Last night was quite the productive evening, so long as one's standard of productivity has nothing to do with, say, any of the classes I'm enrolled in this semester. For quite some time, I've been puzzling over a conundrum regarding my great-great-grandfather, Adam Stick, who married Mary Leah Mountz. Adam Stick's obituary appeared the day he died, 11 August 1961, in the local newspaper. It reported that "Adam N. Stick", who at the time was living in West Lawn, Berks County, Pennsylvania, "was a native of Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, a son of the late Joseph and Catherine (Nagle Stick), was a member of the United Church of Christ and of the Liberty Chemical Fire Co., Sinking Spring"; it notes that he was a bricklayer and taxidermist (interesting combination of trades there) and "chief of police in Sinking Spring from 1944 to 1947".
Now, I've found Adam N. Stick's family in the 1920 federal census, probably located in Womelsdorf, Berks County. (I need to get around to obtaining the actual record of this one, which I'm missing.) Adam N. Stick is there a 39-year-old married man living with his 36-year-old wife Mary L. Stick and their four children: Catherine P. Stick, 15; Mary E. Stick, 12; Margaret E. Stick, 11; and Richard J. Stick, 2 years 4 months old.
I've also found Adam Stick's family in the 1910 federal census for Womelsdorf. Here, Adam Stick is a 29-year-old cigar maker (which was then a big industry in Womelsdorf) who had been married for eight years to his wife Mary L. Stick, who by then had had four children, though only three were yet surviving. Those three children are listed: Catherine P. Stick, 5; Mary E. Stick, 3; and Margaret E. Stick, 1 year 5 months old. Also living with them are Adam Stick's widowed father-in-law Jacob Mountz, a 56-year-old laborer doing "odd jobs", and Adam Stick's 29-year-old widowed sister-in-law Maggie E. Keckaman, a [tobacco] stripper at a cigar factory.
In between these sources, I also have a copy of Adam Stick's 1918 draft registration card for the First World War. In it, he lists his home as being in Womelsdorf, states his age as 38 and his birthdate as 4 December 1879, and notes his occupation as being that of a cigar maker. If the copy I have has both sides to the same card, he was a dark-haired, blue-eyed man of medium height and build.
Now, here's where a difficulty comes in. I have two sheets from the 1900 census that mention an Adam Stick. One such page is for Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and was enumerated 7 June 1900. It talks of the household of Joseph Stick, a 35-year-old "engineer stationary" born in June 1864 to a German-born father and a Pennsylvania-born mother. Joseph has been married to his wife Jennie Stick for ten years. Jennie is a 26-year-old woman born in May 1874, and she gave birth to two children. There are, however, four Stick children listed at the residence, two of whom were born prior to Joseph's marriage to Jennie. The first such Stick child is Adam Stick, a 19-year-old "prentice machinist" born in "Dec[ember] 1880". The second is Katie Stick, a 16-year-old "handkerchief maker" born in "Feb[ruary] 1884". The third child is Myrl Stick, a 6-year-old girl born in July 1893. The fourth child is a 9-month-old boy named Henry Stick. All of these children are represented as sons and daughters of Joseph Stick. Though for the longest time it escaped my notice until this summer, Adam and Katie must be Joseph's children by a previous marriage. This coheres well with Jennie Stick's obituary (10 December 1918), which describes her simply as "Mrs. Joseph Stick", mentions her as "a daughter of the late Adam Gerberich, of East Hanover Township", and states that she "leaves her husband and two children, Henry, at home, and Mrs. Myrle Leese, of this city". Now, the circumstances seem to fit for this Adam Stick to be the same as my Adam Stick. The listed birth month is correct, and it isn't wholly uncommon for years to be one or two off. This Adam Stick was born to Joseph Stick and an unknown mother, certainly compatible with my Adam Stick's parents (Joseph Stick and Catherine Nagle). Perhaps the strongest piece of confirming evidence, though, is the 8 December 1933 obituary of "Mrs. Meral H. Leese", who was survived by "two brothers, and a sister, Henry Stick, of Lebanon, and Adam Stick, of Sinking Springs, and Mrs. Frank Deck, of Camden, Michigan". Despite the distance, that seems to be a reasonable circumstantial case. (Incidentally, I've also found an article about the Leese-Stick wedding, which occurred 27 November 1909 at the Stick residence and refers to the couple as "Andrew Leese, of 1114 Buttonwood street, and Miss Myrl H Stick, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stick".)
I believe, by the way, that I have record of this same Joseph Stick in the 1880 census for South Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. There exists a household headed by one Henry Stick, a married 45-year-old shoemaker born in "Saxewimer" and whose parents were born in "Saxewimer". Initially this reference had puzzled me long ago, but it can be none other than the German duchy of Saxe-Weimar. Henry Stick's wife is Rosanna, a 40-year-old Pennsylvania-born woman. Five children are listed in the household: Joseph Stick, 18; Kate Stick, 15; Henry D. Stick, 13; Rosey Stick, 10; and Clayton B. Stick, 4. Joseph Stick's entry shows him as a single laborer. His name, age, and the origins of his parents match the Joseph Stick listed in the 1900 census. In addition, I've more recently located the 5 January 1908 obituary of Henry Stick (d. 4 January 1908), who "was a native of Germany, having come to this country at the age of 16 years. When the war broke out he enlisted in the Ninety-third Regiment and served honorably". This Henry Stick, who lived in Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, is survived by "his widow, Rosanna, and five children, as follows: Joseph Stick, of Buttonwood street; Katie, wife of Frank Donbach, of Maple street; Henry Stick, of Stevens, Lancaster County; Rosa, wife of Samuel Weik, of Schaefferstown, and Clayton Stick, of Reading".
But wait! What of the other 1900 census? That one covers Lower Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and was enumerated 14 June 1900, a week after the one in Lebanon. In one dwelling, it details the family of Levi H. Pierce (b. March 1852), his wife Agnes Pierce (b. March 1855), and their two surviving children, Levi N. Pierce (b. July 1880) and Stella N. Pierce (b. February 1891). Two other individuals are present in the household. The first is Levi H. Pierce's stepsister Polly Harnish (b. 1843). The other is a boarder named Adam Stick, whose birth is said to have occurred in December 1879. The similarity is striking. Perhaps even moreso when one considers that this Adam Stick's occupation is, like that of Levi N. Pierce, that of a cigar maker. That seems to be a strong case for identifying this Adam Stick with my Adam Stick.
So which is it? Is it the Adam Stick of Lebanon County? The Adam Stick of Berks County? Are they one and the same, or must I choose? That's no easy task! In need of more outside assistance than usual, I presented a summary of this data to a group of other genealogy enthusiasts. Many of them did indeed suggest that both Adam Sticks were the same person, and so both records bear mention of my great-great-grandfather. Many of them mentioned personal experience with an individual showing up at two locations during the same census year. Several of them suggested that I seek to find Adam in earlier or later censuses. Naturally, I already have (one) Adam in both 1910 and 1920 censuses. Unfortunately the 1890 census no longer exists, and so the 1880 census is all that remains. One other genealogist recommended that I take a different approach: look for more information on the Levi Pierce family (and perhaps their neighbors) and see if that sheds any light on why Adam Stick might have been boarding with them. Both pieces of advice were, as it turns out, fruitful.
First, before I even read most of their advice, I managed to stumble upon Adam Stick's record in the 1880 census for the still-heavily-wooded West Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I have no idea whatsoever how on earth I've managed to miss it for the past yea many months. But there it was. It caught my eye this time because I was contemplating Adam Stick's obituaries reference to "Cocalico Township" as his native home. Now, I only have access at the moment to a partial transcript, but it shows a family consisting of head of household Adam Nagle, 50; wife Catherine Nagle, 52; son Wellington Nagle, 20; daughter Catherine Stick, 18; daughter Clara Nagle, 14; son Adam Nagle, 8; and grandson Adam Stick, 5 months old. This must certainly be my Adam Stick, given that his obituary is quite clear on his mother being Catherine Stick nee Nagle. So the Adam and Catherine Nagle listed here are my great-great-great-great-grandparents. This in itself was quite a delightful advance! I then did a quick search for more on the senior Adam Nagle, whom I estimated was born around 1830.
In the 1850 census for West Cocalico Township, I lucked out and found a household consisting of farmer Joseph Nagle, 51; housewife Susana Nagle, 48; Leah Nagle, 28; Sofiah Nagle, 28; newlywed Elvina Nagle, 22; Adam Nagle, 20; David Nagle, 16; Joseph Nagle, 11; and elderly Elizabeth Nagle, 84. All individuals were listed as having been born in Pennsylvania. My access to the 1860 census is much more limited, but I can tell that one page includes at least a 61-year-old Joseph Nagle, a 30-year-old Adam Nagle, and an infant Wellington Nagle. Moving along to the 1900 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of Adam Nagle, a 70-year-old man born in March 1830, and his wife Catherine Nagle, a 72-year-old woman born in September 1827. Catherine Nagle was born in Pennsylvania, as were her parents. She gave birth to seven children, but only six were living as of 1900. What's more, the enumerator has designed that Catherine Nagle "cannot speak English". Aha! A true Pennsylfaanisch Deitsch woman, perhaps! She must have died sometime in the subsequent decade, because the 1910 federal census for West Cocalico Township shows a household containing the younger Adam Nagle, a 35-year-old bachelor, and his father Adam Nagle, an 80-year-old widower. All of this coheres well with what I've heard about some tombstone inscriptions from Schaefferstown: one showing an Adam Nagle born 12 March 1830 who died 18 September 1911, and the other showing Adam's wife Catherine Nagle, born 23 September 1827 and who died 29 January 1909. (The data gleaned from her tombstone, which I unfortunately have yet to see, also appeared to indicate that this Catherine Nagle was born a Wiest.) The data seems to fit quite nicely, though the site of their burial is perhaps a bit odd. Then again, although a county line divides them, Schaefferstown and West Cocalico Township are less than 10 miles apart as the roads run today, and less than 8 miles apart as the crow flies.
Upon seeing the advice I had received, I decided to hold off on further explorations of the Nagle family and instead turn to the Pierce family. How fortunate I am that I did! The first record I examined was the 1880 census showing Levi and Agnes Pierce living in... West Cocalico Township? That caught my attention; they lived near the infant Adam Stick and his mother. What caught my attention far more, however, were the rather obvious clues I gained from the concluding two members of the Pierce household. Levi Pierce is listed as a 28-year-old married "huckster", and his wife Agnes is a 25-year-old woman who keeps house. Living with them, however, are Levi Pierce's 11-year-old sister-in-law Elva Nagle and 22-year-old brother-in-law Cornwall Nagle! So, then, Agnes Pierce must be herself a Nagle by birth!
Contented for the moment, I began looking up a few other records. First, I found an 1850 census for West Cocalico Township giving the family of farmer Daniel Wiest, 62; Lusedda Wiest, 28; Hanna Wiest, 25; Catherina Wiest, 22; Lidia Wiest, 18; and Samuel Wiest, 23. The Catherina Wiest here may well be the woman who later would marry Adam Nagle and become Catherine Nagle, mother to the Catherine Nagle who would become mother of Adam Stick.
Next I found an incredible record in the 1870 census for West Cocalico Township, which over the course of two pages indicated four Nagle households in succession! The first consists of retired farmer Joseph Nagle, 72, and his wife Susana Nagle, also 72, who kept house. The census reports that Susana can neither read nor write. The second household consists of farm laborer Adam Nagle, 44; Catherine Nagle, 40, who keeps house; Agnes Nagle, 16, who cannot write and is employed as a domestic servant; farm laborer Cornwall Nagle, 13; Wellington Nagle, 10; Catherine Nagle, 8; Louisa Nagle, 5; and Elba Nagle, 1. So! What I must conclude, then, is that the Agnes Nagle here would go on to marry Levi H. Pierce, and that the "Cornwall Nagle" and "Elva Nagle" from the 1880 census of the Pierce family are the ones also mentioned here. Since Agnes was a sister of Catherine Nagle, it follows that Levi and Agnes Pierce were Adam Stick's uncle and aunt, and this explains why he would have boarded with them.
Still in the 1870 census, the third household consists of farm laborer David Nagle, 38, who cannot write; Sarah Nagle, 37, who kept house and cannot write; Amanda Nagle, 12; Annie Nagle, 11; and Amanda Nagle, 3. (Regarding the elder Amanda Nagle - and the younger one was perhaps a mishearing by the enumerator for "Malinda Nagle" - I have more to say later.) The fourth household, then, consists of farmer Joseph Nagle, 31, who cannot write; Salinda Nagle, 26, who cannot write; Joseph Nagle, 3; and Susana Nagle, 1.
Moving along, I decided to do more research on Wellington Nagle, since his name is distinctive enough to be useful. In the 1900 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household headed by Wellington W. Nagle, a 40-year-old carpented born in July 1859. The census reports that Wellington had been married for 18 years to his wife Annie C. Nagle, a 43-year-old woman born in October 1856. Although both were born in Pennsylvania, as were their parents, neither Wellington nor Annie can speak English! Again, I can only presume that they come from Pennsylfaanish Deitsch stock. Annie is said in the census to have had four children, of whom three survive. Only one is listed as living with them in the census, though: 6-year-old Adam S. Nagle, born July 1893, who then was going to school.
In the 1910 census for West Cocalico Township, then, I again found Wellington W. Nagle, now a 50-year-old man living with his wife Annie S. Nagle, 53; his son Harry S. Nagle, 20; and his son Adam S. Nagle, 16. Later on, in the 1920 census for West Cocalico Township, I found Wellington Nagle, 60, living with his wife Annie Nagle, 62.
Having gained success there, I turned once more to the Pierce family for further illumination. In the 1870 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of a 43-year-old stone mason named John Pierce; his 40-year-old wife Elizabeth, who kept house and could not write; their 18-year-old son Levi Pierce, who worked as a farm laborer; and two other individuals: Mary Harnish, 26, who worked as a domestic servant, and an older man named George Hagy, 60, whose occupation seems to be written as "cooperer". I'm having a hard time deciphering that word, but "cooperer" does seem to be a synonym for "cooper" - that is, someone who makes or repairs wooden tubs and casks.
Jumping ahead, in the 1880 census for West Cocalico Township, I find a household consisting of John Pierce, 52; his wife Elizabeth Pierce, 56; his stepdaughter Mary Harnish, 36; and a 9-year-old boy named Franklin Border, whose relation to the head of household is classified as "other" and whose occupation is listed as "servant". Then, in the 1910 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of Levi H. Pierce, 58; his wife Agnes Pierce, 55; his married son Levi N. Pierce, 29; his daughter-in-law Maggie Pierce, 32; his niece Stella Pierce, 9; and his single stepsister Polly Harnish, 67.
That's a lot of new documentation! And that isn't even the end of it. Remember Amanda Nagle, who was listed in the 1870 census as the 12-year-old daughter of David Nagle, who himself was the brother of Adam Nagle and son of the elder Joseph Nagle? Well it so happens that Amanda Nagel (b. 11 June 1856, West Cocalico Township; d. 8 November 1946) married George E. Leisey and became an ancestor to some of the folks behind the Leisey Family Genealogy website. From their website, I learn that Amanda Nagle/Nagel was raised as a Mennonite, but converted to the Lutheran Reformed Church when she married George Leisey. This is described in some family reminiscences, which mention that Amanda Leisey nee Nagel was "a large lady" who "would tip the stagecoach to the side when she would get on board". Amanda's grandson also recalls her telling about how as a girl she could "hear the cannons during the Civil War", since she lived close to Gettysburg. I'll be wanting to get in touch with my newfound Leisey cousins to see about sharing data; I'd like permission to make use of their pictures of Amanda Nagle.
That's my progress as of last night and this morning. All I've done today so far is to go back and recheck all the records for things about literacy and language, since I actually skipped over those columns last night while transcribing the relevant information into the documentary appendix of my Ahnentafel. I still can't believe that it seems that at least a few of my ancestors were Mennonite farmers! I can't wait to know more - but, as busy as this week will be (due to the annoying demands of this silly 'education' thing), I may have to hold off on that.
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Okay, since then I've done two main things. First, I've hunted down a couple more census records pertaining to Adam Nagle's brother David Nagle. Second, I've jotted down all the various data that the Leisey family tree had about the descendants of Amanda Nagle. That took a while!
Now, I've found Adam N. Stick's family in the 1920 federal census, probably located in Womelsdorf, Berks County. (I need to get around to obtaining the actual record of this one, which I'm missing.) Adam N. Stick is there a 39-year-old married man living with his 36-year-old wife Mary L. Stick and their four children: Catherine P. Stick, 15; Mary E. Stick, 12; Margaret E. Stick, 11; and Richard J. Stick, 2 years 4 months old.
I've also found Adam Stick's family in the 1910 federal census for Womelsdorf. Here, Adam Stick is a 29-year-old cigar maker (which was then a big industry in Womelsdorf) who had been married for eight years to his wife Mary L. Stick, who by then had had four children, though only three were yet surviving. Those three children are listed: Catherine P. Stick, 5; Mary E. Stick, 3; and Margaret E. Stick, 1 year 5 months old. Also living with them are Adam Stick's widowed father-in-law Jacob Mountz, a 56-year-old laborer doing "odd jobs", and Adam Stick's 29-year-old widowed sister-in-law Maggie E. Keckaman, a [tobacco] stripper at a cigar factory.
In between these sources, I also have a copy of Adam Stick's 1918 draft registration card for the First World War. In it, he lists his home as being in Womelsdorf, states his age as 38 and his birthdate as 4 December 1879, and notes his occupation as being that of a cigar maker. If the copy I have has both sides to the same card, he was a dark-haired, blue-eyed man of medium height and build.
Now, here's where a difficulty comes in. I have two sheets from the 1900 census that mention an Adam Stick. One such page is for Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, and was enumerated 7 June 1900. It talks of the household of Joseph Stick, a 35-year-old "engineer stationary" born in June 1864 to a German-born father and a Pennsylvania-born mother. Joseph has been married to his wife Jennie Stick for ten years. Jennie is a 26-year-old woman born in May 1874, and she gave birth to two children. There are, however, four Stick children listed at the residence, two of whom were born prior to Joseph's marriage to Jennie. The first such Stick child is Adam Stick, a 19-year-old "prentice machinist" born in "Dec[ember] 1880". The second is Katie Stick, a 16-year-old "handkerchief maker" born in "Feb[ruary] 1884". The third child is Myrl Stick, a 6-year-old girl born in July 1893. The fourth child is a 9-month-old boy named Henry Stick. All of these children are represented as sons and daughters of Joseph Stick. Though for the longest time it escaped my notice until this summer, Adam and Katie must be Joseph's children by a previous marriage. This coheres well with Jennie Stick's obituary (10 December 1918), which describes her simply as "Mrs. Joseph Stick", mentions her as "a daughter of the late Adam Gerberich, of East Hanover Township", and states that she "leaves her husband and two children, Henry, at home, and Mrs. Myrle Leese, of this city". Now, the circumstances seem to fit for this Adam Stick to be the same as my Adam Stick. The listed birth month is correct, and it isn't wholly uncommon for years to be one or two off. This Adam Stick was born to Joseph Stick and an unknown mother, certainly compatible with my Adam Stick's parents (Joseph Stick and Catherine Nagle). Perhaps the strongest piece of confirming evidence, though, is the 8 December 1933 obituary of "Mrs. Meral H. Leese", who was survived by "two brothers, and a sister, Henry Stick, of Lebanon, and Adam Stick, of Sinking Springs, and Mrs. Frank Deck, of Camden, Michigan". Despite the distance, that seems to be a reasonable circumstantial case. (Incidentally, I've also found an article about the Leese-Stick wedding, which occurred 27 November 1909 at the Stick residence and refers to the couple as "Andrew Leese, of 1114 Buttonwood street, and Miss Myrl H Stick, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Stick".)
I believe, by the way, that I have record of this same Joseph Stick in the 1880 census for South Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. There exists a household headed by one Henry Stick, a married 45-year-old shoemaker born in "Saxewimer" and whose parents were born in "Saxewimer". Initially this reference had puzzled me long ago, but it can be none other than the German duchy of Saxe-Weimar. Henry Stick's wife is Rosanna, a 40-year-old Pennsylvania-born woman. Five children are listed in the household: Joseph Stick, 18; Kate Stick, 15; Henry D. Stick, 13; Rosey Stick, 10; and Clayton B. Stick, 4. Joseph Stick's entry shows him as a single laborer. His name, age, and the origins of his parents match the Joseph Stick listed in the 1900 census. In addition, I've more recently located the 5 January 1908 obituary of Henry Stick (d. 4 January 1908), who "was a native of Germany, having come to this country at the age of 16 years. When the war broke out he enlisted in the Ninety-third Regiment and served honorably". This Henry Stick, who lived in Schaefferstown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, is survived by "his widow, Rosanna, and five children, as follows: Joseph Stick, of Buttonwood street; Katie, wife of Frank Donbach, of Maple street; Henry Stick, of Stevens, Lancaster County; Rosa, wife of Samuel Weik, of Schaefferstown, and Clayton Stick, of Reading".
But wait! What of the other 1900 census? That one covers Lower Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and was enumerated 14 June 1900, a week after the one in Lebanon. In one dwelling, it details the family of Levi H. Pierce (b. March 1852), his wife Agnes Pierce (b. March 1855), and their two surviving children, Levi N. Pierce (b. July 1880) and Stella N. Pierce (b. February 1891). Two other individuals are present in the household. The first is Levi H. Pierce's stepsister Polly Harnish (b. 1843). The other is a boarder named Adam Stick, whose birth is said to have occurred in December 1879. The similarity is striking. Perhaps even moreso when one considers that this Adam Stick's occupation is, like that of Levi N. Pierce, that of a cigar maker. That seems to be a strong case for identifying this Adam Stick with my Adam Stick.
So which is it? Is it the Adam Stick of Lebanon County? The Adam Stick of Berks County? Are they one and the same, or must I choose? That's no easy task! In need of more outside assistance than usual, I presented a summary of this data to a group of other genealogy enthusiasts. Many of them did indeed suggest that both Adam Sticks were the same person, and so both records bear mention of my great-great-grandfather. Many of them mentioned personal experience with an individual showing up at two locations during the same census year. Several of them suggested that I seek to find Adam in earlier or later censuses. Naturally, I already have (one) Adam in both 1910 and 1920 censuses. Unfortunately the 1890 census no longer exists, and so the 1880 census is all that remains. One other genealogist recommended that I take a different approach: look for more information on the Levi Pierce family (and perhaps their neighbors) and see if that sheds any light on why Adam Stick might have been boarding with them. Both pieces of advice were, as it turns out, fruitful.
First, before I even read most of their advice, I managed to stumble upon Adam Stick's record in the 1880 census for the still-heavily-wooded West Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I have no idea whatsoever how on earth I've managed to miss it for the past yea many months. But there it was. It caught my eye this time because I was contemplating Adam Stick's obituaries reference to "Cocalico Township" as his native home. Now, I only have access at the moment to a partial transcript, but it shows a family consisting of head of household Adam Nagle, 50; wife Catherine Nagle, 52; son Wellington Nagle, 20; daughter Catherine Stick, 18; daughter Clara Nagle, 14; son Adam Nagle, 8; and grandson Adam Stick, 5 months old. This must certainly be my Adam Stick, given that his obituary is quite clear on his mother being Catherine Stick nee Nagle. So the Adam and Catherine Nagle listed here are my great-great-great-great-grandparents. This in itself was quite a delightful advance! I then did a quick search for more on the senior Adam Nagle, whom I estimated was born around 1830.
In the 1850 census for West Cocalico Township, I lucked out and found a household consisting of farmer Joseph Nagle, 51; housewife Susana Nagle, 48; Leah Nagle, 28; Sofiah Nagle, 28; newlywed Elvina Nagle, 22; Adam Nagle, 20; David Nagle, 16; Joseph Nagle, 11; and elderly Elizabeth Nagle, 84. All individuals were listed as having been born in Pennsylvania. My access to the 1860 census is much more limited, but I can tell that one page includes at least a 61-year-old Joseph Nagle, a 30-year-old Adam Nagle, and an infant Wellington Nagle. Moving along to the 1900 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of Adam Nagle, a 70-year-old man born in March 1830, and his wife Catherine Nagle, a 72-year-old woman born in September 1827. Catherine Nagle was born in Pennsylvania, as were her parents. She gave birth to seven children, but only six were living as of 1900. What's more, the enumerator has designed that Catherine Nagle "cannot speak English". Aha! A true Pennsylfaanisch Deitsch woman, perhaps! She must have died sometime in the subsequent decade, because the 1910 federal census for West Cocalico Township shows a household containing the younger Adam Nagle, a 35-year-old bachelor, and his father Adam Nagle, an 80-year-old widower. All of this coheres well with what I've heard about some tombstone inscriptions from Schaefferstown: one showing an Adam Nagle born 12 March 1830 who died 18 September 1911, and the other showing Adam's wife Catherine Nagle, born 23 September 1827 and who died 29 January 1909. (The data gleaned from her tombstone, which I unfortunately have yet to see, also appeared to indicate that this Catherine Nagle was born a Wiest.) The data seems to fit quite nicely, though the site of their burial is perhaps a bit odd. Then again, although a county line divides them, Schaefferstown and West Cocalico Township are less than 10 miles apart as the roads run today, and less than 8 miles apart as the crow flies.
Upon seeing the advice I had received, I decided to hold off on further explorations of the Nagle family and instead turn to the Pierce family. How fortunate I am that I did! The first record I examined was the 1880 census showing Levi and Agnes Pierce living in... West Cocalico Township? That caught my attention; they lived near the infant Adam Stick and his mother. What caught my attention far more, however, were the rather obvious clues I gained from the concluding two members of the Pierce household. Levi Pierce is listed as a 28-year-old married "huckster", and his wife Agnes is a 25-year-old woman who keeps house. Living with them, however, are Levi Pierce's 11-year-old sister-in-law Elva Nagle and 22-year-old brother-in-law Cornwall Nagle! So, then, Agnes Pierce must be herself a Nagle by birth!
Contented for the moment, I began looking up a few other records. First, I found an 1850 census for West Cocalico Township giving the family of farmer Daniel Wiest, 62; Lusedda Wiest, 28; Hanna Wiest, 25; Catherina Wiest, 22; Lidia Wiest, 18; and Samuel Wiest, 23. The Catherina Wiest here may well be the woman who later would marry Adam Nagle and become Catherine Nagle, mother to the Catherine Nagle who would become mother of Adam Stick.
Next I found an incredible record in the 1870 census for West Cocalico Township, which over the course of two pages indicated four Nagle households in succession! The first consists of retired farmer Joseph Nagle, 72, and his wife Susana Nagle, also 72, who kept house. The census reports that Susana can neither read nor write. The second household consists of farm laborer Adam Nagle, 44; Catherine Nagle, 40, who keeps house; Agnes Nagle, 16, who cannot write and is employed as a domestic servant; farm laborer Cornwall Nagle, 13; Wellington Nagle, 10; Catherine Nagle, 8; Louisa Nagle, 5; and Elba Nagle, 1. So! What I must conclude, then, is that the Agnes Nagle here would go on to marry Levi H. Pierce, and that the "Cornwall Nagle" and "Elva Nagle" from the 1880 census of the Pierce family are the ones also mentioned here. Since Agnes was a sister of Catherine Nagle, it follows that Levi and Agnes Pierce were Adam Stick's uncle and aunt, and this explains why he would have boarded with them.
Still in the 1870 census, the third household consists of farm laborer David Nagle, 38, who cannot write; Sarah Nagle, 37, who kept house and cannot write; Amanda Nagle, 12; Annie Nagle, 11; and Amanda Nagle, 3. (Regarding the elder Amanda Nagle - and the younger one was perhaps a mishearing by the enumerator for "Malinda Nagle" - I have more to say later.) The fourth household, then, consists of farmer Joseph Nagle, 31, who cannot write; Salinda Nagle, 26, who cannot write; Joseph Nagle, 3; and Susana Nagle, 1.
Moving along, I decided to do more research on Wellington Nagle, since his name is distinctive enough to be useful. In the 1900 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household headed by Wellington W. Nagle, a 40-year-old carpented born in July 1859. The census reports that Wellington had been married for 18 years to his wife Annie C. Nagle, a 43-year-old woman born in October 1856. Although both were born in Pennsylvania, as were their parents, neither Wellington nor Annie can speak English! Again, I can only presume that they come from Pennsylfaanish Deitsch stock. Annie is said in the census to have had four children, of whom three survive. Only one is listed as living with them in the census, though: 6-year-old Adam S. Nagle, born July 1893, who then was going to school.
In the 1910 census for West Cocalico Township, then, I again found Wellington W. Nagle, now a 50-year-old man living with his wife Annie S. Nagle, 53; his son Harry S. Nagle, 20; and his son Adam S. Nagle, 16. Later on, in the 1920 census for West Cocalico Township, I found Wellington Nagle, 60, living with his wife Annie Nagle, 62.
Having gained success there, I turned once more to the Pierce family for further illumination. In the 1870 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of a 43-year-old stone mason named John Pierce; his 40-year-old wife Elizabeth, who kept house and could not write; their 18-year-old son Levi Pierce, who worked as a farm laborer; and two other individuals: Mary Harnish, 26, who worked as a domestic servant, and an older man named George Hagy, 60, whose occupation seems to be written as "cooperer". I'm having a hard time deciphering that word, but "cooperer" does seem to be a synonym for "cooper" - that is, someone who makes or repairs wooden tubs and casks.
Jumping ahead, in the 1880 census for West Cocalico Township, I find a household consisting of John Pierce, 52; his wife Elizabeth Pierce, 56; his stepdaughter Mary Harnish, 36; and a 9-year-old boy named Franklin Border, whose relation to the head of household is classified as "other" and whose occupation is listed as "servant". Then, in the 1910 census for West Cocalico Township, I found a household consisting of Levi H. Pierce, 58; his wife Agnes Pierce, 55; his married son Levi N. Pierce, 29; his daughter-in-law Maggie Pierce, 32; his niece Stella Pierce, 9; and his single stepsister Polly Harnish, 67.
That's a lot of new documentation! And that isn't even the end of it. Remember Amanda Nagle, who was listed in the 1870 census as the 12-year-old daughter of David Nagle, who himself was the brother of Adam Nagle and son of the elder Joseph Nagle? Well it so happens that Amanda Nagel (b. 11 June 1856, West Cocalico Township; d. 8 November 1946) married George E. Leisey and became an ancestor to some of the folks behind the Leisey Family Genealogy website. From their website, I learn that Amanda Nagle/Nagel was raised as a Mennonite, but converted to the Lutheran Reformed Church when she married George Leisey. This is described in some family reminiscences, which mention that Amanda Leisey nee Nagel was "a large lady" who "would tip the stagecoach to the side when she would get on board". Amanda's grandson also recalls her telling about how as a girl she could "hear the cannons during the Civil War", since she lived close to Gettysburg. I'll be wanting to get in touch with my newfound Leisey cousins to see about sharing data; I'd like permission to make use of their pictures of Amanda Nagle.
That's my progress as of last night and this morning. All I've done today so far is to go back and recheck all the records for things about literacy and language, since I actually skipped over those columns last night while transcribing the relevant information into the documentary appendix of my Ahnentafel. I still can't believe that it seems that at least a few of my ancestors were Mennonite farmers! I can't wait to know more - but, as busy as this week will be (due to the annoying demands of this silly 'education' thing), I may have to hold off on that.
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Okay, since then I've done two main things. First, I've hunted down a couple more census records pertaining to Adam Nagle's brother David Nagle. Second, I've jotted down all the various data that the Leisey family tree had about the descendants of Amanda Nagle. That took a while!
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