Welcome to my Genealogical Intersection an ongoing family history research project. Why do I call this a Genealogical Intersection?
Genealogical (adjective): relating to the study or tracing of lines of family descent.
Intersection (noun): a point at which two or more things intersect.
For me, it all starts in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania where not only was I originally born, but my grandparents, great-grandparents and older ancestors were or had lived. The usual suspects helped to get my 4-H project off the ground one summer when I was visiting Lycoming County. My great-grandmother Margaret Elizabeth "Nanny" (Roller) Hafer was a second generation American as her grandfather came from Maulbronn, Wuerttemberg settling in Lycoming County in 1839. My grandfather Frederick Ulmer "Fred" Stabler was a third generation American whose great-grandfather came from Leinfelden, Wuerttemberg settling in Blooming Grove circa 1816, moving to a farm outside Salladasburg, Pennsylvania about 1821. And lastly, my father, who passed on the Frederick Sholder family Bible to myself, have all helped to get this lifetime of research started.
Then in 1994 another "Intersection" took place, I met and married my wife of over 25 years now. What an unbelievable, wonderful woman, mother and partner she has been. To my surprise, her paternal grandfather Melvin Karl Armin Goedeking (better known as Sam was a first generation American) and her paternal grandmother Goldie Virginia (Wright) Goedeking were both interested in their family history!! They both had done a fair amount of research, which has helped immensely to create a full picture of the ancestry for our children, Christian, Cavanaugh and Annika. As all families have continuing "Intersections" we truly find that:
"We do not own our ancestors, we simply share them - with many people."
At this Genealogical Intersection you will find my research that has continued for more than 40 years and has evolved into this website. The main focus is the families that I have had the most interest in. These include the ancestors of my children, the descendants of the Sholder (originally Scholderer) and Updegraff (originally Op den Graef) surnames and the families of the settlers of Blooming Grove.
The primary goal for this website is to provide the descendants of the families that are presented here with an accurate and documented record of their families, while being enjoyable, educational and factual reading. This site has been derived from a wide range of assorted original and derivative sources such as various documents, books, census records, church records, interviews and correspondence with various family members over the years. Please consider providing any additional information, stories or materials that might be of interest as that small clue could unlock a bigger piece to the puzzle, we call genealogy. These updates are incorporated few times a year, so please visit this site often to view the progress that has been made. The most recent changes are always listed here.
If your family is already shown here, please consider sending an email, correcting any mistakes as well as any updates that would be helpful to the research. We also like to hear about things that are being done well or could be done better on this web site. We will accept any and all suggestions and incorporate them as long as they benefit the research outlined above.