Blocked

                   From: 	MKMeliza@aol.com
Date: 	Tue, 25 Sep 2001 22:43:13 EDT
To: 	chiefscott@etrademail.com
Subject: 	Adam Meliza and Susannah Orebaugh


Dear Scott - I was delighted to hear from you. My distant cousin, Bob Meliza, and I have been researching the Meliza family since 1978. We are always happy to find another descent of Adam and Susannah. They had 9 children that we have been able to find records for. We are descended from John Meliza. We know quite a bit about the Funks. In the early 1980's Bob corresponded with a Funk descendant, Betty Gilpin, who was most helpful. We also got a lot of information from the Funk Genealogy by Fretz. Which one of Martin and Elizabeth's children you are descended from? For the last couple of years I have been sending out a Meliza Newsletter on the first of each month. I do this by E-mail. If you are interested, I will be happy to put you on the list and send you back copies by E-mail. The Newsletter example below gives the names of the children of Adam and Susannah. The newsletters contain a variety of items such as biographies, obits, census records, data from LDS microfilms, and whatever else people wish to contribute. At any rate, I am sure I can help you. Since you live in Denver, it is possible you could help us. Best wishes, Mary K. Berg 11700 Juniper Street NW Coon Rapids MN 55448-2327 E-mail: MKMeliza@aol.com Subj: Meliza Newsletter No 16 Date: 2/1/00 To: KMeliza, dorouno@execpc.com To: v.medchill@graf-x.net, kdotram@kanza.net To: BALecloux@netscape.net, mmeliza@swbell.net To: REMELIZA, seberg99@earthlink.net, JRBowers To: leonammeliza@cs.com Happy Valentine's Day to all the family - Lester and I always like February because it is short and because it is sort of like "the point of no return" as far as winter is concerned. From now on it is all downhill towards spring. I realize this isn't much of a consideration for you family members who live south, but up here in Minnesota we count on these little time markers. Bob Meliza and I have been exchanging family information since 1978. So far, every person we have found with the Meliza surname has been descended from the family of Adam Meliza and Susanna Orbough whose family group sheet is given below. FAMILY GROUP SHEET: Husband: Adam Muhleisen/Meliza - b. 16 Jun 1779 - d. 25 Jul 1846 - bur. Henry Co, Ind. - m. 26 October 1802, Rockingham Co, Virginia Wife: Susanna Orbough - b. 24 Sep 1783 - d. 21 Oct 1862 - bur. Henry Co, Ind. Children (1) Elizabeth Meliza - b. ca 1803 - m. Martin Funk, 27 Oct 1824, Rockingham Co. d. 8 Jun 1895, Harrison Co, Missouri (2) John Meliza - b. 7 Aug 1806 - m. Barbary Fertig, 28 Oct 1828, Rockingham Co. d. 18 Jan 1862, bur. Farmer City, DeWitt Co, Illinois (3) Mary Meliza - b. 25 Feb 1808 - m. Philip Branner, 6 Oct 1826, Rockingham Co. d. 19 Jan 1857 - bur. Fall Creek twp, Henry Co., Indiana (4) Susannah Meliza - b. ca 1810 - m. Michael Messinger, 6 Oct 1840, Henry Co, IN d. Sep 1844, Indiana (5) Sarah Meliza - b. ca 1813 - m. Noah F. Trayer, 31 Oct 1832, Rockingham Co. (6) Anna Meliza - b. ca 1815 - m. John Shefflin/Shively, 12 Nov 1840, Henry Co, Ind. d. 29 Mar 1891, Missouri (7) Margaret Meliza - b. 8 Jan 1817 - m. Levi Neff, 2 Nov 1856, Henry Co, Ind. d. 2 Jan 1882, bur. Fall Creek twp, Henry Co, Ind. (8) Lydia Meliza - b. ca 1819 - m. John Summers, 5 Dec 1837, Henry Co, Indiana (9) Jacob Meliza-b. 12 Apr 1821- m. Margaret Sheflin/Shively,25 Mar 1841,Henry Co. d. 1 Dec 1889, bur. Adel, Dallas Co, Iowa SCHOOL RECORDS: An interesting source of genealogical information is school records - when they can be located. The following information is taken from the October 1992 issue of The Mirror, pages 1 & 6. "School teacher Owen Lovejoy Hurley was a burly fellow accustomed to picking up unruly boys by their overall straps, just to get their attention. Once, his students locked the door behind him while he was in the wood shed. His two requests for them to unlock the door went unheeded. There was no third request; he just crashed through the door, tearing it off its hinges. Usually, he was sent in to "straighten out" a school, so his tenure was not often lengthy. Despite his size, Owen wrote in a fine, delicate hand, the product of the "Palmer meth
od." He listed in a composition book the names and ages of the pupils in the schools where he taught. The book has been carefully preserved by his descendants, and is currently in the possession of Maurice Hurley, who allowed the Mirror to utilize it." Some of the children of John Johnson & Elizabeth Meliza, Samuel Johnson & Cyntha Ann Meliza, and Charles S. French & Amanda Meliza went to the rural Greenleaf School and are listed in Owen Hurley's book as follows: Greenleaf School 1885-1886 - Johnson - Henry, 12; Charley, 11; Eliza, 16; Grant, 19; Clara, 14; Mattie, 10. (Henry, Eliza & Mattie were the children of John & Elizabeth Johnson - Charley, Grant & Clara were the children of Samuel & Cyntha Johnson). French - Jessie, 17; Mary, 10; Lucinda, 14; Harry, 8. (There were only 35 students at Greenleaf that school year so almost 1/3 of the children attending were grandchildren of John & Barbary Meliza) Greenleaf School 1886-1887 - Johnson - Clara, 15; Eliza, 17; Henry, 14; Mattie, 11; Charley, 11. French - Mary, 12; Harry, 9; Jessie, 17; Lucinda, 14. (There were 32 children attending Greenleaf this school year) OTHER TIDBITS FROM THE OCTOBER 1992 MIRROR: (p. 4) "New Coal Shed at Harris - The first all-concrete coal shed of this vicinity will be the one to be erected by Frank H. Meliza for the Farmers' Grain Co. at Harris station, which will be commenced as soon as certain material arrives. The approximate dimensions are 80 feet long by 13 feet high and 12 feet deep. No wood will be used except possibly the doors. Even the roof will be reinforced concrete, while the window and door frames, and possibly the doors, will be of Steel." - From the Journal, 24 May 1912. (p. 15) - "J.B. Fuller last week received 360 lambs from Chicago which are now growing into sheephood on his farm near Fullerton." - Farmer City Journal, 9 Nov 1917. [NOTE: This has nothing to do with the family - I just liked the word "sheephood.") OBITUARY: The following obituary was contributed by Bob Meliza who found it on The Internet in one of Ancestry's temporary data bases. "PEORIA - Lyle H. Meliza, 86, of Peoria, died at 3:27 p.m. Monday, May 6, 1996, at Methodist Medical Center. Born Sept. 26, 1909, in Farmer City to Broe V. and Minnie U. Riggs Meliza, he married Florence S. Stephan on Jan. 18, 1932, in Indianapolis. She survives. Also surviving are one son, Ronald S. of Pittsburgh; one daughter, Mrs. Edward (Judith A.) Dixon of Montgomery; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three sisters, Cleo Meyer of Kingsport, Tenn., Juanita Jones of San Antonio and Margie Morrissey of Aurora; and two brothers, Kenneth F. of Oak Forest and Raymon of Mission Viejo, Calif. He was preceded in death by one brother and one sister. A Caterpillar Inc. employee for 27 years, he retired as the manager of the design and construction division on Sept. 30, 1969. Prior to that, he worked for the Civil Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration. In 1967, he was named Engineer of the Year by the Peoria Engineering Council. He was the head engineer of construction of Caterpillar's World Headquarters. He was instrumental in the building of the new Peoria County Courthouse. He received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1931. He was a member of Forrest Hill United Methodist Church. Private services will be at Wilton Mortuary. Cremation will be accorded. There will be no visitation. Memorials may be made to his church." - From Peoria Journal Star, 9 May 1996, page D7. GENEALOGICAL HUMOR: The following conversation was overheard at a party attended by high society people; "My ancestry goes all the way back to Alexander the Great," said one lady. She then turned to a second lady and asked, "And how far does your family got back?" "I don't know," was the reply. "All of our records were lost in The Flood." - I trace my family history so I will know who to blame. - Can a first cousin, once removed, return? - Searching for lost relatives? Win the lottery - I think my family tree is a few branches short of full bloom. - Life is l
ived forwards, but understood backwards. See you next month. Take care. Keep Warm. Love, Mary Mary K. Berg, 11700 Juniper Street NW, Coon Rapids, Minnesota 55448-2327 E-mail: