Christine's World

On this page I will give updates on family research. I have been researching the Clepper and Hess family for years and most recently been researching the Moyer and McNair side of the family.

On the Clepper side I've learned that every generation of Cleppers had a Joseph - all the way back to my great, great, great grandfather - their wives were Annie, Lydia, Ellen and Floetta. My roots on both the Hess and the Clepper family begins in Lancaster County - the Cleppers in Maytown. I still have a ways to go, but I'm enjoying the trip.

For the Hess side of my family, well, right now there is a distant relative in Germany trying to find the Germany Hess connection with my Hess line. I'm waiting for an update.

The Moyers and McNairs are a bit more vague - need to dig deeper -

The Mussers and the Criders research has been done, in fact there is a genealogy book floating around on both families.

See My latest update July 29, 2007 on the Clepper family below -

On Friday, July 28, 2007 Dan and I made a trip to the Lancaster County Historical Society and here is what I found out after eight hours of research -

At the historical society I located a file on the Clepper family (also spelled Klopfer, Clopfer, Klepfler, Klepper, Klepfer). In this file is Joseph Clepper's will who I believe to have been the father of the Joseph who came to Cumberland County with his mother, Anna Brandt and Jacob Haldeman (also spelled Holdeman). It appears that Joseph Clepper died in 1817 leaving behind a son John and Joseph and his wife Anna, free to marry Jacob Haldeman.

Through my research I determined that the Joseph Clepper that died in 1817 was born around 1787. That would have made him around 30 yrs old when he died. I also discovered he was active in the St. John's Lutheran Church in Maytown, PA - possibly an elder of the church. He had a brother John and Nicholas. His parents were Joseph and Elizabeth - Joseph passed away in 1810 leaving property in Maytown for his sons to purchase.

I visited the Lutheran cemetery in Maytown and located several Clepper burial sites, but none were of Joseph Clepper. I feel certain I've found the beginning of my Clepper line, however, I still have much to learn, such as where my line of Cleppers originated and when did they arrive in Pennsylvania.

I plan to contact the Maytown Historical Society and St. John's Lutheran Church to find out what information they have on Joseph Clepper. I'm not sure what they will have, but it's all part of the journey and no matter how little it seems I've learned - in reality I've ALWAYS learned something!!

Here's a link to the Clepper Family Tree.

Stayed Tuned - more to come . . .

    I owe a lot to my paternal grandmother for guiding me to the Lord.  She was the stereotypical grandmother with a gentle voice and loving arms that would surround me with a hug.  My first church experience was with her in the Dunkard Brethren Church on Washington Street in Mechanicsburg.  Each Sunday morning my oldest brother would drive me, my sister, Babs, and my brother Jeff to church.  It was an interesting experience for me. The men would sit on one side of the church and the women on the other side. 

          I remember sitting next to my grandmother and hearing her sing the traditional hymns. I loved hearing her sing. Her heart was so filled with the love of Jesus and it was so apparent not only in her singing but in her actions as well.

          Each time I visited my grandmother she would have an open Bible next to her favorite chair in her sitting room. She had Bible verses framed and hanging on her wall. On the wall in her bedroom, she had a picture of three crosses hanging. When she would pray, she prayed on her knees.

          My grandmother’s beginning wasn’t the easiest. She was born in 1897 to a single mother. In that day, being a child born out of wedlock was a scandal.  In her early life, she carried the shame her family and society put on her for being illegitimate. She didn’t totally release herself from the shame until she met my grandfather and her future mother-in-law. Through her mother-in-law, she found God’s acceptance of her and she turned to her life over to following Jesus.

          Grammy’s faith and her determination to be the person God wanted her to be no matter the trials that were put in front of her or what was behind her is what makes my faith and belief in God so strong. No matter what judgments seem to come my way, in the end it is my relationship with God that matters.

          So this Mother’s Day, I not only honor my own mother, but my paternal grandmother as well – Floetta Mae Beistline Clepper.