SMULL: Samuel Gramley's Diaries

While on my trip to Brush Valley in 2024, I had a few moments to look through the diaries of Samuel Gramley. I have written about him here. Samuel Gramley married Sarah Jane Smull (daughter of Henry Smull, in 1849. They lived in Centre County, Pennsylvania. I want to share a few entries:

December 24, 1856. Christmas evening. Weather severely cold for about 8 or 10 days already and no abatement yet. The cold has been so severe that no drop of water is now running in our town--all must be hauled from H. Royer's. And, Bear's or John Gramlys. Today Rev. Alleman had communion here and his discourse was based on Psalm 37:37. This too was his last sermon that he may do for us this side of the grave, as he has received a call some time ago from Hanover York County, Pennsylvania, wor which place he will leave this place next Monday. May the Lord's blessing attend him and his family withersoever he goes is my ardent prayer to God. The Lord has severely afflicted us in calling our most worthy Pastor Rev. Alleman to another field of labor. May the Lord soon send us another true, and really pious servant of his, is my wish and prayer to our God, who is willing, as well as ble, to here and answer the prayers of his children. Amen.

(Many entries were prayers or references to God.)

January 31, 1857. It is a long time since I wrote in my journal last and this was I think partly because during this time I met with so many trials and temptations from Satan, my own wicked heart, and from neighbors who are my deadliest enemies, round my back, but to my face seem yet as friends, and facts show are seeking my ruin, in any way they and the Devil think to succeed that I often know why, what to do, nor where I was standing. May God help me!

(There were a few entries that gave me the impression that he had fits of despair that may not have been warranted in the general scheme of things. I wonder who was backstabbing him!)

April 18, 1860. This has been a very fine day and the farmers in every direction were busy ploughing--sowing oats, etc. They are far back with their work on account of too much rain to do anything. Hardly any gardening has as yet been done before today for the same reason. I and Cephas Luther (his son) are alone at home tonight, as Sara Jane and Titus Melancthon have remained in town at Harrison Smull's. Nancy, his wife, is not expected to live long any more. She is very low. She has dreadfully to suffer--n one can hardly stand to see her suffer so. May the Lord have mercy on her, and grant that, should he see proper to remove her from this world, she may be prepared to leave this world in peace, has long been my prayer. Our friends William Walker's youngest child also is very low--hardly any expectations can be entertained of her reocvery. Last night I was there, and Sara Jane till half past one o'clock. Their daughter Jest Ann is in a most pitiable condition, on account of her spells of fits, whic she gets so very frequently. I have in my heart already felt for her, as she used to be on of my most obedient scholars--would learn well--and be active at everything.

(William Walker was married to Samuel's wife Sarah's sister, Mary Magdalena "Pollie." Their daughter Jest Ann was born in 1845 and survived until 1890, but was classified as insane - it sounds like she was epileptic, which was a sure way to be classified as insane back in that era.)

April 21, 1860. I have today been digging some in the garden. I owe also a great debt of gratitude to Gofr for his tender care toward me and my family. We are all enjoying good health and strength of body and mind. Sarah Jane has gone to town this evening to spend the night with our friends the Harrison Smulls; as she is yet very low--may not be able to live long anymore. Yet for all we know, she can by the help of God, again recover, as nothing is impossible with God; but to human appearance she may very properly be said to stand; as it were, with one foot in the grave. But she, as well as we, in the hands of him who is able to speak a word and it must come to pass. When he says, "come for thou son of man" we are; and when he says "die," we are no more--as a vapor before the sun, or that the grass is cut down. 

(Nancy McGee Smull, wife of Harrison Smull, died on 05 May 1860 at the age of 29. Harrison remarried to Matilda Hackman, "spinster" sister of Rev. H. E. Hackman, of St Clair, Pa. Matilda cared for her nephew Horace Hackman, son of Rev H. E. Hackman who had lost his wife and remarried and had several very small children in 1870. Unfortunately, Harrison himself would die in Sept 1871.)

January 5, 1861. Since my last entry into my journal we had fine winter weather--cold--excellent sleighing, and about 3 inches of snow. Had large attendance in school. One day more will finish my 2nd mo. I and family had taken a sleigh ride this afternoon to our friend's Henry Smull's. Found them all well. On my home road I received a letter from my friend T. J. Smull, who is teaching in Clinton Co, Pa.

(T. J. Smull is Thomas Jefferson Smull, brother of Sarah Smull Gramley. He would stay in Clinton County, Mackeyville, in particular, where he would spend 50 years as the postmaster there. When he retired, his son Roy took over.)

I'll publish a few more on the next blog.

SMULL: Jasper Gurney Smull One of My Favorite Stories

Jasper Gurney Smull, grandson of Henry Smull by his son Henry Kreamer "Harry" Smull, was born in 1901. He grew up and lived most, if not all, of his life in Rebersburg, Pennsylvania. He never married and it appears that he was a mama's boy.  For some time, he worked as a farm laborer in the area. To this day, the story of his time on the Walker farm told a story worthy of a made for TV movie. It remains one of the best stories I've run across, and there have been more than a few, in my family tree, which seems to have more than its fair share of nuts. Here is the story and here is a photo of Gurney, who lived until 1987.

SMULL: Henry Smull of Brush Valley

 I'm just now getting around to sorting through photos from my big trip to Pennsylvania, to hunt the trail of the Brothers Smull. My first post on my trip is here. I had such a great time with Evonne Henninger who runs the Facebook page Penns Valley Past and Present. Four Smull brothers arrived in Brush Valley to build the Lutheran church in Rebersburg: Jacob, Peter, Henry, and Jesse. Once building was complete, Jesse returned to the family while the three, Jacob, Peter and Henry, remained to build lives in the beautiful newly settled countryside on the other side of the Ridge and Valley Provice of the Appalachian Mountains, sitting between Nittany Mountain to the north and Brush Mountain/Shriner Mountain to the south. Peter was my third great grandfather. Jacob died relatively young but his home still stands on the main street in Rebersburg. Henry and his large family from his two wives, became part of the fabric of the area.

Henry's first wife was Elizabeth Royer, daughter of Johannes Christopher Royer and Magdalene Gross. The couple had seven children. Elizabeth died in 1834 at the age of 37, two weeks after she gave birth to their last child, Thomas Jefferson Smull. Henry then married the daughter of one of the prominent farmers Daniel Kreamer and Anna Kern) in the region, widow Catherine Kreamer Hosterman. They had an additional five children to add to the four children she had during her marriage to George Hosterman. George had died the same year Elizabeth Royer Smull died.  

I had not seen a photo of any of the Brothers Smull until I made my trip to Brush Valley. This is a photo of Henry, born in the 18th century, and his second wife, Catherine. This alone made the trip worthwhile.

Henry Smull and Catherine Kreamer Hosterman Smull c. 1860

David Owens: The Trip to Mount Vernon...South Dakota

I would direct you to the various stories about David Owens, my third great grandfather. His story wormed its way into my heart and he has been of special interest in my genealogical work. The summer of 2023, I had the pleasure of going to the place he went after he left Iowa. The place where he raised his second family - Mount Vernon, South Dakota. 

Our trip was for the pleasure of the entire family - mostly. Little did my familial traveling companions know, but I had designs on our itinerary that would take us to genealogical wonders (for me, not them) along the way. 

Downtown Mount Vernon 25 years after the Owens arrived

As just a brief summary to those who do not want to read all of my stories, David Owens married my 3rd great grandmother, Sarah Holler. They pioneered through Indiana and Illinois, until arriving in Poyner Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa, where they were part of a group of the earliest settlers. They were baptists. Sarah died shortly after having her son Joseph in 1864. Joseph also died. David almost immediately married Elizabeth Brown, who died in 1866. Finally, he married Eliza Barker in 1867. They stayed in Poyner Township until 1884, when they made the big move to South Dakota where they hoped to homestead. They ended up homesteading two different adjoining properties outside of Mount Vernon, South Dakota.

We had left Mitchell, the Davison county seat, early one morning as I had an appointment with the sexton at the cemetery where David and Eliza were buried. No emails involved - only the phone.  Dale Kroupa, who had lived his entire life in Mount Vernon and knew who lived at every single property in the County, met us at the cemetery. By that time, I had already found the stone in question. We chatted a bit and I told him of my interest in the Owens family. He grabbed his phone, made a call, and said, "Follow me."

Milwaukee, Chicago, St Paul Station

Off we went to the nearby historical museum (housed in what was formerly a church). Dale had called the woman who masterminded the museum, Roberta Olsen, at home. She told him to give her a minute, but she'd be right down to open up the museum.  Now, that's service! She knew every person to a one who settled in the area and how they connected to each other. I poured over tons of resources, books, and plat maps. Dale had tracked the properties down and so we were off again to see the property.  On that day, I got to see the place where they had farmed over 100 years ago. The place did not look much different from it had then. I felt a real connection to David, which just further insinuated him into my heart.

Really, all that racing around was great, but man, I've got to tell you, the kindness of strangers. Am I right? Mrs. Olsen and Mr. Kroupa so clearly loved and were proud of their place in the world and so very willing to share it with others. It moved me very much.  

I delayed telling this story so now I have to dig through my phone for the photos. So, I shall return - with pictures and some other stuff.

Mount Vernons Historical Museum

Munson Tales: New England Slave Owners

Revelations out of Yale relatively recently brought the public’s attention to the fact that slaves contributed to the building of several early Yale buildings (1747-1752). Called out specifically was the slave of Captain Theophilus Munson, who went by “Dick.” He provided significant labor in building, courtesy of the Captain. The last slave in New Haven was sold on the New Haven Green on March 8, 1825. This despite many other New England states having abolished slavery, some states even before they became states. There was a policy of gradual release of slaves, so the last New Haven slaves were not freed until 1848, just 13 years before the Civil War. 

Connecticut Hall (Yale), built with slave labor

In fact, abolition in most northern states had gradual release rules or the inhabitants just didn’t follow the laws of the land at all. New Jersey, a bastion of Munson progeny, never abolished slavery until the end of the Civil War. Joseph Tuttle (b. 1692), grandson of Thomas Munson’s daughter Hannah, was also a slave owner with eight slaves. Deacon Captain Stephen Munson (b. abt. 1733), who was joined to the 1st Church at Hanover, New Jersey, was named “ruling elder” in 1765 and later deacon. 1st Church published a series of Rules for the Regulation of Families in 1782, of which Stephen was the second signer. One of those rules was: “13. As we suppose all human creatures have a natural right to freedom, so when they have done nothing that forfeits their liberty, and when they do not voluntarily submit to bondage, we cannot but look upon their being held in slavery, as an unnatural evil and one of the greatest injuries to mankind. Therefore we will not use this slavery ourselves, and will prudently endeavor to prevent it in others.” This despite owning a slave named “Caesar.” I guess perhaps “Rule 13” was just a guideline for Stephen.

Munson Tales: Puritans Turned Polygamists

 Mary Elizabeth Potter (Clan Elizabeth) and Burr Frost married as teens in 1835 in Connecticut. Just seven years later, the couple was baptized in the growing church of the Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith. It had been just six years since the Book of Mormon was written. 

The Frost’s moved west first to Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph Smith and his followers had originally gone to Missouri, but were ejected by the State of Missouri. In 1844, Smith and his brother were later to be tried for treason in Missouri, so turned themselves in only to be killed by a mob at the jail. There was a power vaccuum, but it appeared that Brigham Young would be taking the lead. 

He organized the first Mormon Vanguard Company. In 1847, 14 groups of 9-14 people were assigned to a leader, an ox, and a wagon. They walked or road over 1,000 miles to the Salt Lake valley in what is now Utah. Burr was included in this first set of settlers in Group Seven, led by James Case. Amazingly, the group arrived safely in July of 1847. It was some time before Burr brought his wife and kids out. 

Though the Mormons were split as to whether polygamy should be allowed, Burr dipped his toe into the multiple-marriage pool by marrying Eliza Morris in 1852, the first year polygamy was out in the open. She was also still married to her first husband, Isaac Nash, with whom she had four children. She and Burr had no children together. However, that changed when Burr married 22-year-old Caroline Triplett in 1864. They had at least eight children together. Burr was a reliable and hard-working member of the LDS church. 

He was an effective proselytizer who was called upon to do mission work as far away as Hawaii and Australia. In March of 1878, Burr died. At the time of his death he was one of the Presidents of the Seventy, a significant leadership position. 

All of his wives outlived him. His first wife, Mary Elizabeth, outlived the younger wives, dying in 1904. Polygamy was banned by the church in 1890.

Munson Tales: Larry Welch, Chief of Staff of the Air Force

Young Larry

Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Solomon Munson > Samuel Munson > Ruth Munson > Mary Van Cleef > Ruth Ryker > Polley Hillis > John S Welch > Arthur Welch > Oliver Welch > Larry D Welch

Larry Deane Welch was born in a little town called Morningstar in Oklahoma smack in the middle of the Great Depression in 1934. Three kids had come before him and one would follow. His parents, Oliver and Nina (Stewart) Welch spent most of their lives in Kansas but during the Depression moved wherever there was work both north and south of the panhandle. Larry ended up attending a number of schools, but at least he was getting an education. The two country high schools he attended in no way prepared him for college. But, athletics helped him fit whenever he moved. Between junior and senior year, a recruiter for the local national guard battery came through the high school and Larry signed up. It was an honor to be part of the Guard in town. His skill at calculus allowed him the job of fire control. After graduation, he couldn’t decide on what he would do in college, but thought he’d try a degree in Texas. He transferred his Guard membership to Texas. In the meantime, his draft number was closing in on him. He took a test to enlist and though the Army was offering two years, the Air Force was offering three and Larry hedged his bets and went Air Force. 

Joint Chiefs of Staff under Colin Powell (Larry in blue)

There he would spend the next 38 years, rising to the pinnacle position before he retired. After basic
training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, he was on casual duty, waiting for his advanced training. His main chore was helping training staff get their recruits from one place to the next. One day, he was tasked with taking the recruits to the base theatre to be briefed on the Aviation Cadet Program. On the way out, he filled out an interest slip and dropped it in the box. Next thing he knew, he was selected for officer pilot training. He had the same three year commitment, so it was a win-win. The program was like Officer Candidate School, but wasn’t. After the 13 weeks at Lackland for military training, Larry was sent for his six months of flight training. He completed that near the top and was picked for one of three fighter slots. That’s where Larry really wanted to be. Then, the training command decided that the top eight pilots would stay and train future pilots. Among some of these pilots were Majors and Lt. Colonels. The 2-star general for the base called Larry in one day and that he couldn’t have Lieutenants running around telling senior officers their business. And, he pinned on Larry’s Captain bars. This promotion was called a “below-thezone” promotion, which meant it was ahead of schedule. He was thrilled and went home and walked around the house not saying a word about the giant Captain bars sitting on his shoulders. His wife carried on her conversation about going downtown, which was to be their destination, totally unaware, until Larry became frustrated and said he couldn’t go until she noticed something. She finally noticed! 

As any career military member knows, the spouse is what keeps it all together. He married the former Eunice Ellis about a year after he finished flight school in 1956. The were married for 66 years prior to her death in 2022. Larry was then operations officer of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing He would be promoted to Major below-thezone as well. There was one slot and four candidates. He was told that he was selected because he went to night classes working towards his undergrad degree. He completed it with 170 credits. Then he spent a tour flying F4C Phantoms in Vietnam. He was back to school upon his return, going to Air War College to get his master’s. Like all career officers, he then spent some time in a headquarters environment. He ascribes much of his success to date with luck, but it was not luck that got one of his analysis papers in front of a bevy of generals and altered military policy. 

Larry is known for only
flying left-seat

His skill analyzing a problem and writing it up to have the greatest impact was now revealed. By 1974, he was a Colonel and Vice Commander of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB. From there, movement was swift. He went on to other analysis positions at the Pentagon. He built battle plans for Iraq and analyzed optimal weapons planning. He received a first and then a second and then a third star. He served as Tactical Air Command as Director of Operations and got his fourth star serving as Commander of Strategic Air Command. In 1986 he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Air Force. This had a required four-year term. The end of that term would come in 1990, the end of the Cold War. 

The Soviet-Bloc countries got their independence and the Soviet Union collapsed. His charge was challenging. He had to implement the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense (DoD) Reorganization Act, which basically upended the way the DoD did business. He and the Chiefs managed to get the DoD through the process successfully. 

Where do you go after you’ve reached the top? You retire. Not Welch though. After leaving the service, he chaired the advisory committee to the Homeland Security Agency’s Science and Technology Division. He then some time on the Rumsfeld Commission, which reported to Congress on the ballistic missile threat. In 2009, he retired as president of Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2014, he was asked to work on the Independent Review of the Department of Defense Nuclear Enterprise. He is truly retired now and living in Virginia. His three children includes one son who attended the Air Force Academy and was a career officer, retiring as a colonel in 2024.