Bruce's Surnames

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ROWNBACK / BRUMBAUGH
Bruce's G Grandmother Martha BROWNBACK is descended from Gerhard and Mary Rittenhouse PAPEN BRUMBACH. According to the Genealogy of the BRUMBACH FAMILIES published in 1913, Gerhard arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1683 from the Palatinate of the Rhine. Mary Rittenhouse PAPEN, born about 1695, was a daughter of Heivert and Elizabeth RITTENHOUSE PAPEN. Mary came with her father Heivert from Muhlheim, Germany. Gerhard and Mary were married around 1716 or 1718.

Bruce's lineage from Gerhard and Mary PAPEN BRUMBACH is as follows:

Martha, the oldest of the seven children born to Jesse BROWNBACK and Sarah A. KEELEY, was born December 3, 1840 and died May 12, 1920 in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. She married Jacob Funk SHOWALTER on March 25, 1880 in East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennslyvania. Martha and Jacob had one son, Harry Baum SHOWALTER (Bruce's Grandfather).

The other children of Jesse and Sarah A. KEELEY BROWNBACK were:

original 1880

Martha Brownback & Jacob Showalter

Levi J. BROWNBACK and Priscilla MURRAY

Alexander H. KEIR and Eliza (Lidie) BROWNBACK

Jesse and Sarah KEELEY BROWNBACK

Clara BROWNBACK HIESTAND and Amos HIESTAND

Maris BROWNBACK and Clara BENNER BROWNBACK

Levi F. BROWNBACK

Mrs. Lydia BROWNBACK KIER (KEIR)

Miss Emma E. BROWNBACK

Elizabeth KIMES BROWNBACK

John and Margaret BROWNBACK

John and Hannah KEELEY BROWNBACK

Levi and Priscilla BROWNBACK

BROWNBACK Family Reunions

Jacob and Martha BROWNBACK SHOWALTER

Tombstones

Brownback Reformed Church

Brownback Cemetery

East Vincent Church and Cemetery

Morris Cemetery

Photos by Harry Showalter

eVITIS
Bruce's G Grandparents Bernardino and Maria Libera ESPOSITO DeVITIS immigrated from Palombaro, Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. We recently found Bernardino and Maria listed on the manifest for the S.S. La Bretagne at the Ellis Island web site. The S.S. La Bretagne sailed from Havre, France on April 26, 1902 and arrived in New York City on May 4, 1902. Information on the manifest indicates that this was Maria's first trip to the U.S., but Bernardino had traveled to Philadelphia on an earlier trip. When they left Palombaro, their only child Carmela remained behind with Maria's parents.

While back east in April 1998, we visited for the first time the Philadelphia Branch of the National Archives. We found Maria in the 1920 Pennsylvania federal census. According to this census, Maria immigrated from Italy in 1901 and was naturalized in 1913.

Carmela, who was Bruce's Grandmother, married Raffaele (Ralph) SANDLER in Philadelphia, PA in September 1920.

Aside from the names of Maria's parents, John and Palma DeINNO ESPOSITO, and Bernardino's parents, Joseph and Giovena GIANGULIO DeVITIS, we have no earlier information on either of these lines.

Carmela DeVITIS SANDLER

Palmena (Polly) DeVITIS CAREGNATO

RAHAM
On our April 1998 trip to the Philadelphia National Archives the earliest record we found so far on Bruce's G Grandfather William J. GRAHAM was in the 1900 Pennsylvania federal census for Philadelphia County. According to the census record William J. GRAHAM immigrated in 1882 and was born in Ireland.

William was also enumerated in the Pennsylvania federal censuses of 1910 and 1920. The censuses uncovered a great deal of information for us. Enumerated with William at one time or another were his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Charles and Margaret HUMPHREYS; his brother, Harry (aka Henry) GRAHAM; his daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law, the John PEACOCK family. We knew there were HUMPHREYS in the family line, but did not have the connection to them until we found them in these censuses.

Harry Baum SHOWALTER and Eva Estelle GRAHAM

Henry (Harry) GRAHAM

Album

Harry and Eva GRAHAM SHOWALTER

Tombstones

Census Listings

UMPHREYS
Having found Charles H. and Margaret K. HUMPHREYS enumerated with their daughter and son-in-law, William and Mattie GRAHAM, we tracked them as far back as the 1880 Pennsylvania federal census. Enumerated with them were several other siblings of daughter Mattie. According to the censuses, Charles' parents were both born in Pennsylvania. Margaret's father was born in Paris, France, her mother in either Maryland or Delaware. We do not have her maiden name as yet.

We have not yet followed up on the several leads these census records opened for us.

Tombstones

Census Listings

EELEY
An email from another KEELEY researcher in September 2001 opened up this line for us. Previously we did not have information about Sarah KEELEY BROWNBACK's parents.

Sarah was a daughter of Jacob and Sophia SHULER KEELEY. Jacob and Sophia had the following children:

(October 2001) Bruce just returned from a week in New Jersey and southeast Pennsylvania. He photographed several of the KEELEY and SHULER tombstones at Brownback's Cemetery in East Coventry, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Brownback Reformed Church

Brownback Cemetery

East Vincent Church and Cemetery

ENNYPACKER

PENNYPACKER Family Reunion

The 4th of July 1999 weekend Bruce and I attended the 300th Wedding Anniversary Reunion of his 6th Great Grandparents Heinrich and Eva Umstat Pfannebecker. Here are a few of the pictures we took that weekend. Thanks to Ron Mitchell and Rudy Evans for sending some of their pictures.

Our Reunion Picture Album

Link to More Reunion Pictures

Link to Group Picture taken at the 1999 Reunion

Check out the PENNYPACKER Family Web Page for additional information on the PENNYPACKER family.

East Vincent Church and Cemetery

ITTENHOUSE
Bruce's 6th Gr Grandmother Elizabeth RITTENHOUSE, daughter of William RITTENHOUSE (RITTINGHAUSEN, RITTINGHUYSEN), married Heivert PAPEN. Their daughter Mary married Gerhard (Garret) BRUMBAUGH.

Brownback researcher recently corresponded with us (Nov '99). Lorna generously shared several pieces of information she collected regarding the RITTENHOUSE family. One article is from the web page of the Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking. The museum's Virtual Tour includes a link titled Papermaking Moves to the United States. This article indicates that the first paper mill in the United States was established by William RITTENHOUSE in 1690 near Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Correspondence with the webmistress of the American Museum of Papermaking revealed that there is a Rittenhouse Mill Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bruce and I attended a BROWNBACK family reunion the weekend of July 22, 2000, celebrating the 317^th anniversary of the arrival of the Brownbacks in the United States. Part of the weekend activities was a bus tour of the area that included a stop at Rittenhouse Town, the site of the first paper mill in the colonies. We are working on getting some pictures up of this memorable weekend.

The Rittenhouse Family

ANDLIER, SANDELIER, SANDLEIR, SANDLER, SANTOLERI
Bruce's G Grandfather, Antonio SANTOLERI/SANDELIER was born in Guardiagrele, Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy in 1877. Antonio was the oldest child of Luigi SANTOLERI and Balbina DE LAURENTIIS. According to Bruce's Aunt, Luigi had been a monk. He left the order and married when he was in his fifties. Antonio was an only child. Luigi died not long after that and Balbina remarried and immigrated to the U.S., settling in the Erie, PA area.

So far, we have not been able to verify Luigi's earlier occupation or Balbina's remarrying and immigrating to the U.S. We have found Luigi's birth record and marriage banns which show that he was born June 8, 1819 and was married in Feb 1874. The marriage banns list Luigi's occupation as contadino (farm-worker). We have also found the birth records for two younger sons, Pietro, who was born Sept 5, 1878, and Raffaele, who was born Feb 3, 1880.

Several recent discoveries have now cast doubt on Luigi's having been a monk. We first found birth records for two more children. Twin daughters, Rosa and Rosaria, were born Jan 12, 1883. Sadly, Rosa died two weeks later on Jan 26, 1883. A margin note on Rosaria's birth record indicates that she married on Aug 8, 1907. The latest find was Luigi's death record which lists his date of death as Nov 15, 1888. While reading the section of the record that describes the deceased, we found the phrase "vedovo d'Rosa de Laurentiis e marito d'Balbina de Laurentiis" - "widower of Rosa de Laurentiis and husband of Balbina de Laurentiis". Further research has turned up two individuals that could possibly be sons of Luigi and Rosa, but no definite link has been established at this time.

In March 1897, Antonio married Sofia DIPLACIDO in Pennapiedimonte, Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. Their first two sons, Luigi (Louis) and Raffaele (Ralph) were born there over the next two years. We have been told that Antonio traveled between the U.S. and Italy for several years before bringing the family to the U.S. According to the 1920 New Jersey federal census, Antonio immigrated in 1900. We recently found Sofia, Luigi and Raffaele listed on the manifest of the S.S. Italia at the Ellis Island web site. The S.S. Italia sailed from Naples, Italy on Oct 25, 1905 and arrived in New York City on Nov 13, 1905. Listed with them was Antonio's brother Raffaele, who until then was not known to us.

After arriving in Pennsylvania, Antonio and Sofia had two more sons, Peter and Thomas. According to information sent us by another cousin, Sofia died in childbirth when Peter was about four years old. That would put her death around 1911, which is when Thomas was supposed to have been born (Thomas is listed as being 3 months old on the 1910 Pennsylvania federal census). We were also informed that Sofia was buried in the Greentree, PA area, but we have not been able to locate her.

Antonio then married Flora DeGEORGE. Flora was previously married to a Joseph RAZZI and had five children from this first marriage: Anthony, Joseph, Leo, Doralinda (Dolly) and Margaret. Antonio and Flora had three children of their own: Robert, Edith, and Sylvester (Jim). The same cousin who gave us the information regarding Sofia's death indicated that Sofia and Flora were first cousins. We originally had Flora's maided name as DePRINCE. On our July 1999 trip to New Jersey, we discovered in the obituary for Antonio, that it was actually DeGEORGE. We also learned that one of Flora's sisters had married a DePRINCE, hence the confusion.

In addition to the names of Sofia's parents, Vincenzo DIPLACIDO and Maddalena DIGIORGIO, we have acquired copies of the birth records for two of her older siblings, Maria Giuseppe and Domenico.

Ralph Sandelier/Sandler was Bruce's grandfather. Ralph married Carmela DeVITIS in September of 1920. Ralph and Carmela were the parents of five children:

LeRoy Anthony SANDLIER was born 18 Mar 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he died 7 Nov 1993 in Franklinville, Gloucester Co., New Jersey.
Married 11 May 1946 at Asbury Methodist Church, Camden, New Jersey
Eleanor Ruth SHOWALTER was born 7 Apr 1924, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; she died 3 May 2001 in Franklinville, Glouscester Co., New Jersey. Eleanor was the only child of Harry and Eva GRAHAM SHOWALTER.
Both LeRoy and Eleanor are buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Pitman, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Richard John SANDLER was born 5 Jan 1924 in Clayton, Gloucester Co., New Jersey; he died 1 Jun 1964 at the Veteran's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is buried at the U.S. National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey.
Married 20 Jul 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Richard's wife is still living, she remarried after Richard's death.
Gloria SANDLER was born 12 Sep 1925 in Clayton, Gloucester Co., New Jersey; she died 20 Aug 1977 in Elmer, Gloucester Co., New Jersey. Gloria is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Pitman, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Married 6 Apr 1946 in Malaga, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Theodore (Ted) E. DARBY, who was born 2 Jan 1920; he died 16 May 1989 in Bridenton, Florida. He is buried in Bushnell, Florida. According to Bruce's Aunt Faye, Ted was born in Collinsville, Pennsylvania. We have not confirmed that information yet. We do not have the names of Ted's parents.
Daniel John SANDLER was born 21 Dec 1927 in Clayton, Gloucester County, New Jersey; he died 29 Apr 1993 in Ellenton, Florida. Dan was cremated and his ashes scattered.
Married 16 Dec 1950 in Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Dan's wife is still living.
Faith (Faye) Hope SANDLER was born 3 Aug 1932 in Clayton, Gloucester County, New Jersey; she died 6 February 2002 in Oklahoma. Faye was buried in the Downing Family Cemetery, which is on the homestead land of her husband's relatives. It is located near Locust Grove, Oklahoma.
Married 5 Mar 1960 in Franklinville, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Faith's husband is still living.

Antonio SANDELIER

Flora (Florence) SANDELIER

Ralph SANDLER

Carmella DeVITIS SANDLER

Robert SANDELIER

Mary N. SANDELIER

LeRoy Anthony SANDLIER

Jim (Sylvester) Sandelier

Downing Family Cemetery

Census Listings

Luigi SANTOLERI and Balbina DE LAURENTIIS

Antonio SANTOLERI

Pietro SANTOLERI

HOWALTER
Bruce traces his SHOWALTER ancestry back to Jacob (the immigrant) who arrived in the United States around 1750. Bruce's G Grandparents Jacob Funk SHOWALTER and Martha BROWNBACK SHOWALTER lived on Church St. in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

We've spent a great deal of time researching this line at the Chester County (Pennsylvania) Historical Society library. We've made numerous trips to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, visiting the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area, area cemeteries and churches. Bruce has met several SHOWALTER researchers online. The SHOWALTER family is quite extensive. This line connects to the BROWNBACK family, the PENNYPACKER family and the FUNK family.