Did you know that this is the 15th anniversary for Facebook? What a useful tool, having come out of such a humble beginning. I don’t know how else I could keep up with the thoughts and activities of family around the country. Many of our relatives have private individual Facebook pages that will probably require membership and a “Friend” request, if you’re interested, but here we are concentrating only on what we consider the very best public community spaces as a more contemporary compliment to our family history. Please take a moment to view the beautiful pictures and listen in on the interesting conversations at these sites: local organizations and activities, churches, schools, libraries, museums, and societies. Don’t forget to click on the links inside each Facebook page. Think of this information as the answer to the question genealogists might logically ask about their subjects’ communities: “Where are they and what are they doing now?” As this section is ever-expanding, do send me new discoveries via the comment block below. Also, I have arbitrarily categorized the links by location and subject matter and have made some contextual comments for your interest. This arrangement may change, so check back.
Thanks,
Larry Pearce, Administrator
ACCIDENT – Our Krause family saga began in America near this tiny Western Maryland town with an unusual name. The Carl Krause farm was just north, in a nook between the hills called the “Cove.” German was spoken there then by those Lutherans, and still is a few miles farther north over the Mason-Dixon Line in Somerset County, PA’s, Amish country. It was there that Carl’s son Charles found and married a “Plain” girl named Annie Lee. Ironically, her mother Laura Speicher had been a Brethren, living not far from the Krauses.
* Accident, Garrett Co, MD – Just off I-68, this hamlet is the gateway to history & recreation. Recently, the media spotlight has been featuring short films on everyday life.
https://www.facebook.com/accidentmdfilm
GRANTSVILLE – Just east along the National Road is the site of an historic stone arch bridge and several memorable stops for food and sleep: the Penn Alps Restaurant & Village and the Casselman Inn. The quaint town even has a museum and archives.
* Grantsville, MD – Lots to see and do along historical Rt. 40 in Western Maryland
https://www.facebook.com/TownofGrantsville/
* Penn Alps & Spruce Village, Grantsville – Check the summer music schedule as well
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Penn-Alps-Restaurant-Craft-Shop-120760544601764/posts/
* Casselman Historians – Home for history since before George Washington
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CasselmanHistorians/posts/
GARRETT COUNTY – Encompassing scenic Western MD, Frostburg to WVA
* Garrett Co. – History from the first Amish-Mennonites to the modern Interstate-68
https://www.facebook.com/GarrettCountyNews
https://m.facebook.com/garrettcounty/
* Garrett Co. Museums – See their collections, locations, and times at this site
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garrett-County-Historical-Museum/111584412213781
SPRINGS, PA – Just over the MD/PA line is this Amish-Mennonite settlement
* Springs Museum – Site of the annual & memorable mountain festival
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Springs-Museum/1027041024014878
SALISBURY – Resting along PA Rt. 219, this rural village welcomes the Amish & the English alike. Nearly destroyed by a tornado several years ago, it has made a full recovery.
* Salisbury, PA – is more than a tiny town. Drive the back roads to see much more
https://www.facebook.com/SalisburyPA
BERLIN, BROTHERSVALLEY TWP – The historic borough & rural township have been home and welcoming stops for the Amish-Mennonites and Brethren coming from the East to the mountains of Western PA since the 1700s. Snyder Potato Chips are made here.
* Brothersvalley Twp – The home of our “Indian John” Miller and some Krauses
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brothersvalley-Township-Somerset-County-Pennsylvania/105679139466422
https://www.facebook.com/Berlin-Area-Historical-Society-299807117186776/
JENNERSTOWN – Once just a stop along Forbes Road on the Lincoln Highway, now Rt. 30, this small borough is the home to a speedway, a professional summer theater, and a ski resort boasting the steepest slope in the state. Charles & Annie Krause lived here.
* Pine Springs Camp, Jennerstown, PA – Before moving to their own farm & dairy, our Krause were the first caretakers of what was called “The Presbyterian Farm” in 1928.
https://www.facebook.com/pinespringscamp
https://www.facebook.com/psc.camp
SOMERSET – This small borough has had several names over the years but now gives her new name to the county where all the northern Krause-associated family legal business was done. The courthouse is at the highest elevation in Pennsylvania.
* Somerset, PA – Victim of three fires, the town is a mixture of the old & the new
https://www.facebook.com/somersetpa
* Somerset County, PA – Once mostly farming, the new economy is tourism & a prison
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Somerset-County-Pennsylvania/135527463148019
* Somerset Historical Center – Archives, a museum, and lots of festivals for all
https://www.facebook.com/somersethistoricalcenter/
SEVERAL FAMILY CHURCHES – From the mountains of Garrett County, Western MD, to the Northern Appalachians of Somerset County, PA, our Krause-associated family Christianity once connected Lutheranism, Amish-Mennonite, and German Brethren. Today, our faithful can probably be found in many more denominations around the world.
* Bear Creek Church of the Brethren, Accident, MD – Home of our Speichers
https://www.facebook.com/BearCreekChurchoftheBrethren
* St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran, Accident, MD – Carl & Charles Krause belonged
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Johns-Evangelical-Lutheran-Church/116160431745565
* Laurel-Trinity ELCA, Jennerstown, PA – Once Christ congregation, now merged
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laurel-Trinity-Lutheran-Church/1472176456426124
* Amish/Mennonite Heritage Center, Berlin, OH – Home of our Anabaptist history
https://www.facebook.com/Amish-Mennonite-Heritage-Center-377306309032086/
* Mennonite Genealogy, online – Lots to research and read re: our family beginnings
https://www.facebook.com/MennoniteGeneology
https://www.facebook.com/groups/510033245716433/
MENNONITE FAMILY HISTORY – From the heart of PA Amish-Mennonite country down east, Masthof Press & Bookstore offers a plethora of heritage publications and a scholarly quarterly. Shop the showroom or have them delivered to your door.
* Masthof Press, Morgantown, PA – read Mennonite Family History in print or online
https://www.facebook.com/masthof
Last revised 1/11/19