In honor of the Independence Day, I thought I’d create an inventory of what the families of my eight great-grandparents were doing on the 4th of July 1776. (Since the scope of my genealogy efforts includes my husband’s ancestry too, I’ll write about my husband’s eight greats in a separate post.)
My eight great-grandparents were
- William Abromaitis (1875-1911), Lithuania and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. William’s family were likely in what is now Lithuania during the Revolutionary War; in the 1870s (the farthest back the records enable us to trace them) they lived in the Alytus region. They were likely farmers.
- Eva Kruckas (1879-1948), Lithuania and Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. During the Revolution Eva’s family were also likely in present-day Lithuania; records have allowed them to be traced back to the early 1800s in the village of Krosnenai, Lazdijai district. They were landowning farmers.
- Anthony Sakusky (1878-1921), Lithuania or Poland and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Nothing is known of Anthony or his family before he emigrated to America, probably as a single man. His place of origin is unknown, and he had no known siblings.
- Cecelia “Tillie” Buscavage (1883-1922), Lithuania or Poland and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Tillie’s family too has an unknown origin. Tillie’s parents came from Lithuania or Poland to Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, about 1883 or 1884 as a married couple with two children.
- Roland R. Neifert (1879-1934), Schuylkill and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. Roland’s family was in America in 1776. His immigrant ancestor Jacob Neifert lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania, when the Revolution broke out. A veteran of the French and Indian war, he signed the oath of allegiance. Others of Roland’s ancestors also took the oath of allegiance, paid supply tax, and served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. Some of Roland’s mother’s ancestors were Schwenkfelders, thus likely pacifists, and some were likely Revolutionary soldiers.
- Eva Ellen Whetstone (1881-1950), Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Eva’s ancestors were also here in 1776. Her great-great-grandfather Jacob Whetstone served as a Captain in the Berks County militia. His father-in-law Jacob Schaeffer took the oath of allegiance and served as a member of the Committee of Safety. Eva’s Moser, Hornberger, Andreas, Washburn, and Guldner ancestors served in the Northampton County militia and paid supply taxes.
- Edward Elwood Weaver (1870-1929), Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Like the Neiferts and the Whetstones, the Weaver and allied families (Schmidt, Peter, Rex, Hunsicker, Ohl, Frantz) were in what is now the U.S. during the Revolution. Edward’s ancestors served in the Northampton County militia and paid supply taxes during the Revolution. His great-great-grandfather Henry Lutz of Berks County served in the Continental line.
- Mary Trewren (1871-1948), Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The Trewren and allied families (Lobb, Glasson, Johns, Edmonds, Spargo) were still in Cornwall, England in 1776. They lived in west Cornwall, between Penzance and Falmouth, where they were miners, blacksmiths, and farmers.
