I didn't realize until today, this tintype is a picture of my Great, Grandparents, Joseph and Ellen (Francis) Hillanbrand, with Catherine Francis. This is probably the earliest I have of both of them together.

This is part two of a story that I started yesterday. Much thanks to Rachel LePera for forwarding information to me. I received an email from a woman named Peggy, claiming that her son may be a part of the Hillanbrand family. Could I assist in this determination. I won't go into a long dissertation of our emails back and forth. Suffice to say, the story, in a synopsis, went like this: A young girl was born in Philadelphia, on December 23, 1916 by the name of Irene Clara Rittersbach. At the age of 4, she was given up for adoption, with the assistance of the church, to a couple in Pottsville, by the names of Christopher and Margaret (nee Hartman) Donnelly. They renamed her Agnes Donnelly. Agnes apparently had some difficulties throughout her life. She had married three times. In her first marriage, she left her husband and two young boys, aged 7 and 5. In her second marriage, she left her husband and daughter. Agnes later died on March 4, 1983 in Hawaii. Even to her death, she never spoke of her early years, especially before she was adopted. Her daughter found a birth certificate with her original name, but no parents listed. This is where it gets interesting. Since Agnes left her marriages, her children never knew their real grandparents. One of her sons, Richard Schutz, didn't know his maternal grandparents. His son, Ronald Schutz, decided to find out by DNA testing through Ancestry DNA. The result - Joseph Peter Hillanbrand is his Great, Grandfather. If anyone has taken the same test, like I did, I found that we share 19 centimorgans of DNA, as half-second cousins. Oh boy! Somehow, our Great, Grandfather had an affair, with a yet to be determined daughter of George Rittersbach (we've narrowed it down to one of four daughters, Marion, Aubrey, Ruth or Alice). So our family expanded, without even knowing it. Just what we needed. More Hillanbrand genes being transferred around. Well, I'm taking this news in good stride. I'm welcoming our new cousins into our crazy family, whether they like it or not! And we can thank our Great, Grandfather for it.

This is a two part story that I will relay to you all today and tomorrow. Our Great Grandparents, Joseph Peter Hillanbrand and Ellen Francis (pictured with some of their children, including our grandfather) were married on June 29, 1898. Their marriage, apparently, was a tumultuous one. In my possession, I have a letter dated October 9, 1901, that Joseph had sent to Ellen in Girardville, Schuylkill County from Philadelphia. Ellen had left their home in Philadelphia, to be with her parents and took our grandfather, who was one year old, with her. Joseph asks for forgiveness from some indiscretion and asks her to come back home. He says, "...when you come home we will try to get along better than before without fighting..." What the original problems were, I did not know, for it did not manifest itself in the letter. What was the indiscretion? Well, I found out this past week. You will want to tune in tomorrow.

Meet George Hildenbrandt. He is the older brother of our Great, Great, Great Grandfather Franz Hillenbrand. He had left Hosenfeld, Germany, 10 years prior to Franz in 1837. Born in 1810, he left Germany and became a butcher in Minersville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Our Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother, Margarita Hillenbrand, born in 1788, had later emigrated and stayed with George and his wife Catharine in Minersville. He lived and worked near Third and Sunbury Streets in Minersville. He died of heart disease and dropsy, in 1880, and is buried in Mount Peace Cemetery in Minersville. As far as I know, this is the earliest photograph of a Hillanbrand relative. I will see if I can get a better copy to share with you all.