Norman Gasbarro | December 16, 2010
(Part 3 of 4). The 96th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania. It was mustered into service between the 23 and 30 September 1861 for a three year term. This post focuses on the service of John C. Gratz in that regiment, and of his friend Henry Keiser who served with him. […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 15, 2010
(Part 2 of 4). John Carson Gratz was born in 1843, probably in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the third son of Theodore Gratz and Ann Ellen [Carson] Gratz. In 1850, John was living with his family in the large brick house on West Market Street, Gratztown. His father gave “none” as his occupation, possibly indicating […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 14, 2010
(Part 1 of 4). Corp. John C. Gratz died on 26 (or 25) January 1862 at Camp Northumberland, Virginia, while serving as a member of Company G of the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry. The official cause of death was an “inflammation of the brain.” Three documents in the collection of the Gratz Historical Society record […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 13, 2010
The Gratz House – from a Mural in the Gratz Community Building Theodore Gratz (1811-1863), the third son of Simon Gratz and Mary {Smith] Gratz, was born in Philadelphia. Theodore’s father, Simon, was the brother of Rebecca Gratz, and therefore Theodore was Rebecca’s nephew. Because of the estrangement of Rebecca and her brother Simon, probably […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 12, 2010
In the early 18th century, large numbers of Germans from the Palatinate region in Germany emigrated to American and settled in the fertile valleys of Pennsylvania. Within a short time these early pioneers found their way to the area around the Susquehanna River that is now called the Lykens Valley. The Pennsylvania Deutsch, as they […]
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