Macon, Georgia, announced the passing of one of its most eminent citizens—Captain Albert Butts who had commanded Company B, The Macon Volunteers in the 2nd Georgia Battalion. He appeared at company reunions over the next thirty years. He was lauded for his faithful service in the local Episcopal church, and he was hailed…
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Jacob Whitler Herndon: Disappeared on the John Edward Plank Farm
Jacob W. Herndon has a small historical distinction—in every source you read about him, he was a courier for General John Bell Hood. General Hood, of course, is famous for his exploits as the leader of the famed Texas Brigade. After his wounding, he was brought back to the John Edward Plank farm where he…
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James Samuel Noble: 15-year-old Sergeant Buried on the John Edward Plank Farm
When the war broke out, James Samuel Noble somehow convinced his family he was old enough—at age 13, he joined his older brother, Dallas, in enlisting in May 1861. Of course, no one could see that he would end up on the John Edward Plank farm just two years later. The Nobles were farmers who…