Other Events:

• AFN: OH1328117
• _UID: 392A1C7150434C969275320C7E0C5CD96902

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 11596
• _UID: 078B3F4912BF468694D4B05F27C15441AB6A

Notes:

Nathan D. Yoder, was educated in the local schools and at Freeburg academy, after which he began teaching. His first term was at Helfenstein, his second at home, and he then taught six terms at Fountain. He then moved to Hegins and has taught in all twenty-four terms. In 1865 he bought sixty-five acres of land in Hegins township and commenced farming. In 1888 he bought the farm of 112 acres, known as the Wagner place, some of which he has sold off as lots in the village of Hegins. He devotes considerable attention to fruit and stock growing, though he raises all kinds of grain, ,and also owns and operates a saw mill. His farm is one of the best improved in the township, and shows evidence of the intelligence and industry employed in its management. Jan. 29, 1864, Mr. Yoder was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Jacob and Hannah (Maurer) Hepler, of Eldred township, and they have had the following children: Oliver H., a teacher, married Lillie Jones and their children are Howard, Clarence, Nel- son, Irene, Dorothy and Alice; Hannah died in childhood; Jennie is the wife of Walter Till, of Philadelphia, and has one daughter, Mildred; Ida who is the wife ,of Albert Strausser, who is in the asylum, a disabled engineer, has one son, Albert, and lives with her father, following the occupation of dressmaker; Mima taught for a time and is now the wife of Rev. E. S. Faust, a minister of the Reformed church, at St. Thomas, Pa., with one son, Lawrence Y.; William F. taught for several years, graduated at the state normal school in West .Chester, and is now attending Franklin and Marshall college, at Lancaster; Alvina is at home with her parents; Emma also is at home; Clara died at the age of twenty-two years; Jacob H. is attending school at West Chester preparing for college; Luella is teaching at Reinerton; and Daisy is deceased. Mr. Yoder is a Republican and was for ten years a justice of the peace. He belongs to Hegins Lodge, No.726, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he was secretary for thirty years, and served four terms as district deputy grand master. He and family are members of the United Evangelical church. He is a friend of popular education and is a careful reader of scientific agriculture as well as Chris- tianity and political subjects.
Howerter's Lutheran (-L) and Reformed (-R) (Church Chrisining)
William Yoder and wf Bridget [Delong]
Nathanial Yoder
4 Sep 1841/21 Oct 1841-L
Charles Yoder and Sarah Hering
Yoder, Nathan D., proprietor of the "Grand View" farm, near Hegins. was born in Eldred township, Schuylkill county, Sept. 4. 1842. He is a son of William and Briggitta (DeLong) Yoder, both natives of Pennsylvania-the father of Schuvlkill and the mother of Berks county.

Nathan's grandfather George Yoder Jr and his great uncle Abraham (brother of George Jr), were the first of the Yoder's to settle in Schuylkill county, locating in what is now Eldred township. where they secured large tracts of land and engaged in farming. Abraham also built a saw and grist mill, one of the first in the county, and this mill is still standing. George Yoder married Elizabeth Reiner of Berks county, and they had six children- Mary, Sallie, Hattie, Elizabeth, William, and Charles-all now deceased.
OH132811- Nathan D Yoder (9/4/1841-7/30/1914 bur Hegins)
m Mary M Helper (4/21/1845-2/22/1924)
(RHY cht; 1880 Cens-Sch.Hegins; 1890 County Census)
+OH1328111 Oliver H (b 3/10/1865)
m Lillie May Janis (1/6/1867-1919)
OH1328112 Wm Frederick (b 8/15/1878)
OH1328113 Jacob E H (b 2/16/1883)
OH1328114 Jennie (Joanna) M (6/6/1868-10/12/1924) m Walter Till
OH1328115 Ida (b 10/31/1870) m Jacob Miller
OH1328116- Mina b. 12/2/1875? m. Rev.Franklin Faust (10/6/1870-
) German Lutheran Church, Hazeltown, PA
OH1328116 Mina (Jemmina) (b 12/2/1875 sic)
m Rev Franklin Faust (b 10/6/1870)
OH1328117 Emma L (b 5/2/1875 sic)
OH1328118 Alvena (b 6/11/1879)
OH1328119 Luella (b 3/3/1885 bur Fredricksburg, Lebanon Co PA
m Edgar Ranck (7/16/1872-3/31/1925)
("also : Martha; Clara E; Brizzie"- perCo.Hist which
doesn't name Ida, Mina, & Alvena)
OH1328111- Oliver H. Yoder (3/10/1865- ) m Lillie May Janis
(1/6/1867 Ashland, Pa-1919) (Richard H. Yoder Data)(1900-Sch. Co, Hegins)
OH13281111- Howard Leroy (8/6/1892-9/22/1907 Killed when grandstand
collapsed in Hegins)
OH13281112- Margaret A.S. (1/3/1899-8/7/1899)
OH13281113- Clarence (11/-/1893- ) m. Florence ____ ( - )
OH13281114- Nelson B. (8/-/1895- )
OH13281115- Irene ( - )
OH13281116- Dorothy A. (1903- ) m Ralph O. Russell (1899- )
OH13281117- Alice ( - )

Nathan — Mary HEPLER. Mary (daughter of Jacob HELPER and Hannah MAURER) was born Cal 11 Apr 1845; died 22 Feb 1924, Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA; was buried Friedens Union Cemetery Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 11601
• _UID: E2BB9A8DCF8A4A6ABE5F41740E473D0D42D1

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 10928
• _UID: 79B5057E3BCA426A8FCB95B1766E249AA493

Notes:

Buried: Upper Mantonhat Burough Hovoden Church
LUTHERAN BAPTISMS
WILLIAM YOTTER and wife BRIGITTA: Son NATHANAEL YOTTER, b.
September 4, 1841, bp. October 21, 1841; sponsors: Charles Yotter and Sarah Herring.
WILLIAM YOTTER, with BRIGITTE DELAN [G], sponsors to BENNEVILLE
REINERT, b. March 13, 1840, bp. May 10, 1840, son of Georg and Peggy Reinert.
OH13281- William Yoder m.c1840 Briggietta DeLong (8/22/1822 Berks-
4/11/1900) d. 6/13/1854 Carpenter,farmer,school teacher
(Howerter's Church data; Schulykill Bio
+OH13281- William b.12/24/1812

George Yoder and wf Elisabeth [Reiner]
Wilhelm Yoder
19 Dec 1812/7 Feb 1813-L
Jacob Reiner and wf Elisabeth [Wagner]

William's baptism is recorded in the YNL #14 article on the
Schuylkill Co. Yoders. This copy was provided by our renown contributor Dr. Don
Yoder, who also authored that article.

William (Wilhelm) Yoder (1812-1854) was a carpenter by trade, as well as a farmer. He also taught school for a while and was an active worker for the temperance cause. he was interested in music, was a good singer and a fine performer on the clarinet. When the old Lutheran church was built in Eldred township he was one of the contributors and always took a great interest in its work. In politics he was a Democrat of the old school, though he was never a seeker for office. He was a poet of considerable ability. He died at the age of forty-five years and his widow, Briggietta Delong, lived with her son Nathan during the last twenty-four years of her life, died at the age of seventy -eight.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE- Between William Yoder (1812-1854) and Brigitta DeLong (1822-1900). This records their marriage on the 7th of Feb. 1840. William was the great-great-great grandson of Oley immigrant Hans Yoder.(William/George Jr./George Sr./Samuel/Hans Jr./Hans Sr. of Steffisburg, Canton Bern, Switzerland.)

NOTE: George Sr. of Berks County was a wealthy farmer and bought a farm for each of his children. George Jr and Abraham Yoder's gifted farms were located in Schuykill County where they settled with their families.

William's father George Yoder Jr and his uncle Abraham (brother of George Jr), were the first of the Yoder's to settle in Schuylkill county, locating in what is now Eldred township. They secured large tracts of land and engaged in farming. Abraham also built a saw and grist mill, one of the first in the county, and this mill is still standing. George Yoder Jr married Elizabeth Reiner of Berks county, and they had six children- Mary, Sallie, Hattie, Elizabeth, William.

William is buried at Jacobs Cemetery Line Mountain (formerly known as Howerter's Lutheran and Reformed Church Cemetery) Northumberland Co Pennsylvania.

Cemetery notes and/or description: A brief history/timeline of the Church and adjoining Cemetery: - 1797: Howerter's Church (initially built; the Howerter family had given the most money for the building; a log structure with a balcony) - 1807: Howerter's Lutheran and Reformed Church (the original log church was replaced with a "modern" church. It was built for both congregations) - 1810: Jacob's Church (first recorded use by this name) - 1874: St. Jacob's Church (first recorded use by this name) - 1893: St. Jacob's Church (a new church building was completed) - 1894: St. James Church (name of the church was changed) - 1943: St. James Church (church was destroyed by fire; it was not rebuilt - only the cemetery remains) - 1943: The Lutheran Congregation relocated to Pitman, Schuylkill Co., PA and built St. James Lutheran Church - 1953: The Reformed Congregation merged with the Reformed congregation of St. John's Lutheran and Reformed Church (at Leck Kill) and later built Christ Church, near Leck Kill, Northumberland Co., PA

William and Brigitta named each of their male children with the middle name of Delong, Briggitta's maiden name.

Children from this marriage were:
Nathan Delong Yoder was born on 4 Sep 1841 in Grand View" farm, near Hegins. was born in Eldred township, Schuylkill county pa, died on 30 Jul 1914 in Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA at age 72, and was buried in Shamokin Cemetery Shamokin Northumberland County Pennsylvania, USA.
Enos Delong Yoder was born in Oct 1843 in Hegins, PA, died on 2 Jul 1910 in Hegins, PA at age 66, and was buried in Shamokin Cemetery Shamokin Northumberland County Pennsylvania, USA.
Lewis Delong Yoder was born on 15 Nov 1845 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA, died on 31 Aug 1925 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA at age 79, and was buried in Friedens Union Cemetery Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA Plot: Sec. 1, Row 25.
Mary Jane Yoder was born on 24 Jun 1848 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA and died on 4 Sep 1872 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA at age 24.
William Delong Yoder was born in 1852 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA, died in 1916 in Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA at age 64, and was buried in Friedens Union Cemetery Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA.

Brigitta Delong Yoder; Birth: Aug. 21, 1822; Death: Apr. 11, 1900. Buried at Friedens Union Cemetery Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA Plot: Sec. 1, Row 25
Tombstone Inscription: Wife of William Note: 77y, 7m, 20d

William married Brigitta DELONG 7 Feb 1840. Brigitta was born 22 Aug 1822, Greenwich, Berks Co PA; died 10 Apr 1900, Hegins Twp, Schuylkill Co, PA; was buried Friedens Union Cemetery Hegins Schuylkill County Pennsylvania, USA Plot: Sec. 1, Row 25. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Address: Address:
  Briggietta Delong
• Reference Number: 10929
• _UID: 24529B513DED4310BEE0C71170FD7F68A90A

Notes:

Briggitta
LUTHERAN BAPTISMS
WILLIAM YOTTER and wife BRIGITTA: Son NATHANAEL YOTTER, b.
September 4, 1841, bp. October 21, 1841; sponsors: Charles Yotter and Sarah Herring.
WILLIAM YOTTER, with BRIGITTE DELAN [G], sponsors to BENNEVILLE
REINERT, b. March 13, 1840, bp. May 10, 1840, son of Georg and Peggy Reinert.
OH13281- William Yoder m.c1840 Briggietta DeLong (8/22/1822 Berks-
4/11/1900) d. 6/13/1854 Carpenter,farmer,school teacher
(Howerter's Church data; Schulykill Bio
william's widow, who lived with her son Nathan during the last twenty-four years of her life, died at the age of seventy -eight.
DELONGS REFORMED CHURCH, Bowers, PA 1765-1852
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE- Between William Yoder
(1812-1854) and Brigitta DeLong (1822-1900). This
records their marriage on the 7th of Feb. 1840.
William was the great-great-great grandson of Oley
immigrant Hans Yoder. William's baptism is recorded in the YNL #14 article on the
Schuylkill Co. Yoders. This copy was provided by our renown contributor Dr. Don
Yoder, who also authored that article.

Brigitta by Dr. Don Yoder
According to Brigitta's Taufschein, which I have, she was the daughter of Daniel DeLong and Lidia Stein.

The parents were unmarried and sometime after the birth Lidia married, not Daniel but Benjamin Hering (1805?1837), whose mother was a DeLong. (More complications to work on!) The Hering?s had a daughter (who married Reuben Yoder) and several sons whom my father remembered as quaint and interesting great uncles when he was a bog. The Herings, accompanying Anthony and Sarah Stein, moved to Mohantongo. The family was so close knit that Brigitta thought she was a Hering! Upon confirmation, her mother informed her, "No, you are a DeLong," and gave her the details.

The young girl was so taken with her DeLong name and heritage that she gave the name DeLong as middle name to all four of her Yoder sons, the oldest of whom was my grandfather, Nathan DeLong Yoder (1841-1914).

Yoder Ancestry
But there's more to the story, if I may be frank, and genealogists should be frank. Church records sometimes unwittingly reveal family secrets too. Grandmother Brigitta was born in August, 1822, in Greenwich Township, Berks County. Exactly nine months previously to her birth, the records of the New Bethel Zion Church, now Mt. Zion Lutheran Church at Grimsville north of Kutztown, reveal the fact that at the baptism of a child of Henry and Elizabeth Fritz, the godparents were Daniel DeLong and Lidia Stein! The young courting couple, Daniel and Lidia, must have stayed all night at the Fritz farmhouse, where they undoubtedly engaged in the universal courting custom of bundling. But they went too far, as many courting couples did, but I'm glad it happened that way, for that act of love produced a blessed ancestress of mine, Brigitta DeLong Yoder, whose memory and the story of her good deeds throughout life are still told in my family.

Her husband, William Yoder (1812?1854), farmer, schoolmaster, cabinet-maker, fraktur artist and poet, died at the early age of 42, and she remained a widow the rest of her life, raising and nurturing her children. And somehow she was able to send her oldest son, my grandfather across the Susquehanna to the Freeburg Academy in Snyder County, where he perfected his English, his public speaking, his copperplate handwriting, and he also learned surveying, all of which he could use as the community leader he became, with two terms as Justice of the Peace (1875?1885), his long-time secretaryship of the Friedens Union Church in Hegins Valley, and many other community services.

Parents:
Daniel DeLong
Lydia Stein
Benjamin Herring Sr. Step-Father
According to Susan Stine Mason 1st cousin 3x removed to Brigitta:
"My great grand aunt Lydia Stein was engaged to Daniel DeLong in 1821. She ended up not marrying him after finding out she was expecting his child. After Brigitta was born, Lydia married Benjamin Herring Sr. I have her in my family tree as the biological daughter of Daniel and the step-daughter of Benjamin since he raised her."
Children of William(Wilhelm)and Brigitta Yoder are:
Nathan DeLong Yoder
Enos DeLong Yoder
Lewis DeLong Yoder
Mary Jane Yoder-Hepler
William DeLong Yoder

http://www.lynnheidelberg.org/lehighcountyancestry.html (there are 2 pages)
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62756761

Brigitta Delong Yoder

Birth: Aug. 21, 1822
Death: Apr. 11, 1900


Inscription:
Wife of William

Note: 77y, 7m, 20d

Burial:
Friedens Union Cemetery
Hegins
Schuylkill County
Pennsylvania, USA
Plot: Sec. 1, Row 25

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 11730
• _UID: F2719C2225DC4D1585B7CA35A3E88B5F3497

Jacob — Hannah MAURER. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 11731
• _UID: 5447DE1929A648BE91E1012F8F77366DB278

Other Events:

• AFN: OH1328
• Reference Number: 5527
• _UID: F5AA49FC10574E8AAEF614B2293B3DD30131

Notes:

Moved to Schuylkill County, had seven children.
Oley Valley Ancestors - by Guy L. Bierman Rev. 6 Jan 2002
OH1328- George Yoder Jr. m. Elizabeth Reinart (12/16/1794-1/3/1888)
d. 2/1/1826 bur. Howerters Cem.
George Yoder and wf Elisabeth [Reiner]
Wilhelm Yoder-19 Dec 1812/7 Feb 1813-L christening
- Jacob Reiner and wf Elisabeth [Wagner] witnesses

George Yoder Jr and his brother Abraham were the first of the Yoder's to settle in Schuylkill county, locating in what is now Eldred township. where they secured large tracts of land and engaged in farming. Abraham also built a saw and grist mill, one of the first in the county, and this mill is still standing. George Yoder Jr married Elizabeth Reiner of Berks county, and they had six children- Mary, Sallie, Hattie, Elizabeth, William, and Charles-all now deceased.

NOTE: George Sr. of Berks County was a wealthy farmer and bought a farm for each of his children. George Jr and Abraham Yoder's gifted farms were located in Schuykill County where they settled with their families.

THE MAHANTONGO YODERS
By Don Yoder
The Pennsylvania Dutch area in Eastern Pennsylvania known as Mahantongo, renowned for its decorated furniture which now commands major attention in the world of antique collecting and museum curatorship, centers about the valley of the Mahantongo Creek. This historic stream with its Indian name meaning "where we had plenty of meat to eat," rises in the mountains of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and joins the Susquehanna River twenty-five miles west near the towns of Malta and Dalmatia. The Mahantongo culture area is much more extensive than the creek valley itself. It straddles Schuylkill, Northumberland, and Dauphin Counties, including several adjoining valleys, among them the Lykens or Hegins Valley to the South, and the Swabian Creek and Mahanoy Valleys to the North. The part of this area that is now included in Schuylkill County was in the first decade of the nineteenth century a huge township called Mahantongo Township. Until 1811, when Schuylkill County was set off, it was part of Berks County, and was later divided into Upper and Lower Mahantongo Townships, which in turn were divided into smaller subdivisions.
After 1800 the Mahantongo area in Schuylkill and Northumberland Counties became an important settlement point and distribution center for Yoder families. Some of these have stayed in the area to the present day, others moved further west, especially to Armstrong, Clarion, and Jefferson Counties in Western Pennsylvania, where dozens of Mahantongo families, including Yoder's settled before the Civil War. A second movement from Mahantongo took many Yoder families into the new industrial towns that were growing up in the anthracite coal region to the north - including Shamokin, Mt. Carmel, and other centers.
The Yoder's who settled in the Mahantongo area were all from the Oley Valley clan, hence were all related. The Mahantongo Yoder's were descendants of two brothers, George Jr, and Abraham Yoder. These were sons of Samuel Yoder, who was in turn the son of Hans Yoder, Jr., and grandson of the emigrant, Hans Yoder, Sr. (1672-1742).
George Yoder, Sr. (1752-1833) of Oley Valley, lived and died on the Samuel Yoder farm between Pleasantville and the Oley churches, on part of the original Yoder tract. There are lengthy deeds in the Berks County Courthouse at Reading going into the transfers of this land to Hans, Jr. and Samuel, and eventually to George Yoder. George's large stone house is still standing, as enlarged by his oldest son, William Yoder (1783-1858), who inherited the home farm. However, the older buildings, including a three-room stone cabin from the pre-revolutionary era that I photographed about forty years ago, have been torn down by the present owners.
After serving in the Revolution and establishing himself as a well-to-do farmer and township official in Oley Township, George Yoder, Sr., invested in lands in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, and in Mahantongo Township, north of the Blue Mountain in what is now Schuylkill County. I have several huge parchment deeds to the Mahantongo land that he bought for two of his sons, Abraham Yoder (1785-1868) and George Yoder, Jr. (1787-1827), both of whom moved to Mahantongo. George Yoder, Jr., my grandfather's grandfather, was a farmer and wheelwright, and died in Mahantongo, but his brother Abraham, after operating the Yoder Gristmill and Sawmill (still standing) for at least two decades, eventually moved back to Oley, settling in Pike Township on land he got from his father-in-law, Soloman Yerger. Abraham and his wife, Elizabeth Yerger, are buried at the St. Joseph's or Oley Hills Church. Abraham's great grandson, Guldin Yoder, whom I knew, was historian of that branch of the family, and I have copies of some of his family charts. His letters to me always began with the words, "Dear Kinsman," which I liked, and in one of them he made the statement, only too true, that our Yoder history is a "chic saw puzzle".
George Yoder, Sr., also provided farms for three of his daughters. Two of these, Elizabeth Yoder (1784-1852), wife of Samuel Moyer, and Esther Yoder, wife of Henry Schreckengast, got Mahantongo Valley farms. The third daughter, Mary Yoder, wife of Abraham Ritter, by codicil dated December 14, 1833, received a farm in Upper Bern Township, Berks County.
In addition to these George Yoder family members, other Yoder's, closely related--first cousins in fact--came from Oley to settle in Mahantongo at about the same time. These were the children of Peter Yoder (born 1763), brother of George, Sr. Peter is said to have married Catherine Trout and himself to have settled in Mahantongo Valley. (I have never located his grave; possibly he moved on further west.) At any rate his children--Solomon, Anthony, George, David, Jeremiah, Charles, and two daughters--appear in the following list of Yoder baptisms and baptismal sponsors.
The oldest church in the Mahantongo Valley, at least in the upper end where the Yoder's settled, was the St. Jacob's or Howerters Lutheran and Reformed Union Church. Until 1943, when the second church building burned and the union arrangement broke up with the two congregations erecting separate churches elsewhere, the church was located at Line Mountain, in Upper Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, immediately across the Schuylkill County border. The huge cemetery, its oldest stone bearing the date 1802, marks the site of the church, and contains many early Yoder graves with fine carved tombstones bearing Pennsylvania Dutch designs.
All the old Mahantongo families, including the Yoder's, originally belonged to this church, which was operated jointly by the Lutherans and the Reformed. There were Yoder's in both wings of the church, although the majority of them appear to have been Lutheran. In 1984 the Northumberland County Historical Society, in its Proceedings, Volume XXIX, published my translation of the records of this church, 1803-1869, with a detailed history of the congregation, its people, pastors, and traditions. It is from this record that I offer the readers of the Yoder Newsletter the following Yoder baptisms. The names are spelled exactly as they were in the original German record book. Hence do not be disturbed when "Georg" has no final "e" and that "Yoder' was spelled seven different ways in addition to our present spelling. These forms include JODER, JODDER, JOTTER, YOTTER, JOTER, JOTHER, AND JORDER. Several of these, including the last one, reflect the way in which "Yoder" was pronounced in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.
Will readers please note that we need information on many of these persons, especially those from the Peter Yoder line--where they lived, whom they married, names of their children, etc., and where they died and are buried. A Mahantongo cousin of mine, Avice Hepler Morgan, who is also a descendant of the Yoder's, will be joining me in preparing a history and genealogy of the Oley and Mahantongo Yoder's. This project should develop into a book that may match Cousin Avice's Hepler Book of a thousand pages that she published in 1986, and her even larger Morgan Book of 1989. It is our hope, therefore, that with the help of the Yoder Newsletter we will be able at last to assemble all the pieces of the Oley-Mahantongo Yoder "chic saw puzzle".
Will Yoder's descended from these Yoder families, Oley or Mahantongo or both, please get in touch either with AVICE HEPLER MORGAN, Box 164, Pitman PA 17964, or myself, DON YODER, Box 515, Devon PA 19333

George married Elisabeth REINHART Abt 1811. Elisabeth was born 16 Dec 1794; died 3 Jan 1888; was buried Jacobs Cemetery Line Mountain Northumberland Co Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 5544
• _UID: 46C2D84676034BABA206354DA2B34FED50DB

Notes:

OH1328- George Yoder Jr. m. Elizabeth Reinart (12/16/1794-1/3/1888) d. 2/1/1826 bur. Howerters Cem.
(also spelled Reinhard, Reinard, Reinard, Reinhart and more)
--Oley Valley Ancestors - by Guy L. Bierman Rev. 6 Jan 2002