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"This area was named Blooming Grove by the early German
settlers when, upon their arrival in May, 1805, they first looked
upon the setting of their future homes. The sight they saw (it
seemed an almost impossible one to some) was a valley turned
almost white by the dogwood and rhododendron blossoms in full
bloom. The almost spontaneous exclamation : a Blooming Grove !
has remained the name of the community ever since."
David C. Ulmer,
Brief Historical Sketch of The Blooming Grove
Colony and Meeting House (Williamsport, Pennsylvania: prepared
by Blooming Grove Historical Society; Self-Published, 1988 reprint
of 1928 original), p. 2.
Within these pages I will try to present the ongoing story of the
settlers of Blooming Grove, including local history and most of all
the genealogies of the families.
Blooming Grove was established by several families over a period of
years between 1800 and 1820. Surnames for the families that settled
Blooming Grove include: Heim, Heischle, Kehrer, Kies (Kiess), Kurz
(Kurtz), Marquardt, Mutschler, Schiedt, Stäbler (Stabler), Stolz
(Stoltz), Ulmer, Walz (Waltz), Wolf, Jung or Yung (Young).
The Blooming Grove settlement has been an interest of mine since the
late 1980's when I found an old rolled up document in the summer
kitchen at the Stabler farm in Anthony Township, Lycoming County.
There were 20 original families that traveled together from
Mühringen and Eßlingen in the present-day state of
Baden-Württemberg, Germany to Blooming Grove, an area within Hepburn
Township. The information found on these pages is based on the
Stammbaum Wäldchen (Family Tree Little Woods)
that was printed circa 1860. When I found this document, there was
only one copy in existence that I was aware of and it belonged to my
grandparents,
Frederick Ulmer "Fred or Pap,"
as I used to call him and
Zella Elvira (Lovell)
Stabler. Since then a few other copies have been found some of which
have been donated to the Blooming Grove Historical Society and are
on display in the museum.
I had been working on this document off and on for about 7 years,
doing translation and recording the information that it contained.
The original document is rich and vibrant in the story that it tells
about the people who formed the settlement of Blooming Grove. Mrs.
Steiner of the Centerville High School German Department,
Centerville, Ohio was able to complete the final translation of the
German text to English in 1998. She was a great help in allowing me
to finish this project.
Below is a list of the families, their original name spellings and
the family group letter that they represent within the original
document.
Family Names
Leonhard Ulmer and
Christina
Gohl Family A
Dorothea Ulmer and
Johann
George Kies Family B
Leonhardt Ulmer and
Maria
Stumps Family C
Johannes Ulmer and
Susanna
Heimann Family D
Johann George Kehrer and
Anna
Gutbrod Nickolas Family E
Nicolaus Stephan Marquardt and
Sophia
Hartmeier Family F
Johann Walz and
Elisabeth
Stahl Family G
Johann George Walz and
Catharina
Kies Family H
Abraham Jung and
Christina
Walz Family I
Mathäus Mutschler and
Margaretha
Heid Family J
Jacob and
Juliana
Heim Family K and L
Christian Heim and
Elisabeth
Günther Family K
Jacob Heim and
Christina
Gohl Family L
Michael Stäbler and
Catharina
Heimathinger Family M
Christoph Kies and
Christina
Schiedt Family N
Abraham Schiedt and
Anna
Maria Behtsch Family O
Jacob Kurz and
Dorothea
Wolf Family P
Abraham Wolf and
Christina
Lang Family Q
David Stolz and
Sophia
Orich Family R
Johannes Heischle and
Christiana
Werfer Family S
Please enjoy the expanded version of this Stammbaum Wäldchen (Family
Tree Little Woods) found within this website.