Mystery Muddle: Who is Rebecca Cronoble?

PETER SMULL m Mary Waggoner > PETER L SMULL m Rebecca Cronoble

Our brothers Smull, of Centre County, can be learned about here.

Peter Smull, one of the four brothers, had 12 children, including Peter L Smull was born in about 1833 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. He moved to Stephenson County, Illinois in the early 1850s. In 1861, he married Rebecca Cronoble.

Rebecca also hailed from Centre County. The mystery is in which Grenoble/Cronoble branch did she come? Here's a little summary of my findings, but this mystery has yet to be solved.

It's my belief that the originating immigrant is Johann Jacob Grenoble, born in 1702 in Germany and who came to Philadelphia in 1743 with his infant son, Lorentz and wife Agnetha. Daughter Anna Barbara did not survive to make the trip and died before age 2. Some reports say Agnetha died before the trip, but I cannot yet confirm that fact. Johann remarried (this is in itself another mystery for another day) to the widow of  Johannes Beverts.

Lorentz married Sabina Fruh. They had four children. The surviving male was Jacob, born in 1775 in Lehigh, Pennsylvania, who in turn married Katarina Willeman about 1794. They had 10 children.In that bunch, we start to see the reversion of the last name from Grenoble to Cronoble (the original German name) and Crownoble. While several of the children remained in Pennsylvania, one moved to Stephenson County, Illinois - George W Grenoble/Cronoble who married Sarah Runkle.

1850 Census - George Cronoble Family, Centre County

I've located eight children of this union, but no Rebecca in the bunch The Rebecca's among the other descendants are not possibly Rebecca Cronoble Smull.

Records I am currently able to locate leave me with this hypothesis: Rebecca is either Elizabeth or Margaret, born in 1833 and 1835 respectively. There is evidence that Jacob, and possibly John also made the trek West later, but based on timing, marriage year, etc., I believe Rebecca to be a child of George.

I would love, love, love if someone has some thoughts or their own theory or information to support this hypothesis.

Peter L Smull died 13 Sep 1900 in Stephenson County at the home of his sister, Mrs Matilda (Daniel) Meyer. We don't know when Rebecca died, or anything really, about how she lived either. I'd like to give her some identity beyond a name that may or may not be correct.

The Waggoners of Centre County: William Wagner

JOHN WAGGONER > William WAGNER m Julia Rider

Peter Smull married Mary Waggoner/Wagner, daughter of John Waggoner/Wagner. I've not ascertained who the mother is, but it appears as though John, brother William, and the Smulls were all neighbors in 1830/1840 census.  As a whole bunch of people from Miles Township did, William Wagner and his family moved on to Stephenson County, Illinois in the 1850s, settling in Oneco. Father John and wife are no longer living in the 1850 census. It also appears there is at least one other child of John - aged 30-40, married, with at least three children living with them. Who that is, I don't know yet. Still working on that angle.

William, born in about 1797 married Julia Rider. She was born in 1805 in York, Pennsylvania. The couple had ten children, some of whom stayed in Pennsylvania as their parents and other siblings

Wm Wagner, died Oneco,
Stephenson County 1870

moved west.

William lived until 29 Sep 1870 and died in Oneco. His will went through probate in December. His wife lived on until 20 Apr 1879, and also died in Oneco.

1. Margaret was born 03 May 1827 in Miles Township, Centre County. She married William Herman and I've thus far located three children, John Henry, Clark, and Arabella  Herman Keen, all of whom settled in Pennsylvania. She died 03 Sep 1893.

2. Sarah was born about 1829 and died in 1865 in Miles Township, Centre County. She married first George Aurand and had a daughter, Emily Jane. George died and she married Samel Shutt and had four more children.

3. Joseph Wagner was born 04 May 1831 in Miles Township, Centre County. He married Mary Hershey about 1855. She was born 06 Jun 1837 in Canada. They had three children, Nancy Amelia, Abraham, and William "Will" Washington Wagner. Joseph and his wife originally settled in Stephenson County, Illinois and then moved on to Black Hawk County, Iowa. Nancy & Will both moved to Iowa; Abraham remained in Stephenson County. Joseph's grandson, William Joseph Wagner, played professional baseball from 1915-1919 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves. I'll post about him separately.

4. George Wagner was born in Oct 1833 in Miles Township, Centre County. He married Anna Margaret Weiss. They had eight children and lived in the Lock Haven area of Pennsylvania. George died in 1921 in Lock Haven. His wife Anna, died in 1888.

5. William Wagner was born 1835 in Miles Township, Centre County He married Elizabeth Rex about 1858. They moved to Floyd County, Iowa. Their five children were raised in Floyd County. Elizabeth died in 1922 and William died in 1913.

6. Mary Wagner was born about 1837 in Miles Township, Centre County. I have no other information on this child.

Rosa Klontz Wagner

7. Jacob R Wagner was born in 1840 in Miles Township, Centre County. He married Eliza Jane Divan on 17 Feb 1867 in Green County, Wisconsin. They then located to Illinois and then southern Wisconsin, the moved on to Iowa and settled in Butler County. Their twelve children are spread across Wisconsin, Illinois,  and Iowa. Jacob died in 1925 in Butler County and his wife preceded him in death in 1919.

8. Peter Wagner was born 23 Aug 1841 in Miles Township, Centre County. He reportedly died on 02 Aug 1918 in Oneco, Stephenson County, but I have not been able to find a lot on this Wagner. His wife was Catherine Divan, sister to Jacob's wife.

9. Samuel Wesley Wagner was born in 1848 in Miles Township, Centre County. He married Rosa A Klontz in Stephenson County about 1872. They had six children who were raised and lived in Marble Rock, Floyd County, Iowa.Samuel died in 1927 and Rosa died in 1928 in Floyd County.

10. Emily Wagner was born about 1851 in Miles Township, Centre County. That is all I know about her at this time.

Mystery Muddle: Who is John W "Johney" Smull of Centre & Stephenson County?

I believe John W. Smull is the "missing" son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner. This has been a major ponderable in my studies. Without a birth or death certificate, it leaves some room for question, but I'm pretty sure I solved this particular mystery at last.

Who is John W. Smull of Centre County who moved to Stephenson County in 1870?

Records are sadly lacking with any specificity for the era 1800-1850. No names on census reports except the household head, no great newspaper items for rural areas, blah, blah.

Here's what I know:

The various census from 1820-1840 indicate that Peter and Mary had a dozen children. I was able to identify 11 and believe the missing child was a boy born between 1826-1830.

John W. Smull's middle initial stands for "Wagner." If he is Peter & Mary's child, he would be the first son of the union and Waggoner is Peter's wife's maiden name. Mary's father's name was John. Germans often named their children after someone specific - in this case, it would be his maternal grandfather John Waggoner.

Now, we know that John W. "Johney" Smull was born 30 Apr 1826 in Pennsylvania and as of the 1850 census, resided in Rebersburg. It is reported that in 1850, he married his wife, Amelia Kahl. They lived in Pennsylvania until 1867, when they are found in Illinois. They were the last of the Peter & Mary children to head west. In 1880, they are in Waddams, Stephenson County.

Click to enlarge

Peter's son, Peter L., is still a bit of a mystery and I don't know how he was with his children. When Peter L's son Oscar's first wife died, Oscar's son Archie went to live Ella & JW McDaniel - but that didn't work out so well. The three children and Oscar resided with "his cousin" Thomas N Smull, who is Thomas Newton Smull, son of John W. Smull. The children remained with TN Smull and his wife after Oscar's remarriage and are often confused with being TN Smull's children, when they are in fact, Oscar's by his first wife.

Johney's first son is named Myron Peter Smull. Peter would be Johney's father if my surmise is correct.

The only fly in the ointment is that Peter and Mary also had a son named Johnathan Smull, born in 1834 (my 2nd great grandfather). Would they have two such similarly named sons? German children often had three names at baptism and could have been called any of those names at any point in their lives. Hmm. Very curious. Johnathan (1834) is never referenced with a middle name nor middle initial. He was also referred to as Johnathan, not usually John or Johnny. Based on all of the German naming traditions and varied uses of their 3-name system, I would say it would be possible to have both a John and a Johnathan in the same family - especially if children were named after specific other people.

Johney died in McConnell, Stephenson County 04 Feb 1903. Amelia died 05 Oct 1907.

I'm calling it - this is indeed the last of the Peter Smull, Mary Waggoner children.

The Gramley Boys of Centre County, Pennsylvania

HENRY SMULL > SARAH SMULL m Samuel Gramley > TITUS & CEPHAS GRAMLEY

C. L. and Joanna Weaver Gramley

You can read about Sarah Smull and her husband Samuel Gramley here.

Titus Melaucthon (T.M.) and Cephas Luther (C.L.) Gramley were two three Gramley boys who survived to adulthood. Both found value in education and both became successful citizens in their communities.

C.L. Gramley was born 17 Sep 1852 in Rebersburg, a German community in the heart of Miles Township in Brush Valley. He lived on the family farm during his childhood, but then went on to increase his education and spent two years in the Clinton Seminary. He taught for a time to gain the funds to spend two years at Susquehanna University at Selins Grove and once graduated, Professor Gramley spent 17 years teaching at the Grammar School in Rebersburg. After that, he taught at the Normal School and various institutes during the summer months. In 1892, he was named County Superintendent of Schools, hired to fill out the term of the previous superintendent. He was elected and relected in 1893 and 1896.

C.L. married Miss Joanna Weaver in 1878. She was born in nearby Wolfs Store, Centre County in August 1852. They had two daughters, Gertrude, who died at age 15 in 1895 and Almah, born in 1882. His obituary references a son, Clement, though I could find no evidence of that son elsewhere.

C.L. and Joanna were very involved with the Lutheran Church. C.L. was chorister of the church and Sabbath School since 1875. He was a charter member and first Noble Grand of IOOF Lodge 103. Like his father before him, he learned the land survey trade as well and assisted his father in surveying until his father's death. Not an idle man, he and his brother T.M. opened a general mercantile business in Rebersburg. As his stature in the community grew, he also became vice president and director of the Farmer's National Bank in Millheim, which had deposits in 1924 of $600,000. C. L. died 20 May 1935 in Miles, Centre County, just a couple months after his wife died 12 Jan 1935.

T. M. Gramley

T.M. Gramley was born 31 Jul 1856 in Rebersburg. He attended school in the Harter district in Miles Township and then went on to the County Normal School at Milesburg to prepare for a teacher's life. He was tasked heavily at home, so completing his education was difficult, but he did it. At age 16, he became schoolmaster of a school in Porter Township in neighboring Clinton County where he gained an excellent reputation. He then entered the Penn Hall Academy and prepared for college, but ended up back Porter to teach another three terms and then went to Mackeyville Grammar to teach. He ended up teaching 14 terms, spending summers working the family farm. He was certified to teach in all grades and had a State certificate. He then went into business with his brother C.L.

T.M.'s partnership with his brother in the general mercantile trade lasted about two years, when T.M. sold out to pursue farming. He farmed in the summer and taught in the winter. In 1888, he formed another business partnership, this time with RG Eisenhart. They opened a general stock company called the Spring Mills Creamery Company, which remained active for many, many years.

Marriage to Miss Agnes Loose occurred on 18 Dec 1877 in Miles Township. She was born 07 Sep 1836 to Samuel and Elizabeth Brickley Loose. The Gramley's purchased the "Old Peter Wilson" house and upgraded it with modern conveniences and set about raising their family of five children. Education remained important through the next generation as well. Orpha attended Irving College in Mechanicsburg and S Ward attended Susquehanna University. At the time of the biographical sketch written about T.M., his youngest two children, Windom and Bruce were still at home. Their final child, Eugene Titus, would arrive 10 Dec 1899.

T.M. and Aggie were also active in the Lutheran church and T.M. held various offices all of his adult life. He was also a member of the IOOF along with his brother.

T.M. died 05 Oct 1938 and Aggie died 30 Jun 1939, both in Millheim.

Sarah Smull & Samuel Gramley of Centre County

Add caption

UNK SMULL > HENRY SMULL > SARAH SMULL m Samuel Gramley

Sarah Smull was born 15 Mar 1832 in Rebersburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania to Henry Smull and his first wife, Elizabeth Royer.

She married Samuel Gramley on 07 Aug 1849 in Aaronsburg in Centre County. Samuel was born 04 Mar 1827 in Rebersburg.  He attended school as he could during winter months. He loved mathematics. After he finished his rural education, he began teaching. His first school was a subscription school in 1848, after which he went to Mifflinburg Academy in Union County for 18 weeks where he trained to teach. He then taught in his home school and secured its first-ever blackboard. In Spring 1849, he spent 10 more weeks at Mifflingburg Academy and then taught again at his home school. he continued teaching until 1861, when he moved to one of his father's farms and began cultivating the land. He also studied surveying and became a surveyor.

Gramley served as elder in the Lutheran church and held the position of superintendent of the Sunday School for 34 years. And,despite his being a Republican in a heavily Democratic township, he was elected as justice of the peace in 1869 and held that job for 15 years. He also served as a county commissioner starting in 1870 until 1873. Since he didn't seem to have enough to do, he also served as the Centre Hall Mutual Insurance Co. representative for 25 years. He owned two farms and a house in town, making him a substantial citizen of the area.

Sarah and Samuel had eight children: Isabella (died in infancy), Tiras (died in infancy), Cephas, Sarah Annie (died young), Titus, Clement, Naomi, and Adah.

Sarah died 14 May 1880 in Rebersburg. Samuel remarried to Catherine Spangler Ocker, a widow with five children. Samuel died 13 Jan 1903 in Rebersburg.

I'll cover Titus and Cephas in a separate post.

Centre County, PA: Miles Township & Smullton's Inception

There's a Smull genealogy website out there that for all intents and purposes, is full sound and fury, signifying nothing. But it does pose some interesting questions, most of which a little research and tenacity has seemed to resolve. Still, it calls to our attention the town of Smullton. Not a town, really, but a stopping point that had a post office in Miles Township in Centre County, which is really the originating source of our Smull roots and their stories.

Miles Township

It was indeed named in honor of one of our ancestors, George H. Smull, grandson of one of the four original Brothers Smull, Henry.[UPDATE: since this was written, I have been able to connect the four brothers to others via the parents, Johann Peter Schmoll and Juliana Sara Mueller]. And for the simple reason that George managed somehow to get the village its own post office. Prior to becoming "Smullton," it was Kreamerville for decades. Again, a family tie in. Henry's second wife was Catherine Kreamer, daughter of settler Jacob Kreamer. That marriage produced five children, including George H. Smull's father.

Jacob Kreamer owned a lot of land and farmed in the narrow strip of valley at the edge of the mountains. Son Joseph took over the family farm. The Kreamers would remain a presence in the area through today.

George H Smull was the son of Reuben Smull and Louisa Gramley, Born 23 Jun 1869 in Rockville in Brush Valley, his father farmed in the area. Reuben would later purchase the Joseph Kreamer farm. Reuben was described as a "man of no pretensions, minding his own business, and this, by the way, is a characteristic trait in the family, which has poduced a number of substantial, successful, yet unassuming citizens."

George H Smull

George was their only child and attended all the schooling the area had to offer (which was still conducted exclusively in German) and then went on to schools in Spring Mills, Selins Grove, and even Dakota, Stephenson County, Illinois. After several years in Illinois, he returned to Pennsyvania. He married Daisy Blanche Stover, on 04 Jul 1891. The couple would have no children.

George spent some time in the circulation department of the Keystone Gazette in Bellefonte which gave him opportunity to travel the area. In 1896, he became an insurance agent for New York Life. He did well in this pursuit and ended up managing a number of neighboring counties. The couple had a home in Rebersburg, but preferred their country home on the farm.

In the early 1900s, the need for a post office became pressing for the citizens of the area. On September 24, 1904, the US Postmaster finally named a postmaster for the newly minted village of Smullton, George H Smull. It was considered a fourth class post office. "A fourth-class postmaster’s position was highly prized in rural America. Although the job paid very little, it drew trade into the postmaster’s store and conveyed the mark of a town leader on the lucky recipient," according to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. George resigned in early March of 1910 and a postal examination was held to replace him. That post office, like most fourth class post offices, eventually closed to consolidate postal operations. It shut its doors in 1957.

George died at the age of 58 on 06 Nov 1927 in Centre County. His wife Blanche moved to Harrisburg and supported herself as a clerk until her retirement. She died 18 Jan 1963 in Carlisle, Cumberland, Pennsylvania.

The nature of Smullton has changed over the years. This article on Smullton was published in 1991:

Smullton: Portrait of a 1-Street Town
by Barbara Brueggebors, Times County Editor
Nobody's quite sure just when or how Smullton got its start, but everybody agrees the Miles Township village didn't start out as Smullton.

"We were Kreamerville for quite a while," says 85-year-old native son, Raymond Bair.

"We got to be Smullton after George H Smull fought to get us a town post office."

The one street community is located along Smullton Road about a half-mile south of (and parallel to) Rebersburg in rural Brush Valley. Elk Creek twists and curves through the town and its outlying fields.

Smullton proper is just about the same size as it was when the post office came to town way back in 1902 (ed note; 1904). There are 38 houses (all but one owner-occupied), no stores or churches, one beauty shop. The post office closed in 1957.

A half -dozen farms cling to the village's outskirts and more than a dozen houses and mobile home sline the paved lane leading to Rebersburg.

Mr Bair still lives in the red brick farmhouse his father purchased just west of the village in 1899.

"He bought this place from Mariah Kreamer and her son, George," says the retired dairyman and electrician. "The house was built in 1880 from bricks made down here in this meadow."

Mr Bair's 101 acres stretch from the foothills of Brush Mountain on the south to the back alleys in Rebersburg on the north.

"When I was a boy, the Smullton kids all walked to Rebersburg for school," Mr Bair says. "There was a boardwalk then right alongside the lane. When the boards got bad they put in gravel; and finally, they let it grow over with grass."

Mr Bair can remember two blacksmith shops in town, one run by Harry Smull, another by Charles Bressier and his son, Wilmer.

The community had a church too - at least up until 1932, when the entire membership voted 8 to 7 to disband.

"That was the Methodist-Episcopal Church," Mr Bair recalls, "It's since been turned into a residence. Dean Matter lives there now."

Carl Winters' dad, Clayt, was the last to run the old Smullton Creamery, which burned down in 1918. Up until the fire, it did a thriving business with farmers east of Madisonburg.

Smullton had two general stores that took turns housing the post office.

"Scott Walizer had a store and a cobbler's shop where Warren Royer's trailer is now," Mr Bair sai. "The old building burned down about five years ago.

"Ed Smull's store was down near the church. That building later was moved to the west end of town," he added.

Once settled in it new location, the store was kept by Herbert Stover, who also opened a photographic studio on the second floor.

Mr Stover's son, John, now 72, lives right across the stree from his father's former store building which now is a residence.

"My dad was what you call a go-getter," John Stover says. "Besides taking pictures upstairs, he had a printing outfit and a loom in the back of the store. And he ran a coal yard over in Coburn for 14 years."

"Dad had skylights - half-inch thick glass with wire in it - put in the roof of the place so he'd have the right light for his photos."

Stover's Store, like so many of its counterparts in other rural communities, quickly became the town's social center.

"About every night of the week, the store was sitting full," John Stover recalls. "The men would play cards or just sit on the two big benches in there and eat peanuts or cheese and crackers. Saturday night was the big night. We sold homemade ice cream, and I'd have to make it - every Saturday."

After Herbert Stover died in 1946, Wilbur D Meyer took over the store and operated it another dozen years.

The benches were gone though and when Mr Meyer rang up his last sale in December 1959, the town was without a grocery for the first time in anybody's memory.

While Smullton hasn't changed much size-wise, Mr Bair sees changes in its makeup.

"It used to be that I knew everybody in Smullton, Rebersburg, Wolfs Store and most of the people in Millheim," he says.

"But, over the years, it seems like the bulk of our younger people moved out Unless they farmed, there just wasn't anything doing around here for them. Now there's people in Smullton I don't know."

Jacob Smull Family: Jacob & Elizabeth Smull Burkert

UNK SMULL > JACOB SMULL > ELIZABETH SMULL m Jacob Burkert

Elizabeth was one of the older children of Jacob Smull, one of the four Brothers Smull of Brush
Valley. Jacob is the biggest question mark of the four brothers so far in my research. So far, I've located five children of the marriage of Jacob Smull and Margareth Brodt.

Elizabeth was born in 1822 in Miles, Centre County, Pennsylvania. At some point, she married Jacob Burkert, a native of Montgomery County. He was born 27 Jul 1816.

Jacob was a cabinetmaker by trade. He lived in Berks County prior to coming to Centre County. Jacob was an orderly sergeant for the Brush Valley Guards, which organized in 1838 and remained active until the beginning of the Civl War. It "was the first volunteer company in the valley that was composed chiefly of her own citizens." After disbanding, many of the members joined the Army during the War of the Rebellion. Citizens typically served seven years. Jacob served during the 1840s. He also later served as a justice of the peace for ten years.

The Burkerts had 11 children: George (died in the Civil War in 1861; served as a musician; died at camp with the Bellefonte Invincibles at Carlisle, PA), Rev Cyrus J., Effinger, Cephas Milton, John Clark, Emma Jane, Dr. Edwin F, Charles, and Clayton Smull Burkert (two died as infants),  I'll talk about a couple of the kids here:

Rev Cyrus Jacob Burkert was born in Rebersburg, 07 Jul 1842 and died in Dayton, Ohio, 12 Nov 1905. He attended school in Rebersburg (German instruction), read under a Lutheran minister, and later followed his uncle Rev CJ Burkert, a member of the Allegheny Conference, and he accompanied him on his pastoral administrations and assisted in Sabbath services. Later, he spent a little time at a Lutheran Theological Seminary at Selings Grove, Pa. That ended when he followed his uncle to Indiana. He then came to Ohio where he planned to enter the Union Biblical Seminary, but the needs of the elders caused that opportunity to slip away.In 1862, he was teaching school in East Germantown, Indiana and entered Hartsville University, operated by the United Brethren, but had to leave to serve in the military on 90-day basis. He joined the 54th Indiana Volunteers at Cambridge City on June 3, 1862 and was mustered in as a Sergeant June 4, 1862. and was mustered out in the fall.

In 1867, he married Anna Boughner and they had two sons: George and William. He died at the age of  62 in Ohio, never a highly educated master of religion, but one devout and successful in the eyes of his parishioners.

Dayton State Hospital

Dr. Edwin F Burkert, MD was born 27 Feb 1856, in Centre County. He attended local school and
then the Normal School. He taught two terms in Pennsylvania, then moved to Germantown, Ohio, where he attended Twin Valley College and Southwestern Ohio Normal. He taught for six years. During the last three years at school, he studied medicine and eventually attended Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati, where he graduated with the Class of 1884. He first practiced in Trenton, Ohio, then moved on to Collinville for three years. Then, he came to Dayton in 1887, and established his practice there.

He married Anna M Carney, daughter of AD Carney, a citizen of Sunbury, Delaware County, Ohio. The couple had three children. Members of the United Brethren Curch, Edwin died 21 Sep 1910 of acute delusional insanity at the age of 53 at the Dayton State Hospital. Anna died 16 Mar 1937 in Jefferson County, Ohio.

Peter Smull Family: Matilda Rebecca Smull

PETER SMULL > MATILDA REBECCA SMULL m Daniel Meyers

Click image to enlarge

Matilda Rebecca Smull was the fifth child of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner. The brother presumed to have been born prior to her is unknown, though we know by news account that there were 12 children - six boys and six girls - and by the census records prior to 1850 that a male would fit into this spot. Matilda was born 15 Oct 1828 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. In 1851, in Miles Township, Centre County, she married Daniel Meyer, son of Henry Meyer and Hannah Bierly. The Bierly name is one seen frequently in both Centre County and Stephenson County, Illinois. 

Matilda R Smull Meyer
1828-1915
Dakota Cemetery

Daniel's great grandfather, Anthony Bierly (1747-1825) was one of the pioneer settlers of Brush Valley, the same area where the Brothers Smull settled. He was born in Bavaria and came to Snyder County before settling in Brush Valley. He and Daniel's grandfather, Nicholas, cleared enough land to begin work on his 300 acres near Rebersburg. Anthony served in the militia during the Revolutionary War, but little is known of his involvement. 

Daniel served an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker in his youth in Pennsylvania under Major John Meyer, but wanted to seek his fortune out west. They arrived in Stephenson County on the last day of 1853. Finding there was no great need for cabinet makers, Meyer started farming and was successful. He retired in 1895 and they moved into Dakota for their retirement. Matilda died in December 1915 and Daniel on 28 Sep 1918 in Dakota.

The Meyer's had nine children, six of whom preceded their parents in death.

1. Sarah was born 19 Dec 1851, in Rebersburg. She married George McGilligan on 02 Mar 1875 in Stephenson County. They had one son, Willard Erwin McGilligan, born 03 Apr 1876 and died 07 May 1944 in Bremer County, Iowa. Sarah died 08 Mar 1898 in Chicago and George died 12 Sep 1924 in Bremer County. 

2. Dora Hanna was born 22 Oct 1853 and died 01 Apr 1854 in Stephenson County.

3. Newton Henry was born 28 Jan 1855 and died 01 Jan 1873 in Stephenson County. He died as a result of an accidental shooting while hunting.

4. Thomas Ephriam was born 03 Oct 1856 in Rock Run, Stephenson County. He married Hilda Charlotte Nelson, born 20 Sep 1858 in Sweden, and they had five children. He died 01 Aug 1897 in Winnebago County, Illinois and she on 08 Apr 1935 in Pecatonica, Winnebago County.

5. John Franklin was born 21 Nov 1858 in Stephenson County. He married Anna May Holsapple (another name found in both Centre and Stephenson Counties) on 18 Jul 1883 in Chicago. Anna was born 21 Sep 1870 in Dakota. They had five children. J. F. died in 1950 and Anna on 22 Aug 1928 in Rock Run, Stephenson County.

6. Peter David was born 09 Apr 1861 in Stephenson County and died on 11 Feb 1875 in Rock Run, Stephenson County. 

7. Emma Jane was born on 22 Oct 1863 in Dakota. She married Edwin Dietz Lauck on 08 Jan 1885. Ed was born to John A Lauck and Anna Christina Marean on 18 Oct 1863 in Rock Grove, Stephenson County. They operated a creamery and ice cream factory in Spencer, Iowa and in 1905 moved to farm in Peabody, Kansas. I highly recommend you visit this website to learn tons about the history of Ed's family and the early days of  Ed and Emma. Ed died 20 Nov 1933 in Peabody, Marion, Kansas and Emma on 16 Nov 1945 in Peabody. They had four children.

Emma, grandson Bobby, and Edwin 
photo Donald Good

8. Effie Susan was born 09 Mar 1866 in Rock Run. She married Lincoln A. Goodman in 1893 and they had two children. Lincoln was born 11 Nov 1863 in Wisconsin. He died 19 Jul 1935 in Rock Run from the heat after working near his timber land on the farm. Effie died 14 Oct 1943 in Freeport, Stephenson County.

9. Mary was born 11 Aug 1868 and died 20 Sep 1868 in Stephenson County.

MysteryMuddle: Solving the Mystery of the Early Smulls

George Henry Smull, the first subject of
the Smull Commemorative
Biographical Sketches

Way back in the day (sometime around 1825-ish), three brothers arrived in the Brush Valley, in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The story is not told through records, but through the centennial commemorative publications popular throughout the United States that profile prominent citizens and told the history of the town. Their accuracy was only as good as the transcriber and the subject providing the information so these publications often offer only mixed results.

Those Centre County Smulls were Henry, Peter, and Jacob. Another brother, Jesse, lived in another part of Pennsylvania and the two daughters referenced below have not been identified.

The Smull story is muddled by these very bio sketches. George Henry Smull, son of Reuben Smull, grandson of one of the three Brush Valley Smulls who first arrived to the area, Henry, was profiled in the J. H. Beers & Co. Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania, including the counties of Centre, Clinton, Union and Snyder Counties:

"The first of the line in America was _____ Smull, the great-grandfather of our subject (Henry, son of Reuben). He was a native of Ireland, whence he came to this country in the latter part of the

Centre & Clinton Counties, 1792

eighteenth century to locate in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. 

Six of his children lived to adult age - two daughters and four sons, the names of the latter being Henry, Jacob, Peter and Jesse. The Smull family in Brush Valley is descended from the first three sons, who were skilled masons, and all went at the same time to Rebersburg to build the wall for the Lutheran Reformed Church. They remained in the Valley, and, living in German settlements, they and their children adopted the language and customs of their neighbors. Of the brothers, Jacob, in later years, did an extensive business in cutting tombstones for the Rebersburg cemetery from native rock, and several of  these monuments are still standing. Jacob died at his home below Aaronsburg, and was buried at Rebersburg. Peter removed in later life to Stephenson county, Illinois, and died there." 

Just off the bat, this doesn't make sense. While there are some Smull's hailing from Scotland, the Schmoells, Schmulls, Smulls, Smalls, etc. hailed from Germany. The areas like Rebersburg were very German, speaking and conducting all of their business within their German communities in their language, educating their children in German, and maintaining their customs. It would not make sense for Irishmen to integrate into the German community. But who knows?  Intermarrying had already started.

Centre County Township Map, 1861

On that basis, I've since been looking for some other explanation and finally found one, which also may or may not be fully accurate. This taken from Portrait & Biographical Record of Macon County, Illinois, 1893 by Lake Publishing and the subject was Henry Smull (1842*), a heretofore unidentified child of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner. There is one child of Peter and Mary whom I still have not identified, based on 1830 & 1840 census calculations. It tells a completely different tale about the same ancestor (the unidentified grandfather of both profile subjects):

"The latter (Peter) was of German descent. The paternal grandfather (unidentified) of our subject was a hero of the Revolution. He left the Old Country to avoid entering the army, and arrived in the United States just in time to aid the Colonists in their struggle for independence.

For seven years he (the unidentified grandfather) participated in the Revolution. The father (Peter) of our subject (Henry)was born February 27, 1796, and died in February, 1869, being buried in Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Ill. His wife, who was born February 4, 1801, died and was buried in the same place in September, 1878. Mr. Smull was always a supporter of the Democratic party. He was a mechanic, and always followed the occupation of farming. He came to Illinois when Henry was a lad of twelve years, and located upon a farm in Stephenson County, where he spent his remaining days."

I think this description may be more accurate, but may be bloated in the heroic description. Until it can be ascertained who the parents of the Brothers Smull were, it's all moot. I have yet to find one person who has a reasonable solution to the problem. What I know is that the family is not related, or is very distantly related to John Augustus Smull, the author of the Smull's Legislative Handbook. 

The big questions for me are:

• Did Jacob Smull have wife and children and if so, whom?
• Did Jacob Smull leave the Centre County area? No records of him exist, but the house which he built in Centre County is on the National Historic Register
• Who are the parents of Mary Waggoner, Peter Smull's wife? I have a case to put before the court of public opinion, but will share that later.
• And, finally, WHO ARE THE PARENTS OF THE BROTHERS SMULL?

*Henry Smull (1842) is the son of Peter Smull and Mary Waggoner and is listed with his birth year to differentiate him from Henry Smull, brother of Peter.