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Latest Update: 04 July 2009
A page which lets us
share the
latest news from all across our huge family connection
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An Apology and an Update!
As of today--04 July 2009--it's been
about six months since I've had the opportunity to work on this family website. One reason or another has kept me
from posting latest family news--and there's lots!--or updating many of the several pages relating to our family's
story. I hope to get back in the swing of things soon.
Please do keep in touch by email--
marshallfamily@zoominternet.net.
Thanks, and best wishes to all!
~ of family members in their 80s and 90s-- please send your greetings! ~ LET FREEDOM RING . . . all the way to the Allegheny Mountains! When she sang at the Obama Inauguration, Aretha Franklin
reminded all descendants of Catharina Truby Rohrer Marshall
of their homeplace in Western Pennsylvania, nestled in the comforting hills of the Allegheny Mountains, along
and beyond our Beautiful River. To hear her sing My country, 'tis of thee, ~ 
Christmas comes again!
It's Christmas Eve, and I'm just about to leave the Rectory to visit a critically
ill parishioner--and then to make sure the church is ready for the evening service on this most holy night. Our
very large family connection has been gathering here and there across the country for this annual, family-centered season.
My thoughts turn to other times, when descendants of Catharina Truby Rohrer
Marshall gathered on the west bank of the Allegheny near Parker's Landing, Pennsylvania--and from there to hundreds
of different places, to keep Christmas. Perhaps they also think of us, tonight.
My warmest wishes to all of you--
a very Merry Christmas to family near and far!
Click here for the 2008 Christmas Homily at St. James' Episcopal Church, Boardman, Ohio
Gleanings from Family Christmas Greetings
From Sue McGough Veal
and husband David in Texas: "Our grandchildren are wonderful.
Sloane . . . went to Japan last summer with a group of representatives of our sister city there.
Marshall is in junior high school. He has acted in Texas Tech and Community Theater productions
and has fallen in love with the saxophone, which he plays in the school band . . . May we each be a blessing to all and
may 'God bless us everyone!'"
From Deanna Olson Heller of Washington
State: Everyone here is doing great. Brett leaves for crab fishing this Saturday [December] the 27th for a couple
months. I'm working at the new school right by our house with kids with special needs (challenging)! Vanessa is playing the trumpet in 5th grade and also ready to test for her brown belt
in karate! Corey is enjoying 8th grade at the new
school and has continued to be on the honor role for the past 3 years, with a 3.7 and higher GPA! We visited with
Grandma Alene Marshall Steve this snowy Christmas day. She was very happy to have company and share lots of memories and happy thoughts of
family--new and old! She thoroughly enjoys having pictures with her to feel closer to loved ones. She wishes everyone
her best."
From Anne Elliott Stempel
and her husband Guido, of Athens, Ohio: "2008 was better. Anne came home from
rehabilitation the first week in January [from a broken hip] . . . she is [now] making significant progress toward walking
. . . and there is Happy, the aptly named Golden Retriever, who continues to be a joy for us . . . We had a
joyous Thanksgiving with Jane, John and Chelsea and our
nephew Peter here from Michigan. We have had visits from our two California sons--Carl
in September and again this month and Ralph in October.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Hapy New Year."
From Barbara McConnell Guilliams
and husband Ron in Missouri:
"On our way out to New York, we checked out my paternal
roots in Kittanning PA, seeing old homes and gravesites. We visited the county historical museum which is in a home
my great-great grandfather, Thomas McConnell, built in 1842 . . . It's been so wonderful getting closer by email with cousins both on my Mom's side and my Dad's side,
who are into genealogy since I visited Kittanning and sent them all photos!"
From Dorothy Turk Myers
and husband Denny of Colorado: "We'll be with our daughter [Lynette] and family in Chicago for Christmas--our son [Neil] and his family will be with his in-laws . . . We did look online at the [Turk] family photos
. . . oh my! One of my mother in her teaching days (I guess) with a man I had never seen before!"
To check out the Turk Family Photo album, click here. It's still under construction--maybe you
can help Dorothy identify that man! Dorothy's parents were John Howard Turk (1894-1982) and Ada Virginia
Long Turk (1896-1986).
From John F. Marshall
of DuBois, Pennsylvania,
and wife Hanna: "As I write this letter, it seems as
though God has drawn the foundation of all things to his liking. I've watched a few television shows on Astronomy--the
heavens seem to share no boundaries--solar systems, galaxies abound in the universe endlessly--far beyond our ability to reach
farther into space. And to think that God created all things . . . Christmas is a [time] of prayer, thought and feelings
for all and for our Savior Jesus . . . May he keep you forever next to [him] guarded and safe." [John "Chum" Marshall (born 1927) is the last surviving child of Jay Eugene Marshall and Gladys Lucille
Dean Marshall of DuBois, and a grandson of John Leathers Marshall and Julia Miles Marshall. He lives a few hundred
yards from the Rumbarger Cemetery, where his great-great grandfather, John Rumbarger, lies buried.]
From Howard Zollinger of Clarksville, Michigan, and his wife Wilma: "Our
family grew by one: Katherine, as Ken [Klynstra], our grandson, and Katherine
were married on October 18th in Raleigh, NC, in an elegant wedding weekend . . . Glenna and Greg [Russell]
are living day by dad, as Greg's cancer has returned and unfortunately it is spreading. He is back to bi-monthly chemo
to help slow the growth and provide some comfort. Our prayers are with him . . . We have two new dogs from the
Ionia Shelter. Chester
is a golden lab and Tina is a terrier mix with a curly tail . . . Wilma is still playing
the piano. which is great . . .As for me, I am fine and still playing two hours of tennis three times per week, and started
to volunteer in Civic Theater in Grand Rapids by helping them build sets . . . Wilma and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2009." [Howard Allison Zollinger (born 1929) is son of James Edward Zollinger
(1891-1982) and Mary Allison Turk (1892-1966) of the Pittsburgh area. Mary’s family was, of course, from Parker City. Howard is very interested in family history and has been a great help with his line
of the Turk Family.]
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| See below, for news about Katie Santamaria's musical gifts |
THIS AND THAT from
HERE AND THERE . . .
Click on underlined words for links to more .
. .
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This message from Jennifer
Algoe Keaton of Etters, PA (central part of the state): "Just this morning, I Googled a great-aunt's name
(Laura Heffner Wilson) in hopes of finding more about her husband (Meredith Wilson) who was an inventor at Westinghouse in Monroeville,
PA. This search led me to your research on your family, the Marshalls. I read with great interest your family's
story, as my great-grandmother is one of the Heffner sisters, Hazel Marie Heffner Daugherty,
and on the site, I saw the photo my mother (Dorothy "Sue" Daugherty Algoe) had given you."
Great
to hear from you, Jennifer! Click here and scroll down the page for a photo of the Heffner sisters, daughters of Kate Marshall Heffner (1873-1950),
who was a daughter of William K. Marshall of Reynoldsville. Jennifer is my third cousin, a seventh-generation descendant of John and Catharina Truby
Rohrer Marshall. [05 December 2008]
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Happy
Birthday, Iseli! Our cousin, Dr. Iseli Koenig Krauss, wrote before the holiday to say
that she will be "leaving for New Orleans to celebrate both Thanksgiving and my 75th birthday. It's a
small family (six of us) but a very far-flung one. It will be wonderful to be together." Iseli wrote in response
to my posting a photo of her mother's full cousin, Jack LaMoine Marshall, who died in battle in the Pacific during World War II. She has a framed copy of the "copy of a copy" which I had located
in the Washington & Jefferson College yearbook; and this will allow a much better image for the webpage which honors him and other family members who died
in the service of the nation. We're still looking, by the way, for a picture of Jack in uniform. Both Jack and
Iseli are descendants of William Frederick Marshall of Knox and Clarion, Pennsylvania; he was the
son of William K. Marshall of Reynoldsville and a grandson of John and Catharina Marshall..
[01 December 2008]
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This year's Thanksgiving
dressing for the bird brought some interesting emails. When cousins Judy
Tebbs and Sandie Wall visited from the Northwest in early October, we gathered chestnuts from the trees
at the former Robinson Farm in Hovey Township, Armstrong
County, Pennsylvania. Those I brought home made their way into
the stuffing for a Thanksgiving meal--and I emailed Sandie
to ask if she had remembered them.
Her reply: "Oh yes, Kelly! Vanessa [Heller,
her granddaughter and Corey's sister] and I prepared the chestnuts today and added them to the stuffing we made. Corey tasted one first to make sure that they would be good.
He liked them and had wondered about chestnuts because of the Christmas carol about them. I told them the story about
where these chestnuts had come from and how your Mom prepared them when you were growing up. I told them that they came
from a place where some of their great-great-grandparents came from. They felt the part of the history that I was trying
to convey, and It had a special meaning to them. I kinda puddled up. We haven't had that kind of family history
to convey before."
Sam Robinson, whose ancestor Samuel Marshall Robinson may have planted those chestnut trees, writes from New England, "Our Yankee stuffing is either an oyster or a simple package
bread with onions and celery." And for a Thanksgiving dessert, Tom Brown
(a descendant of Olive Robinson McConnell) shared his Mom's apple pie recipe. All this food talk encouraged me to add a FAMILY FOOD webpage to this site. Please send along some food stories and recipes for other family members to enjoy. [30 November 2008]
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Proud Mom Kimberly Marshall Santamaria sends along this happy information
about her daughter Katie, for our next occasional family newsletter: <<
An enthusiastic 4th grader, 10-year-old Katie Santamaria is in her
5th year studying piano. She has won numerous awards and has even competed on
the state level. She plays classical as well as jazz and blues. The head of a local community college's music department, Katie's piano teacher, often says after introducing
an advanced theory concept, "Katie, I can't believe you got that. I wish my college students understood that so easily!"
Katie is also involved in art, fencing, and dance (tap, ballet, and jazz). >>
See Katie's photo, above, at her piano. She is an eighth- generation descendant
of John Marshall and Catherina Truby Rohrer, through their grandson William K. Marshall of Reynoldsville and his grandson, Ed Marshall of Altoona. And watch for your next issue of Family! (perhaps the first of the year), in which Katie will be featured. [23 November 2008]
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What a delightful surprise in my email the other day! Simon Thompson (Tom) Truby
of Sterling Heights, Michigan,
wrote to say that he had found the Truby Family information on this website and that he wanted to be in touch. He
is a descendant of John Truby (1772-1854),
younger brother of our ancestor Catharina Truby Rohrer Marshall—both of them, children of Colonel Christopher Truby and his wife, Sybilla Bauman.
"I was born and raised in Apollo, Pa., on March 24, 1920, son of Simon T. Truby, son of Charles Hill Truby, son of Simon Truby,
son of John Truby . . . son of Christopher Truby born in Bucks County, Pa., son of the first Christopher
Truby who arrived in America in 1721." He goes on to share that "I lived in Greensburg
for about a year when I was transferred to Michigan in 1955.
Lived on Vine Street at top of the hill. Retired
from General Dynamics in 1984 so I am getting pretty old. I married Betty Morren, who was born in the Netherlands
in 1926, came to this country with her parents in about 1929." Tom remembers that, when the graves of our ancestors Christopher and
Sybilla Bauman Truby were moved from the historic German Cemetery on South Main Street, Greensburg, to the crypt of Zion's
Lutheran Church, "my Grand father, Charles
Hill Truby of Apollo was invited to speak as he was the oldest living relative, but he declined."
All who are interested in our Truby ancestors and kinfolk thank you, Tom, for being in touch. Our very best wishes for
good health and much happiness are yours. [15 November 2008]
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An email
in early November from distant cousin Tom Brown (an architect in Tempe, Arizona) brought us a connection
with descendants of Elisha Robinson McConnell (1847-1908) of Kittanning, Pennsylvania. This
is the first link in decades, I'm sure, between some of the McConnells and their Robinson and Marshall kin.
Olive Robinson McConnell was a daughter of Elisha and Betsy Rohrer Robinson, and she was named for her paternal grandmother, Olive
Robinson of Connecticut. She married Kittanning merchant Thomas McConnell and
died shortly after the birth of their fifth child in 1849.
Tom and his cousins are working on a genealogy of their family
line, and he promises to share it broadly when it's finished. The flurry of emails among cousins and siblings of this
branch of the McConnell family has been great to watch. They've set up a webpage for themselves, so that they better
can keep in touch--a good model for other lines of our large family connection. Click here to look at it. [10 November 2008]
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The Family's Newest Members
A recent email from Paul Van Alstyne of Chickamauga, Georgia, brings the wonderful news
of the birth of a first grandchild to him and his wife Abigail. Jillian Elizabeth Van Alstyne
was born on May 5th. Her mom is Kathryn Deanne Van Alstyne. Paul writes that Jillian
("26 letters in that name, poor child!") and Kathryn are doing well and that his father, Arthur Van Alstyne, "is enjoying
his first great-grandchild."
Jillian is an eighth-generation descendant of John Marshall and Catharina
Truby Rohrer Marshall, through their son John Marshall of Parker City, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, his daughter Mary Ann Marshall Turk, her son Henry Marshall Turk, his son John Howard Turk, and their daughter, the late Elizabeth Turk Van
Alstyne. For some photographs of Jillian's Turk ancestors, click here.
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And an email from Vicki Marshall Dunn of Lakeland, Florida, reports the birth of a grand-niece
in Texas. Ava Landry, the first child of Brian and Nicole Muckleroy Landry,
was born 11 October.
Ava also is an eighth-generation descendant of John Marshall and Catharina Truby
Rohrer Marshall, through their son John Marshall of Parker City, Pennsylvania, his son WIlliam K. Marshall of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, his son George Kelker Marshall, his son Howard O. Marshall
of El Paso, his son Dr. Howard Marshall, and Howard's daughter Pattie Marshall Landry of Dayton, Texas; and Pattie's
son Brian.
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Welcome to this one, huge family,
Jillian and Ava!
Note to grandparents and/or parents--send some pictures!
Family News from August through October 2008
Family News for June & July 2008
Family News from Mid-February through May 2008
Family News from December 2007 to Early February 2008
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