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REEDSVILLE – Tracing family roots has long been a pastime for many, and retired teacher Rodney Farrell, of Reedsville, has taken it to a whole other level.
“Currently I have 2,150 ancestors identified in my tree,” he said.
Farrell said genealogy research was something he always wanted to do, and after retiring, he set out to see what he could discover.
“You have to be a detective,” he said. “You get a lot of head scratching moments when looking at records.”
Farrell’s research isn’t just for himself though, it’s also for his grandchildren, whom he hopes will “honor and appreciate their ancestry.”
“I have three grandchildren and I want them to know who they are and know their history,” he said. “When I was a child, my family attended numerous family reunions where you hear stories and learn the history of the family which is never found in records or documents. Today, family reunions are a rare occurrence and oral history is being lost.”
The farthest Farrell has gone back is his 18th great-grandfather and grandmother. Ditmaer Rengers van Oldenhuys (or Oldenhuis) was Burgermeister of Groningen, Netherlands.
“I was surprised in how far I could go back,” he said.
Farrell, like most people, started his research close to home and spoke to elderly relatives first.
“My daughter gave me a DNA test with ancestry.com to make some connections, but the Revolutionary War ancestors are all records,” Farrell said.
Farrell is the direct descendant of many patriots, including George Rothrock, who served in the War of 1812.
“He was a part of the Cumberland County Militia. They were responsible for protecting the home front,” Farrell said. “During the revolution, they fought on two fronts against Indians and English.”
Farrell said the Rothrocks have been a prominent family in Mifflin County.
Rothrock paved the way for Farrell’s membership in the Sons of the American Revolution.
Farrell said the SAR and the Daughters of the American Revolution websites also were used during the course of his research.
Farrell tracked down 18 American patriots in his tree, including his fourth great-grandfather, Capt. Johannes Ritter, who in 1779 joined the Lancaster County Militia.
“Possibly because of the offer of a horse, land, more money or even a better uniform. He served with Capt. John Rutherford’s Company in their march to Fort Bedford. The march to Fort Bedford gave John a chance to observe the land to the west of Northampton County and he must have taken a liking to it,” Farrell said.
In his research, Farrell found that Ritter had been buried at Black Oak Ridge Cemetery in McClure.
Another relative, Farrell’s fifth great-grandfather, Michael Meyers, served as a drummer and fifer with Capt. Peter Mehrling, Philadelphia Co., and Col. Sharp Delaney, 2nd Battalion of Foot.
“During the Revolutionary War, armies didn’t have radios to talk to each other with. Music was the main way for them to communicate over long distances,” Farrell said.
Farrell said it is widely recognized that the use of the fife and drum came from the armies of Switzerland, hundreds of years before America was discovered by Europeans.
“Some of these guys played important roles, not just on the front lines,” Farrell said of the many positions in the military that are needed to keep things operating efficiently.
Farrell was met with a few surprises during the course of his research, including the prevalence of German and Dutch ancestors. This surprised him because his surname is Irish, and he thought he would find more ancestors from the British Isles.
“There was a baron from the Netherlands,” he said of one of his ancestors.
Farrell said he also found a lot of connections to the Amish and Mennonite communities in the Big Valley.
“That was a little bit of a surprise,” Farrell said.
Farrell has tracked as far back as the year 1315 in the Netherlands.
“Its been an obsession at times, its been fun,” he said.