Sample of Narrative Created Exclusively with Information from Historical Documents
Ichabod White
(d. 1813)
Ichabod was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts and enlisted in the army to fight in the Revolutionary War in Petersburg, New York. He was at both Valley Forge and the Battle of Saratoga. His family then hired a substitute soldier, and he left the army after a winter in Valley Forge.
He married Rhoda Hoag in Lebanon, New York near her father’s home. They then moved to the Town of Argyle in Washington County, where they farmed and Icabod was a road supervisor and a constable.
Around 1795, they moved to a farm near Norwich, New York. He died in 1813 and left all of his worldly goods to his wife Rhoddy (this is the name by which he referred to her in his will).
Sample of Narrative Constructed from Historical Documents and Family Legends
John Baptiste Wirt
(1814–1899)
John was said to have been born near Quebec, Canada to a French immigrant father and a Native American, possibly Cayuga, mother. John must have grown up rather poor as, when he immigrated to the U.S. as a young man, he could not afford the toll on the bridge across the St. Lawrence River. Instead, he swam across the river—and was able to do so while carrying everything that he owned.
After entering the U.S. in about 1838, he settled in or near Rochester, New York and met and married Sophia Julivette, a French Canadian immigrant from the Montreal area. He left the Rochester area around 1850 and moved near Portage, New York, where the Native Americans kept him alive during his first winter on Gardeau Flats. They then directed him to an area with few inhabitants and good land that was cheap because it wasn’t easily accessible. This area, due to John’s settling it, later became known as French Hill. John survived the second winter by staying in a Native American encampment near where Putt Skelagar later lived. He then bought a farm that surrounded a large spring that had been frequented by the Native Americans for several centuries.
He lived out the rest of his life on this farm and raised a large family. He was known for his hospitality and would blast a horn to let the neighbors know that they were invited over for an impromptu party. His obituary paints a beautiful picture of his character and life on that farm: “Well can we remember the old time logging bees and barn raisings where neighbor Wirt was always on hand with a strong sinewy arm to do his part and greet us with the voice of song when the work was done. His home was always a safe shelter to those who sought refuge there and with his devoted wife royal entertainment was always given and hours seemed as minutes in their company.”
When the Wirts left Rochester, they left the Catholic religion. At least two of his children were baptized at Our Lady of Victory in Rochester. The family seems to have left organized religion, at least for a time, as there was no local church and religion was not mentioned again until their obituaries, which say that their funeral services were both held at the Methodist church in Dalton. That may have been because of the religion of one of their children.
Sample of Narrative Created from Documents, Family Stories, and Second-hand Knowledge
George Selle
(1825–1904)
George was born in Schlipruthen, Westphalia (Germany) and immigrated, with his mother, Mary, and father, John, to the U.S. in about 1842. His family landed, according to family tradition, in Baltimore, Maryland. They were met soon after arrival by a representative of a Catholic brotherhood that was set up to protect Catholic immigrants from the Know-Nothings. The brotherhood transported them to St. Marys, Pennsylvania, which was a town planned and created for German Catholic immigrants.
Within a year of arrival, George’s father, John, died. His is reputed to be the first death in St. Marys. George then became the head of his family and took care of his mother and two younger siblings.
George later married Juliana Kirchner of Cooper’s Settlement, Pennsylvania (near Clearfield) and farmed for the rest of his life near St. Marys.
He fought in the Civil War, after being drafted in Elk County, Pennsylvania. At the age of 44, on January 19, 1865, he enlisted as a private in the Ninety-Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment at Wilmington, North Carolina for a period of one year. He fought in the battle for Raleigh, North Carolina, where General Johnston surrendered to General Sherman. His muster roll describes him as five feet, eight inches tall with gray eyes, light hair, and a sandy complexion. He was discharged on August 28th of the same year in Weldon, North Carolina. The regiment was then transported by train to Philadelphia, where it stayed, drinking and partying, until the men were paid on September 4th. Family legend has it that George walked the rest of the way home.
In old age, George had a stroke while tending his garden. He began to recover but had a relapse soon after and died. His obituary notes that his funeral was “attended by a very large number of friends and relatives” and that the St. John Society, of which he was a member, “attended in a body.” It also notes that “In his death the community loses one of its very best citizens.”
George was at best a subsistence farmer, but always got by. The picture of him propped up in his casket in his parlor speaks loudly of his lack of worldly goods. The flowers are from the fields and are arranged in mason jars. Although he was poor, he was well-respected in the community and liked by everyone, according to stories told by his granddaughter Bertha Kleisath Kraft.
Sample of Narrative Based on First-hand Knowledge and Acquaintance with the Subject
Walter Kleisath
(1908–1998)
Walter was born at home in Riley Hollow near Smethport, Pennsylvania. One of his most vivid memories of childhood was the death of Puzzy Stanton. Puzzy was a girl about his age, and they had been playing until Puzzy had to go home. About two hours later, one of the Stanton kids came to get Walter’s mother because Puzzy was very sick. She died soon afterward, and it was determined that she had been playing doctor with some siblings and had taken some of her grandfather’s heart medicine (digitalis).
Another childhood memory he shared with his children was that of riding on the stone bolt from the sugar bush with his siblings Mary and Alfred and how they fought over whether it was Alfred’s handling of the horses or her carelessness that caused some of the maple syrup to spill. (A stone bolt is a low, sled-like piece of equipment used to haul heavy loads.)
He sometimes went with his father when they had to deliver meat or produce, as his father did not like to drive. They sold meat and produce to lumber camps in Betula, Norwich, and other towns. He worked on the farm and helped his parents until after his marriage.
Walter did not like school, so, after eight years in the East Smethport School on the southeast corner of Routes 6 and 46 and one year in Smethport High School, he quit. His one year in high school was not very productive, as he spent much of it playing pool downtown.
Walter got a job with North Penn Gas Company. He worked in the gas field checking wells and was paid 35 cents an hour. One winter when the snow was waist deep and he had to get to the wells using skis, his boss accused him of loafing on the job; he quit in anger despite the difficulties of finding a job during the Depression. Soon afterward, he got a job with Quaker State Refinery in Farmers Valley, Pennsylvania. He remained with Quaker State until his retirement as a refrigeration man in the wax plant in 1973.
Walter dated Joyce Wirt for about five years before he married her, because he felt that he needed to have the money to buy a place of their own before they got married. The two of them bought a 40-acre farm along Route 6 just east of Smethport for two thousand dollars and were married in a private ceremony in St. Elizabeth’s rectory in Smethport. They only intended to have John and Muriel Chase at the wedding as witnesses, but Walter’s sisters Bertha and Mary found out about it and attended even though they were not invited. The house they purchased was in such disrepair that Walter and Joyce lived with Walter’s parents for the first year of their marriage while they made it livable.
Their first years of marriage were a struggle financially, but they raised much of what they ate and raised sheep and a few cattle to sell, and that, along with Walter’s wages, saw them through. In about 1947, Walter built a store near the barn along Route 6. The store, which they called the Bush Hill Service Station, had a little bit of everything in it and gas pumps in the front. Joyce primarily ran this, and it operated until the late 1960’s. By 1950, the Kleisath finances had turned around, and by the time they wrote out a revocable trust, they had a $200,000 estate.
Walter was a dedicated father who made sure that his children spent time with him, even if much of it was working on the farm. He made sure that his children knew how to work and was very patient in ensuring that they learned the skills necessary for each job. He put them first in his life. One extreme example of this was the time when he was working with his kids to shore up the haymow floor. There was a loud cracking noise, so he told his kids to get out and that he would finish the job. He figured he had lived his life and they were just starting, so he should be the one to take any risks. He was very easy-going with regard to what he would allow his children; he and his mother-in-law, Arlie Wirt, would calmly sit at the kitchen table and drink tea and/or play rummy while the kids raised hob in the living room. When he did get mad at his kids, it was because they had pushed beyond all reasonable bounds. He would use his foot on their behinds, but they knew they deserved what they got.
Walter always considered himself a farmer, and his first love was his sheep. He raised Hampshire for the most part, but over the years also had Shropshire, Columbia, Western, Suffolk, and Corriedale. He remained active on the farm until he had a stroke at the age of 82. He always had a flock of laying hens and often raised roosters or capons. He butchered every fall and sold most of the chickens and several sheep (butchered and dressed) to many local customers. He sold the eggs through the store and delivered them to a set of customers every Saturday.
His health was not the best after his stroke, and he often said that he was ready to go to his Maker any time, as the quality had run out and the quantity of life was no longer important. He had a massive stroke right after celebrating his 62nd wedding anniversary at his son Raymond’s home in Gifford Hollow east of Smethport. He never recovered from this stroke and died at age 89 or, as he believed, after 19 years of borrowed time—he felt that if he reached 70 he would have lived a full life.