History Museum, Austin, Potter Co., PA

My goal for gathering family history on this year's late August trip to Pennsylvania, was to determine the fate of Leah, nee. Lewis the former wife of Julius Strike. Julius was the brother of my biological grandfather, Otto Strike, and my father's adoptive mother, Martha (Streich) Kramp.

According to Leah's obituary, she died in Austin, Potter Co., PA, in 1929. She was survived by her last husband, Delbert Lininger; a daugter and son by previous marriages; and a 6 yr old daughter named Marcia Lininger.

I had previously uncovered the facts that the children of Leah's former marriages were Martha Strike (with Julius) and Gilbert Rook (with ___ Rook).

I thought the History and Genealogical Society for Potter County located in Coudersport might be able to provide more information on the Lininger family. On the way to Coudersport, I stopped in Austin to take pictures of the Methodist Church in which Leah's funeral service was reportedly conducted. Across the street from the church was Austin's Historical Society (see image above). They have a lot of information and memorabilia of Austin's Flood in 1911. I asked the curaotor if he knew anything about a Lininger family who used to live in the town at least in 1930. His gave me an affirmative answer; turned around and made a phone call, and within a few minutes I was talking to a living relative, a granddaughter of Delbert Lininger, who was visiting her daughter in town. Bingo! I never made it to the genealogical society in Coudersport this day. I was busy mining our family's genealogy right here in Austin.

Turns out Rita was the daughter of George Lininger who was Delbert Lininger's oldest son from his first marrieage to Carrie Morris. He was therefore a half brother to Leah and Delbert's only child, Marcia, and step-brother to Leah other children, Martha and Gilbert. As you can imagine, the genealogy is a little complicated to explain here, and I will have to put it in my database when I return home and then post it to my father's genealogical web site. To get the genealogy started, the 7 year old Marcia Gretchen Leninger mentioned in Leah's 1929 obituary grew up in Austin and married Richard "Bud" Lentz, and they had two children: Ruth and Gilbert- who I believe are still living.

Marcia G. Lininger (1921-1970) and Richard Lentz (1919-2002) are buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, just south of Austin, PA. And I also recorded with my digital camera several other family members buried at Forest Hill.