Sadie A. (Kerstetter) Reish (1857 - 1894)

Wife of Joel Reish — married 14 Mar 1881 (to 30 Mar 1894) in Mifflinburg, Union, Pennsylvania, United States

Descendants

Died 30 Mar 1894 at age 37 in Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Sadie Kerstetter was born in February 1857.

She married Joel Reish (1859-1926) on 14 March 1881, in Mifflinburg, Union county.^[1] Their children included:

1. Pearl Ethel Reish (1882-1970)^[2]
2. Carl Benjamin Reish (1886-1978)^[3]
3. Hattie Catherine Reish (1888-1989)

Sadie passed away in March 1894 at age 33 and was buried in Mifflinburg Cemetery, Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania.^[4]

Research Notes

In the 1880 census Sarah Kerstetter (age 23), Domestic, was in the household of G. W. Himmelreach in Buffalo Township, Union, Pennsylvania, United States. This Sarah would be the correct age to be the Sadie (Sadie is a diminutive of Sarah) who married Joel Reish the following year, and she's in the same county in which the marriage took place, in a township adjacent to the town where the marriage occurred. It seems very possible Sarah and Sadie are the same person, unfortunately, these are circumstantial connections, so far. ^[5]

It is still unknown who her parents might be. In the 1880 census, there are two Kerstetter households in Sarah's Buffalo Township, both headed by William Kerstetters. One is William Kerstetter (1807-1885), son of Johan Martin (1754-1815), son of Sebastian (1727-1787). He could just barely be of an age to be Sarah's father, however, Steve Kerstetter's book, pp 30-31, attributes this William with 4 children, none of them Sarah/Sadie.^[6]

The other William,^[7] at age 32, is of an age to possibly be Sarah's brother, but we don't know this as a fact.

Lewisburg, Union County also abuts Buffalo Township and in 1880 there are 4 Kerstetter families residing there. One, Charles Kerstetter, is of an age to be Sarah's brother, but is the son of the elder William mentioned above and unlikely to be an immediate relation. Two, Isaac Kerstetter, is the nephew of the same elder William and isn't known to have a sister Sarah/Sadie. Three, Samuel Kerstetter, is the right age to be Sarah's father, however, he has a daughter Sarah born in 1869 so it's unlikely he would have named two daughters by the same name.

The fourth 1880 Lewisburg household is headed by the widow Sarah Kerstetter^[8] and there are some circumstantial reasons why this woman might be Sarah's mother:

• The shared name of Sarah
• The elder Sarah is widowed which provides impetus for the younger to find work to help out the family.
• At age 23, younger Sarah fits nicely in age between Margaret 25 and Sallie 18.
• Elder Sarah's youngest child is named Hattie and younger Sarah named one of her own daughters Hattie.

According to Steve Kerstetter's book, p 28,^[6] the elder Sarah was the wife, probably second, of John George Kerstetter (1808-1878). Unfortunately, John George's household cannot be located in the 1860 or 1870 censuses to see if there's a daughter Sarah.

So what to do? According to Steve, the elder Sarah died 18 May 1887 in Union County. John George died 19 Oct 1878 in Union County. Is there a will for either of them?

Addendum: Since writing the above, George's household has been found in 1860 and 1870 and there's no daughter Sarah. There are several Kerstetters in neighboring Snyder County. Maybe Sarah/Sadie belongs to one of them.

Sources

1. ↑ Book with biography of Joel Reish: "Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania", Chicago: J. H. Beers and Co, 1898, page 1023; database at Archive.org.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198223130/pearl-e-reish : accessed 26 October 2021), memorial page for Pearl E. Reish (1882–1970), Find a Grave Memorial ID 198223130, citing Mifflinburg Cemetery, Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Glenda Sheaffer (contributor 47884369).
3. ↑ Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Union County; Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10540991/sadie-a-reish : accessed 02 November 2021), memorial page for Sadie A Reish (6 Feb 1857–30 Mar 1894), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10540991, citing Mifflinburg Cemetery, Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by DLL (contributor 46776972) .
5. ↑ 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
   citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
   FamilySearch Record: MWVF-Z69 (accessed 30 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYBG-97CQ Image number 00385
   Sarah Kerstetter (23), single other, Domestic, in household of G. W. Himmelreach (46) in Buffalo Township, Union, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania, United States.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} THE KERSTETTER FAMILY : THE EARLY YEARS, 1727-1850, 5th edition; Kerstetter, Steve; self-published, 2020
7. ↑ 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
   citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
   FamilySearch Record: MWVF-HTK (accessed 30 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYBG-97HW Image number 00356
   Wm Kerstetter (32), married, Farming, head of household in Buffalo Township, Union, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania, United States.
8. ↑ 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
   citing enumeration district ED 160, sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
   FamilySearch Record: MWVF-QPZ (accessed 30 December 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBG-97HT Image number 00305
   Sarah Kerstetter (51), widowed, Keeping House, head of household in Lewisburg, Union, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania, United States.