We are hanging at the airport. Philadelphia here we come.

Historical Ancestry Trip Plan: (Monday 7/29 – Tuesday 8/6)

Arrival:  Start in Philadelphia, PA

(Monday: 7/29) Stay at the Thomas Bond House (Originally built in 1769) – in the historic district

               

Day 1: 

(Tues: 7/30) Travel to the Landis Valley Farm 

                                     (Option: Stop at Valley Forge National Park along the way)

·         Landis Valley Farm is a German farm – Historical site – learn about ways our ancestors farmed)  

·         Stay in the Landis Farm Guest House overnight (from the 1760’s era)

Day 2:   

(Wed: 7/31) Drive to Tulpehoken Creek & Stouchsburg

• Visit George Christopher Horold/Herrold (1688-1749 – came to USA from Germany) Buried in Christ Lutheran Cemetery. Stouchsburg, PA 
• Conrad Weiser park (George Stophel went on expedition with Conrad)
•  Option if time: Visit Tulpehoken Creek Settlement Historic District. (George Christopher lived in Bethel Township and Tulpehoken Creek)

Drive to Greensburg, PA (Lunch along the way)  George Stophel Harrold moved to Heidelberg Township then was given land in Hempfield Township – became known as Harroldtown)

• Harrold Zion Lutheran Church & Cemetery & the St. John’s Harrold Church & Cemetery (both of these are on the land that George Stophel Harrold gave to the township for “Good Purpose”.  Land originally called “Harroldton”. George Stophel Harrold (1723-1787) is buried here.
• Visit Fort Allen (Harrold’s settlement) – by the Cemetery
• Baltzer Meyer Historical Society (Harrold School House)
• Hanna’s Town (Historical site of the pioneers)

Stay overnight in Greensburg

Day 3:

(Thurs. 8/1) Drive to Blairsville

• Hopewell Church Cemetery, Blairsville. Johannes “John” George Harrold (1745-1828) Buried here.  Christopher Harrold was born in Elder’s Ford near Blairsville on the Conemaugh River.
• Blairsville Historical Society
• Murrysville Historical Preservation on the drive to OH (store first owned by Herrolds, then several others)

 Drive(3hr.39min/179 miles) to Marietta, Ohio  (via the Ohio River Scenic Route).  Stay: (Grand Lafayette Riverboat Hotel built in 1918 - 2 nights)

Day 4:   Marietta, Ohio

(Fri. 8/2)

• Ohio River Museum - replica of a full size flatboat
• Campus Martius Museum ***;    Option: Brown Bag Lunch History Lecture
• Mound Cemetery
• Historic Harmar Village
• Option: Downtown Art Walk

Note: Marietta is celebrating pioneers this summer with the book “The Pioneers” by David McCullough

Day 5:    Marietta, Ohio

(Sat, 8/3)

• Boat: Sightseeing Tour 12:00 – 1:30
• Inland Waterway Festival (a free, educational event with performers, storytellers, music, hands-on activities, wildlife displays & more. The purpose of the Inland Waterways Festival is to commemorate the heritage and continuing importance of America’s rivers, canals, and lakes in the development of the Nation

Drive  to Athens. 

Stay in the 1840 Inn (3 nights) – Nelsonville, OH

Day 6: Athens, Ohio

(Sun, 8/4)

• Ride the Hocking Scenic Train
• Wolf Plains Cemetery - Christopher & Martha are buried there;
• Nelsonville Cemetery - Christopher J. Herrold & Louisa Katzenbach Herrold are buried there.)
• (Herrold) West End Cider House for a drink!!

Day 7: Athens, Ohio

(Mon, 8/5)

• Walk the “Old Section” for Athen’s campus. Visit the Cutler Building (first building erected on the campus – wood provided by Christopher Herrold)
• The Sila Bingham House - Martha Cable Herrold married Sila Bingham after Christopher died. William our grandfather's namesake was 3 years old at the time.
• Visit The White Mill (previously owned by Joseph Herrold - William's brother)
• Look for homesteads & damn - I have a few plot #'s and/or directions - kind of)  It would be really cool if we could find Christopher J.'s farm!!

Day 8:

 (Tue, 8/6) leave in the morning for Columbus (visit Veteran Museum & arrive airport)

Herrold Trail 2019 on Googlemaps (Click left icon for details)

Being Herrold

I am always amazed when my brother Bill and my cousins Teri and June tell me great Herrold family stories because my Herrold memories are mostly things like Grandma's (Mabel) singing button-on-a-string and Grandpa's (Willie) blue violin dish full of butterscotch candy.  The important event I do remember however, is all the relatives with their gold name tags getting together for Grandma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary-my crazy uncles, my aunts with endless casseroles and my cousins who seemed so grown up and beautiful. This was what I knew about being a Herrold .  As one of the youngest I missed the pictures and stories about other relatives from other places, like southern Ohio...

Cousins (and who is that outside the window?)
June,Bill,Candi,Carol,Michael,Bobbie,Judy,Lorraine,Teri

Teri, "Our personal stories began with these bold women.  "The Herrold sisters".  Dottie, the oldest (back, right) had two daughters: Carol and Judy.  Margaret whom we called "Johnnie"was the second oldest (back, left) also had two daughters: June and Candi.  Ellen (front, left) was third in line and is the mother of Bill, Bobbie and Lorrie.  Donna (front, right) was the youngest and mother to Mike and Teri."

So recently, when Bill and Teri sorted through their boxes of family photos and sent out pictures of old relatives and even older places, I loved one photo immediately. It was a picture of an old homestead near Athens (I am a farmer at heart) and Teri had a story to go with it.

A couple of years ago Aunt Donna was reminiscing with Teri about the Herrold family. She told Teri that when she and Ellen were kids, they were playing on their grandparents farm when Ellen found an old cannonball in the creek. What a great family story-a cannonball (civil war?), my mother as a little girl (hard to picture my mother as a little girl) and a beautiful farmhouse.

Donna and Ellen Herrold

Home Sweet Home

I wondered if the house was still there and where were Grandpa's parents buried?  How did my great-grandparents end up in Southern Ohio? In fact who were these German people that traveled across an ocean, some to end up as Buckeyes?
Seems to be a whole lot of Herrold history to catch up on and time's a waistin.....

Road Trip 

#1 Bill Deck    Driver (who actually played on the farm and met his great grandparents) is easily talked into being Road Trip Tour Guide by his little sister plus he knows a lot of family stories (since he is old, whoops, I mean older) and like our Uncle David, is a gifted storyteller.
#2 Steve Quam.    Photographer. Great guy. Riding Shotgun...
#3 Lorrie Deck.    Backseater.
#4 Teri Quam.      Archivist.  Teri, armed with 23andMe, Ancestry and Facebook Friends has tirelessly compiled the History of the Herrold Family and The Adventures of Herrold Relatives Who Honored Their Ancestors' Lives.  These archives are the adventures of Herrolds as Germans, as Colonials and American Pioneers all leading to us, our varied contemporary Herrold family. 

From this history, Teri has planned a course from Pennsylvania to Southern Ohio recreating the original Herrold pioneer trail closely as possible. She has reached out to Pennsylvania Herrolds from other branches who are glad to show us Herrold historical sites and share their family stories.

The Herrold family has really changed since I was a kid. There are many more of us on the family tree and we have gotten here in a lot of different and wonderful ways. Some born. Some chosen. Still Herrolds.  From the road or from home, this adventure is for all of us.