Introduction and acknowledgments"Who am I?" "Where did I come from" "Why am I short?" "Of all the gin joints in all the world, how the hell did I end up being born in Kansas?" These are questions all of us ask from time to time. To find the answers, we often look to the past.I got into genealogy when my grandfather, John Shrader Riley, in his nearly-illegible chicken scratch, sent me a transcription of his family tree from the centerfold of his Bible. His letters launched me into a 20-year, on-again-off-again pursuit of my roots. I now have a database containing more than 14,000 names, collected from Census records, published histories and various Web sites. Some of the information is documented; some awaits further research.
The first installment of this generational saga is about my father's maternal grandparents, the Linebaughs. I chose them for a couple of reasons. One, my grandmother, Viola Linebaugh Sharp, provided a wealth of information, including names, dates and photos. Two, the Linebaugh/Leinbach family has been very thoroughly researched and documented because of their association with the Moravian Church. My research has taken me to several museums and libraries, including the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I have corresponded with newly found cousins who were also researching the Linebaughs/Leinbachs. They have been very helpful, and so I am pleased to acknowledge them: Lin Garber started a blog about his travels through Leimbach homelands in Germany after I requested some information from him; Laurel Miller, author of Leinbachs in America: The First Five Generations (which is, unfortunately, out of print. I would love to get my hands on a copy.) offered helpful advice; Janet Ariciu has a Web site with a lot of Leinbach lore; and Don Lineback's Web site has an extensive history and photos. I have tried to build on their work. The people at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pa., were also helpful. Speaking of the Moravian Church, the Unitas Fratrum has a rich, fascinating history. I have glossed over a lot of it, but then, I'm not writing a history of the Moravians, but rather how the church affected the Leinbachs, and vice versa. Anyone wanting more information about the Moravians should check out my sources. This rough draft of a piece of work I hope to publish someday ends with the death of immigrant Johannes Leinbach. I am working on further installments of succeeding generations, focusing on my direct line of ancestry. (So this will NOT be a definitive history of all Linebaughs/Leinbachs.) I would be very interested in any feedback.
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