John and Mariah Cruiser McWilliams - Chapter 5

 

Milton and Sunbury 2018

Many of the sources I use to tell the story of my ancestors can be found online, but it takes "boots on the ground" to find some essential records and documents. I visited Northumberland County in July 2018 to dig up some of the material used in the McWilliams, Cruiser, Billmeyer, Knauss and Lieb family lines. This is an excerpt of my trip notes beginning in Milton, where John McWilliams conducted business, and on to Sunbury, the Northumberland County seat. 

Facade of the Old Harmony Church 1817-1866

Our visit to Milton was confined to a quick drive through town to our destination, Harmony Cemetery. On our way, we passed the small historic railroad depot which has been restored to its original glory. The view from the highest point in the cemetery is magnificent. Beyond the neatly-maintained town, the wooded banks of the West Branch of the Susquehanna lie under the misty mountain range in the distance. We visited my great-great-grandparents, Israel and Malinda Werner Lieb in the cemetery and hurried on to our next stop. 

View from Harmony Cemetery in Milton 

We left Milton a few minutes before noon. It was a twenty-minute drive to the county seat of Sunbury and I hoped to complete a visit to the courthouse and the genealogy library there before 4:00 p.m. Highway 147 took us on a route parallel to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and presented a fine view of the level farmland in the valley surrounded by low timber-covered mountains on either side. As we approached Sunbury, we crossed the Susquehanna River twice where it flows on either side of an island near the confluence of the West Branch and main channel of the river. The Susquehanna was a dazzling sight – a peaceful shade of blue with sparkling highlights reflected from the sunlight on the ripples in the water. Quaint metal railroad bridges constructed of multiple arches mirrored our path over the water. We immediately entered Sunbury and continued to follow Highway 147 as it snaked along the riverbank with only a strip of grass and a seawall separating the roadway from the rocky descent into the wide expanse of water.

Susquehanna River near Sunbury

We turned onto Market Street and drove toward the clock tower which was visible atop the Northumberland County Courthouse. The courthouse is a three-story structure built in 1865 in Italianate architectural style. The native Pennsylvania brownstone walls are painted white accented with ornate deep green corbels, cornices and decorative masonry blocks imbedded into the corners of the building. Tall arched windows and wooden doors trimmed in the same shade of green add to the beauty of the edifice. A small copper dome covers the clock tower high above the roof.

Northumberland County Courthouse

 

We grabbed a quick lunch at the Subway across the street from the courthouse. I wolfed down my food in hunger and anticipation. I could hardly wait to look for the probate records which I hoped were available in the courthouse. I grabbed my bag containing my notebook, scanner and camera from the car and almost skipped up the steps to the front door, even though I was tired and sweaty after my morning hikes through four cemeteries.

Imagine my surprise when I bounced through the main door and immediately came face-to-face with two police officers and a metal detector! I did not expect to encounter this level of security in a such a small town. Luckily, I breezed through security with all of my belongings passing muster. I knew my next task was to charm the clerks at the Recorder and Clerk of the Orphans' Court desk. Their help would be critical to my chances of success in locating the record books with the probate documents I was seeking.

As I entered the office, the clerks were busily working at their desks. One of the ladies offered to help me and I politely explained that I would like to examine several early volumes of the Orphans’ Court Dockets, beginning with volume 10 from 1849. She escorted me across the hall where she first consulted a computer database and some index books, before declaring that I would need to go to the basement to access the volumes I requested. She would get a key for me and show me the way to the storage area for the old records. I wasn’t sure if this was good or bad news!

I hoped the books were well-organized but was not optimistic because a contact at the local genealogy society had informed me that it was a challenge to locate documents there. The clerk retrieved a key from behind her counter and led the way into the hall, around a narrow corridor and through an old door revealing painted concrete steps leading to the basement.

Northumberland County Courthouse Basement Hallway

Holy moly! The cliché description of “dungeon” fit this space perfectly. The low arched ceiling constructed of red bricks extended downward to form the walls. Exposed pipes, cables and dim florescent light fixtures poked through the bricks at odd angles. The hall was essentially a storage area filled with dusty abandoned desks, chairs, computer tables, other surplus outdated office equipment and piles of cardboard boxes. The clerk dodged all the obstacles in our path and opened the door to the vault containing the Orphan’s Court ledger books.

Northumberland County Courthouse Basement Jail Cell

At first glance, I thought I was in trouble. The vaults were originally used as jail cells and this one was cramped, messy and covered with dust. There were piles of books everywhere. Some were on shelves, others on top of file cabinets, and many of them looked like they were about to disintegrate on the spot. We moved on to unlock the land records room farther down the hall. It seemed to be very neat and organized, but I knew that those records were online, so I would probably not spend time searching here. After giving instructions to me to copy or photograph anything I needed, the clerk left me to my own devices. I would be charged 50 cents per copy when I was finished. (Honor system, no questions asked!) I pulled out my notebook with the index entries for the Orphans’ Court records from Family Search. I was hoping to locate estate documents from 1882 for my second great-grandfather Israel Lieb and from 1849 and 1881 for my third great-grandfathers John McWilliams and Benjamin Knauss.

 

Northumberland County Orphans' Court Docket Books

I made a quick inventory of the vault and tried to get my bearings as to the organization (or lack of organization) of the heavy, oversized volumes. Amazingly enough, the books were not in perfect order, but they were grouped in almost chronological order and I easily spotted Volume 10 in the shelves to the left of the doorway. Now I was faced with the conundrum of deciding where to lay the book to examine and photograph it. There wasn’t an empty tabletop anywhere and few areas were well-lighted. After lugging the book around and trying several spots, I finally decided on laying it on an old office chair that I could roll around to take advantage of the best available lighting and a power source for recharging my cell phone. In only ninety minutes, I captured evidence concerning several generations of my ancestors, their land, and personal property, which had been recorded in fading handwriting on yellowed pages as long as 170 years ago. I could hardly wait to study them! In addition, I could hardly wait to sit down to rest my aching back after hoisting the heavy books on and off the shelves and bending over the low chair to read and photograph them.

As I gathered my belongings, I glanced down at my clothes. I was covered in dirt and rusty red residue from the aging fabric and leather covers of the books. I was glad I was wearing sturdy clothes suitable for cemetery treks and dungeon digging! I trudged upstairs, returned the key and asked about the probate files which were not housed in the basement. The clerk pointed across the hall to a room with walls totally lined in probate file boxes from the floor to the soaring ceiling. I could help myself by climbing the ladder provided for access to the shelves which were out of my reach. I knew the numbers of the probate files, but the task to retrieve them seemed too daunting for today. I assumed many of the documents I had just copied would be duplicated in the files, so I made the decision to move on and perhaps contact an area researcher at a later date, to decide if anything could be gained from them. I thanked the staff for their help, paid $12.00 for my digital copies and rejoined my husband who had been exploring the town square.

Susquehanna River at Front Street in Sunbury, PA

Note – A few months after my visit I hired a researcher to retrieve and copy the probate records of several ancestors from Northumberland County. John McWilliams’ and John Cruisen’s estate inventories were among the documents I obtained.