Forrest Blough Death 1912

The Patriot, Harrisburg, PA; August 13, 1912, Page 12

Forrest A. Blough

Forrest A. Blough, aged 43 years, died early yesterday morning at his home, 305 Dauphin street, after a two years' illness with a complication of diseases. For the past three years, Mr. Blough had been a solicitor for THE PATRIOT. Besides his wife, he is survived by seven children, Mrs. Charles Shauber, Ivan, Oscar, Elmer, Blanche, Vere, and Joseph Blough. The funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. The Rev. Harry Nelson Bassler, pastor of the Second Reformed church, will officiate and burial will be made in East Harrisburg cemetery. Mr. Blough was a member of the Reily Hose Company.

Death Certificate 1912 File No. 73728

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Forrest & Genevieve Blough

Forrest Joseph Blough

Born: October 8, 1869

Died: August 12, 1912

Genevieve Ensminger Blough

Born: August 13, 1868
Died: January 5, 1946

Oren Stoner: Fugitive Lost Leg

This headline appeared at the top of the center column on the front page of Harrisburg's The Patriot newspaper on Saturday, July 25, 1903. The article described the unfortunate events that lead to the amputation of Oren's right leg. 

The text of the article read as follows:

While attempting to elude an officer by boarding a freight train near Steelton yesterday afternoon, Orin Stoner, aged seventeen years, of 3 Lochiel Row, fell between the car wheels and had his right leg so badly crushed that amputation was necessary.

Stoner, with several companions, had been lounging back of the car barn of the Harrisburg Traction Company, and complaint was made to Chief of Police John Buser, of Steelton, that they were drinking and creating a disturbance. Officer Buser set out to arrest the boys, but when he was seen approaching the gathering broke up and they scattered in all directions.

Stoner, closely followed by the officer, ran through the streets and across the vacant lots above the yards of the Steelton and Harrisburg Brick Company. When he came to the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad he attempted to board a freight train which was moving rapidly toward Harrisburg, but in his haste slipped from the stirrup and fell between the wheels, two trucks passing over his right leg and the end of his left foot.

The boy was taken immediately to the Harrisburg Hospital, where the leg and several toes of the left foot were amputated. The boy was resting comfortably last night and will probably recover.

Oren Stoner (1885-1964)

Oren Stoner Jr. was born on August 19, 1885. The circumstances of his very early life remain obscured. No record has yet been recovered to confirm the death of his father and namesake, though it is likely that the elder Oren died either shortly before or after Oren Jr.'s birth. Some researchers place Oren Sr.'s death in 1888.
Oren's mother is Huldah Hughes. Sometime after the likely death of her husband, Huldah married John Mason and relocated to Harrisburg, but the sequence of these events is not known. The family lived at 3 Lochiel Row at the time of John's death in 1896.
At the age of 17, Oren lost his right leg while trying to board a moving freight car. A group of young men, drinking disruptively, ran in all directions when a police officer arrived. The officer chased Oren, who attempted to escape by 'hopping' the moving train.
The next year, Oren married a Lochiel Row neighbor, Sylvia Rhiver. Oren and Sylvia remained in Harrisburg. They lived at several different addresses throughout the years including 1150 South Cameron Street, 109 Hanna Street, 121 1/2 Hanna Street, 1424 Naudain Street, 16 Argyle Street, and 2 Argyle Street. Oren, though handicapped, was a steelworker. The marriage produced eight children: John, Harry, May, Emma, Ivy, Margaret, Catherine, and Robert.
In 1915, Oren and Sylvia lost nearly all of their possessions in a fire at 1150 South Cameron. The fire started in a neighboring home and spread through two others. Oren's mother, who lived at 1148 South Cameron, also lost most of her personal property.
Oren died on March 20, 1964. The immediate cause of death was adenocarcinoma of the stomach with metastasis to the colon. He was buried at Blue Ridge Cemetery.

Oren and Sylvia Stoner 

The Blough/Stoner Family Tree

The Partially Completed 5-Generation Tree

UPDATED June 12, 2012

(click on image to enlarge)

The Susquehanna River Stoners

Genealogical research can, at times, be a tedious and frustrating endeavor. Hours can be spent searching county records, squinting at archaic handwriting and smeared ink, in hopes of turning up a single detail such as a date of death or a middle name. Clues become scarce once the researcher exceeds the limits of living memory. And the facts become increasingly obscured by the ever-changing spellings of surnames and the frequent ancestral movements across this or that county line. It takes a patient and persistent researcher to tease out from the historical haystacks the relevant needles and from them construct a narrative. We are fortunate to benefit from the work of one such researcher, a distant Stoner relative, who has proceeded us in our quest for familial knowledge.

The work herein referenced, The Georg Steinbrecher/Stoner Family, was written by Rev. Samuel H. Stoner and published in 1992. The Rev. Stoner provided ample citations, often even including images of the sources he cited. Such attention to detail lends a great deal of credibility to Stoner's work.   A copy of this book can be found in the library of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society.

A summary of The Georg Steinbrecher/Stoner Family as it applies to the ancestors of Oren Stoner

George Steinbrecher/Stoner (1756-1823)

Georg Steinbrecher was born in Frielendorf, Hesse, Germany on September 22, 1756. In 1776, Georg was among the 30,000 Hessian soldiers sent, for a fee, by the German rulers to assist the English in their war against the American revolutionaries. Georg served under the command of Baron Wilhelm von Knyphausen. Georg, along with about 900 other Hessian soldiers,  was captured on December 26, 1776 when George Washington famously lead the Americans across the Delaware River amid a snowstorm, catching the English and German forces by surprise at Trenton, New Jersey. The POWs were held in a prison camp near Lancaster for over two years. Rather then returning to his commanders when the prisoners were exchanged in 1778, Georg remained in the Lancaster area. At this time, Georg changed his last name from Steinbrecher, German for stone-breaker, to Stoner. 

Georg married Mary Shenk, a Mennonite. He took up farming on a newly purchased property located on a large island on the Susquehanna River. There, Georg raised his family, operated his farm, and participated in the development of a navigable river course. 

Mary preceded Georg in death. He joined her in January, 1823. Both were likely buried on their island homestead.

The children of Georg and Mary Stoner:

1. Jacob (see below)

2. Christian Stoner - married Catherine ???

3. Barbara Stoner - married John Peters

4. Elizabeth Stoner - married Adan Warfel

5. Feronica Stoner - married Jacob Warfel

Jacob Stoner (1785-1855)

Jacob married Feronica Shank and farmed the lands of her deceased father in Conestoga Township. Late in life, he lived with his son, George, in neighboring Martic Township.
The children of Jacob and Feronica Stoner:
1. Mary Stoner - married Adam Gottshall
2. Benjamin Stoner - married Lydia Ann Ayers; moved to Minnesota
3. George Stoner (see below)

George Stoner (1815-1886)
George first married Susan Koplin. They had two daughters before Susan died . George then took Hannah McCue as his wife. This generation of Stoners lived near Mt. Nebo in Martic Township. In late life, George and Hannah resided in Columbia, PA.
The children of George Stoner:
1. Elizabeth Stoner - married Frank Christ
2. Fanny Stoner - married Frank Brenner
3. John Emory Stoner
4. Isaac Hanford Stoner
5. Frank B. Stoner
6. Michael McCue Stoner
7. Annie Stoner - married Daniel Greenawalt
8. Naomi Stoner
9. Oran K Stoner - married Haldy Hughes
10. Christian Herr Stoner
11 Ella M. Stoner - married John Lantz

Here is where our lineage diverges from that of the author. His interest and the remainder of his text focuses on the descendants of John Emory Stoner, the oldest brother of our ancestor, Oran.

Well referenced and skillfully researched, Rev. Stoner's book is a blessing to our family. And though his work helps to answer many questions, there is still much work to be done. 

Welcome!

Welcome to the Blough Family Reunion. This is not the typical sort of reunion wherein cousins, uncle, aunts, nephews, and nieces gather and chat. That is much better done in person. This is the reunion of the living Blough and Stoner descendants with their ancestors.  In this blog, we will seek to better know and document the lineages of Vere Blough and his wife, May Stoner.
It's hard to say where this research will take us or how much we can uncover. We do not have far to go to begin. Both family trees may prove to be deeply rooted in southern Pennsylvania. Here, I will post all that I learn about this family tree as often as I can . You are invited to comment and share tips, clues, stories, and corrections.