Nearly every family line I have researched quite literally owed their lives to the New World. This is not an exaggeration; many of our immigrant ancestors narrowly escaped religious persecution and death in their flight to the American colonies and Pennsylvania’s promise of religious freedom.
These earliest immigrants’ families defended their new country in the American Revolution, and later generations defended the freedom of others in the Civil War and World Wars.
This section serves to honor our ancestors and relatives through the centuries who defended their country either on the battlefield or through their support on the home front. Most certainly, this list is not complete, as many records have been lost.
The American Revolution
Manasseh Thomas (son of Elder William Thomas) was born in 1721 and Married Elizabeth Evans around 1750. Manasseh served in the American army in the Revolution, and it is said that he buried jars of money on his property to protect them from any British raids. In The Thomas Family of Hilltown, a story is recounted in which a Hilltown resident saw what he believed to be Manasseh’s ghost looking around behind the house he owned in life. The man who saw the apparition presumed that Manasseh was still guarding his buried treasure 100 years after his death, even though the jars had long since been recovered. Manasseh died on February 7, 1802 and is buried in the Hilltown Baptist lower cemetery.
John Custard was the first husband of Ann Thomas (daughter of Thomas Thomas & Margaret Bates) was born in 1738 and died in 1798. Legend says that one night, while Custard was serving in the American army, Ann had a vivid dream in which she owned a valuable black silk handkerchief that was stolen by three crows. Not long after experiencing this dream, three British soldiers coerced her husband to join them, and he was never seen by the family again. Ann later was remarried to Jacob Appenzeller.
Amos (son of Thomas Thomas and Mary Williams) was born in 1752 or 1753. He served as a captain in the American army in the Revolution. Legend says that he and two of his men were scouting on foot when three British men on horseback began pursuing them. Amos and his one companion, William Miller, both fired at the British but missed. Their other companion, by the last name of Long, fired and shot one of the British soldiers, all of whom then departed. Amos died in Taneytown, Maryland.
Asa Thomas (son of Thomas Thomas and a direct ancestor) enlisted as a private in the American army at a young age. He was 20 years old when he fought at the battle of Brandywine in September 1777. The story goes that he was among the men ordered to guard the fords of the Brandywine creek, and that he became thirsty on the way back to their posts. Rather than stopping at a tavern and risking an encounter with enemy soldiers, Asa stopped at a private home. When he was about to depart, he saw British soldiers entering the tavern and his host, a Quaker, led him to his safe escape behind a hedge at the rear of the house.
Jacob Custer (son of Peter Custer) was born on October 14, 1731 and died on December 14, 1804. He served in the Revolutionary War in 1781 alongside his brothers Harmon and Paul. They were in the 6th Battalion, Third Company, Worcester Township, Philadelphia County Militia, under Captain Jonathan Lowry.
Paul Custer (son of Peter Custer) lived from 1737 to 1800. He served in the Revolutionary War in 1781 alongside his brothers Jacob and Paul. They were in the 6th Battalion, Third Company, Worcester Township, Philadelphia County Militia, under Captain Jonathan Lowry.
Harmon Custer (son of Peter Custer and direct line) was born on February 26, 1729 and died on January 26, 1800. He served in the Revolutionary War in 1781 alongside his brothers Jacob and Paul. They were in the 6th Battalion, Third Company, Worcester Township, Philadelphia County Militia, under Captain Jonathan Lowry.
The Civil War
Oliver Thomas (son of Josiah Thomas) was born in 1830. Though he was a bricklayer and mason by trade, in the early days of the Civil War he worked at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. The Confederate army seized the factory and forced all its employees to produce ammunition. Initially, these workers were exempted from being drafted into the Confederate army. Oliver sympathized with the north, and one day when he saw starving Union army prisoners being marched through the city he bought loaves of bread and handed slices to them as they passed. He was imprisoned for a short time for doing so, and upon his release he returned to work at the iron works. By that time, Oliver and his fellow workers at the foundry were no longer exempted from the draft, and rather than serve in the Confederate army he planned an escape. It was fortuitous that he knew a British subject, also from Wales and also bearing the surname Thomas. This Welshman gave Oliver his pass (the identification card of the day) that he used to escape to Philadelphia. He joined the Union army and served as a lieutenant and captain. Shortly after the end of the war he died of consumption in Nebraska.
John Fox (son of Israel & Catharina Fox) was born in 1840 and died at Gettysburg on July 4, 1863. Records from this time are difficult, but it is most probable that John served in the 27th Emergency Pennsylvania Infantry Militia. As was common at the time, John likely served in the place of his elderly grandfather. Sadly, he served his first and last day in the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg where, it is said, he was decapitated and killed by a cannonball. John’s family sent for his body to be returned to Montgomery County, and he was laid to rest in the cemetery at the Christ Union Church at Niantic.
George Hartman was the husband of Mary Magdalena (daughter of John Michael & Henrietta Heimbach). George was born in 1831 and died in 1912. He enlisted on February 1, 1864 in Martinsburg VA, and was a Corporal in 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Christian Wick was the husband of Harriet Heimbach (daughter of John Michael & Henrietta Heimbach). Christian was born March 15, 1845 and died June 20, 1902. He enlisted in Philadelphia on August 23, 1862 and was a Private in company H of the 119th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry.
Jesse Hunsberger (son of Abraham Hunsberger and direct line) was born on August 10, 1818 and died May 1, 1877. He was a blacksmith by trade and married Barbara Greiss. Jesse was drafted to the Union Army in the Civil War. He was a Private in the 51st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K.
Henry Hunsberger (son of Jesse Hunsberger) was born in April 1843. Like his father, he was drafted to the Union Army in the Civil War. He was a Private in the 51st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I. He was also a blacksmith by trade, and married Caroline Hagenbuch. Henry’s death date and location of burial are unknown.
World War I
Russell Custer was born on November 28, 1892 in Parker Ford, Pennsylvania. On March 28, 1918, at the age of 26, he enlisted at Camp Dodge in Iowa. A Private First Class, Russell served in the Company F (listed I in some documents), 138th Infantry. Fortunately, he kept incredible records of his travels through France on a massive, fold-out map. Russell saw some of the most intense days of the War. He was involved in the offensives in St. Michiel from September 11 – 18, 1918, and Argonne Meuse from September 26 – October 1, 1918. In thanks for his service, Russell later received a medal from the French government, as well as a letter stating that his name was “inscribed on the Book of Gold of the Soldiers of Verdun.” The letter is signed by the President of the Association of Verdun, the President of the Gold Book, and the mayor of Verdun, Parliament member of the House. Russell returned to the States aboard the ship Aeolus, which departed St. Nazaire on the West Coast of France on April 16, 1919. His Honorary Discharge and release from the Army was May 12, 1919. In 1925, he received $350 for his service.
World War II
Milton Wolf (son of William F Wolf) was born on June 6, 1912. He married Fern Eschbach (1919-2015), a member of Palm Schwenkfelder Church. Milton served in the Army during WW2, from February 4, 1943 – December 28, 1945. His veteran documents state: BTRY A 519 AAA GN BN. Milton died on July 19, 1995. He and Fern are buried at Palm Schwenkfelder Church.
Lewis Wolf (son of William F Wolf ) was born on January 6, 1927. Lewis served in the Army in WW2, from May 8, 1945 – November 11, 1946. He died on March 28, 1994 at his home in Vermont and is buried nearly at the Eaton Cemetery in Marshfield, VT.
Robert Wolf, Jr. (son of William F Wolf) was drafted just weeks after his high school graduation in 1944. After basic training at Fort Bragg where he earned the accolade of “expert” marksman, he was trained as a paratrooper at Fort Benning in Georgia. He was a member of the 17th Airborne Paratrooper Division, and his first “jump” was the “Jump” – Operation Varsity. His page, linked above, includes several letters that he wrote to Pearl Heimbach, his first cousin and friend. Tragically, Robert was killed under somewhat mysterious circumstances while stationed in Wesel, the destination of most Allied troops in Operation Varsity.
Russell Thomas (son of Philip Thomas and direct line) was drafted to serve in World War II. Most of his time was spent in Germany, though he mailed or brought home photos from France and Britain as well. He was never one to talk of his experience in the war, but over the years his family has come to learn of some of the horrors he experienced: The Battle of the Bulge, the second wave of Normandy, and the libration of a concentration camp. At one point during the war, his leg was badly injured by shrapnel. While other army doctors felt he should lose his leg, another doctor from Bethlehem, PA, saw Russell as a friend from near his home town, and saved his leg. Though eligible for a Purple Heart, Russell declined the honor, stating his sacrifice was nothing compared to the ultimate sacrifice made by so many.
John Ray Sell (son of Lillie May Erb Sell, grandson of Daniel Drace Erb), was a Seaman 1st Class in the United States Navy. He was lost at sea on December 3, 1944.
Leaves on the Tree 