Pennsylvania family history stops

We took the kids up to Philadelphia in September for a couple of days.  We wanted them to tour the Philadelphia temple and arrived Sunday afternoon to check into our downtown hotel.  Not cheap, but super convenient.  Next, we walked up to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.  Got a few stamps in our National Parks passport.  Beautiful day and neat to experience the history there.  It would have been neater if I could have listened more to the tour, but we cut out early because some of the children just weren't that interested.

Family History Stop 1:
But this blog isn't about my kids...it's about their roots.  So our first family history stop was the church where Joseph Smith preached in 1839. At that time it was the First Independent Church of Christ (412 Lombard St).  There were about 3000 people in attendance, with our ancestor, William Grady, most likely in attendance.  William Grady is a fifth great-grandfather to my kids.  The church is now a synagogue.

The next morning we took a tour of the temple.  Absolutely stunning!

Family History Stop 2:

Next, we loaded up and drove to the Hans Herr House near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hans Herr, the kids' tenth great-grandfather, lived here with his son, Christian Herr (our uncle), both came from Zürich, Switzerland and served as Mennonite bishops.  The house was built in 1719 and is the oldest dwelling in Lancaster county.  In addition, it is also the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in America.

As a family, we took a tour of the 1 1/2 story German style home.  Our guide was so patient with our curious and rambunctious kids.  It made for a really informative and enjoyable time.

Family History Stop 3: 

We're packing these stops in to one afternoon! Next, we stopped by Quickel's church near York, Pennsylvania.  My grandmother was born a Quickel and her father was from York county.  We have lots of relatives buried at this church, including Michael and Barbara Quickel, the individuals that owned the land the church sits on.  It was built in the 1770s.  The original church has been rebuilt. We mostly roamed the cemetery.  I had been here once before years ago (daddy-daughter day trip) and took many pictures of the stones then.  They've also all been indexed by findagrave and others. Hence, we just enjoyed walking where the kids' seventh great-grandparents walked.

Family History Stop 4:

This last stop was a surprise to us all.  We had a little time to kill before getting to my brother's house in Fairfield, so we stopped for dinner at Arby's in Gettysburg.  Our kids had never been to an Arby's!  As we approached the restaurant, I noticed a street sign labeled "Camp Letterman Dr."  Wait a minute, I know Camp Letterman! Sure enough, we were right next to the area that was once the largest camp hospital on American soil.  The kids' fifth great-grandfather, Wesley Jolly, was treated and later died at this hospital from a knee wound received at the Battle of Gettysburg.  It's now a bit commercial. Next door to the Arby's, in front of the Hilton is a really nice plaque remembering the camp.  There is also a much older marker next door, across from the McDonald's.  The kids loved hearing about their Civil War ancestor and being right there where he had been.  My brother lives close, so one day we will take them to tour Gettysburg.

It was really a wonderful experience taking the children for these quick stops.  I love that they appreciated the significance and were able to connect more to their ancestors.  On the hunt for more places to go in 2017!