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Jeanette/Janette "Janet" (Holden) Stroh was born on June 21, 1829, the daughter of David and Mary Ann (Yonkin) Holden.

On Oct. 30, 1851, she wed blacksmith William Stroh (Dec. 17, 1828-1889), a native of Livingston County, NY. The ceremony was led by Rev. John J. Reimensnyder in Pottsgrove, Northumberland County. Earlier that very same day, in Danville, PA, William's relative David F. Stroh tied the knot with Christianna, who then traveled together to attend the later affair. 

Their trio of children were Adelaide "Addie" Stroh, Mary Jeanette Stroh and William Holden Stroh. 

William stood 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed 172 lbs. During the war, he went to Pittsburgh on Aug. 14, 1862 to join the Union Army. He was assigned to the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Battery M, known as "David Schooley's Battery." 

His regiment was stationed in early 1862 at Camden, NJ. It primarily spent its first two years building and staffing a ring of fortifications around the District of Columbia, including in March 1863 at Fort Saratoga, a temporary earthwork structure in the northeast section of the District of Columbia, and later the earthen Fort Stevens to the north. Fort Stevens is notable because it came under enemy fire in July 1864, in an attack by Confederate Gen. Jubal Early, and President Abraham Lincoln was there and witnessed the battle, the only time in American history when a seated chief executive came under fire from an enemy combatant during wartime.

Above: 2nd Pennsylvania Artillery troops under inspection by Gen. Adelbert Ames - Library of Congress. Below: Union assault on Chaffin's Farm, VA, in which the regiment took part - both sketched by William Waud - Wikipedia

William was assigned the duties of mechanic/blacksmith ("artificer") and commissary. He often was forced to work in the rain and sleep under wagons for protection from the elements. The regiment saw its first battle on July 15, 1864 in some of the first assaults of the siege of Petersburg. It also took part in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in September 1864 in Virginia and an attack on nearby Fort Harrison west of New Market Heights.

While on duty at Petersburg, VA in July 1864, he contracted typhoid fever and was treated in a base hospital at 18th Avenue at Broadway Landing. During that period of confinement, fellow soldier John F. Trube of West Pittston also received treatment in the facility. 

From there, William entered Point of Rocks Hospital in Virginia. He "remained until the time of his discharge in June 1865," wrote a physician, improving enough that he worked at light duty as superintendent of an army blacksmith shop. William received his honorable discharge at Petersburg and returned home.

The Strohs migrated to Pittston after the close of the war, where he established his trade as a blacksmith. 

Tragically, the family endured the heartbreaking death of daughter Adelaide at age 15 on the Fourth of July 1868 in the same accident that claimed the life of Jeanette's mother. 

William's return-address envelope and letter to the pension commissioner, 1889 Courtesy National Archives

The Strohs somehow managed to overcome the horror of these senseless deaths. William joined the Nugent Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veterans' organization. He "has always been a highly respected and industrious citizen and had many friends throughout the entire valley," said the Pittston Evening Gazette. "He has been for many years a member of the Broad Street M.E. Church." 

As he aged, William suffered from his wartime ailments and vomited several times a day. In 1869, he and son-in-law Frank Bonstein worked together in the blacksmith shop, with Bonstein later writing, "during that time, often heart him complain of stomach trouble, he called it catarrh of the stomach, and at times after shoeing horses he would be very sick at his stomach and obliged to rest and grew worse until 1882 when he was obliged to give up work entirely." He was treated in 1881, 1883 and 1888 by Dr. J.M. Mulholland who at times got calls at night and regularly inserted a catheter into the stomach to draw out liquid and mucus. 

William unsuccessfully applied to receive a government pension as compensation for his military service. [Invalid App. No. 511.142] He underwent a physical examination by military surgeons in 1884 and again in 1888 claiming he suffered from "catarrh" in the stomach as a result of fever and cold. The 1884 medical response, after a year in which he had not worked at all, was that "we find [the lungs] health at all points & the heart normal. He has the appearance of being a strong and healthy individual. In 1888, the medical report said that, despite his occupation as a blacksmith, "the hands show no labor." 

Pittston as seen from Sand Hill - courtesy Library of Congress

The Strohs' final home together was at 30 Church Street. William passed away on May 1, 1889. An obituary in the Evening Gazette said that he "had suffered for many years from a complication of diseases, and was last Saturday taken with a severe spell of sickness. He had recovered a great deal, however, and his friends had hoped that he would soon regain his usual health. For a couple of days past he had grown worse and sank rapidly until death came to his relief." 

Another obituary in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reported that he "was for a number of years a prominent blacksmith of the town and formerly carried on the business in the shop now run by his son William, Jr. He is one of Pittston's oldest citizens [and] he is said to have amassed a fortune as the result of his labor at his trade. He was highly esteemed in the borough, a large circle of friends mourning his sudden demise." His remains were laid to rest in Pittston City Cemetery following services held in the Stroh home, led by Rev. W.J. Hill and Rev. Y.C. Smith. There was a large turnout of his fellow members of the Nugent GAR post. 

Jeanette immediately filed for her husband's pension, with family friends Joseph Langford, Wells Stevens and Lewis Vansickle providing affidavits of support in her case. Her pension claim also was turned down. [Widow App. No. 405.051] She outlived him by six-plus years and remained on Church Street. In September 1893, she received a visit from Mrs. Rev. P.S. (Lucetta Bartran) Everett of Waukesha, WI, an old friend from Pittston.

She suffered from liver problems and in July 1895 was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. Sadly, she died in Pittston on Sept. 24, 1895. Her newspaper obituary said she "was an earnest Christian woman, with other excellent qualities that won for her a large circle of acquaintances. She was a member of the Broad Street M.E. Church, and took an active interest in the work."

~ Daughter Adelaide Stroh ~

Daughter Adelaide "Addie" Stroh (1853-1868) was born on Jan. 4, 1853. 

She grew up in Pittston and, said the Pittston Gazette, "enjoyed perfect health, and like her father, a robust constitution. In stature she was a woman, and womanly and dutiful in all her relations. At home she had assumed many of those responsibilities which not only endeared, but rendered her, as it was indispensible." She held memberships in the Methodist Church and attended its Sunday School. 

Tragically, at the age of 15, Adelaide and her grandmother were killed in a freak Fourth of July celebration accident in 1868. She received a horrific wound in the head and within two hours was dead. Her funeral service was conducted by Rev. Y.C. Smith, the sermon drawn from the fourth verse of Psalm 23: "Yea I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The Gazette added that the "sermon was a faithful warning to the living to be mindful of death." Assisting Rev. Smith in the rites were Rev. George M. Peck, Rev. N.G. Parke and Rev. J.R. Shanafelt. 

"To the grave, in the West Pittston Cemetery, a large procession followed," said the Gazette. "The choir sung from the Hymn: 'She sleeps in the Valley so sweet' after which the usual burial service was read by Mr. Peck. That a compassionate Heavenly Father may temper this deep affliction to those upon whom it falls, is the prayer of a sympathizing community."

~ Daughter Mary Jeanette "Jennie" (Stroh) Bonstein ~

Daughter Mary Jeanette "Jennie" Stroh (1857-1917) was born on Jan. 27, 1857. 

She tied the marital cord with Frank Bonstein (Jan. 27, 1852-1927), originally from West Pittston, and the son of John and Mary J. (Bovard) Bonstein. His birthdate also has been given as Aug. 15, 1852. 

The couple did not reproduce. 

When Frank was age 17, in 1869, he worked in the blacksmith shop of his future father-in-law. Frank earned a living as a painter and wallpaper hanger. He held memberships in the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church, the Valley Lodge of the Masons, the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Royal Arcanum, the Wyoming Valley Commandery of the Knights Templar and the Gahonto Lodge of the Odd Fellows. 

Jeanette was a volunteer with the First Methodist Episcopal Church and "was one of its most active and earnest workers," said the Pittston Gazette. "For many years she had been president of the Foreign Missionary Society of the church and as a teacher in the Sunday school she was most efficient. She was a thorough student of the Bible and her knowledge of the Scriptures was more than ordinary. She was a most capable teacher and frequently addressed the Sunday school on Bible topics." 

As of 1917, they shared a home at 30 Church Street, Pittston. Jeanette suffered for years from chronic gastro-intestinal disease and at the age of 60 developed a narrowing of the opening between her stomach and small intestine ("pyloric stenosis"). Unable to rally, Jeanette was carried away by the heavenly host on July 9, 1917. An examining physician wrote that her condition was "complicated with pancreatitis (probably malignant) and excessive mental and nervous depression." The Gazette said that she had "suffered a break down in health [a year ago] leaving her in an incapacitated condition for the past few months." Rev. A.D. Decker, her pastor, presided over the funeral rites. 

Frank lived for another decade as a widower. He retired in about 1921. Then in about 1927, he moved into the home of his married sister Mrs. John Urban at 30 Montgomery Avenue on the West Side. Burdened with heart disease, he succumbed to the spectre of death at the age of 75 on Sept. 11, 1927. Said the Gazette, he "had a rugged constitution and with the exception of the last year or two enjoyed good health all his life. He had been in failing health for the past year, but was able to be about and Saturday night was about town. The end came very suddenly early yesterday morning while Mr. Bonstein was in bed." 

The funeral service jointly was conducted by his pastor, Rev. J. Arthur Jones, and Rev. Richard A. Rinker of the First Presbyterian Church. Interment was in the sacred soil of Pittston Cemetery. The mourners included "a large company of acquaintances and old friends, many of whom had expressed their sympathy and esteem by sending flowers," said the Gazette. The pair sleep for all time in Pittston Cemetery.

~ Son William Holden "Will" Stroh ~

Son William Holden "Will" Stroh (1860-1924) was born on Feb. 11, 1860 in Pittston, Luzerne County, PA. 

He was joined in wedlock with Elizabeth "May" Wise (Sept. 8, 1867-1940), also spelled "Weis" and a native of Carlisle or Shippensburg, PA. 

One known daughter was Marjorie Koch. 

The Strohs dwelled at 39 Wood Street in Pittston. William earned a living as a painter in young manhood. He also was an expert rifle shot and enjoyed recreation of the outdoors. He also is believed to have helped with his father's blacksmith shop in Pittston's William Street. Some years later the site was taken over by Krise's Garage. William also operated a milk dairy on William Street. 

"Due to his business connections and his associations with the leading sportsmen of this community, Mr. Stroh became widely known," said the Pittston Gazette. They held a membership in the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church. 

After suffering a stroke of paralysis in the first week of December 1923, he never fully recovered. Death finally carried him away at the age of 64 on March 5, 1924. The Gazette said that "His death was not unexpected." An obituary said that a "number of friends of the deceased gathered at the family home at the hour appointed for the funeral, while the number of floral offerings in evidence testified further as to the esteem in which the deceased was held." Another obituary said he was "the last survivor of one of the oldest families of the city." Rev. H.M. Kelley, of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over the services, with help from the congregation's former pastor Rev. Alexander Decker, now of Wilkes-Barre. The remains were lowered into eternal sleep in the Pittston Cemetery. Daughter Marjorie served as the informant for the official Pennsylvania certificate of death and incorrectly claimed that both of her father's parents had been born in England. 

May outlived her spouse by 16 years and moved into her married daughter's residence in Milton, Northumberland County. 

There, after enduring chronic heart disease and bronchial asthma, she died on July 28, 1940. An obituary in the Gazette said that "Pittston friends were deeply grieved today when informed of the death... Only recently Mrs. Stroh had been to Pittston to visit old friends and had spent a week at the home of a West Pittston friend. She appeared to be enjoying her usual good health and local friends were altogether unprepared for tidings of her death. Mrs. Stroh was a member of one of Pittston's oldest and most respected families, the family home having been for a number of years at 29 Wood street." Leading her funeral rites were Rev. Austin L. Prynn, of the First Methodist Church, and Rev. Ivan L. Snyder.

Daughter Marjorie Stroh ( ? -1995) wed George W. Koch Sr. (1890-1963), a native of West Pittston. Their union endured the highs and lows of 37 years. The pair produced one son, George W. Koch Jr. George was employed by the A&P Tea Company as an assistant superintendent for several years. The family lived in Berwick, Williamsport, Milton and then Daytona Beach, FL. After his retirement in 1954, they returned to Berwick. He then went to work for Rea and Derrick Store in Berwick, retiring again in 1961. He held memberships in the First Methodist Church of Berwick, the Berwick lodge of the Elks and the Defender Fire Company. Their final home together was at 118-A East Front Street, Berwick, PA. He became ill in mid-1963 and for the last four months of his life was confined to bed. He passed away at the age of 73 on Dec. 29, 1963. He was laid to rest beside Marjorie's ill-fated young aunt Adelaide in Pittston Cemetery. An obituary appeared in the Bloomsburg Morning Press. Marjorie stayed in their apartment for the balance of her 31 remaining years. Death snatched her away on New Year's Day 1995. A brief death notice appeared in the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise.

• Grandson George W. Koch Jr. (1928-1978) was born three days before Christmas 1928 in Berwick, PA. He married Marlene ( ? - ? ). They became the parents of Sharlene Mae Koch. By 1977, the couple divorced. For 20 years, from 1952 to 1972, George worked for the U.S. Army at its Letterkenny Army Depot. He retired in 1972 holding the rank of sergeant first class. George held a variety of memberships in the Charles Nitterhouse post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Burt J. Asper post of the American Legion, Amvets, Waynesboro aerie of the Eagles, and Knapp lodge of the Masons in Berwick. George's last address was 547 South Second Street, Chambersburg. He died in the emergency room of Chambersburg Hospital at the age of 49 on Jan. 10, 1978. The Chambersburg Public Opinion printed an obituary. Circa 1978, daughter Sharlene made her dwelling-place in Waynesboro, PA, and received an associate degree in business administration from Penn State University's Mont Alto Campus.