Lybarger Linkages Newsletter

Fall, 2001 . . . . . Vol. XVII No. 2 . . . . . ISSN 0887-9354

Official Newsletter of the Lybarger Memorial Association

Lee H. Lybarger, editor llybarger@columbus.rr.com

LMA ANNUAL MEETING

The LMA held their annual meeting at the Lybarger Lutheran Church in Madley, PA, as they do every year. Repairing and securing the basement windows and rear door of the church was a major need that was discussed and resolved. The curtains for the windows will also be replaced. The financial report was received and approved. Lee Lybarger's report on his on his trip to Germany was read since he could not be present.

The Friday evening prereunion get together was held at the Best Western Motel in Bedford as was breakfast and lunch on Saturday. The Saturday evening dinner was held at the Apple Bin. Following worship on Sunday morning at the church there was a potluck at the Lybarger Grove. Dates for the 2002 reunion will be July 2O21.

LMA FINANCIAL REPORT

The finances for the fiscal year of July I, 2000 to June 30, 2001 are as follows (rounded to nearest dollar):

Beginning balance from July 1, 2000: $7,456

Income:

membership dues 1,540

Contributions to church fiend 891

Sale of Lybarger histories and poetry books 2,189

Contributions for genealogy research, misc. 242

Interest earned on passbook savings 167

Total income July 1, 2000‑ June 30, 2001 $ 5,029

Combined totals brought forward $12,485

Expenses:

Church maintenance 481

Newsletter printing and mailings 1,298

LMA publications ‑ printing and postage 3,304

Total expenses July 1, 2000‑June 30, 2001 $ 5,083

Net balance in LMA account, July 1, 2001: $7,402

GERMAN CONNECTIONS ESTABLISHED

On May 15, 2001 my wife, Connie, and I, Lee Lybarger, flew to Germany for two weeks that included a survey of our Lybarger Germanic roots. It included these areas:

1. contacting Germans who might be related to us through Benedikt Leyenberger, the father of our immigrant ancestor, Nikolaus Leyenberger;

2. visiting the community and church where Nikolaus was married in 1727 before leaving for America in 1739;

3. meeting with the pastor of the church where Nikolaus was married;

4. visiting the archives and library in Speyer in search of documents pertaining to our possible German ancestors.

We first met, by prearrangement, with Peter Leienberger at the Zweibruecken railway station who drove us to Hornbach, a rural village in Southwest Germany on the border with France. Along the way we had lunch and talked about his family history. I gave him a copy of selected pages from the 2000 edition of The Lybarger Descendants. German documents listing persons with his surname from the 1800's, and samples of the LMA newsletter. He did not have any information beyond his grandfather. I had hoped to interest him working on family history. We enjoyed beautiful weather and were impressed how closely the landscape and vegetation resembled the rolling hills Bedford County, PA and Knox County, OH right down to the dandelions!

The next day we met with Peter Leienberger's grown son, Joerg, and his friend, Rita. They took us to the Protestant (Lutheran and Reformed) Church in Hombach to worship. The stone building was built in 1781 after the earlier one burned down. It was not the actual church where our German ancestor was married although the congregation traces its existence that time. I took some good pictures of the church and community at Hornbach and its yoked village parish at Brenschelbach. Later that day we met with Pastor Klaus Hoffmann who produced a copy of a 1992 history of the region which referenced the names of Anton Leyenberger from Switzerland and his son Hams (also known as Leyberger). He photocopied the relevant pages for us.

After church Joerg drove us around the countryside to two cemeteries where I hoped to find Leyenbergers or heienberger graves. However, as Joerg explained, family members can only lease cemetery plots for 20 years about $10,000 or for $42 a month. If the lease is not renewed the coffins are dug up and destroyed to make room for the newly deceased. The oldest graves I saw dated only to 1945. However, records of the deceased are kept in state and church archives. Joerg then drove us into nearby France ‑ as easy to do as crossing county lines to see a famous citadel at Bitche that had been involved in numerous wars between French and German speaking people. It was obvious that our German ancestors lived in an area that was often tom by war notably the horrific Thirty Years War of 1618-1648.

On Monday we met with Ralph Leyenberger, his wife Ingeborg, and his father, Hans Heinrich Leyenberger at the train station in Karlsruhe. I gave them a similar set of documents as I had given to Peter and Joerg. Hans had documents to share with me telling of his family background. After a hearty lunch I felt confident that we might be able to work with them on our respective German/Swiss ancestry.

We took a side trip by train to visit the Landesarchiv (provincial archives and library) at Speyer. A very helpful librarian produced two documents that contained the names of Leienbergers and Leyenbergers dating from the 1700's. In the library I obtained a historical account of the migration of Swiss people into the Rhineland Pfalz. Hopefully I will find someone who can translate it into English. While at the Landesarchiv I met a retired dentist who was doing genealogical research. He said that he would recommend my name to the Institut Fur Pfalzische Geschite and Volksurkanda (Institute for History of the Pfalz and People's Records) in Kaiserslautern.

I have since received from them documents listing various Leyenbergers, Leienbergers, and Lowenbergers who emigrated from the Pfalz region of Germany to other countries. Included was the name of our ancestor, Nikolaus Leyenberger, the ship he went on and the date of his arrival in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, their information was drawn from well known Philadelphia passenger lists, not from German emigration sources.

I now have many leads which must be followed up in addition to a possible contact in Germany with whom to work. A challenge will be to make genealogical sense of the many surnames that have been obtained. We hope to make a return visit in few years to reconnect with the German friends we made and to investigate our Lybarger roots that reach into Switzerland in the 1600's. But first there is much work that must be done from here before any future trip can be worthwhile. The real problem is finding a reliable and steady source for translating letters and Email into and from German.

SWISS ORIGINS REDUX

In the Fall, 1999 issue we ran a story pointing out how our ancestry has Swiss origins dating from the 1600's. At that time one of the spellings was LEUENBERGER or LOWENBERGER. It has now been discovered that the president of present day Switzerland is MORITZ LEUENBERGER. Could it be that he might be a very remote relation to Lybargers? It would be interesting to know what his family history is and whether any of his ancestors migrated to Palatinate Germany in the late 1600's.

MARION ERVIN LYBARGER 1901-2001

After almost 90 years of life, Marion Ervin Lybarger passed away on Jan. 27, 2001 at Curryville, MO. He was born in Vandalia, MO, on April 18, 1910 to Dollie and Ervin Garrison Lybarger. The first of seven children, he was married on April 18, 1936 to Oma Evans. Their children were Linda Irene and Ervin Albert.

The following obituary was only recently discovered. It is included here for the historic record.

HARRIET DOUMA LYBYER 1924-1998

Harriet, born Nov. 7, 1924 to Jacob and Grietje (Dykstra ) Douma became, in her adult years an educator. Her hobbies were reading and traveling. She was a past president of the Marysville, WA Community Food Bank, and a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. She is survived by her husband, Johnny F. Lybyer and daughters Melissa Lee and Michael John Lybyer. Johnny's great great grandfather, Darnel Solomon Philip Lybyer (1811‑1889) changed his surname from Lybarger to Lybyer.

JOHN A. STRICKER 1924-2001

John A. Stricker, 77, of Sun Lakes, Ariz., formerly of Richmond Hts., OH, died on August 4, 2001 in Cleveland, OH. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Lybarger who is the daughter of George H. Lybarger and Marie Edith Stanton. He is also survived by seven children and 16 grandchildren. Until he retired in 1986 John was a partner in the Standard Plating Co. of Cleveland.

ADDITIONAL DEATH NOTICES

The Social Security Death Index reports the following 2001 deaths: (b. = born, d. = died)

Carra Lybarger, b. Nov. 4, 1916, d. Mar. 9, 2001, Little Rock, AK

Cynthia Lybarger, b. June, 1954, d. Feb. 17, 2001, Littleton, CO

Jo Anne Lybarger, b Sep 9, 1929, d Feb 12, 2001, Harker Hts., TX

Raymond Lybarger, Sep. 28, 1950, d. May 19, 2001, residence

Robert Lybarger, Aug. 23, 1936, d. Mar. 18, 2001 Jacksonville, FL

Vera Lybarger, Dec. 14, 1910, d. May 1, 2001, Wooster, OH

Wanda Lybarger b. Jul. 24,1914 d. Apr. 21,2001 Independence, MO

Birney Lyberger, b. Oct. 8, 1913, d. Apr. 25, 2001, Lancaster, MO

Loretta Lyberger, b Nov. 2, 1909, d Feb. 2, 2001 San Antonio, TX

Mable Lyberger, b. Nov. 8,1912, d. Feb. 3, 2001, Laramie, WY

If anyone has any information about these persons especially as to their parents, spouse, siblings, or children, please contact the newsletter editor at "Lybarger Linkages", P.O. Box 611, Delaware, OH 43015.

LYBARGERS CONNECT ON WEB SITE

The Lybarger web site has resulted in some heart warming responses worth noting. For example, on July 28th Kodie Carr wrote, "A friend referred me to your site. I have been looking for information on my ggg-grandfather Chauncey Oliver Miller and here he is... plus some. It really helped me put the relations with the names I had. I now know who his father and mother were and his siblings. Thank you. I got everything I need to know right here!"

August 5th brought this response from Robert J. Smith of Bowling Green, OH: "I am the g‑g‑great grandson of Mary Magdeline Lybarger (1796-?). I have the complete descendency through her daughter, Mary Ann (Sappy Smith. Let me know if you'd like a copy of this descendency file (bsmith@wcnet.org). See expanded story about Mary Magdeline Lybarger

On August 16th Daneel Lybarger Barnhart Haislip wrote from Portland, OR: "I found this site after being contacted by my nephew whom I have never met. Through your web site my nephew was able to contact enough people and search different places to locate my brother who in font gave me all the information. I contacted him. As it turns out he lives less than a block from where I work. We are meeting for the first time on Saturday for lunch. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to it. He is the son of my older sister who we both cannot find. He was adopted by a family named Koehler (see letters to the editor). Thank you so much!"

Incidentally, Daneel was born in California on Jan. 19, 1961. She is the daughter of John Calvin Lybarger (1925-1966) and the granddaughter of Calen Lybarger.

John Lavern Lybarger in Mansfield, OH operates the Lybarger web site that has been attracting hundreds of visitors all of which demonstrates how important genealogical research is getting to be among Lybarger relations. The results he reports are as follows:

"I no longer track the usage of the web site. When I did it was taking about 75-100 hits a month. I now receive about 10-20 genealogy queries a month. Most are simple ones I can answer right away. I have contacted and helped all of those who have left messages on the guest book. I have helped many more and encouraged them to relate their story so that others would know. Anyone who contacts me I try to help and I look up their lineage and see if I am missing anything and if so I ask them to share with me what they can. Many don't answer back even after I send them whatever they requested. I have a box about two inches thick with genealogy information to input into the computer database."

If you have not checked out the Lybarger web site you are urged to do so. It can be found at www.Lybarger-Descendants.com. John also reports that those interested in using the Internet to research Lybarger’s should check out the following sites:

Lybarger Family Genealogy Forum:

www.genfonim.genealogy.com/lybarger/index.html#37

Ancestry Message Board:

www.boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/an/sumames/lybarge/25/next.

CEMETERIES ARE FOR THE LIVING

As I get older (I am a young 67 years) I sometimes reflect on the many unsung and little known ancestors who went before me and whose genes I carry to one degree or another. I wonder what it would have been like to have known my forefathers and foremothers. These reflections are often sparked by something I experience or see in the media. For example, when my wife and I were in Germany last May (story pg. 1) we visited Buchanwald, one of the concentration camps from the Nazi years.

While there I noticed a number of large concrete plaques on the grounds where the barracks had once stood. They are dedicated to British and Canadian airmen, to captured Soviet soldiers, to other ethnic groups all of whom were murdered at Buchanwald. Small stones had been placed along the edges to the plaques. That brought to mind the end of the movie, "Schindler's List". You will recall that it concluded with a procession of Jews coming to his grave site in Israel to pay their respects for what he, a Christian, had done to save their lives from the clutches of the Nazis. As they approached the site they placed stones on his gravestone.

On June 26, I came across a Dear Abby column where this Jewish grave ritual was explained by Rabbi Cukierkom of Kansas City, MO. He said, "the custom has ancient and practical origins. We Jews were originally a desert people. We used to bury our dead in the sand without a casket and covered the grave with stones, not only to mark the spot, but also to prevent animals from digging up and devouring the body. "

Next time you visit a cemetery carry a small stone to place on the grave site of your loved one or ancestor. Another suggestion comes from the American-French Genealogy Society. Make a card with your name, phone number, e‑mail, and mailing address. Place it in a tightly wrapped clear plastic bag and put it on a stake at the grave. When someone finds your card they can contact you. This would have more meaning than artificial flowers.

So it is that cemeteries are for the living - a place where we can go to contemplate our connectedness to those who have gone before us as well as a place to meditate and ponder the ultimate questions of living and dying.

QUOTING THE CLASSICS

Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men.

Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth,

now the living timber bursts with new buds

and Spring comes round again. And so with men:

as one generation comes to life, another dies away.

Homer, "The Illiad" Book 6

HOW COMMON IS THE LYBARGER NAME?

How common is the Lybarger surname? According to the 1990 census it ranks 12,580th on the list of registered surnames, i.e. there are 12,579 last names more common than Lybarger. If your surname is Lyberger it is still more uncommon. It ranks as the 81,750th most common name! If you yearn for a popular surname that is bad news but if you like having a distinctive family name that is good news. It certainly makes it easier to do genealogical research!

In 1969 Elsdon C. Smith wrote a book called American Surnames. He listed the most common ones based on a 1964 report entitled "Distribution of Surnames in the Social Security Account Number File". He found the ten most common family names were, surprise, surprise, Smith followed by Johnson, Williams, Brown, Jones, Miller, Davis, Wilson, Anderson, and Taylor in descending order. His list only covered the 2,000 most While there I noticed a number of large concrete plaques on the common surnames based on Social Security records in 1964.

"GENEALOGY STUDY FOCUSES ON DNA"

That was the headline in The Chicago Tribune of June 19, 2001 which Loren Lybarger of Chicago sent in. It reported that "nearly 200 Chicago‑area people gave blood... as part of a mulltimillion dollar study that will harness DNA fingerprinting analysis to a sophisticated sort of genealogy." "It is all part of a worldwide effort by Brigham Young University (a Mormon institution) to use cutting‑edge genetic science to trace family history."

"With computer analysis, the study aims to identify certain genetic patterns that might trace back to a certain time and place. That will allow genealogists to go further back in time than any paper trail could and fill gaps in the record caused by adoption or lost records.

"The BYU database won't be complete for several years. And even then, those who contribute samples won't gain much knowledge from this round of testing. For confidentiality, BYU will strip the participants' names from the DNA samples. Only places and dates from the pedigrees will be recorded.

"But people who participated can get satisfaction from the knowledge that their information helps others and they are preserving their genetic information for posterity." Someday future generations may be able to find out who they are related to in the countries from which their ancestors came."

LYBARGERS OF VAN WERT, OHIO

In past issues of "Lybarger Linkages" we have run excerpts from the pioneer history of Ohio, specifically Knox County. How does this play out in the case of a particular Lybarger who lived in Ohio in the early 1800's We have a good example in William Lybarger who pioneered in Van Wert County, west central Ohio.

William was born on March 6, 1815 in Erie County, PA. He obtained 160 acres of land from his father, John, in Ridge Township, Van Wert County in 1837. The deed to the land was signed by President Martin Van Buren.

In 1848 he was living in Mt. Vernon, OH with his wife, Abigail Lake for 7 years. By that time they had 4 children, William Shannon, Sarah Jane, John Poke, and Eveline. In 1848, when he was 32, they moved to Van Wert and established themselves in a one room cabin in the woods. They set about building a larger house and a farm with William cutting the trees and Abigail clearing the brush.

Tragedy hit the family when their infant son, Preston died in February, 1850. Tragedy struck again in September, 1854 when their daughters, Eveline and Eliza died within one day of each other of scarlet fever. However, they completed their family with one daughter and five sons, the last having been born in 1861 at the start of the Civil War.

William took an active part in politics and held several offices. He liked to play jokes on people and he liked his liquor too. Abigail made butter and sold it at 18 cents a pound. She owned a horse and could hitch it to the buggy and go to town to trade. Their Presbyterian Church was 6 miles away.

In 1879 William bought eight plots in the Ridge Township Cemetery east of Van Wert. William died in September, 1899 and Abigail on August, 1894. Their six surviving children all married and produced 36 grandchildren who in turn have produced many great grandchildren. Today Robert Lybarger is the only descendant with the surname of Lybarger living in the Van Wert area although there are many others living elsewhere. Details on William and Abigail Lybarger and their descendants may be found in the 1997 and 2000 editions of The Lybarger Descendants by John L. Lybarger and Lee H. Lybarger.

EDUCATION IN EARLY DAYS OF OHIO

The following description of education in Knox County Ohio is typical of what was found in the early days of settlement in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and most states further west. This example taken from History of Knox County, pg. 221-2 (1883), continues the series that began with the Fall, 1999 issue.

"At a little later time from 1820 to 1840 the pioneers were living a little easier. Their farms were partially cleared, many of them were living in hewed log houses and many in frame, and even brick houses. Most of them had barns and innumerable outhouses. They generally had cattle, horses., sheep, bogs and poultry, and were living in comparative comfort. Their neighbors were near, and always dear. Their schools and churches had improved somewhat, yet even at this late day there were hundreds of log schoolhouses and churches.

"About three months in a year was all the schooling a farmer's boy could get. He was sadly needed at home from the age of five years to do all sorts of chores and work on the farm. He was wanted to drive the cows to water and to pasture; to feed the pigs and chickens and gather the eggs. His duties in the summer were multifarious; the men were at work in the field harvesting, and generally worked from early morning until late at night, and the boys were depended on to "do the chores;" hence it was impossible to spare them to attend school in summer.

"There was no school in spring and fall. In winter they were given three months' schooling - a very poor article of schooling, too, generally. Their books were generally anything they happened to have about the house, and even as late as 1850, there was no system in the purchase of school books. Mr. Smucker, of Newark, Ohio, says his first reading books at school were Patrick Gass' Journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition to the mouth of the Columbia river in 1804-06; and Weem's Life of Washington. Parents of children bought whatever book pleased their fancy, or whatever the children desired them to purchase.

"A geography was a geography, and a grammar a grammar, regardless of who was the author. This great confusion in school books made trouble for the teacher, but that was of small moment. He was hired and paid to teach whatever branches (subjects), out of whatever books the parents thought were best. The branches generally taught in the early schools, however, were reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic, and, later, geography and grammar.

"Boys attending school but three months in a year made but little progress. They began at the beginning of their books every winter, and went as far as they could in three months; then forgot it all during the nine months rut of school, commencing again the next winter just where they commenced the previous one. In this way they went over and over the same lessons every year under different teachers (for many of the teachers only taught one term in a place), often getting no further in arithmetic than "vulgar fractions" or the "rule of three," and in their old Webster's spelling books the first class probably got as far as "antiscorbutic" and may be through; while the second class would get as far as "cessation, and the third class probably not through "baker," certainly not beyond "amity."

"There were always three or four classes in spelling, and this exercise was the last before school was dismissed in the evening. Their old books were combed over year after year until they were worn out and the children grew up to manhood and womanhood, and never knew, and perhaps do not know to this day, what was in the back part of them,. That was the kind of a start many a great man had. These schools cannot be despised when it is remembered that the greatest and best of the nation, including such men as Abraham Lincoln, Edwin M. Stanton, and Stephen A. Douglas, were among the boys who attended them.

"There was always much competition in the spelling classes as to who should get the `head mark. In the later schools it was the custom that the best speller might stand at the head until he missed, when the one who spelled the word correctly should take his place, and he then stood next to the head; but they did things differently in the earlier schools; the head of the class once gained and held until the last spelling at night, the head mark was received and the lucky scholar then took his place at the foot of the class, to again work his way gradually to the head. These classes sometimes contained thirty or forty scholars, and it was something of an undertaking to get from the foot to the head. Spelling‑schools were the beauty and glory of school‑days. The scholars were always coaxing the teacher to appoint a night for a spelling-school, and were usually gratified one or two nights in a month or oftener. A night was chosen when the moon shone, and the sleighing was good, and then the entire neighborhood and perhaps the adjoining neighborhood would turn out to the spelling-school; whole families came on the great two-horse sled, including the old lady and gentleman, all the children, little and big; even the baby and the dogs came.

"Schools in adjoining districts sent their best spellers to try and carry off the honors. The old log school‑house was crowded and

the great box stove, cast at the Mary Ann furnace, in Mary Ann township, Licking county, and which stood in the center of the room on a box of bricks, was red hot, and kept so during the entire evening. Two good spellers were designated by the teacher to choose sides, and everybody was chosen in one class or the other; then the spelling began, the words being given out by the teacher, first to one class then to the other, beginning at the head. A tally sheet was carefully kept to see who missed the most words. After recess the `spelling down' was indulged in; the two classes stood up, and whenever a word was missed the speller sat down, and the one who stood up after all had been spelled down, was the hero or heroine of the hour, and always chosen first in future contests."

LYBARGER ANCESTOR AND NATIVE AMERICANS

The following story concerns an ancestor who was, according to family legend, half Chippewa. It was sent in by Bob Smith of Bowling Green, Oh (bsmith@wcnet.org). It will be helpful to provide some genealogical context before getting into what he has to say. Magdeline Lybarger, born Mar. 3, 1796 in Bedford County, PA, was the 8th of 14 children of Elizabeth Amrine and Ludwick Lybarger 1r. She married Adam Sapp on Sept. 11, 1811. They had 7 children. Here is what Bob Smith reports:

"Thanks for the addition to the newsletter. I'm grateful to the existence of the Lybarger family web site for much of the basic genealogical information I've gathered on the ancestry of Mary Magdeline Lybarger which I didn't know before.

"A bit of background: My Smith family had a strong oral family history tradition. My grandfather's many brothers and sisters would gather annually in Midland, Michigan and spend evenings talking about details of Smith and allied families' traditions dating back to the late 17th century when the Smiths (formerly Schmid or Schmidt) came from Switzerland. Many stories involved the "Pennsylvania Dutch" Smiths, Sapps and Lybargers. My great grandparents, in retirement, spent a few years actually traveling to our "Pennsylvania Dutch cousins" in Pennsylvania in the late 1920s and early'30s.

"Sadly, my father's generations ‑ he and his many first cousins became weary of the old stories and did not pass them down. Equally unfortunate is the fact that my grandfather's generation never wrote the stories down. One of my great aunts is said to have traveled to her many Michigan relatives before her death in the late 1970s and asked if any of her nieces and nephews wanted to record the stories. None if them did! Now, as my father's cousins are aging into their seventies and beyond, some of them are struggling to remember them. I have made it a quest to keep in touch with these people and collect what I can ‑ and prod them to remember. To a small degree I have found success.

"It surprises me that in every case where I have found factual evidence to confirm or deny the sketchy legends, the facts have fully supported the legends. In most cases, however, I have hit research "brick walls" which have not allowed me to prove them. One such case is the story of Mary Magdeline Lybarger.

"When Mary was born in Bedford County, PA in 1796, it was a frontier evolving into civilization. Fort Pitt, to the west, was still a military dividing line between the whites and the Shawnees. The Ohio River was a constant flow of river boats carrying brave and adventurous migrants to the west through the perils of Shawnee militants on the shorelines. Many didn’t make it alive. Western Pennsylvania was a curious mixture of white settlers, traveling military units and Shawnees, Iroquois and Chippewa bands hunting and camping.

"The family legend has it that Mary Magdeline Lybarger was one‑half Chippewa Indian. When she was a toddler (1796-1800?) the Chippewas, who had a village close by, came repeatedly and "kidnapped" her. She is said to have been a redhead with freckles. The Chippewa relatives were awestruck with her red hair and freckles and maybe were in hopes of raising her as their own. Each time they came and took her they traditionally left a "token" gift in her place. One such gift was a small woven basket which has been handed down to one of my Dad's cousins in Mesa, AZ. I have seen it. It is said the Lybargers and the Indians were generally on good terms. Each time she was kidnapped the Lybargers would go to the Indian village and retrieve her without incident. That is the extent of the legend as it is passed down. I do not know how many times she was kidnapped this way but it is said to have been more than once.

"I have had no success proving any of this story. The history I study does not indicate the existence of any Chippewa (or Ojibway) villages in Pennsylvania. For the most part, Chippewas lived further north in upstate New York, Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Excursions into Pennsylvania and Ohio were usually to assist the Shawnees in defense of their lands. There were bands of Shawnees living in western Pennsylvania temporarily but not permanently. Additional confusion exists as to Mary Magdeline being 1/2 American Indian. Ludwick Lybarger's wife's name was Elizabeth Amrine. There are a couple scenarios which would allow for Mary to be 1/2 Indian.

"(1) Elizabeth Amrine could have been a full-blooded Indian with an acquired name. This occurred very frequently when an Indian married a white ‑ or when a child was "adopted" after an Indian‑white skirmish by the other side when a child survived a massacre; (2) Ludwick Lybarger, Jr. could have been married more than once or had children at least by more than one woman.

"I've been unable to prove or disprove the legend. If it were untrue, it would be the first erroneous legend handed down. I would be very grateful if anyone in the Lybarger clan could help me with this one. I'd be very surprised if this same legend isn't being told simultaneously in other branches of the family."

SEPT. 11 TRAGEDY CONNECTIONS NEEDED

Do you know of any Lybargers or their relations or close friends who were among the victims of the horrific tragedy that befell our country on September 11? Please provide the details to the newsletter editor. Include your name, postal address, e‑mail address and how they are connected to the larger Lybarger relations so that the report can be put in a larger context. Please send your report to the LMA, P.O. Box 611, Delaware, OH 43015 or by e‑mailing Lee Lybarger at llybarger@columbus.rr.com . A full story will be printed in the Spring 2002. issue

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Sir:

I enjoyed your article about Eric and Robin Lybarger. am also a pilot and enjoy flying our airplanes. One is an antique.

Larry Mayes Republic, MO

(Editor's note: the following were sent in as email queries. Anyone who has any information can respond.)

Dear Sir, July 25, 2001

1 was adopted out of the Lybarger family In 1968. My original birth name was John Jimmy Stone. My Father's name was Frank Stone, and my Mother's name was Shirley, her maiden name was Lybarger. The only thing I know about my Grand‑ father (on my Mother's side) is that he was an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.

I would very much appreciate any help in locating any of my family members. I've searched your database and did find a Shirley Lybarger, but Shirley is a common name, and I'm not sure where to go from there.

Thank you in advance for your help. I’m looking forward to hearing from you by e‑mail or by phone at (503) 465-2292.

John J. Koehler Portland, OR koehlerjj@msn.com

Dear Sir: Aug. 17, 2001

I've been curious about what might have become of a Bruce Lybarger I knew briefly in 1969 in Utah. He'd be about 53 now. I think he was from Kansas City and returned there after a hitch in the army. He was a very unique person, extraordinary, likable. I've enjoyed everything about the Lybarger lineage and the web site. My snail mail address: 4753 Sage, Missoula, MT 59808.

Al Foos arfoos@hotmail.com

Dear Sir: Sept. 10, 2001

It was with great interest I read your web page of the Fall 1999 Lybarger Linkages Newsletter. I am a descendant of Jacob SCHWANGER who married Maria Susanna LEYENBERGER 27 Oct. 1735 in Rauweller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. They emigrated to Philadelphia on 20 Oct 1747 with several children. From church records we found that Maria Susanna is the daughter of Paulus L LEYENBERGER and his wife Susanna WELSCHHANS. I was wondering if you have any record of our Maria Susanna. I am also intrigued by your newsletter web page which states that there may be a connection between your Lybarger/Leyenberger Zweibrucken, Rhineland‑Palatinate, Germany, connection and the Bern area of Switzerland. This is interesting because Zweibrucken is just a few miles northwest of the Rauweller and Hellering-les-Fenetrange, Moselle, Lorraine, France, area where most of Jacob and Maria Susanna's children were born. Has any more work been done on your possible Swiss connection ? Who can I contact for further information?

Thanks so much for your time and sharing. I have e‑mailed a copy of this to our family historian, Dr. Alvin K. Swonger.

Logan Garth Swanger 204 E. Middle St., Hanover, PA 17331 asta2001 @yahoo.com

Dear Sir,

Sept. 22, 2001 I was in contact with John Lybarger (Mansfield, OH) who sent some info regarding your Stroub/Morehart family connection. I saw that you are the one to contact with additional information. I am the GreatGreatGranddaughter of Benjamin Stroub/Straub/Stroup and Elizabeth Hoss/Hass who are the parents of Hester wife of Andrew Morehart. From what I can see, Hester and Andrews dau. Lucinda Jane Morehart Jones is the Grandmother of Holbart William Martin who married INA MAE LYBARGER: If my calculations are correct, the family line on down from William and Ira are connected to my Straub/Morehart line.

I would like to fill in the blanks. My big question is do you have any information on the parents of Benjamin Straub or Elizabeth.? Thank you for your time,

Nancy Straub Holben StockPony@aol.com

LMA PUBLICATIONS STILL AVAILABLE

There are still 48 copies left of the year 2000 updated version of the Lybarger histories. This 1,000 page book of over 25,000 names sells for $38.00 for current LMA members and is $42.00 for nonmembers, postage included.

Copies of The Selected Poems of Lybarger Relations are also available. The 24 contributors of this collection span the birth years from 1860 to 1979. This book is attractively printed on very light gray 8 x 11 paper and is protected with a plastic cover and spiral binding. For LMA members the cost is $7.00 and for nonmembers it is $9.00.

These publications are ideal Christmas gifts for the person who has everything as well as for those who do not. They can be ordered by using the form at the bottom of this page.

VACATIONING WITH ANCESTORS

That was the headline of a front page story in the Sunday August 19th N.Y. Times about how many folks are using their vacations to visit libraries and cemeteries in search of ancestors in counties that would ordinarily not be tourist attractions. They are not only combing their family trees and searching web sits on their computers. They are also in quest of a more personal connection to the past.

As the N.Y. Times reported, "Me Matrix Marketing Research Company near St. Louis reported last year that 60 percent of Americans were at least somewhat interested in their origins, up from 45 percent in 1995.".

"No one keeps track of the vacationing family archivists, toting cameras, satchels of notebooks and detailed family trees as big as gas station maps, who ere prospecting for ancestors. But the nationwide boom in their numbers, fueled by the explosion of information on the Internet shows no signs of abating."

The Internet's message boards, family news groups and genealogical services are its second busiest destinations. Their Internet searches may lead them to small towns and nontourist counties which become must see places to visit. County tourist bureaus should take note!