GMW Surname Links Page GMW Surname Links Page

About the Eckenrode Family

My family arrived in Pennsylvania on September 5, 1743. We have served in every major war fought by this country starting with the American Revolution. We were pioneers that helped settle the dangerous west when Indians were the primary inhabitants of what became central and western Pennsylvania. It was in central Pennsylvania that the family did the majority of its growth. And from the small towns of Loretto, Huntingdon, and Gallitzin we migrated to new parts of this country as they were opened for settlement.

In my travels, both in person and on the Internet, I have found many distant cousins all over this country. I have also found that people that I grew up with are actually distant relatives.

My family moved to Huntingdon in 1970 from Sinking Valley. My father was the greenskeeper in charge of the construction of the Standing Stone Country Club north of town on 26. My sister Sandy and I are both graduates of Huntingdon High School in the mid 70's. I can't believe how things have changed since then.

We were both proud members of the band under Benny Truax and William Croisssant and represented the school at county and district band.

I don't get back to town as often as I would like because my work keeps me busy. But, when I do I like to cruise out to the lake to relax or get out to Standing Stone CC, American Legion Country Club in Mount Union, or Sinking Valley Country Club for a nice relaxing round or two.

I have asked my nephew Aaron Rhone to send me anything that he would like to add to this page, as it is our family's web site. So time-to-time there will be some interesting updates. Aaron is suffering from a rare disorder called Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome. There is a link below to the support group for CVS. There has been a lot of news coverage recently on this disorder. My sister told me that she and Aaron have been invited to appear on an upcoming segment of the Leeza show discussing rare disorders.

The problem with having a disorder such as this is the mis-diagnosis that occurs on a regular basis. Before finding doctors that understood what was happening, he was diagnosed as bolemic and anti-social. The doctor said that he was doing this to get out of going to school. But that doctor doesn't have a very good track record with our family.

Please visit our favorite sites and you might get a little more insite to us.

Enjoy.

Greg


About this Project (Under Construction)

This project started for me as I tried to get a grasp on the beginnings of my family's growth in the United States. My purpose was to make a chronologial representation of the family that I could pass on to my nephew and daughter so that they would know where their family came from.

What started out fairly simply has become a very involved process that has had me in contact with relatives/cousins, many distant, who have been doing the same thing. I think the most interesting discovery was through a cousin in California that turned me onto a book written about the family. I am looking forward to getting my copy.

Many of the things in this book seem to confirm my suspicions of a change in the spelling of the family name. What is really interesting is the number of different spellings that I have been finding.

In the 1700's, when the family first came to this country, the census was being taken by volunteers. Many of these people did not understand the German language and its specific pronunciations. It is not surprising that the name Eckroth (a signature on documents found on estate indicate this to be the original spelling) could be mispelled. The german pronunciation would be ek' rot (with the long o). Therefore seeing spellings such as Eckwrot and Eckrote make some sense.

It wasn't very long after 1741 that the name Eckenroth appears to have evolved and then a short time after that Eckenrode.

As the family grew and expanded they became pioneers and set out to settle on the frontier of Western Pennsylvania. From what is now Cambria County, the family multiplied rapidly. From there we would go on to settle in Ohio and Indiana.

As this page evolves, I plan to add the family tree (currently over 1000 names dating back to 1741) as I have it and additional resources that I stumble onto. I may even post a Gedcom file for downloading. I possess a copy of the Loretto Centenary from Loretto, PA and have volunteered to be a resource for people researching thier families in Central Pennsylvania


Family Tree

The Next few pages contain the majority of my family tree. If you are from Central Pennsylvania there are probably a few names that are recognizable from the area. These pages will continue to be updated and will increase in size. Enjoy your journey. The first is my immediate lineage in chart form. It takes you back to my grandfather. The next two pages continue from my grandfather back to the original immigrant to settle in Pennsylvania. I am using Family Ties software which does allow for conversion to and from GEDCOM format. So, if anyone wants to trade files, please contact me.


Genealogy

Begin: My Immediate Lineage
Family Pictures
Genealogy Photo Album
Trumpet Players Online:
Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome: Info and links about this rare disorder