The following information about the Seibel family was obtained from the Family Hart Online Data Base. Israel Mink Seibel (I)(1862-1917) was born July 22, 1862 in Earl Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Anna Brubacker Stauffer (1860-1944) was born on February 13, 1860 in Snyder, Pennsylvania. The couple married on December 23, 1883 and had six children.*

     David, the oldest child,* was born on April 20, 1886. He died on September 1, 1961 at the age of 75. Their next child was Lydia who was also  relatively long-lived. She was born on April 13, 1887 and died on May 19, 1959 at the age of 72. Mary was born about three years after Lydia on October 29, 1890, but there is no further information about her. She might have died in infancy. Ammon was born on September 1 1893 and died on March 3, 1975 at the age of 81. Note the oldest sibling David, died on Ammon's birthday, but in 1961. Anna S. Seibel was born on April 13, 1895. Again, information is sparse, indicating Anna might have died in infancy. The couple's last known child was Israel Seibel (II). He was born on February 21, 1897. He died on October 12 of that same year, at the age of seven months and twenty-one days.  

    Possibly crafted by Anna, or one of her children, this memorial is heart-wrenching.  The hand-made certificate illustrates that our ancestors were not immune to the grief and sense of loss brought about by the death of a child--even if death were a constant companion.** Anna Seibel might have turned to creating memorials as an outlet for her own grief. If this is true, other Seibel memorials may surface. As always, we invite our readers to share any information they might have. Pat Earnest, Delaware, October 20, 2015

*Ancestry.com lists a first-born child, Ellen, who was born and died in 1884. There are no citations, therefore, I do not know which is the correct information.

**Sadly, death was a constant companion and our ancestors were often left to come to terms with death without modern coping mechanisms, such as therapy. Sarah Klinefelter Lick of Bethel Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania lost many of her children to illness. In his memoirs David Ellsworth Lick, Sarah's son, describes his mother's struggle with the loss of his siblings. After their deaths, Sarah took to wandering their land alone and removing rocks from the ground as her coping mechanism.  You can read  more about the Lick family and the development of Stumpstown (now Fredericksburg), Pennsylvania  in The Forgotten Nephew-- available from Earnest Archives and Library.

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Pat Earnest is a history enthusiast, who has great regard for the past and is especially proud of the Pennsylvania German culture, moreover, I like looking at history through the eyes of  lesser-known historical figures. In addition to Passed Time, I am currently working on a project for the German Historical Institutes Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies (http://www.ghi-dc.org). I also contribute to various newsletters and am working on another book...or two. Feel free to email me at pcsuter@hotmail.com with  questions, comments, information, a shared love of history, an idea, because you want to chat or you have an great idea for PT. Please be aware, Files With Attachments will not be opened, but immediately deleted.