Norman Gasbarro | May 5, 2011
Today is Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May), a holiday that had its origins during the American Civil War. It commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French forces of Napoleon III at the Battle of Puebla. The holiday was actually created by Mexicans living in California who supported the cause of Mexican freedom. Ironically, […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 3, 2011
The popular name, “The Hill Church” was given to St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, because it is situated on a hill about a quarter mile south of Berrysburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and from the church and cemetery the surrounding countryside can be seen for many miles in each direction. According to its 1780 date of […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 2, 2011
Click on picture to enlarge From 1863 to 1865, four drafts took place in the United States. The draft call of 1863 required registration of eligible men between the ages of 20 and 45, divided into two classes as described below in the Ancestry.com data base, U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records, 1863-1865: This […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 1, 2011
In July of 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation ordering a draft to raise five hundred thousand men for the Union army. It was the first compulsory draft in American history. The draft was intended to encourage enlistment, but in many cases it had the opposite effect. Federal troops had to be called out in […]
Norman Gasbarro | April 29, 2011
Christopher Gist, an immigrant from England around 1682, settled in the Baltimore area of Maryland in 1891. His marriage to Edith Cromwell had connected him to one of the prominent lines of English descent, that of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. The son of this marriage, Richard Gist (1684-1741), was the father of western explorer […]
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