The original headstone was a slab of fieldstone which disintegrated over time. The new headstone was erected by David Weaver, her great-grandson and grandson of Barbara Sheckler Berkstresser, the daughter of Marie Catherine Sheckler. The information on a headstone is rarely what was on the original headstone. Errors in names are quite common on replacement stones. Even the newspaper article that is transcribed below uses Mary as her name.
Her German baptism name was Marie Catherine Mamro [I have seen this spelled Nomro, Munro, Monro etc]. German names were often spelled phonetically, or Americanized. In all the subsequent research I have done over the past 15 years, I have never seen her middle initial as W. My guess is they meant it to be an M for Mary and made an error. I have seen her referred to as Catherine or Mary in various documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie (Mary) Catherine Mamro Sheckler was daughter of Nicolaus Jacob Mamro (1725–?) and Anna Margaretha Cromwald (1725–?)Evidence of her birth and baptism is found in the Berkstresser book authored by Wayne Jones, who hired a German researcher to assist in his research.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcribed from article published in
The Daily News – page 6, col 1 – 09 Oct 1965 – Huntington, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA
A DARING BROAD TOP PIONEER WOMAN
By Albert M Rung
The Broad Top region is said to have been described by the first settlers as a vast wilderness and place of desolation, but it is evident that only a few of the dramatic episodes of trials and tribulations of the pioneers are known. During the year 1882 an unknown writer compiled a series captioned “Historical Notes” that contained a wealth of forgotten history in The Independent, a Saxton weekly, edited and published by E R Holsinger. The publication would probably seem a somewhat crude or amateur paper today, but it succeeded in preserving some record of the area’s eventful history that otherwise would have been unknown. True Broad Top Pioneer Readers may recall that a number of the “Historical Notes” were obtained and presented in this column, thereby proving of peculiar interest to folks in the localities described. However, a final subject remains which is probably the most thrilling of all, as it relates to the courage of a daring pioneer woman, Mary Sheckler. And some day should sufficient historical interest be aroused, in selecting a memorial for a pioneer woman who suffered hardship and strife as truly representative of their region, the Broad Top could not honor a more brave and courageous woman that Mary Sheckler. Here is the account as given in The Independent on August 5 1882: “Mary C Sheckler, nee Nomrow [sp?], was born in Germany about the year 1755, and at the age of seven years was put in a school where she remained for seven years. This schooling proved very valuable in the backwoods after she was married and had children of her own to educate, as schools were out of the question at that early day in the Juaniata Valley, except by private means.
To America As Servant “When she was 14 years of age a man named Robert Footman procured her passage to America for which she became his bonded servant for a certain length of time. He brought her to Philadelphia, but owing to ill usage she left him before her term of service had expired. Some time after this she married Frederick Sheckler of Bucks County, PA, and the First cow that they ever had she earned by knitting stockings. This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777. “At the uprising of Indians in the summer of 1778 she was compelled to go back to Bucks Co with her family which then consisted of three children, husband and herself. It was a perilous trip owing to the disordered condition of the country on account of the British evacuation from Philadelphia, which occurred at this time, June 18, 1778.
Dangerous Trip For Sugar “They remained in Bucks County until September when the valley became quiet, and they again ascended the Juniata and found their property about as they had left it – but an early frost that fall caused much suffering along the river in the winter of 1778 and 79. Mrs Sheckler’s children became sick and having nothing to eat except bread made of frost-bitten corn and poorly salted venison, she decided to make a trip to the home of one Frederick Heater in order to get a pound of sugar for her children. As it was impossible to go by a path through the woods, she made herself snow shoes and followed down along the river, the snow being two feet deep. She got the sugar by agreeing to make two pounds for it in the spring. “She afterwards declared that the sugar had saved the lives of her children and upon returning it she got a pack of potatoes, the pay for which was to be the making of five shirts, and from the potatoes they raised about eight bushels. A somewhat extensive area had been cleared prior to the uprising of the Delaware Indians in 1780, when they with many others made a wild flight to forts for protection. Some days later the family went down the Juniata to its mouth at Duncan's Island and remained here for some time, as it had been a dark summer for the settlers caused by news of American defeats coming from the Carolinas. But the British defeat at King’s Mountain early in October restored confidence of the settlers, leading to their return to farms along the branches of the Juniata, and the Sheckler family was among them. Some time after returning to their original improvement the family moved to what is now known as the George Berkstresser farm, about one mile east of Saxton, and on this farm Mrs Sheckler raised her family, which consisted of six sons and seven daughters. Several of them lived to be quite old men and women. Mary and George died in the last year, the latter in Nov 1881 in his 82nd year. The subject of this note lived to see some of her children become grandparents and this country a prosperous nation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Known children:
Federick Sheckler, Jr. never married
Susannah Sheckler married Henry Keith
Catherine Sheckler married Samuel Harley
David Sheckler married Mary Ridenour
Hannah Sheckler married Benjamin Penn Foster
John Scheckler married Rachel Pettit
Barbara Sheckler married John Wilhelm Berkstresser
Henry Sheckler died young
Elizabeth Sheckler married Henry Hipple
Daniel Sheckler married ? Died 1841 in Pine City, PA
Nancy Sheckler married James Figard, Jr.
Mary (Polly) Sheckler married John A Whited aka Whitehead
George Washington Sheckler married Susanah Weaver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM BUCKS COUNTY OR CUMBERLAND COUNTY? "This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777." This is a very important clue about where the Shecklers came from. Frederick Sheckler's military service indicates he enlisted in Peters township, Cumberland (now Franklin) County. The river would have been the Susquehanna to the Juniata to the Raystown Branch where they settled. I believe comments about them being from Bucks county is inaccurate. Map Up the Susquehanna to Juniata to Raystown Branch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her German baptism name was Marie Catherine Mamro [I have seen this spelled Nomro, Munro, Monro etc]. German names were often spelled phonetically, or Americanized. In all the subsequent research I have done over the past 15 years, I have never seen her middle initial as W. My guess is they meant it to be an M for Mary and made an error. I have seen her referred to as Catherine or Mary in various documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie (Mary) Catherine Mamro Sheckler was daughter of Nicolaus Jacob Mamro (1725–?) and Anna Margaretha Cromwald (1725–?)Evidence of her birth and baptism is found in the Berkstresser book authored by Wayne Jones, who hired a German researcher to assist in his research.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcribed from article published in
The Daily News – page 6, col 1 – 09 Oct 1965 – Huntington, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA
A DARING BROAD TOP PIONEER WOMAN
By Albert M Rung
The Broad Top region is said to have been described by the first settlers as a vast wilderness and place of desolation, but it is evident that only a few of the dramatic episodes of trials and tribulations of the pioneers are known. During the year 1882 an unknown writer compiled a series captioned “Historical Notes” that contained a wealth of forgotten history in The Independent, a Saxton weekly, edited and published by E R Holsinger. The publication would probably seem a somewhat crude or amateur paper today, but it succeeded in preserving some record of the area’s eventful history that otherwise would have been unknown. True Broad Top Pioneer Readers may recall that a number of the “Historical Notes” were obtained and presented in this column, thereby proving of peculiar interest to folks in the localities described. However, a final subject remains which is probably the most thrilling of all, as it relates to the courage of a daring pioneer woman, Mary Sheckler. And some day should sufficient historical interest be aroused, in selecting a memorial for a pioneer woman who suffered hardship and strife as truly representative of their region, the Broad Top could not honor a more brave and courageous woman that Mary Sheckler. Here is the account as given in The Independent on August 5 1882: “Mary C Sheckler, nee Nomrow [sp?], was born in Germany about the year 1755, and at the age of seven years was put in a school where she remained for seven years. This schooling proved very valuable in the backwoods after she was married and had children of her own to educate, as schools were out of the question at that early day in the Juaniata Valley, except by private means.
To America As Servant “When she was 14 years of age a man named Robert Footman procured her passage to America for which she became his bonded servant for a certain length of time. He brought her to Philadelphia, but owing to ill usage she left him before her term of service had expired. Some time after this she married Frederick Sheckler of Bucks County, PA, and the First cow that they ever had she earned by knitting stockings. This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777. “At the uprising of Indians in the summer of 1778 she was compelled to go back to Bucks Co with her family which then consisted of three children, husband and herself. It was a perilous trip owing to the disordered condition of the country on account of the British evacuation from Philadelphia, which occurred at this time, June 18, 1778.
Dangerous Trip For Sugar “They remained in Bucks County until September when the valley became quiet, and they again ascended the Juniata and found their property about as they had left it – but an early frost that fall caused much suffering along the river in the winter of 1778 and 79. Mrs Sheckler’s children became sick and having nothing to eat except bread made of frost-bitten corn and poorly salted venison, she decided to make a trip to the home of one Frederick Heater in order to get a pound of sugar for her children. As it was impossible to go by a path through the woods, she made herself snow shoes and followed down along the river, the snow being two feet deep. She got the sugar by agreeing to make two pounds for it in the spring. “She afterwards declared that the sugar had saved the lives of her children and upon returning it she got a pack of potatoes, the pay for which was to be the making of five shirts, and from the potatoes they raised about eight bushels. A somewhat extensive area had been cleared prior to the uprising of the Delaware Indians in 1780, when they with many others made a wild flight to forts for protection. Some days later the family went down the Juniata to its mouth at Duncan's Island and remained here for some time, as it had been a dark summer for the settlers caused by news of American defeats coming from the Carolinas. But the British defeat at King’s Mountain early in October restored confidence of the settlers, leading to their return to farms along the branches of the Juniata, and the Sheckler family was among them. Some time after returning to their original improvement the family moved to what is now known as the George Berkstresser farm, about one mile east of Saxton, and on this farm Mrs Sheckler raised her family, which consisted of six sons and seven daughters. Several of them lived to be quite old men and women. Mary and George died in the last year, the latter in Nov 1881 in his 82nd year. The subject of this note lived to see some of her children become grandparents and this country a prosperous nation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Known children:
Federick Sheckler, Jr. never married
Susannah Sheckler married Henry Keith
Catherine Sheckler married Samuel Harley
David Sheckler married Mary Ridenour
Hannah Sheckler married Benjamin Penn Foster
John Scheckler married Rachel Pettit
Barbara Sheckler married John Wilhelm Berkstresser
Henry Sheckler died young
Elizabeth Sheckler married Henry Hipple
Daniel Sheckler married ? Died 1841 in Pine City, PA
Nancy Sheckler married James Figard, Jr.
Mary (Polly) Sheckler married John A Whited aka Whitehead
George Washington Sheckler married Susanah Weaver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM BUCKS COUNTY OR CUMBERLAND COUNTY? "This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777." This is a very important clue about where the Shecklers came from. Frederick Sheckler's military service indicates he enlisted in Peters township, Cumberland (now Franklin) County. The river would have been the Susquehanna to the Juniata to the Raystown Branch where they settled. I believe comments about them being from Bucks county is inaccurate. Map Up the Susquehanna to Juniata to Raystown Branch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original headstone was a slab of fieldstone which disintegrated over time. The new headstone was erected by David Weaver, her great-grandson and grandson of Barbara Sheckler Berkstresser, the daughter of Marie Catherine Sheckler. The information on a headstone is rarely what was on the original headstone. Errors in names are quite common on replacement stones. Even the newspaper article that is transcribed below uses Mary as her name.
Her German baptism name was Marie Catherine Mamro [I have seen this spelled Nomro, Munro, Monro etc]. German names were often spelled phonetically, or Americanized. In all the subsequent research I have done over the past 15 years, I have never seen her middle initial as W. My guess is they meant it to be an M for Mary and made an error. I have seen her referred to as Catherine or Mary in various documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie (Mary) Catherine Mamro Sheckler was daughter of Nicolaus Jacob Mamro (1725–?) and Anna Margaretha Cromwald (1725–?)Evidence of her birth and baptism is found in the Berkstresser book authored by Wayne Jones, who hired a German researcher to assist in his research.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcribed from article published in
The Daily News – page 6, col 1 – 09 Oct 1965 – Huntington, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA
A DARING BROAD TOP PIONEER WOMAN
By Albert M Rung
The Broad Top region is said to have been described by the first settlers as a vast wilderness and place of desolation, but it is evident that only a few of the dramatic episodes of trials and tribulations of the pioneers are known. During the year 1882 an unknown writer compiled a series captioned “Historical Notes” that contained a wealth of forgotten history in The Independent, a Saxton weekly, edited and published by E R Holsinger. The publication would probably seem a somewhat crude or amateur paper today, but it succeeded in preserving some record of the area’s eventful history that otherwise would have been unknown. True Broad Top Pioneer Readers may recall that a number of the “Historical Notes” were obtained and presented in this column, thereby proving of peculiar interest to folks in the localities described. However, a final subject remains which is probably the most thrilling of all, as it relates to the courage of a daring pioneer woman, Mary Sheckler. And some day should sufficient historical interest be aroused, in selecting a memorial for a pioneer woman who suffered hardship and strife as truly representative of their region, the Broad Top could not honor a more brave and courageous woman that Mary Sheckler. Here is the account as given in The Independent on August 5 1882: “Mary C Sheckler, nee Nomrow [sp?], was born in Germany about the year 1755, and at the age of seven years was put in a school where she remained for seven years. This schooling proved very valuable in the backwoods after she was married and had children of her own to educate, as schools were out of the question at that early day in the Juaniata Valley, except by private means.
To America As Servant “When she was 14 years of age a man named Robert Footman procured her passage to America for which she became his bonded servant for a certain length of time. He brought her to Philadelphia, but owing to ill usage she left him before her term of service had expired. Some time after this she married Frederick Sheckler of Bucks County, PA, and the First cow that they ever had she earned by knitting stockings. This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777. “At the uprising of Indians in the summer of 1778 she was compelled to go back to Bucks Co with her family which then consisted of three children, husband and herself. It was a perilous trip owing to the disordered condition of the country on account of the British evacuation from Philadelphia, which occurred at this time, June 18, 1778.
Dangerous Trip For Sugar “They remained in Bucks County until September when the valley became quiet, and they again ascended the Juniata and found their property about as they had left it – but an early frost that fall caused much suffering along the river in the winter of 1778 and 79. Mrs Sheckler’s children became sick and having nothing to eat except bread made of frost-bitten corn and poorly salted venison, she decided to make a trip to the home of one Frederick Heater in order to get a pound of sugar for her children. As it was impossible to go by a path through the woods, she made herself snow shoes and followed down along the river, the snow being two feet deep. She got the sugar by agreeing to make two pounds for it in the spring. “She afterwards declared that the sugar had saved the lives of her children and upon returning it she got a pack of potatoes, the pay for which was to be the making of five shirts, and from the potatoes they raised about eight bushels. A somewhat extensive area had been cleared prior to the uprising of the Delaware Indians in 1780, when they with many others made a wild flight to forts for protection. Some days later the family went down the Juniata to its mouth at Duncan's Island and remained here for some time, as it had been a dark summer for the settlers caused by news of American defeats coming from the Carolinas. But the British defeat at King’s Mountain early in October restored confidence of the settlers, leading to their return to farms along the branches of the Juniata, and the Sheckler family was among them. Some time after returning to their original improvement the family moved to what is now known as the George Berkstresser farm, about one mile east of Saxton, and on this farm Mrs Sheckler raised her family, which consisted of six sons and seven daughters. Several of them lived to be quite old men and women. Mary and George died in the last year, the latter in Nov 1881 in his 82nd year. The subject of this note lived to see some of her children become grandparents and this country a prosperous nation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Known children:
Federick Sheckler, Jr. never married
Susannah Sheckler married Henry Keith
Catherine Sheckler married Samuel Harley
David Sheckler married Mary Ridenour
Hannah Sheckler married Benjamin Penn Foster
John Scheckler married Rachel Pettit
Barbara Sheckler married John Wilhelm Berkstresser
Henry Sheckler died young
Elizabeth Sheckler married Henry Hipple
Daniel Sheckler married ? Died 1841 in Pine City, PA
Nancy Sheckler married James Figard, Jr.
Mary (Polly) Sheckler married John A Whited aka Whitehead
George Washington Sheckler married Susanah Weaver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM BUCKS COUNTY OR CUMBERLAND COUNTY? "This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777." This is a very important clue about where the Shecklers came from. Frederick Sheckler's military service indicates he enlisted in Peters township, Cumberland (now Franklin) County. The river would have been the Susquehanna to the Juniata to the Raystown Branch where they settled. I believe comments about them being from Bucks county is inaccurate. Map Up the Susquehanna to Juniata to Raystown Branch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her German baptism name was Marie Catherine Mamro [I have seen this spelled Nomro, Munro, Monro etc]. German names were often spelled phonetically, or Americanized. In all the subsequent research I have done over the past 15 years, I have never seen her middle initial as W. My guess is they meant it to be an M for Mary and made an error. I have seen her referred to as Catherine or Mary in various documents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marie (Mary) Catherine Mamro Sheckler was daughter of Nicolaus Jacob Mamro (1725–?) and Anna Margaretha Cromwald (1725–?)Evidence of her birth and baptism is found in the Berkstresser book authored by Wayne Jones, who hired a German researcher to assist in his research.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transcribed from article published in
The Daily News – page 6, col 1 – 09 Oct 1965 – Huntington, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA
A DARING BROAD TOP PIONEER WOMAN
By Albert M Rung
The Broad Top region is said to have been described by the first settlers as a vast wilderness and place of desolation, but it is evident that only a few of the dramatic episodes of trials and tribulations of the pioneers are known. During the year 1882 an unknown writer compiled a series captioned “Historical Notes” that contained a wealth of forgotten history in The Independent, a Saxton weekly, edited and published by E R Holsinger. The publication would probably seem a somewhat crude or amateur paper today, but it succeeded in preserving some record of the area’s eventful history that otherwise would have been unknown. True Broad Top Pioneer Readers may recall that a number of the “Historical Notes” were obtained and presented in this column, thereby proving of peculiar interest to folks in the localities described. However, a final subject remains which is probably the most thrilling of all, as it relates to the courage of a daring pioneer woman, Mary Sheckler. And some day should sufficient historical interest be aroused, in selecting a memorial for a pioneer woman who suffered hardship and strife as truly representative of their region, the Broad Top could not honor a more brave and courageous woman that Mary Sheckler. Here is the account as given in The Independent on August 5 1882: “Mary C Sheckler, nee Nomrow [sp?], was born in Germany about the year 1755, and at the age of seven years was put in a school where she remained for seven years. This schooling proved very valuable in the backwoods after she was married and had children of her own to educate, as schools were out of the question at that early day in the Juaniata Valley, except by private means.
To America As Servant “When she was 14 years of age a man named Robert Footman procured her passage to America for which she became his bonded servant for a certain length of time. He brought her to Philadelphia, but owing to ill usage she left him before her term of service had expired. Some time after this she married Frederick Sheckler of Bucks County, PA, and the First cow that they ever had she earned by knitting stockings. This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777. “At the uprising of Indians in the summer of 1778 she was compelled to go back to Bucks Co with her family which then consisted of three children, husband and herself. It was a perilous trip owing to the disordered condition of the country on account of the British evacuation from Philadelphia, which occurred at this time, June 18, 1778.
Dangerous Trip For Sugar “They remained in Bucks County until September when the valley became quiet, and they again ascended the Juniata and found their property about as they had left it – but an early frost that fall caused much suffering along the river in the winter of 1778 and 79. Mrs Sheckler’s children became sick and having nothing to eat except bread made of frost-bitten corn and poorly salted venison, she decided to make a trip to the home of one Frederick Heater in order to get a pound of sugar for her children. As it was impossible to go by a path through the woods, she made herself snow shoes and followed down along the river, the snow being two feet deep. She got the sugar by agreeing to make two pounds for it in the spring. “She afterwards declared that the sugar had saved the lives of her children and upon returning it she got a pack of potatoes, the pay for which was to be the making of five shirts, and from the potatoes they raised about eight bushels. A somewhat extensive area had been cleared prior to the uprising of the Delaware Indians in 1780, when they with many others made a wild flight to forts for protection. Some days later the family went down the Juniata to its mouth at Duncan's Island and remained here for some time, as it had been a dark summer for the settlers caused by news of American defeats coming from the Carolinas. But the British defeat at King’s Mountain early in October restored confidence of the settlers, leading to their return to farms along the branches of the Juniata, and the Sheckler family was among them. Some time after returning to their original improvement the family moved to what is now known as the George Berkstresser farm, about one mile east of Saxton, and on this farm Mrs Sheckler raised her family, which consisted of six sons and seven daughters. Several of them lived to be quite old men and women. Mary and George died in the last year, the latter in Nov 1881 in his 82nd year. The subject of this note lived to see some of her children become grandparents and this country a prosperous nation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Known children:
Federick Sheckler, Jr. never married
Susannah Sheckler married Henry Keith
Catherine Sheckler married Samuel Harley
David Sheckler married Mary Ridenour
Hannah Sheckler married Benjamin Penn Foster
John Scheckler married Rachel Pettit
Barbara Sheckler married John Wilhelm Berkstresser
Henry Sheckler died young
Elizabeth Sheckler married Henry Hipple
Daniel Sheckler married ? Died 1841 in Pine City, PA
Nancy Sheckler married James Figard, Jr.
Mary (Polly) Sheckler married John A Whited aka Whitehead
George Washington Sheckler married Susanah Weaver
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROM BUCKS COUNTY OR CUMBERLAND COUNTY? "This cow, with one other, she brought to Shy Beaver when they came up the river in 1777." This is a very important clue about where the Shecklers came from. Frederick Sheckler's military service indicates he enlisted in Peters township, Cumberland (now Franklin) County. The river would have been the Susquehanna to the Juniata to the Raystown Branch where they settled. I believe comments about them being from Bucks county is inaccurate. Map Up the Susquehanna to Juniata to Raystown Branch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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