The Genealogy Bits: METCALF Research

METCALF RESEARCH
(MEDCALFE)

Contents

Evidence of Sarah Rebecca Metcalf
Who Were Sarah's Parents?
Looking for Metcalfs

The first evidence of Sarah Rebecca METCALF is her tombstone. It rests at the Fawn Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery in York Co, Pennsylvania. The four-pointed marble pillar reads:

ALLEN A. CHANNELL 1818-1889 SARAH R. HIS WIFE 1836-1900 Gone but not forgotten

At the stone's base is an inscription that indicates that the stone was placed by the children of their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth (CHANNELL) ALLOWAY.

Her first definitive appearance, that I have been able to find, is the 1860 York County Pennsylvania Census in Fawn Township.


Channell, Allen  40   M  Laborer  Pennsylvania

  , Rebecca     (26?) F  Wife     Maryland

  , Sarah E.      4   F           Pennsylvania

  , George W.     2   M           Pennsylvania

She appears again in the 1870 York County Pennsylvania Census.


Channell, Allen A.  52 M  Farmer         Pennsylvania

  , Sarah R.        32 F  Keeping House  Maryland

  , Sarah E.        14 F                 Pennsylvania

  , George W.       11 M                 Pennsylvania

Her last census appearance is in the 1880 York County Pennsylvania Census at Fawn Township.


Channell, Allen A.  M 61        PA  PA  PA  Farmer

  , Sarah R.        F 44  Wife  MD  MD  MD  Keeping House

  , George W.       M 21  Son   PA  PA  MD  Farm Labour

Who Were Sarah's Parents?

I have no idea.

I have not been able to find concurrent METCALFs in Harford, Baltimore, or York Counties, and haven't found the time or resources to extend the search. Most of the census entries (shown above) agree that she was born in Maryland. The 1880 Census goes one step further, explaining that her parents were also born in Maryland.

Looking for Metcalfs

In looking for the parents of Sarah Rebecca METCALF, I first searched through the county census records for the areas immediately surrounding York County, Pennsylvania. Although I can't be sure my searches were conclusive (it's possible I could have missed the name), I did not find any METCALFs.

Next, I visited the Historical Society of Harford County, in Bel Air, Maryland. They keep family folders on surnames that they've received correspondence on, and for obituaries. They did not have a METCALF folder, but they did have a MEDCALFE folder. A variant spelling? The folder contained little valuable information, but it did have letters written by a fellow researcher, seeking the same answers that I was, a few years earlier. I wrote a letter to the researcher hoping that she had found some answers in the interim. She telephoned me back days later but was only able to confirm my troubles. She was; however, able to fill me in on Sarah Elizabeth CHANNELL's descendants.

I am still searching for METCALFs in 19th century Maryland.