So far, I can't go any further back than Jacob S. Steiner (1802?-1860?) and his wife Elizabeth (1802?-1864, maiden name unknown), hubby's great-great grandparents.
Now, thanks to a genealogy angel on the Crawford County, OH, History and Genealogy Facebook page, I have this detailed obit of William Steiner (1827-1899), a son of Jacob S. Steiner. William is hubby's great-grand uncle (the brother of his great-granddaddy, Edward George Steiner).
The obit states that William "was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1827. His father and mother were Jacob and Elizabeth Steiner. When quite young, the deceased, with the family, moved to Strasburg, Wayne county, Ohio. During his early life, he worked on a flat boat on the Ohio canal, which ran the tow path that is inseparably connected with the name and fame of the lamented James A. Garfield. After leaving the canal, he was apprenticed to a plasterer which trade he industriously followed ever since.
"On December 5, 1850, he was married to Catherine Coder and 6 children were born to them, four of whom survive him, namely: Rev. Dennis R. Steiner, of Glathe, Kansas; Harry L. Steiner, of Toledo; Mrs. Emma F. Stull, of Veedersburg, Ind; and Mrs. Fred Harter, of Oceola."
A gold mine of info, with places, dates, names, and insight into his working life and his religious beliefs! My next step is to investigate Steiners in Strasburg, Wayne county, Ohio and try to trace them back to Berks county, PA.
This new info came about because of my genealogy alter ego Benjamin McClure, who has a FB account and is active on relevant Facebook genealogy pages. If you're not already using Facebook for genealogy, I encourage you to get started. There are lots of kind folks out there ready to offer advice--and who knows, you might be lucky enough to connect with a cousin or three.
