Universal York

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1850s Archives

Some months ago I wrote about the Pennsylvania German Birth and Baptismal certificates (often known as Taufscheine or Fraktur) that were produced in the Hanover print shop of Wilhelm Daniel Lepper and Samuel Endredy Stettinius.  These two printers established Hanover’s first newspaper Die Pennsylvanische Wochenschrift, in 1797 and issued their

York’s Bullfrog Alley (part of East King Street) had a distinct personality over the years.  It was famed as the home of “gypsies” who went out traveling each summer and for basket making, some of which seem to be in same families.  It was also the home of a gang

Some of you might be lucky enough to have Pennsylvania German birth and baptismal certificates that were done for family members well over 100 years ago.  Or you just might be intrigued by the art and design of these unique folk art documents and perhaps collect them.  I have written

Each of our York County communities, no matter what size, seems to have its own uniquely rich history.  My own families settled, some well over two hundred years ago, in the southeastern part of the county.  I still have so much to learn, especially about the rest of the county.

The historic stone home in Hellam Township which we know as the Mifflin House was occupied from about 1800 until 1856 by the Mifflins: Revolutionary War patriot Jonathan Mifflin, his wife Susanna Wright Mifflin and their son Samuel Mifflin. All three of the Mifflins are said to have participated quite

There are still a fair number of people around who attended the rural one-room (sometimes two-room) schools that dotted York County until the mid-twentieth century. Ask your parents or grandparents and you might get some interesting tales. (Including how they had to walk five miles through the snow, uphill both