Adolph Schambach 1690-1750

Researching as the possible father of Catharina "Schmuckenbrucken", wife of Sebastian Truckenmiller.

Adolph Schambach

son of

Born

Died October 20 1750

Married 1714 in Germany

2nd Anna Dorothy

daughter of

Born

Died

Children

Elizabeth Shambach 1715 – 1786

George Shambach 1718 – 1794

Catharina Shambach 1719 – 1793

Valentine Shambach 1724 – 1808

Anna Elizabeth Schambach 1726 – 1812

1719- Marriage to Magdalena Bayerbach

Age: 29

1723 - Residence

Age: 33

Fussgonheim, Germany

Listed as a head of household in Fussgonheim, Germany

April 17 1729 Occupation

Age: 39

Fussgonheim, Germany

At his son George's baptism, was listed as a weaver in Fussgonheim

Aug 19 1729 - Arrival 

Age: 39

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Name: Adam Shamback, Ship: MORTONHOUSE Captain: JAMES COULTAS Place: ROTTERDAM Date: AUG, 19, 1729

http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/palship10.shtml

on the captains list he appears as Adam Shambach, but on the oath of allegiance he appears as Adolph Schomboch.  Anna Dorthea & Elizabeth both appear as well - but I do not see the other children on the list.

August 26 1749 - Codecil written
(I'm not sure when the will was written)

Download a pdf file with all the photos, and the transcription, here:
https://copy.com/okRUdTfrZnYE

Family Mentioned in the will

"Second Son" Valentine receives the "plantation"

Three other children which I issued with my Second Wife

Three grandchildren of my first daughter Elizabeth the wife of Jacob Jost

Eldest Son John George

Daughter Catherine

Youngest Daugther Elizabeth

Transcription Of The Will

I Volintine Shambach son of Audolph Shambach deced. Dorothy Shambach the widow having renounced

Greeting

Whereas The said Audolph Shambach in his life Time made a certain writing or Codicil under his Hand & Seal bearing date the 26th day of august in the year of our Lord one Thousand seven hundred & fortynine purporting his Last Will & Testament a true Copy wherof is hereunto annexed but named no Executors thereof He the sd. deced. having whilst he lived & at the Time of his death divers Goods Chattels Rights & Credits within the said Province by means whereof the full disposition and Power of granting the administration of all and Singluar the Goods Chattels Rights & Credits which were of the said said deced. within the sd. Province and also the auditing the accts. Calculacons & Rechkonings of the said administration & the Probation & approbation of the sd. Codicil to me is manifestly known to belong I desiring that the Goods Rights & Credits wch. were of the said Deced. may be well and truly adminstred to and the said writing or Codical have its due weight do hereby grant unto you the said Volintine Shambach for whose fidelity in this behalf I very much Confide full Power by the Tenor of these Presents to administer the Goods Chattels Rights & Credits which were of the said deced. within the said Province And also to ask Collect Levy recover & receive the Credits whatsoever of the said deced. wch. at the Time of his death were owing or to him did anyway belong and to Pay the Debts in wch. the said Deced. Stood obliged and the Legacies in the said Codicil mentioned so far forth as the sd. Goods Rights & Credits will Extend according to their rate & Order of Law Especially of well & truly administring the Goods Chattels Rights & Credits wch. were of the sd. deced. & making a true & perfect Inventory thereof and Exhibiting the same into the Regr. Genl.'s office at Philad. at or before the 3d. day of December next & rendring a true & just accot. Calculation or reckoning of the said administration at or before the 4th day of November Anno 1751 and I do by these Presents Ordain Constitute & Deputis you the said Volintine Shambach Administrator of all & singular the Goods Chattels Rights & Credits of the said deced. within the Limits aforesaid. with the writing or Codicil aforesaid annexed Saving harmless & forever Indemnifying me & all other officers agst. all other Persons whatsoever by reason of Your administration aforesaid & Saving to all others their Rights In Testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my hand & Seal of office at Philadelphia the 3d day of November in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred & fifty

Wm. Plumsted Regr. Genl.

In the Name of God I Adolph Shambach of Philada. County Do make my Last will & Testament & that by my good understanding & sound memory & containing as follows Imprimis I give & bequeath unto my Second Son Volintine my Plantation with with all the Improvements & Buildings thereon nothing Excepted for the only use and behoof of him and his Heirs so that none of his Brother & Sisters can make any Claim or Pretention on the same after my Death Item I will have that my Second Son Volintine shall pay unto my three other Children which I Issued with my Second wife besides my three Grandchildren of my first Daughter Elizabeth the wife of Jacob Jost the Sum of one hundred fifity five Pounds at the hereafter mentioned Terms Item I will if it happens that his mother over lives me my Son valentine shall pay the lawfull Interests of the above mentioned 155 £ unto her for her maintenance without any upbraiding and that so long as she goes by name but if she against Expectation should marry again she only is to have her lawfull Share viz. one Third part of all moveables & no more It. I will that the first Term of Payment shall begin one year after our Death & that without Interest vize my Son Valentine shall pay for the first Term 30 Pounds 10 £ therof he is to pay unto my Son John George, and 10 £ unto my Daughter (Catharine) & 10 £ unto my youngest Daughter Elizabeth, the next Second year after our Death shall my Son Valintine Pay 23 £ vize unto my Eldest Son George 11 £ unto my Daughter Catharine 5 £ unto my youngest Daughter Elizabeth 7 £ and so the following 4 years every year 23 £ according to the Division mentioned in the Second Term to pay unto his Brother & Sisters & all that without any Interest the whole Time of the Payments is extending to Six years the whole Sum of every ones shares is as followeth vize I bequeath unto my Son John George the Sum of Sixty five pounds unto my Daughter Catharina the Sum of Thirty five pounds, unto my youngest youngest Daughter Elizabeth the sum of forty five pounds and unto my three Grand Children the Children of Jacob Yost the Sum of Ten Pounds wch. 10 £ shall be the Cash Payment Payable in the seventh year after our death & 10 the whole Sum of 155 £ shall be paid down of my Son Valintine Justly & without any objection All these above Presents I have with Sound Memory & good understanding caused to put down in writing and I will have it kept and Executed firm and inviolably I Testimony thereof I have in the presence of the Subscribed Witnesses put my own Seal & Hand hereunto on the 26th day of August in the year after the gracious Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ 1749 Adolph (X) Shambach

Dirk (D) Casselbery, Christian weber

Translated from the origl. in high German.

Abraham Heiderich

Philada. 3d November 1750 Then Psonally appeared Derick Caselbery & Christian weber witnesses to the foregoing Codicil & upon their Solemn affirmation according to Law did declare they saw & heard Adolph Shambach the Testator therein named Sign, Seal, Publish & declare the said Codicil for & as his Last will & Testament and that at the doing thereof he was of Sound Mind Memory & understanding to the best of their knowledge

Corum. Wm. Plumsted Regr. Genl.

1750 - Death

Age: 60

Lower Providence, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA

Research:

http://www.shambaugh.org/

Jacob Aunkst 1842-

Jacob Aunkst 

born abt 1842, lived in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Married

Minnie

 I believe Jacob is the grandson of Daniel & Mary (Zweyer) Aunkst - a child of their son William - based on the 1860 census.

Will of Jacob Aunkst

I Jacob Aunkst, of the borough of Milton, County of Northumberland, and state of Pennsylvania, being of sound mind and understanding do make and publish this my last will and testament freely revoking and making void all former wills by me at anytime heretofore made

And fist I direct that my body be decently interred at the Harmony Cemetery at Milton Pa, in such a manner corresponding with my estate and that my legal debts be paid.

As to such estate as I may be possessed of at the time of my death I dispose of in the following [unreadable - but probably "list", or "text"]

I give, dispose, and bequeath  [unreadable] my beloved wife Minnie Aunkst, her executors and assigneds for ever, all my property real, personal, and mixed of what nature as kind [unreadable] and wheresoever the same may be at the time of my death.

On testimony whereof, I the said Jacob Aunkst have to this my last will and testament have set my hand and seal on this eleventh day of February AD Nineteen hundred and seven (1907)

Signed sealed published and declared by the said Jacob Aunkst, as and for his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence and in the presence of each other, have subscribed our manner as witnesses thereto

witness

F N Lindener

John G Krock [my best guess on the last name]

1860 Census

Name: Jacob Aungst

Age in 1860: 18

Birth Year: abt 1842

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Home in 1860: Chillisquaque, Northumberland, Pennsylvania

Gender: Male

Post Office: Milton

Value of real estate: View image

Household Members:

Name Age

William Aungst 43

Francis A Aungst 40

Jacob Aungst 18

Mary E Aungst 16

Elizabeth A Aungst 12

Daniel Aungst 9

Joseph Aungst 6

William Aungst 4

David Aungst 1/12

Matilda Aungst 30

1870 Census?

if this is correct, Minnie was his second wife - or Minnie was a nickname?

Name: Jacob Aungst

Age in 1870: 28

Birth Year: abt 1842

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Home in 1870: Chillisquaque, Northumberland, Pennsylvania

Race: White

Gender: Male

Post Office: Milton

Value of real estate: View image

Household Members:

Name Age

Jacob Aungst 28

Anna Aungst 31

Henry Aungst 8

1910 Miracode

Pennsylvania 1910 Miracode Index about Jacob Aunkst

Name: Jacob Aunkst

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

State: PA

Age: 68

Color: W

Enumeration District: 0072

Visit: 0192

County: Northumberland, Milton

Relation: Head of Household

Other Residents:

Relation Name Age Birth Place

Wife Minnie E 43 Pennsylvania

1910 Census

Name: Jacob Aunkst

Age in 1910: 68

Birth Year: 1842

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Home in 1910: Milton Ward 1, Northumberland, Pennsylvania

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Head

[Self (Head)]

Marital Status: Married

Spouse's Name: Minnie E Aunkst

Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members:

Name Age

Jacob Aunkst 68

Minnie E Aunkst 43

[63]

Daniel Emera Aunkst 1855 – 1917

Not Direct Line - see our Aunkst Line here: Our Concise Aunkst Line

Daniel Emera Aunkst

son of  David & Esther (McKean) Aunkst

Born 1855

Died

Unmarried  - do not confuse this Daniel with his cousin, who was born in 1851 & Married Isabella Berkhimer).  Daniel lives with his cousin Daniel  - making it all the more confusing!

1870  Census 

Name: Daniel Aunkst
Age in 1870: 15
Birth Year: abt 1855
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1870: Delaware, Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Gender: Male
Post Office: Watsontown
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members:
Name Age
David Aunkst 48
Esther Aunkst 48
Hampton Aunkst 20
Wilson Aunkst 19
John Aunkst 17
Daniel Aunkst 15
Horace Aunkst 13
Perry Aunkst 11
Margaret Aunkst 7
Joseph Aunkst 5
David Aunkst


1900 Census
Name: Daniel E Aunkst
Age: 45
Birth Date: Mar 1855
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1900: Milton Ward 3, Northumberland, Pennsylvania
[Northumberland]
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Cousin
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Occupation: View on Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Daniel Aunkst 49
Isabell Aunkst 42
Ella M Aunkst 21
Daniel E Aunkst 45


1910 Census
Name: Daniel E Aunkst
Age in 1910: 55
Birth Year: 1855
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1910: Milton Ward 3, Northumberland, Pennsylvania
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Cousin
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Daniel Aunkst 57
[59]
Isabella Aunkst 52

Daniel E Aunkst 55

This is one of my favorite wills ever.  The second paragraph starts -
"First I direct that my Pony and horse Cappy are not to be sold.  But are to be bailed to some person to them a tood home, and when they have become burdensome then my heirs are to see that they are dispatched in a humane way."

Now there is an ancestor, even if not directly related, that I can relate to.  :-)

The Will Of Daniel Emera Aunkst:

Heinrich Weidman 1788-1833

Heinrich Weidman

son of Philip & Sarah (Long) Weidman

Born 1788

Died 1883

Married

Catharina Kratzer

daughter of

Born

Died

Children:

Anthony 1804

(Twin) Elizabeth 1814

 (Twin) Sarah 1814

Catharina 1816

Heinrich 1819

Baptismal records from the Christ Lutheran Church, Upper Bethel Twp, Northampton Co, PA.


Name: Anthony Weidman
Birth Date: 9 Jan 1804
Event Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 19 May 1804
Baptism Place: Upper Mount Bethel, Northampton, Pennsylvania
Father Name: Heinrich Weidman
Mother Name: Catharina

Organization Name: Christ Lutheran Church

Heinrich & Catherine Weidman
Elisabeth born May 19 1814
baptized May 13 1915
sponsors Abraham Long & Elizabeth

The same parents
Sarah Born May 19 1814
baptized May 13 1815
sponsors Abraham Long & Elizabeth

Heinrich Weidman & Catharina
Catharina born OCt 2 1816
baptized Aug 3 1817
Sponsors Philip & Catharina Kratzer

Heinrich Weidman & Catharina
Heinrich born Sept 6 1819
baptized Oct 23
Sponsors - the parents

Philip Weidman

Philip Weidman

son of

Born

Died

Married

Catharina

daughter of

born

died

Baptismal records found in the Christ Lutheran Church, Upper Mt Bethel, Northampton County, PA.

Philip Weidman
Katharina
Mary Jetta born Dec 17 1825
baptized Feb 7 1826
sponsors Jacob & Magdlena Zeislof

Philip Weidmann
Catherina
Mary Jane born April 3 1830 baptized July 18
sponsors: the parents

Philip Weidman
Catherina
Christiana Miller born une 30 1832 baptized Sept 9
Sponsor - Christina Miller, Widow

Philip Weidman
Catherina
Catha Jee K ? born Dec 13 1834, baptized April 12 1835
sponsors- the parents

Philip
Catherina
Sarah born Feb 21 1837
baptized May 7 1837
sponsors William and Catherina Frutschy

John Widman

John Widman

Son Of

Born

Died

Married

Anna

Daughter of

Born 

Died

While searching the baptismal records of the Christ Lutheran Church in Mt. Bethel, Northampton PA, for the children of John & Sarah Hanna (Zeisloft) Weidman, I repeatedly came across a second John, and his wife Anna. Having a list of their children may help me to sort out the census records for "My" John Weidman

Children:

Alfred 1824

William Wilson 1829

Alfort (Alfred) born Oct 3 1824, Baptized May 15 1825, Sponors John Reimel and Maria Lang

(the record shows the name just as I have typed it above, using the Alfred in parenthesis)

William Wilson Born September 1 1829 baptized Nov 8

Sponsors Joseph Lehr & Catherine Emmerich

Andrew Doz Hepburn 1784-1861

Samuel Hepburn 1698 – 1795

married

Janet Sinclair 1702 – 1775

James Hepburn 1747 – 1817

married

Mary Hopewell 1761 – 1826

Andrew Doz Hepburn

Born 23 May 1786

Died March 6 1861

Married

Martha Hutson

Born

Died

Children:

Thomas Hepburn  – 1873

James Huston Hepburn 1803 – 1853

Mary Hepburn 1805 – 1853

Samuel Hepburn 1806 – 

Janet Hepburn 1808 – 1900

Martha Hepburn 1810 – 1846

William Hepburn 1812 – 1855

Andrew Hepburn 1814 – 1872

 Charles Walker Hepburn 1819 – 1842

Hopewell Hepburn 1821 – 1844

 Sarah Hepburn

"Andrew Doz Hepburn son of James Mary Hopewell Hepburn was born in Northumberland Pennsylvania March 10 1784 died in Williamsport March 6 186I Meginnis the historian of the Vest Branch Valley says him A broad minded liberal man a great and student Early in life he made familiar with both law and medicine and gave these sciences much study and thought People were in the habit of going to him as as he lived for legal advice and the afflicted consulted him In a new country this was invaluable and true eminence His personal activities covered a broad field He laid out West Williamsport sold the first saw mill sites there from the Mount Joy tract inherited from his father and founded the lumber business there He was a large shipper of grain down the west branch of the Susquehanna r1ver and down that stream in arks to Baltimore He was brigade major of the First Brigade Tenth Division Pennsylvania Militia under General John Cummings in 1812 He was the first elder of the First Presbyterian church in Williamsport donated its building site largely bore the expenses of the first church edifice and made provision in his will for a parsonage he was also the first superintendent of the Sunday school He married in 1802 Martha Huston who died February 6 1852 She was a daughter of Thomas and Janet Walker Huston and sister of Charles Huston the distinguished jurist and justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Her father was a captain in the Revolutionary war and her mother was of the famous legal family of Walkers in Ireland ." page 371 Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 by Gilbert Cope, Henry Graham Ashmead

A Point Of No Return - The Eugene Grafius Story

I got off on a bit of a tangent, as I often do, on this one.  Joseph Grafius was my 4th great uncle, that is how I "connect", very distantly, to this story.  :-)

Abraham Grafius 1756 - 1830

(My 5th Great Grandfather)

married

Elisabeth Rothrock 1766-1845

Joseph Grafius 1795 – 1878

married

Mary W. Woodward 1805 – 1884

William Graffius 1827-1898

married

Margaret Ramsey

Vanderbelt Graffius 1858-1944

married

Florence Horlacher 1858-1952

Eugene Graffius 1896- 1918

A Point Of No Return - The Eugene Grafius Story

by H. Joseph Grafius

March 8, 1998

   Eugene Grafius was born October 26, 1896 in Montoursville Pennsylvania.  His parents were Vanderbelt and Florence (Horlacher) Grafius.  Eugene was one of ten children born to Van and Florence.  the family lived at 29 Jordan Avenue, not far from where the railroad tracks crossed Loyalsock Avenue.  Eugene attended the Montoursville public schools and, like all the kids at that time, had to help with the family chores when he came home from the school,  his father tried to earn money to support the family in whatever manner he could.  Van was a teacher, a preacher, a lumberman, and an overall jack-of-all-trades.  The family were members of the Church of our Savior Episcopal Church on the N. Loyalsock Avenue.  Although there was a lot of work to do about the house, Eugene was allowed to participate in baseball during the summer.  When he was in high school, he played for the Montoursville Warrior Baseball team and later played on several city and county teams.  Perhaps one of the reasons his parents allowed him to play was to compensate for the sorrow they experienced when six of their children died at young ages due to illness.  Eugene's one older brother, Guy, died in 1894.  Another older brother and sister, Van and Jessie, died of diphtheria in 1904, a week apart from each other.  A set of twins and another child died at birth as well.  The family was robbed of the joy of seeing happy children at play too many times.

When Eugene finished high school around 1916, World War One was already in progress in Europe. The United States wasn't eager to be involved in another war but we did send food and supplies to Great Britain.  This did not go unnoticed by the Germans.  At the time, the German Navy had the largest submarine fleet in the world.  These submarines, or U-boats as they were called, patrolled all the areas of the Atlantic Ocean scouting for any ships that might be sympathetic to the English or French cause. The U-boats practiced  hit-and-run tactics.  They were most effective running on the surface of the water when they could use their deck guns as well as their torpedos.  They could also travel at greater speeds this way, but when the escape was necessary, they would submerge and disappear from their foes.  After several American ships were torpedoed and sunk, public sentiment started to change.  This change made declaring war on Germany unavoidable.  The United States officially entered war on  April 6, 1917.  The economy, at the time, was in good shape because the country was not torn apart by the war.  War trade though, was being disrupted by the war in Europe.  Eugene Grafius saw an opportunity to serve his country, see the world, and be employed by joining he United States Navy  Patriotism was riding high with all the young men eager to defeat the Kaiser and drive the Huns back to Germany.  Eugene had heard stories how his grandfathers on both his mother's and father's side of the family had served during the Civil War to preserve the Union so, to him, this was the natural thing to do.  Eugene enlisted on May 15 1918 and soon became a Seaman 2nd Class.  He was stationed aboard the U.S.S Ticonderoga when was actually a German steamer seized by the United States Customs officials in 1917.  The ship was built in 1914 and called the Kamilla Rickmers. This ship was fitted out by the US Navy as an animal transport.

On September 5 1918, the U.S.S. Ticonderoga docked at Norfolk. Virginia to load its cargo of horses and Army supplies. One has to remember that at this time in the century. horses still played a big part  in the war as a pack animal and for pulling wagons. There were still some cavalry units that rode horses as well. Alter the Ticonderoga was loaded it joined a convoy in New York Harbor and on September it departed destined for a port in France called the Gironade estuary which it had visited just two months prior. An interesting side note is that the convoy almost wasn't allowed to leave New York Harbor because of a health concern at that time. There was an influenza epidemic that had spread across the United States and it was killing more people per day than were dying from the war. The doctors had discovered that the flu virus was airborne and would therefore: be spread through close contact with an infected person. President Woodrow Wilson was hesitant about sending more troops to Europe for the war effort because of the close conditions the troops would face while on board a ship. Any infected soldier could pass the virus to the rest of the ship in no time, which would in essence, be certain death for hundreds and thousands of soldiers and sailors. After much deliberation, President Wilson felt the end of the war was near at hand and that the presence of an overwhelming force would probably speed up Germany's surrender. Therefore, the convoy was ordered to proceed as scheduled.

On the morning of September 29, 1918, the Ticonderoga developed engine trouble and dropped behind thc rcst of thc convoy. Thcy were 1700 miles off the Atlantic coast, just halfway to their destination and at a point of no return. At 5:20, the following morning, just as the sun was lighting the sky the German submarine, U-152, was sighted about a mile away. crew was ordered to their battle stations, but, before they could react, a torpedo mashed into the Ticonderoga's hull. Ticonderoga was only equipped with two 6" guns, one forward and one aft. The U-boats usually used the same size guns but, as one of the shells pierced another section of the Ticonderoga, it was reported to be at least an eight inch shell. Without the promotion of the convoy escorts, the Ticonderoga was a sitting duck for the U-boat that was running on surface in order to utilize its full fire power. The forward gun of the Ticonderoga was blown away after only five or six rounds. The aft gun tried to pick up the slack but it was no match for the U boat that kept up a continuous barrage that lasted about two hours. None of the 237 men on the Ticonderoga, which included the soldiers assigned to be horse handlers, were able to escape the shrapnel that was flying everywhere on the deack of the ship. Almost every man on board, including the captain, suffered wounds of some sort.  As the crew scrambled for the life boats, it was fiscrovered that all but one of the eight life boats hadbeen destroyed by the shelling.  Thoese who were not badly wounded jumped overboard to fill that one life boat.  One of the survivors swam over to the submarine to beg the officer to stop firing.  By that time, there was no fight left in the Ticonderonga.  The lieutenant on the U-boat pulled out his revolver and told the swimmer to go back to the lifeboat or he'd be shot.  After there were about twenty or so survivors in the lifeboat, they were ordered alongside the submarine while the U-boat continued shelling the sinking ship. Two officers were taken prisoner from the lifeboat before the submarine slipped beneath the water leaving twenty - two survivors to drift for four days in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

the British steamer. S.S. Moorish Prime spotted the lifeboat and its survivors and brought them back to England. lt was then learned that the USS Ticonderoga had gone to its watery grave with 213 sailors and soldiers on board. Two weeks  later. Mr. and Mrs. Van Grafius were officially notified that their son. Eugene, was among those missing from the ship. His body was never recovered. A month later. on November ll. Germany surrendered and peace was declared. Subsequently, the US. struck thc Ticonderoga from their list. This ship was the third to be called the Ticonderoga during the wars history and it wasn't until 1943 that the name was reinstated for an aircraft carrier in  World War Two.

After the veterans returned home and tried to get back into society, they discovered their government was willing to turn its back on the victim's needs. In order to be heard, the veterans formed the Legion. This served a two fold purpose: by giving the veterans a place to gather and to as well as forming a united front to for medical care and job opportunities for the veterans. Montoursville organized their American Legion Post #104  largely through the efforts of George Champion and Peter Lehman. The meetings were held in a hall at Broad Street that previously was used as the headquarters  for the Montoursville Board at the first meeting, there were 111 members and Mr. Lehman was elected as their commander. Post was called "Loyalsock". ln December. the original were for 1920 and a movement was started to change the name of the Post to a more personal name to pay tribute to the memory of a comrade. names were submitted and after much discussion they decided to name the Post after Seaman Eugene Grafius.

Since its inception. the American legion Post #104 has played an important part with the family. Eugene’s youngest sister. Florence married a World War One veteran. Peter Lundy was a member of the Legion Post and was elected commander in 1923. ln 1937 the Post was listed in the city directory as being located at 264 Broad Street. The Post then moved to temporary quarters in 1940 to 109 N. Montour Street. Eugene’s oldest brother, William, had four sons who served in World War Two between 1942 and 1945. At the end of World War Two the four sons returned home and joined Post 104. Around 1947 the Post moved to S. Mill Street along Loyalsock Creek in a building that used to be the Seaside, Hotel. In the early days this hotel was a popular gathering spot for the rivermen and raftsmen. In 1950, one of the sons. Thomas was elected commander of Post #104. Two years later the Post built a permanent headquarters at 1686 Broad across from the Montoursville Cemetery. In 1953 Thomas's older brother. William James Gratins. was elected commander. He was elected commander again in 1954 and 1955. There were five sisters who also joined the Legion's Auxiliary [Katheryn Dieffenbacher, Jane Neece, Charlotte Pittenger, JoAnn Hamm and Rachel Boyles] and several of their husbands joined the Legion as well. Three of the brothers became life members [Thomas, Daniel, and Jerome} which might be a record for any American Legion Post. Florence Grafius was a charter member of the Auxiliary, being one of Montoursvilles first Gold Star Mothers. After the war she was invited to sail to  France on behalf of the War department . When their ship arrived at the site where the U.S.S. Ticonderoga sank, a wreath was thrown into the ocean after a brief ceremony.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Eugene Grafius. We will never know what he might have offered in life or what type of family man he might have become or what great things his children might have accomplished. What we do know is that his name lives on through the American Legion Post #104 and it has been a family to hundreds of veterans for several wars over the past 79 years. The members of the Post have been a positive influence to the community through civic deeds and they have enabled numerous students to pursue higher education from the various scholarships they receive through Post #104. I guess, in many ways, this would be the best family Eugene Grafius could ever have.