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Family tree comes alive through MCHS research

Tom Laub

LEWISTOWN -- As America traces its roots in 2026 during the 250th anniversary of the nation's independence, individuals and families, too, are discovering their ancestral beginnings.

Tracing family heritage can take unexpected twists and turns. Internet searches provide information, but it helps to have a guiding hand uncover the past. Experience counts and local assistance is available from volunteer researchers with over 100 years of combined genealogy experience.

The Mifflin County Historical Society has offered Family Tree Research since March 4, 2025. Developed by volunteers Roger Wagner and Sandy Dunlap, the service differs from online research sites by providing specific family tree services as opposed to general genealogy research requests. MCHS offers a framed family tree of five generations plus a fan chart of seven generations, military ancestor list from the French and Indian War through World War II, longest single-family line and surname line, life story of a chosen ancestor, famous ancestor relatives and other services.

The research provides benefits to both sides.

"I've always had a love for history and have been doing family trees for many years," Dunlap said. "I had strongly been of a belief that everyone's life was in a sense a story and thus the need for each to know and understand their story and the people whose lives came before them. I started doing trees for free for senior citizens and the responses from them only reinforced the value of uncovering your family story. Some were overwhelmed to tears, saying things like, 'I feel like I finally belong to more' or 'now I understand what I wondered but never knew.' There is a real joy we experience in assisting others in finding their story."

Dunlap offered a quote from author Alex Haley to emphasize her belief in family research:

"In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage--to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness."

-- Alex Haley

For Wagner, joy is derived from a sense of community.

"Mifflin County has a long and rich historical legacy created by our ancestors settling here from many different countries," he said. "Identifying and sharing those ancestors' lives and stories with their descendants is a rare privilege for me as a volunteer genealogy researcher. Every day is a learning experience with the purpose of showing how closely we are connected to one another. Distant cousin relationships have been discovered with each new family tree client request. We truly enjoy searching for military ancestors and famous relatives as we find their roots."

Research of any kind can produce surprising results and amazing discoveries. Family ancestry is no different. Searches can reveal names and dates stretching back several centuries to connect ancestors and

lineage. Results can produce shock and awe. From a deeply personal standpoint, this is true.

In the spring of 2025, while working on another project, I asked the Mifflin County Historical Society if it was possible to find any information on my grandfather's business, located on Monument Square in the 1940s. Several weeks had passed when I was contacted to discuss the findings. I was hoping for maybe a few sentences from an old newspaper, a brief mention or possibly a clipped advertisement for Schutawie's Store. Anything to make a connection.

I never met my mother's father. He died years before I was born.

Arthur Khoury Schutawie was born in Syria (in what is now Lebanon). He emigrated to the United States by way of Australia. I have seen photos and heard stories, including how my mother worked in his store when she was younger, selling peanuts and steaming hats. I was curious. My own research years ago revealed documents from Ellis Island. On a hand-written ledger was the name of my grandfather on the day in 1912 when he arrived in America. It was a special piece of the timeline.

When I met with the researchers at the historical society, I was stunned by their findings. More than uncovering a few lines of copy, they had traced my family tree to the Mayflower. There were connections and links to the Revolutionary War, Founding Fathers and well-known figures throughout history. The research listed relatives who had served in the U.S. Military, plus many other facts, some previously known, some unknown. It was a thorough study of my roots, bound in leather like a volume of history.

The research process at MCHS is handled with precision and produces impressive results. It begins with a very simple procedure.

"A worksheet is provided asking each client to choose from the list of six family tree services they want," Wagner said. "Then, a brief information form is filled out with the client's name, phone, email address, date and place of birth, plus their father's and mother's date and place of birth and if deceased, date and place of death."

The six services include Internet websites Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org, Myheritage,com, Findagrave.com, Billiongraves.com and Fold3.com. The Mifflin County Historical Society does charge a fee for research work, based on client selection choices. Costs range from $150 to $475. Research can date back to the 1400's. The average time involved to complete a family search is four weeks.

As impressed as I was with the initial research, the story did not end there.

Earlier this year, Wagner himself became a conduit, helping to make an international connection. One of my grandfather's two sons, while serving in the U.S. Army in Europe, befriended a British family. A descendant of the family contacted Wagner with her story.

"On May 31, 2026, I received a message through Ancestry.com from Shirley Dalley of the U.K. thanking me for the comprehensive research page I had prepared on Arthur David Schutawie," Wagner said. "Shirley explained that her grandfather, Charles Roland Dalley, was especially fond of David when he was stationed in England during World War II. David would visit her dad, Geoff Dalley, who was hospitalized at a young age. When her grandparents could not visit, David would purloin a jeep from the camp and go to Worcester to visit her dad. Shirley wanted to contact David's family to share this story of her grandfather adopting David for his kindness and caring. Shirley was hoping that I would be able to let members of David's family know about his time in England. I contacted Tom [Laub], David's nephew, to share these messages from Shirley in case he wished to reach her by email. Tom had initially requested some research on his grandfather, Arthur K. Schutawie."

At first, I was confused by the name "David." Though it was his middle name, I had never before heard anyone refer to my uncle as "David." Arthur David Schutawie, my mother's brother, was known to my brothers, sister and myself as "Uncle Dude." He and his wife, Bettie, lived in Mount Union. Art was a science teacher and coach at Mount Union Area High School. He died in 1982.

Reading Shirley's account of my uncle's interaction with her family during the war provided insight into a previous era, a prequel to the life of a beloved figure I would know years later. It was like discovering a lost reel of a favorite film. In the future, contact with Shirley will hopefully continue as another chapter waits to be written.

So far, it has been a wondrous journey.

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For more information on Mifflin County Historical Society Family Tree Research, call (717) 242-1022, email library@mifflincountyhistory.org or visit in person at the Historic Courthouse, 1 W. Market St., Lewistown, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. No appointment is necessary.