Schenk-Redd-Groshong-Sappington

Grandma Schenk had a purple velvet photo album with pages containing the cardboard style photos of the late 1800's. While a few of the photos in there have been identified and put on their respective people, many are still unknown.

There are a couple photos who were taken by Joseph Farabaugh in his Carrolltown, PA studio. I am hoping this will lead to someone else having a photo of the same person and knowing their identity. The full story and the photos are here.

There is a new story attached to Charles Read regarding the name used over the successive generations. While there is no definitive answer to why, I have detailed that I have found in records to describe which name was used during each generation. Find it on the records of Charles Read.

In honor of Independence Day, I'd like to point out a few of the ancestors on this tree who are believed to have served in the Revolutionary War:

• Charles Bradley (1750-1826): In Smith's History of Armstrong County (pg. 526 as numbered, 668 in pdf) , he is described this way: "...Charles Bradley,
  one of the six who built the first church in Cambria county for Rev. Demetrius Galitzin. He was a blacksmith by trade. His last work in Ireland was to shoe a general's horse of the English army that was bound for colonial service during tlie revolutionary war. The following anecdote is given to the writer regarding him :
  As he had finished the shoeing of the general's horse he remarked to those present in the shop, "That is the last work I will do in Ireland until I oppose that general in the cause of freedom in the colonies." Several of his companions accepted his cause, and at once sailed for the States. During their voyage they were pursued by an English ship, which would eventually have captured them were not the impending dangers overcome by the
  skill and tactics of their valiant captain. When they landed, they joined the revolutionary soldiers, and opposed and successfully captured the very general whose horse he shod in Ireland." 
  I have not yet found the documentation of all this, but I will continue looking.
• Capt. Christopher Houston (1744-1837): In an unpublished biography, Gertrude Dixon Enfield (USC faculty member, author, and descendant of the Houstons) shared letters that Christopher Houston had written, and wrote biographical information to set the context. Christopher Houston fought at the Battle of Ramsuer's Mills. His brother, James, was killed in that battle. He may also have fought in the Battle of King's Mountain and the Battle of Guiford Court House. 
• Col. Joseph Hardin (1734-1801): In Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hardin_Sr.) "Hardin's first documented military service shows his appointment as the first major of the 2nd North Carolina Minute Men (from the Salisbury District) in 1775.^[11]That same year, he appears in the rolls as a captain in the Griffith Rutherford's Light Horse Rangers. Hardin took part in Rutherford's Cherokee Expedition into the Washington District late the following year, under Captain William Moore.^[12] Beginning in 1777, Hardin carried a captain's commission in Locke's Battalion (part of General Allen Jones' Brigade) seeing action against Britain and its Native American allies."
• John Harden (1756-1808): Noted as Captain of the American Revolution on grave marker. Son of Joseph Hardin (above).
• Michael Holt (1723-1799): More research is required to be sure this is the correct Michael Holt, but certainly this is a member of the Holt family who were notedly at the Battle of Ramseur's Mill. 

Without the service of Patriots like these, the country that is now the United States would have been substantially different. 

This year, honoring a Civil War Veteran in our direct line of Ourfolks: Green White Sappington. He was the last child of Sebastian and Millie White Sappington. He entered the service at 18 years old, may have only served for two years. He is listed with a disability of "eye disease" in Veteran Pension records. His regiment and their assignments are listed in the story here.

As I have gone through the photos, I noticed that Hilda Schenk Carmichael and her brother John had a lot of friends in Las Cruces and beyond. While they are not my family, I know they are someone's family, so I reached out to the Dona Ana County Genealogical Society to see if they would want the collections of photos, such as they are. They do, and I will be sending photos of at least three families. 

I have now expanded this into its own "tree": New Mexico Families. Since it is not of my family, it will be protected and only available to members who request it.