omnium-gatherum part deux

[temporal1]

Last night, i decided to read more about the Graff-Groff / Groffdale Mennonites, moving from Zurich, Switzerland.

i am overwhelmed by the quantity of information, certainly the content.

.. “In 1695 Hans Graff migrated to Pennsylvania.[1]” ..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groff_family

History
The family, known in the Swiss area since the middle of the 16th century. The migrated from Switzerland to the area around Sinsheim, Germany around 1651.[citation needed]
In 1695 Hans Graff migrated to Pennsylvania.[1]
Hans Graff and his family were Mennonites and many of his descendants stayed in the Mennonite faith. Hans Graff bought 1,500 acres in Groffdale, West Earl Township, Lancaster County.
The name Groffdale comes from Graff's family name.[2]
The Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church is the largest Old Order Mennonite group, with about 10,000 members in 2008/9.[3]

The Groff family has largely remained an East Coast family found both on the United States and Canadian sides of the border. In the United States the Groff family is most commonly found in southeastern Pennsylvania. In Canada, the Groff family is best known in the area around Markham, Ontario.[citation needed]

Ancestors
Hans Graff (1661–1746) founder of Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was the uncle of the father of Jacob Groff.[1] He is believed[by whom?] to be the oldest known member of the Groff family in North America and the holder of the title Baron von Welden of Grafenwald Castle near Bäretswil, Switzerland.

Other family members: .. ..

i did not know of Mennonites in my family, but, as an adult beginning to learn about Mennonites,
i suspected family connections. mostly because of certain family “traits” and beliefs that were/are lived, but not identified as Mennonite, or Anabaptist, not even Quakers were mentioned in my family. i discovered Quakers (and other Christian groups, one by one) - then, last August, i found (Page 9) Hans Graff.

strange. i would have thought i would be “happy” to find these connections!
here is a connection, i feel overwhelmed. i’m not sure how i feel.
i guess i need to and hope to learn more about “what happened?” who left, and, why? and, when, etc., before i can synthesize my response. i’m in shock.

my overall family history is crazy. it proves Helen Keller’s words:
“There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.”

(altho, i’m gratified to not (yet) find slave holders, i.e., outside the presumption kings had slaves, but different ones, both sides of my family, contributed to ending slavery.)

i think, most, or all people living today would have similar mixtures.
most, or all of us on this forum are likely more closely related than we may have ever considered.

much closer than Adam and Eve.

[temporal1]

Per Geo. N. Groves, Genealogist, 2163 Acton Street, Berkeley,
(includes Grof, Graff, Groff families)

"Hans Graf was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1661.
About 1695, because of persecutions of the Mennonites, the religious sect to which he belonged, he left Switzerland and migrated to America, settling in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1696.
He finally made his home on Groffs Run in Chester County (now Lancaster Co.) Pennsylvania in the Township of Earl (Graff) named in his honor.
By trading with the Indians, he laid the foundation of his great fortune.
He was one of the men commissioned to lay the King's Highway from Lancaster to Philadelphia in 1723. He died in 1746.
The Hans Graf Association was formed in 1865 and an effort was made to locate and mark his grave.
"It was found in the Meeting House Yard marked with a rough red sandstone slab, on which the initials "HG" are still legible.
The title papers show that the land now belonging to the Meeting House was purchased by Has Graf from the heirs of William Penn and were deeded to the Society of Mennonites by one of the sons of Hans. REFERENCE 9937 - D.A.R."

"The Grove Reunion Association is preparing a genealogy of descendants of Hans Graf.
According to its secretary, Roy H Grove, a voluminous amount of records have been compiled.
Dr. E. L. Denniston and Harry M. Strickler, genealogists, have also reported on Hans Graf. C. F. Groff, descendant of Frantz and Eva Groff. (Addresses of authors and genealogists will be furnished on request.)
The Hans Graf genealogy is the largest one of the Grove descendants in America.
Due to the last of space here, it is impossible to list the tremendous amount of data now available.

This is found on the FAMILY SEARCH website, under Hans Graf’s “Life Sketch.”
(i use a free account on Family Search.)
https://www.familysearch.org/en/

[temporal1]

Last August, i found a family connection to HANS GRAF, 1661-1746. My 8th great-grandfather.
i can be slow with digesting new info., this is one of those times.

i spent some time studying this today, my mind fights with itself.

For YEARS, i “had a hunch” there were Mennonites in my family history. i had no basis to think this.
In my stoic German-ish family, i learned to pay attention to what was NOT being said, as much as what was said. Children pick up on mixed messages. i definitely felt mixed messages on different matters.

in my little genealogy hobby, i found all sorts of people+places i’d not dreamed about.
no Mennonites. until last August. i was pretty settled my hunch was just wrong. i accepted that.
then, Hans Graf.

so, today, i read more.
(funny how the spelling of a 3-letter name can be changed in so many ways.)
these are the names:

8 / Hans Graf 1661-1746
7 / Hans Groff 1698-1780
6 / John Venrich Grove 1761-1811
5 / Catherine Brown (nee Grove) Auld 1791-1872
4 / Mary (nee Auld) Sprinkle 1810-1882
3 / Jarred Charles Sprinkle 1834-1864
2 / Ida May (nee Sprinkle) Granger 1857-1941 (the Grangers lead back to Grace/Mi’kmaqs, early 1600’s)
1 / J.L. (nee Granger) 1890-1967

Today, i also learned, there are the OO Groffdales and (MCUSA) Groffdales? i’m confused.
i’ve read some about this on this forum. it’s more confusing now. i’m trying.

The Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church, also called Wenger Mennonite
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groffdale ... ite_Church

The Groffdale Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church USA)
https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Groff ... ania,_USA)

i’m wondering how many generations in my family continued as Mennonites, what changed, etc.?
i may never know.
i wonder how much my grandmothers knew? i think they knew a lot.

all-this affirms in my mind that “messages” are quietly handed down through generations that we’re not aware of as we live our busy lives. there are genetics, there are also cultural and faith messages.

Today .. i also found a picture of one of my father’s grandfathers, Augustus Granger 1819-1907.
i believe i see a resemblance to my father, and i believe i see the Mi’kmaq resemblance.

funny how i saw Native American in my father’s face even when i was very young. i never asked, nothing was ever said. i felt the idea was preposterous! it doesn’t seem preposterous now.

[Josh]

Congratulations, you’re now more Mennonite than I am.

[temporal1]

Congratulations, you’re now more Mennonite than I am.

[silentreader]

Congratulations, you’re now more Mennonite than I am.

So she's part of the In-Group?

[ohio jones]

Congratulations, you’re now more Mennonite than I am.

So she's part of the In-Group?

She could sign up for Mennonite Your Way and become part of the Inn Group.

[temporal1]

Congratulations, you’re now more Mennonite than I am.

So she's part of the In-Group?

This topic never fails to make me think of Mrs.Nisly’s thread:
Genealogy / Other category
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=222

Lots of interesting in there. ^^

One fav for me:
Page 4
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php ... r&start=30

I had one of those DNA tests done.
It turns out I am descended from Adam and Eve. Who would have imagined that?

As i indulge in my amateur ancestry hobby, Helen Keller’s words repeat:
Page 2
http://forum.mennonet.com/viewtopic.php ... ler#p15486

o.joy.
where is the "falling flat" icon? that was a good one.

your words remind of Helen Keller's profound observation:

"There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors,
and no slave who has not had a king among his."
Helen Keller
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quot ... 95654.html

After stumbling upon Hans Graf, i realize, most, if not all, on this forum may have some connection to him, even if not DNA, even those like myself, who knew of no Mennonite family history.
If not Hans Graf, Charlemagne!

It’s such a PECULIAR feeling to see it in records, “in black and white.”
Reading about concepts and theories, even wholeheartedly accepting them, goes to a new level when we see proof, IRL.

Imagine meeting Jesus Christ!
We know, we believe, we study, we pray. But, on that day! When everything else falls away.
It’s thrilling to imagine.

In the meanwhile, (i) stumble about with my small things, all confirmation of His glory, enjoy glimpses of Truth, and look forward to The Day.

i found Hans Graf in the free version of http://WWW.FAMILYSEARCH.ORG
In those records, his ancestral history goes back further, it’s fun to follow the path.

i am a complete hack at this. 100% amateur. i go in fits+starts. i’ll take in so much, then leave it for weeks/months/years.

i share bits with my granddaughter, hoping she will “identify” with her history lessons in more personal ways than i. i enjoyed history. i did not feel connected to it. i felt “that was someone else,” and questioned, “i wonder what my family was doing when this/that happened??” they had to be somewhere!

now i tell my adult children, “if you’re wondering about history, don’t be surprised to learn we had ‘some relative’ in the middle of it.”

i don’t quite know what to make of it.
it’s the opposite of how i was raised. i.e., to feel generally obscure. and, obscure was ok/desirable. humility being utmost.

God moves in mysterious ways.
How does He do this??!!

Every person has ancestral history.
i don’t believe in “obscure” anymore. “unknown,” yes. obscure, no.

i was born into a world wherein people thought they had the last word on “who was in, who was out,” the earlier world believed it to an even greater extent. a false sense of human power and control.
the same world that believed mothers determined the sex of their infants!

so much continues to be learned. all of it affirms Jesus Christ.
God is so far ahead of us. there is no danger we will catch up.

Learn! Be in awe, be humbled.

[temporal1]

.. so, today, i read more.
(funny how the spelling of a 3 4-letter name can be changed in so many ways.)
these are the names:

[temporal1]

John Corbly, 1733-1803
Was brought to Pennsylvania from Ireland, as an indentured servant to a Quaker family, evidently alone, age recorded as 11 or 14, depending on source. (My 5th great-grandfather.)

He became a prominent Baptist preacher, his central church stands and is still used.
He started 30 Baptist churches.
There is quite a bit written. There are annual family reunions at the church he is remembered for in Pennsylvania.

i just began reading:
“FRONTIER PREACHER / The Life of John Corbly, 1733-1803”
267 pages by Sam Hossler
http://www.samhosslerwriter.com/frontier-preacher.html

historical fiction.
i’m thinking of giving it to my granddaughter, 12, but will read it first. i’m not sure what to expect, the author starts off with describing John’s journey, that John was “shanghaied,” but that word was not in use until 19th Century U.S. West Coast? i’m dubious.
also, the author refers to the Quaker family (that bought him) as “Christian.” not sure why. (i’ve seen them recorded as Quaker elsewhere.) why wouldn’t he refer to them as Quaker?

i appreciate the author is trying to create a relatable story of that period.
more is written/recorded. i hope this book doesn’t confuse me. that would be easy.

Robert posted about Irish slaves/indentured servants of that period.
i plan to add his post below.

i’ve been interested in this part of Irish history, never dreamed of a direct ancestor.

my family did not believe we had Irish ancestry. i’ve found, we do, on both my parents’ sides.
Quakers, too, on both sides. they did not know, or did not say.
John Corbly is on my father’s mother’s side.

The Irish did not have an easy time in NA.
Even when i was young, i overheard some prejudices against the Irish. i did not understand. those i met seemed fine. people have prejudices, so far as i can tell, that’s just how it is. in all God’s created peoples.

i don’t believe any group coming to the NA continent had an easy time. not the Irish, not the Scandinavians. many of the first Western Europeans starved. some disappeared. some natives were helpful, not all. some Western Europeans were fair, not all. in every situation, experiences and outcomes vary. we “want” to have one efficient narrative. it doesn’t work like that.

5My 5th great-grandfather John Corbly+Abigail (nee KIRK).
4Margaret (Corbly) Morris,
3John Morris,
2Rebecca (Morris) Jolley,
1Mary M (Jolley) [James]-Shaffer;

James Cleveland Shaffer,
James Lamont Shaffer 1916-1996.
me.”

When the generations are written out like that ^^ the 1700’s do not seem so long ago.

It’s hard for me to imagine the Irish being so vulnerable to being taken as slaves.
Earlier, the Vikings took many Irish slaves. This has got to impact your social order/world view.