The photo is the face of the tombstone over my fifth great grandfather’s grave. It’s at the cemetery of the Wentz UCC church in Montgomery County, PA. From it I learned that the Stong from whom our family eventually flowered spelled Pillip with two “Ls” and he passed away on November 22, 1813. That’s 200 years ago next week. I celebrate the man, but as a man only; no more nor less responsible for who I am than quite a few other gene contributors.
My mother’s family name, before she married my dad, was Himes. So I carry the genes from the Himeses as well as Stongs. My mother’s parents were Himes and Mack; my father’s- Stong and Ibach. Their parents—my first great grandparents—were a Himes, a Detwiller, a Mack, and a Smith, a Stong, a Sassaman, an Ibach and a Geiger. That’s eight collections of genes intermingling to create me. Tracing back to Phillip Stang I find 128 family names—128 collections of genes—contributing to me. So how important was Phillip, really, in my genetic pool? I can’t be sure. Tradition gives him a place of honor, but there may be a Hartman or Henning or Fry out there who carries more of Phillip’s genes than I do. One of them may even look like him. I look like a Himes.
Traditions usually give us some sort of comfort and I admit to feeling an attachment to this tombstone. The Wentz church where it sits is United Church of Christ and as a child I went to St. Johns UCC. Maybe there are other connections. Did Phillip draw? Could he have enjoyed cooking? Did he give my daughter a desire to be a fireman and an EMT? Or instead, was there a woman—one whose family name wasn’t even recorded—who was alive in the mid Eighteenth Century and who provided the genetic material that gave us all of those passions?
Look out–you might start getting hooked on family history!
I’d never be able to manage what you’ve done for your extended family, Mary. You’re an inspiration. It is interesting stuff!
My mom has really gotten into uncovering her family’s history. Her maiden name is Castelluccio, and my grandfather grew up in the Italian section of Pittsburgh. There’s actually a small town in Italy named Castelluccio, and it is Frankie Valley’s (of 4 Seasons fame) actual real last name. He is apparently a distant cousin.
She was also telling me a story the other week about an ancestor we have that faked his own death and ended up with another family, and the other family was completely unaware of any of this history. I imagine there are all kinds of fascinating things one can find when tracing family roots.
Great stories Derick! It is fascinating. And now that you point it out, I can see you have Frankie’s smile.
That’s awesome! Now I can finally show people my “proof” that Frankie and I are related!