A Witness to History (CoG: There's One in Every Family)

Written for the 100th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy for the topic, "There's One in Every Family."

     Today, thanks to technology such as radio, television, the internet, cell phones and more, we witness history every day. We instantly know about a new discovery or advancement, a tragic event or one to be celebrated. But in the past the only witnesses to such an event were the people who were actually there. Everyone else would have to wait days, weeks or even months to learn what had happened. Looking back through the family tree, everyone can find someone who was witness to some historical event or movement. In my family tree it's my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, William A Craft, who was in Appomattox, Virginia for surrender of the Confederate Army and the end of the Civil War.

    William joined the Confederate Army in Elbert County, Georgia as a private in the 15th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Company C. He was joined by his brothers, John F and Willis M Craft. According to the National Park Services Civil War Soldier and Sailor System, the 15th was part of the Patomic District and later was part of Benning's Brigade with the Army of Northern Virginia.  This regiment fought in battles such as Chickamauga, Knoxville, Petersburg, Gettysburg and Manassus. According to a short news piece published in the Augusta Chronicle in 1938, William picked up a bible off the battle field at Malvern Hill (Henrico County, VA). The bible has been passed down through the family for generations as a family heirloom (not my line, unfortunately).

     Many families have multiple ancestors who fought in the Civil War, but what stands out about William is how he ended the war. Not only did he make it home after the surrender - but he was at the surrender. Now, I highly doubt that a lowly private was actually anywhere near the big-wig generals or the actual surrender, but he was in Appomattox, Virginia as part of the Army of Northern Virginia. He was among the first to learn of the end of the war. He would have received rations from the union army. He would have received a parole that allowed him to return home to his family. He might have been the first to tell others of the end of the war. William was a witness to history.

Elizabeth Meetze Hyler Obituary - Amanuensis Monday

   The following is the obituary of Elizabeth Meetze Hyler, the wife of Nathan Washington Hyler of Lexington County, South Carolina.  It was published in The State newspaper on 7 June 1910.

Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler Special to The State.     Lexington, June 6 - Mrs. Elizabeth Hyler, widow of Wash Hyler, and one of the oldest residents of this county, died at her home on Hollow Creek this morning at 3 o'clock, having reached the ripe old age of 84 years.     Mrs. Hyler was one of the most loved women of her community and her death has caused much sorrow, she having been widely known throughout her section.      The deceased is survived by three sons, Rufus, John and Henry Hyler, all well known men of the county. She was a member of the Lutheran church and was active in religious af- fairs.      She will be buried tomorrow morn- ing at 10 o'clock in Mt. Pleasant churchyard, with funeral services by her pastor, the Rev. O. C. Peter- son.

     It's interesting to note that she, and many of her family, are actually buried in the Beulah United Methodist Church Cemetery in Gilbert. According to their website, they have been in place since 1896. I've also been unable to verify if the Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Saluda even has a cemetery. So I'm not entirely sure what happened between the obituary and the burial or after, that provided the incorrect information. 

Family History is a Coloring Book

     As I wrote yesterday, I had recently been sent scans from a family history book that detailed the Swiss-German origins of the Huyler / Heiler family. At the beginning of the section is a note that anyone wanting more information should contact the Whitaker Family Association. I've been busy working non-stop since Wednesday and hadn't had a chance to look for this group. However, my mom had free time yesterday to start searching.

     She found the website of Wilford Whitaker, the great-grandson of Priscilla Heiler, the daughter of Hans Conrad Heyler, who was the brother of Bernhard Heyler, Sr., my eight-times great-grandfather. My mom had done a search on GoodSearch.com for the name of the book, Broad Bay Pioneers, the author and the name Hyler. This returned the following result:





     Mom was very excited to see this book, which is written from the perspective of Priscilla Hyler Robinson and tells the story of her family's journey from Switzerland to Germany and then to Maine (then Massachusetts) in America. Priscilla's grandson, John Robinson, converted to the Mormon church and moved west with them. It is thanks to this family, their memories and research, that I'm now finding all of this information on my ancestors.

     I have sent an email to the address on the website, and hope to hear back soon from these very distant cousins.

Surname Saturday - Huyler, Revisited

     I've wrote about the Huyler family on a previous Saturday. I wrote that the family was said to be German and different spellings include Hyler, Heyler, Heiler, Hoyler, Hoiler, Hiler, etc. Recently, I decided to focus my research on this family and broaden my research net.

     I started by taking my mom's suggestion and contacting the authors of other online family trees that cover this family. Of the six researchers I contacted, I've heard back from three. Two said they couldn't help me, but another's response prove very useful. He stated that he had been researching the family for a number of years and has/had documents from visiting archives. He didn't appear to be able to send me these documents, but he did scan some pages from a book he owned and sent them to me. They consisted of a compiled family history of the Hoyler, Hoiler family of Wossingen, Baden, Germany, originally of Neftenback, Zurich, Switzerland. The book is Broad Bay Pioneers by Wilford W Whitaker.

     As with many of these compiled genealogies, there are very few sources given. I really never know how accurate these genealogies are, but at the very minimum, this book will act as a guide for my future research. At the very best, I now have a complete genealogy of this family line back to the mid 1600s. Here's the information from the book, as well as my personal research:

1. Ulrich Heiler
b. Switzerland
& Magdalena Grüter

2. Bernhard Heyler Sr
b. Switzerland
d. 1707, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
& Barbara Honyssen
d. 19 Aug 1707, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
m. 27 Jul 1680, Andelfingen, Zurich, Switzerland

3. Berndard Heyler Jr
b. 1688, Switzerland
d. aft 1753, Dutch Fork, Lexington SC
& Anna Barbara Vogel
m. 28 Apr 1716, Wossingen, Baden, Germany

4. Johann Michael Heyler
b. 4 May 1723, Wossingen, Baden, Germany
d. 30 Nov 1772, , Lexington, SC
& Hannah Catherine Morlokin
b. abt 1725, Baden, Germany
d. aft 1773, South Carolina
m. abt 1751

5. Bernard Barnet Hoyler
b. abt 1761, Irmo, Lexington, SC
d. 25 Aug 1825, Irmo, Lexington, SC

6. Gabriel Hoyler
b. abt 1794, Irmo, Lexington, SC
d. aft 1860
& Abigail Gartman
b. abt 1805, South Carolina
d. bef 1860
m. 27 Jan 1825, , Lexington, SC

7. Nathan Washington Hyler
b. 9 Aug 1835, , Lexington, SC
d. 30 Nov 1903, , Lexington, SC
& Elizabeth Rachel Meetze
b. 4 Jan 1826, South Carolina
d. 6 Jun 1910, , Lexington, SC
m. abt 1855

8. John Willis Hyler
b. 23 Jun 1861, , Lexington, SC
d. 11 Apr 1949, , Richland, SC
& Ida Leaphart
b. 30 May 1863, , Lexington, SC
d. 26 Jul 1952, Eau Claire, Richland, SC
m. abt 1883

9. Vary Americus Mack Huyler
b. 2 Apr 1903, Columbia, Richland, SC
d. 23 Nov 1976, High Point, Guilford, NC
& Ruby Lee Waters
b. 20 Dec 1911, Shawmut, AL
d. 26 Sep 1953, Georgia
m. 2 Jan 1931, 394 Cameron St SE, Atlanta, GA

10. Betty Dolores Huyler
b. 7 Nov 1931, Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Fulton, GA
d. 1 Oct 2005, Decatur, DeKalb, GA
& Roy Vernon Albea Sr.
b. 20 Aug 1926, Greenwood, Greenwood, SC
d. 13 Sep 2005, Eastside Heritage Center, Snellville, Gwinnett, GA
m. 1 Feb 1947, Greenville, Greenville, SC