Catching Up

Long time between posts, I know. Over the past twelve months I've learned a lot and I'm sure I will learn even more over the coming months.

I'm taking a sabbatical from work, and while I am free of the daily commitment, I am researching and will be writing the Mehl portion of the family history. The last two weeks have been fascinating, as I have delved into records of the Mitcheltrees and Maisenbachers – both areas where I've done little research – or had little success – so far. Maisenbacher has proven incredibly difficult to research, since we knew little about the family to start with and the surname is spelled wrong in the records more often than it is spelled right. I was fortunate to discover a cousin researcher who is descended from Anna Maisenbacher Mehl's sister, and as a result knows a little more about that family. Using information she had, I was able to get marriage records from New Jersey for Margareth Knapp and John Maisenbacher. I also now know that "Uncle Frank" Markert – the mysterious relative in Bath, Illinois, was in fact Anna's first cousin. His mother, Elizabeth Knapp Markert, was Margareth's sister.

The Mitcheltrees are challenging because to our knowledge there are no living Mitcheltree descendants in Pennsylvania, or has anyone stayed in touch with any of them. Based on information cousin Bill Mehl gave me, I was able to track down a marriage record for Walter Mitcheltree, and census records through 1930 (the latest census available.) I was also able to locate a passport application for William Mitcheltree that he submitted prior to his trip to India, and it included a picture. However I did not find passport applications for his wife and daughter, and I haven't been able to find them in any census to date. William Mitcheltree and both his parents – Clara Mehl Mitcheltree and William Benjamin Mitcheltree – are buried in Haywood Cemetery in West Middlesex, PA.

This week is occupied with scanning photos and beginning to contact descendants of John Mehl so I can begin writing the family history. A few of the new facts are on my family tree on ancestry.com, but are not public yet – contact me if you would like to have access.