Annie Gertrude Romberger Whittle was the daughter of Gilbert and Mary (Kiehl) Romberger of Berrysburg. She was christened February 15, 1874 at Union Salem Church, Berrysburg, Pennsylvania. On this same day, a number of her parents' children were baptized there; it is unknown to me if they were new members of the church, or if the family just got the kids "done".
She was sister to my great grandfather Daniel Henry Romberger, and was one of 16 children, many of whom died in infancy or at birth. In March of 2012, I obtained a rare copy of a 1916 booklet, "The History of Berrysburg Seminary" which confirmed that Annie was a student there - a testament to her parents' progressive natures in ensuring their daughters were well educated in a time that the education of females often was not considered essential.
When I obtained Annie's marriage license application, it surprised me (and should not have) that she was a teacher prior to marriage. In a family where her brother George and Daniel, as well as her sister, Elmira taught, this seems almost a given, but I'd not known she'd worked at all. In fact, she was married in 1893, which may explain why she was in Williamstown- she was a single woman away from home, but her big brother Daniel was by then in Williamstown teaching himself. Her name on the license is given as "Anna" but everyone knew her as Annie.
On the 25th of September 1893, Annie married Joe Whittle, a storekeeper, lived in Williamstown, and died in childbirth, not even two months after her father died. A "last letter from Annie" survives telling her family she is well in her implicit pregnancy, unaffected from getting caught in the "pouring down rain". She tells them of her unsuccessful attempt to visit them in Berrysburg via sleighing (the snow began to melt) and urges them to come visit her and Joe, not knowing that within days of writing the letter, her father will have passed on.
Annie's child is listed on the stone as "Infant Daughter 1894". Records found elsewhere indicate the child was (perhaps posthumously) named Annie, perhaps by the grieving father and husband.
Huge thanks go to Deborah Nouzovsky who confirmed the existence of these mother and daughter graves. Annie Gertrude's husband, Joe Whittle (who married again later to Emma Stinner and is buried elsewhere at Seyberts) is part of Deborah's clan, and Deborah found Annie in the same cemetery, surprising us both.
Annie Gertrude Romberger Whittle was the daughter of Gilbert and Mary (Kiehl) Romberger of Berrysburg. She was christened February 15, 1874 at Union Salem Church, Berrysburg, Pennsylvania. On this same day, a number of her parents' children were baptized there; it is unknown to me if they were new members of the church, or if the family just got the kids "done".
She was sister to my great grandfather Daniel Henry Romberger, and was one of 16 children, many of whom died in infancy or at birth. In March of 2012, I obtained a rare copy of a 1916 booklet, "The History of Berrysburg Seminary" which confirmed that Annie was a student there - a testament to her parents' progressive natures in ensuring their daughters were well educated in a time that the education of females often was not considered essential.
When I obtained Annie's marriage license application, it surprised me (and should not have) that she was a teacher prior to marriage. In a family where her brother George and Daniel, as well as her sister, Elmira taught, this seems almost a given, but I'd not known she'd worked at all. In fact, she was married in 1893, which may explain why she was in Williamstown- she was a single woman away from home, but her big brother Daniel was by then in Williamstown teaching himself. Her name on the license is given as "Anna" but everyone knew her as Annie.
On the 25th of September 1893, Annie married Joe Whittle, a storekeeper, lived in Williamstown, and died in childbirth, not even two months after her father died. A "last letter from Annie" survives telling her family she is well in her implicit pregnancy, unaffected from getting caught in the "pouring down rain". She tells them of her unsuccessful attempt to visit them in Berrysburg via sleighing (the snow began to melt) and urges them to come visit her and Joe, not knowing that within days of writing the letter, her father will have passed on.
Annie's child is listed on the stone as "Infant Daughter 1894". Records found elsewhere indicate the child was (perhaps posthumously) named Annie, perhaps by the grieving father and husband.
Huge thanks go to Deborah Nouzovsky who confirmed the existence of these mother and daughter graves. Annie Gertrude's husband, Joe Whittle (who married again later to Emma Stinner and is buried elsewhere at Seyberts) is part of Deborah's clan, and Deborah found Annie in the same cemetery, surprising us both.
Family Members
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Elmira M "Ella" Romberger
1853–1879
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Mary A Romberger Schaeffer Shade
1854–1941
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George D Romberger
1856–1916
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Daniel Henry Romberger
1858–1935
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Jerome Romberger
1858–1858
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Emmaline Romberger
1859–1863
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Sarah Romberger
1859–1865
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Rebecca Kiehl Romberger Winters
1861–1930
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Elizabeth Romberger
1862–1863
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Clara Estella Romberger Harner
1864–1950
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Lillie Evanna Romberger Romberger
1865–1955
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Samuel Romberger
1867–1867
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Jennie Esther Romberger
1873–1879
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Ralph Emerson Romberger
1876–1935
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Infant Romberger
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Records on Ancestry
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