"This area was named Blooming Grove by the early German settlers when, upon their arrival in May, 1805, they first looked upon the setting of their future homes. The sight they saw (it seemed an almost impossible one to some) was a valley turned almost white by the dogwood and rhododendron blossoms in full bloom. The almost spontaneous exclamation : a Blooming Grove ! has remained the name of the community ever since."
David C. Ulmer, Brief Historical Sketch of The Blooming Grove Colony and Meeting House (Williamsport, Pennsylvania: prepared by Blooming Grove Historical Society; Self-Published, 1988 reprint of 1928 original), p. 2.
Within these pages I will try to present the ongoing story of the settlers of Blooming Grove, including local history and most of all the genealogies of the families.
Blooming Grove was established by several families over a period of years between 1800 and 1820. Surnames for the families that settled Blooming Grove include: Heim, Heischle, Kehrer, Kies (Kiess), Kurz (Kurtz), Marquardt, Mutschler, Schiedt, Stäbler (Stabler), Stolz (Stoltz), Ulmer, Walz (Waltz), Wolf, Jung or Yung (Young).
The Blooming Grove settlement has been an interest of mine since the late 1980's when I found an old rolled up document in the summer kitchen at the Stabler farm in Anthony Township, Lycoming County.
There were 20 original families that traveled together from Mühringen and Eßlingen in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany to Blooming Grove, an area within Hepburn Township. The information found on these pages is based on the Stammbaum Wäldchen (Family Tree Little Woods) that was printed circa 1860. When I found this document, there was only one copy in existence that I was aware of and it belonged to my grandparents, Frederick Ulmer "Fred or Pap," as I used to call him and Zella Elvira (Lovell) Stabler. Since then a few other copies have been found some of which have been donated to the Blooming Grove Historical Society and are on display in the museum.
I had been working on this document off and on for about 7 years, doing translation and recording the information that it contained. The original document is rich and vibrant in the story that it tells about the people who formed the settlement of Blooming Grove. Mrs. Steiner of the Centerville High School German Department, Centerville, Ohio was able to complete the final translation of the German text to English in 1998. She was a great help in allowing me to finish this project.
Below is a list of the families, their original name spellings and the family group letter that they represent within the original document.
Family Names
Leonhard Ulmer and Christina Gohl Family A
Dorothea Ulmer and Johann George Kies Family B
Leonhardt Ulmer and Maria Stumps Family C
Johannes Ulmer and Susanna Heimann Family D
Johann George Kehrer and Anna Gutbrod Nickolas Family E
Nicolaus Stephan Marquardt and Sophia Hartmeier Family F
Johann Walz and Elisabeth Stahl Family G
Johann George Walz and Catharina Kies Family H
Abraham Jung and Christina Walz Family I
Mathäus Mutschler and Margaretha Heid Family J
Jacob and Juliana Heim Family K and L
Christian Heim and Elisabeth Günther Family K
Jacob Heim and Christina Gohl Family L
Michael Stäbler and Catharina Heimathinger Family M
Christoph Kies and Christina Schiedt Family N
Abraham Schiedt and Anna Maria Behtsch Family O
Jacob Kurz and Dorothea Wolf Family P
Abraham Wolf and Christina Lang Family Q
David Stolz and Sophia Orich Family R
Johannes Heischle and Christiana Werfer Family S
Please enjoy the expanded version of this Stammbaum Wäldchen (Family Tree Little Woods) found within this website.