Lehigh County, located in eastern Pennsylvania, is an important part of my family history. My LaBar ancestors, including my great-great-grandfather Jesse LaBar (1835–1913), his wife Permila Showeriskey (1838–1913), and their daughter Laura LaBarre (1858–1925), lived in Slatington. Laura married Dr. David Walter Straub, whose Straub (also Stroup and Straup) family had earlier roots in the…
Slatington is of particular interest to me because my great-great-grandfather, Jesse LaBar (1835–1913), lived and worked there. Jesse spent much of his career in the slate industry, and the 1885 city directory lists him as a slate company superintendent residing at 417 Main Street. Interestingly, the history below credits Nelson LaBar, along with William Roberts,…
Lehigh County is of particular interest to me because several branches of my family lived in this region. My great-great-grandfather, Jesse LaBar (1835–1913), and his wife, Permila Showeriskey (1838–1913), lived in Slatington, where Jesse worked in the slate industry and operated several businesses. Their daughter, Laura LaBarre (1858–1925), married Dr. David Walter Straub (1855–1921), who…
City directories are wonderful resources for genealogists and local historians, providing a glimpse into the everyday lives of people who lived and worked in a community. Published periodically, these directories typically listed residents, occupations, home addresses, businesses, and sometimes the names of spouses. They are especially useful for tracing individuals between census years, documenting changes…
This article caught my attention because of my own LaBar family in Northampton and Lehigh Counties, Pennsylvania. Dunaway specifically mentions Peter Le Barre and his brothers, Charles and Abraham, French Huguenots who settled in the vicinity of the Delaware Water Gap about 1730. These three men are often identified as immigrant ancestors of the Pennsylvania…
Slatington is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, located 20 miles north of Bethlehem, 62 miles south of Scranton, and 70 miles north of Philadelphia. Situated across from Walnutport on the west side of the Lehigh River, Slatington is at the northeast corner of Washington Township. Before the first white settlers established homesteads in the…
These are from my postcard collection. You may use these any way you like. I have higher res versions if you need it for printing or publishing. My Slatington ancestors were the Labars, Jesse and his daughter Laura, who married into the Straub family.
