Tag: Gettysburg Women’s History
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Lydia Leister and Her Farm in War and Memory
Lydia Leister (born Lydia Study) was born some time between 1808 and 1811 (depending on what source you read) in Carroll County, Maryland. She hailed from a large family: her father, Dr. John Martin Study, was a local physician, and one of her sisters, Catherine, later married Gettysburg farmer John Slyder. In 1830 Lydia wed…
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Christmas in Gettysburg in 1863: Anxiety and Hope
Christmas in Gettysburg in 1863 was a study in extreme contrasts. The small town was still emerging from the shadow of the cataclysmic battle fought there five months earlier. The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) had left the community physically and emotionally scarred. By Christmastime, most of the immediate horrors had been addressed –…
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Tillie Pierce: Her Battlefield Account, Family, and Haunted House
Today, the story of Tillie Pierce and her family has been subsumed by the story of the battle, Tillie’s recollections of it, and the landmark house that is now a bed and breakfast. Like the Jennie Wade House, the Hotel Gettysburg, the Farnsworth House Inn, and the Rupp House and Tannery, the site has also…
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Sarah Kime, the Jacob Kime Farm, and William McLeod
In the story of William McLeod, we saw the importance of black man Moses, who was critical in bringing McLeod home. Another key figure in the story has not been mentioned yet. In 1863, Sarah Kime was 11 years old, the oldest daughter and second oldest child of Jacob and Sarah Bucher Kime. She had…
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Life and Death on the Farm of John and Elizabeth Wible
The lives of Reverend John Wible and his wife, Elizabeth Wible (Stallsmith), appear to have passed without generating a lot of notice. The reverend worked at the Christ’s Lutheran Church (which played a prominent role in the battle). Elizabeth was from a long-running family in the area. They had no children. They turn up in…
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Madness in Gettysburg: Ephraim Albert Shot His Wife, Not a Dog
The name Ephraim comes from the Bible and means “fruitful” or “doubly fruitful.” By all appearances, Ephraim Albert appeared to fit the definition. He was a farmer who was the son of a farmer—the youngest of at least three, possibly more, kids in fact. And Ephraim was similarly fruitful. In the 1870 Census, he’s shown…
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The Troubled Life of John T. Weikert, Wounded Veteran
To understand John Thomas Weikert, it helps to know something about war trauma and family violence. One of the underreported aspects of the Civil War was the number of veterans who were scarred both physically and mentally. Harrowing images exist that show us disfigured men who had to struggle with disabilities for the rest of…
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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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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…