I can't believe it is time for another newsletter. We have had a great month in regards to family history.
Bonnie Sallada from Bedford, Pennsylvania has been helping me locate burial records for Mowers and Amicks in Bedford County. Since the name Mower is often spelled Mowry, Mowery, Mowrey, etc.
Tedi Jeen and I worked 4 days this month in the Family History Library. Much of the time Shirley Wall was there working right with us. Shirley is working on the Amick line, and I am working on the Mower line, but quite frankly it is hard to keep the line seperate. The Amicks lived right where the Mowers lived in Bedford, Pa and I find much Amick material. I guess those people want that temple work done so badly they just keep shoving material my way, so I pass it on to Shirley.
Standing at the information counter discussing how to locate some census material I had a rather remarkable experience last week. I mentioned to the lady at the counter I was looking for some material on Amicks and a lady standing right next to me, said that her friend was also studying that line and had done so for years and would want to talk to me.
I met the lady, Barbara Nichols of Lacey, Washington. She is a 60 year old retired Army nurse---never married--who has been researching this line for years in states generally other than Pennsylvania. She had hundreds of names that we did not have on the Amick line. She commented to me that she had felt for a long time that this information had to be preserved and she was go glad for the work of preservation of family histories that our Church was doing. She said she would glady share all she had with me.
I gave Barbara a copy of all the work we have learned on the Amicks which also amounts to hundreds of names---none of which she had, because they were all Pennsylvania Amicks. It seems that the original Amicks to come to America were three brothers. They came from Germany and settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. (Right where Andrew Mower was born!) Then they spread out to Virginia and Michigan. A branch came through Pennsylvania and settled in Bedford County and stayed.
What this amounts to for us is a giant leap forward in the study of the John Amick line. John Amick was the grandfather of Henry Mower Jr. Some might say this was merely a coincidence that a fellow from Wyoming should be at the library the same day as a lady from Washington and another coincidence that he should mention the name Amick at the same time her friend was standing there.
I met with James Petty (our genealogist) on the last day I was at the library--another chance meeting. He told me that we are correct in our information about Andrew Mower being born in Bucks County. He is currently constructing a map of Bucks County in which he is plotting the Churches there. He will then systematically search the congregations to identify more of the children of Michael Maurer (Andrew's father) and hopefully get a line for further research.
He is also studying the ship passenger list of the Brills who immigrated and lived with the Maurers in Bucks County. If he can find others on the ship who settled in Pennsylvania, he might be able to locate more on Michael Maurer. Here again folks, we are close! Thanks for helping!!!