Stickler Roots 

Charles Stickler(1806-1896) and Eliza Jeffries (1811-1891)

Welcome!

Welcome to my family history page. I became interested in our family genealogy in 1991 and spent the next three years studying my English (paternal) and German (maternal) ancestries. My paternal grandfather (John James Stickler) once lived in Pucklechurch, a small village in Gloucestershire, England. My maternal great-grandfather (John Kaufman) had his roots in the village of Tann, Bad Hersfeld, in Hesse, Germany. I decided to visit both villages out of curiosity and in 1993 flew overseas, first to England and then Germany. Photo scenes from the German trip are available for viewing in the Memorbilia/Photo Gallery section.

Recently I came across a shareware JAVA applet by Christopher Stillwell called GenViewer from Gen Viewer Shareware that is spectacular.  It reads in ZIPzed GEDCOM files directly as its data source, and outputs a number of visual formats, including a navigateable tree. .It has the advantage of significantly reducing the memory required to display ancestral lineages. Another application by Christopher Stillwell which allows multi-generational ancestral photos to be displayed on a single page is used in the Galleria/Photo Gallery section.

I am aware of the limitations of my genealogy effort, particularly in finding ancestors which predate Thomas Stickler, born 1759. Should readers come across records which would help in this, I would enjoy hearing from you. I can be reached at john.stickler@comcast.net
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ENGLISH FAMILY ROOTS

According to my father, our Stickler ancestors originally lived in Germany. The story is that there was once three Stickler brothers living in Germany; one of whom immigrated to England, another to Africa, and the third remained in Germany. Whatever the case, it is clear our Sticklers settled in Gloucestershire county (now renamed Avon county) in southwestern England, judging from the preponderonce of Sticklers living within a 20 km radius in Gloucestershire. Our earliest known ancestor is Thomas Stickler who settled in Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire following his marriage to Jane Mealing of Pucklechurch.

The village of Pucklechurch lies about 20 miles east of Bristol, England. For more information on Pucklechurch, the reader is invited to read Pucklechurch revisited. Pucklechurch's sole claim to history lies in the historical event ocurring on May 26, 946 when King Edmund was murdered during a celebration feast. Today its main attraction is the St. Thomas a Becket Church, built over 600 years ago in commemoration of St. Thomas of Cantebury who was murdered in his cathedral in 1170. During the past century, the Parkfield coal colliery was the major source of employment for the male labor force.

Thomas Stickler was born in 1759 and lived in Yate, Gloucestershire. He married Jane Mealing of Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire in 1792 and they had two sons, James and Charles, both of whom married and had large families. Their family descendants formed two branches of the Stickler family referred to today as the James Stickler branch and the Charles Stickler branch.

Charles Stickler's children were the first of the Sticklers to emigrate to America beginning with Isaac (1864), then Amos (1889), and George (about 1890). The youngest sister, Ellen Jane emigrated to Canada in 1904. On the James Stickler side, the sole family member to emigrate to America was John James Stickler, grandson of James Stickler. He arrived in Philadelphia, PA in 1882 and eventually settled in Hazleton, PA.

GERMAN FAMILY ROOTS

Our earliest Kaufman on record is Johann Christopher Kauffmann born in 1714 in Tann, Kreis Hersfeld, Hesse, Germany. Christopher owned and operated the Neustaedter Mill situated along the Rohrbach River. He married Margarethe Hildebrand of Reilos, Kreis Hersfeld and they had two sons, John Caspar and Johann Adam. Caspar died as a infant. Johann Adam, born 1745, lived to the age of thirty nine. Johann Adam married Anna Sidonia of Ellingerode near Rotenburg a. d. Fulda. Johann Adam and Anna had six sons and one daughter. Of their seven offspring, only Johann Justus and JohannHeinrich survived infant mortality, .

Johann Justus married Anna Maria Jacob from Mecklar and had six offspring, - two sons and four daughters. Their third child, Elisabetha, married Simon Schuster. Walter Weigand, currrently residing in Tann, is a descendant of Simon and Elixabetha Schuster.

Johann Heinrich married Elizabeth Hildebrand from Tann and had five children, - four sons and one daughter. Their fourth child, Heinrich, emigrated to America with his family in the mid-1800's. He and his family were to form the of the Henry Kaufman Hazleton, PA family branch.
 

JOURNEY TO AMERICA

Henry Kaufman and his family emigrated to America between 1848-1854. Tobias, the second oldest son, was the first to make the trip. He arrived at New York on 26 May 1848 at age thirteen and settled at Hazle Township in Luzerne County, PA. Three years later his older brother, William, made a similar journey, arriving at Philadelphia on 6 November 1851 aboard the Bark Philadelphia, to join Tobias. Finally in May 1854, parents Henry & Anna and remaining children, John, Catherine, Dorette and Elizabeth, sailed aboard the Copernicus to New York where they made their way to Hazle Township to join Tobias and William. The Kaufman family settled in the East Ward near the coal colliery which was the major source of employment for newly arrived immigrants from Europe. At the time, Hazle Township was a small but fast growing community but soon to grow to become Hazleton, the largest city in Luzerne County, PA. The history of Hazleton is described in the paper History of Luzerne County by Bradsby (1893)

GENEALOGY TRIPS

In November 1993 I made a trip to Germany to see the village where my German ancestors lived prior to the 1850's. Please take a moment to visit this Web page!

GEDCOM Files for Viewing and Download!

The SticklerApplet presents the combined Stickler and Kaufman family lineages. The Startup Family is the family of John James Stickler 2nd; his parents, Selwyn Stickler & Katherine Kaufman; children Catherine, Jane, and Susan. To view the Stickler genealogy, click on successive fathers in the Stickler family lineage beginning with Selwyn Victor Stickler. To view the Kaufman genealogy lineage, begin with the Startup Family, and click on Katherine Winifred Kaufman to bring up the Kaufman family. From here, click on successive fathers of Kaufman family ancestors beginning with John Kaufman. When ready to view the family files, click on the View button below.

family.zip

The GedCom file contains over twelve hundred names and 438 families. A Pedigree Chart is available to view the Stickler/Kaufman blood-line. Additional information on family members is given in the Notes.

Memorabilia

A collection of stories, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Currently only one area, i.e., the PhotoGallery, is open for viewing. 

The Photo Gallery

The Photo Gallery shows photos of ancestors starting with the most recent ancestor and proceeding to the earliest known ancestor. Currently there are two photo galleries, the John James Stickler Gallery and the Isaac Mealing Stickler Gallery associated with their respective Stickler family branches. Photographs for the John Kaufman branch are included in the John James Stickler Gallery since the John James Stickler branch and the John Kaufman branch have a common descendant, namely John James Stickler, 2nd. Additional Photo Galleries will be developed later. Please check again!

Acknowledgements

Major Contributors

Individuals who have made significant contributions to the Stickler and Kaufman genealogies are recognized here. Unfortunately, limited space prevents everyone who contributed to be acknowledged here. Special thanks is due Christopher Stillwell for granting permission to use certain elements of his genealogy Web page.

 

|Isaac Stickler branch|	|Canadian Stickler branch|	|Stickler/Jackson branch|
|Bristol_Sticklers_branch|
|John Kaufman branch|	|Tobias Kaufman branch|	|William Kauffman branch|