The Spainhour's (Spainhower's)

I have already blogged about genetics now let me tell you where I came from. The Spainhour's that is. Some people may be able to trace their families back for centuries and some may not. Believe it or not I can trace the Spainhour name back to the 1500's in Switzerland. People get confused about the spelling of the Spainhour name and sometimes I do too...lol. 

This is the Spainhour Cabin at Central Park in King. It was deconstructed and moved to this location and reconstructed. 

This is on the front of the cabin telling the history. The spelling of the Spainhour name changed several times over the years. 

This is a view of the chimneys of the cabins. The one closest is the kitchen cabin and the front one is the main house.

The Veterans Memorial at Central Park is really neat. If you are from NC or around NC, I am sure you have heard about it on the news. The Christian Flag ordeal. Anyway, the walk around the main memorial has bricks with veterans names etc on them. 

This is my grandfathers stone. He passed away before I was born. His service was in France during WWI.

This is my great grandpa, Henry Erastus Spainhower.

Elsie Mae Scott Spainhour and Beverly Eugene Spainhour. This is my grandpa and grandma. When they married, she was 16 and he was 35. Wonder how that would go over today? I guess I wouldn't be here if they did not. Also grandpa built that rock house behind them. 

My grandpa Spainhour far left in the front and my dad Perry Erastus, far right in the back. On my dads tomb stone, the Spelling is hower and his fathers too. Its confusing because we spell it hour until we die then its hower...lol. 

This is the Spainhower family crest. Yes I had it tattooed on my arm. I think it turned out good. The next part is long and probably boring to most readers. To me its interesting because its about me.....lol. Highlighted in red is of importance and blue is my direct lineage.

A record of the Spainhour family has been kept in the church of  St. Arbogast at Muttenz, Bassel, Switzerland since the beginning of the reformation in 1527, but the record before 1600 is so faded as to be illegible. The older members of the family are buried in the church yard there, which is one of the oldest in Switzerland. The following information on the early Spainhour’s was obtained from the church of Abrogast, Switzerland.

I Abrogast Spoenhauer  *born 1578 Muttenz, Bassel, Switzerland

Married Anna Martman, born 1580 “ “

Died 1631 They had 5 children:

2a-Bernhard Spoenhauer -b 1602  Switzerland

2b-Barbara Spoenhauer -b 1607 Switzerland –d April 30,1687 married Mathis Ochaman

2c-Anna Spoenhauer-b 1608 married (1) Jakob Haab on Feb 28,1630

          (2) Fridli Obermeyer on July 18,1636

          (3) Hans Steler on Jan 25,1642

2d-Hans Spoenhauer* b-1614 married May 29,1638 to Elizabeth Suss

2e-Arbogast  Spoenhauer b-1616 married (1) Maria Ruoflin

    (2) Elisabeth Vogtlu

2d Hans Spoenhauer* b-1614 – Muttenz,Switzerland  d-March 11,1675 in Muttenz,Switzerland

Married May 29,1638 to Elizabeth Suss b-1610 d-Nov 28,1683 They had 6 children:

3a-Barbara Spoenhauer – b May 12,1639 in Muttenz,Switzerland and married  July      5,1669 to Bernhard Banestein

3b- Elisabeth Spoenhauer –b June 27,1644 in Muttenz,Switzerland d-Dec 10,1708  married Nov 15 1667 to Duro Leuppie

3c-Agnes Spoenhauer –b Feb 12,1643 in Muttenz,Switzerland d-April 16, 1713 married August 24,1695 to Oswald Schmidlin

3d- Katherina Spoenhauer –b March 29,1646 in Muttenz,Switzerland

3e- Ursula Spoenhauer – b Sept 5,1648 in Muttenz,Switzerland

3f- Wernhardt Spoenhauer – b Jan 15,1651 in Muttenz,Switzerland d- May 2,1713 married Barbara Seiler, born 1656 died Feb 26,1708

3f Wernhardt Spoenhauer* (1651-1713) wife Barbara Seiler (or Sisler) (1656-1708) had 6 children

4a – Katherina Spoenhauer  b- Oct 31,1680 in Muttenz and d- Feb 21,1693? married March 10,1710 to hans Jakob Pfarr

4b – Barbara Spoenhauer – b- April 29,1683 in Muttenz and d-Aug 28 1723 married Jan 8, 1708 to  Hans Jakob Urbin

4c – Johannes (John) Spoenhauer – b- Dec 20,1685 in Muttenz and d- Aug 31,1761 married --??—to Maria Rfirter

4d – Wernhardt Spoenhauer II – b- Feb 19,1688 in Muttenz and d- March 3,1737 married Elizabeth Spitteler

4e – Niklaus Spoenhauer – b- about 1690 and married Ursula Schaub

4f- Elisabeth Spoenhauer – b – Jan 17,1692 Muttenz, Switzerland married Heinrich (Henry) Brodbeck

4d Wernhardt Spoenhauer II*  b- Feb 19,1688 d- March 30, 1737 married June 1714 to Elizabeth Spitteler, daughter of Mathias Spitteler, Do not know her birth and death date. They had 7 children:

5a – Barbel Spoenhauer –b – March 24,1715 d-April 3,1717

5b – Heinrich (Henry) Spoenhauer –b- Aug 2,1716 d- Oct 3,1788

5c – Wernhardt Spoenhauer III – b – July 16,1719 d- June 6,1787 (Bethania, NC)

5d – Anna Spoenhauer –b- Dec 29,1720 d-Jan 12,1803 mar. Heinrick Tachudi

5e – Barbara Spoenhauer – b- Jan 3,1723

5f – John Jacob Spoenhauer – b – Feb 10, 1724 d-Oct 19,1724

5g – Elizabeth Spoenhauer –b- Feb 21,1726 d-Feb 22,1726

Heinrich, Wernhardt, Anna, Barbara and their mother came to America landing at Piladelphia, Pa in August 1740. They moved to New River in 1760; were burned out by the Indians and moved to Bethania, NC in 1763 

5c Wernhardt Spoenhauer*  (1719-1787) Left will in Surry County, NC 

Married (1) Verona Wister in 1749

(2) Elisabeth Lohner in 1752  - She was the daughter of Frederick Lohner who came from Switzerland to Philadelphia in 1740 1 child by 1st marriage.

6a – John Jacob Spoenhauer –b- Nov 7,1750 d- 1822 6 children by 2nd marriage

6b – Michael Spoenhauer – b- Jan 2,1753 d- April 2, 1827

6c – Mary Eve Spoenhauer – b- Nov 30,1755 d- Aug 5, 1835

6d – Henry Spoenhauer –b- abt 1758 d-April 23,1821 in Stokes Co, NC

6e – Elisabeth Spoenhauer –b- abt 1760 d-? Married Johan Adam Fiseus

6f – John Spoenhauer – b- abt 1765

6g – Peter Spoenhauer –b- Aug 25, 1769 in Bethania, NC and died in Burx Co. NC on Aug   1, 1854 Married March 29, 1796 to Catherine Elizabeth Rider, who was born at Rider’s Grove, PA on April 9, 1775 and they had 10 children.

Mary eve Spoenhauer married Rev. John Daub, born in Germany March 27, 1748; died Oct 26,1814 Minister of the Methodist Church

6a John Jacob Spainhower*   , born nov 7,1750 in PA and died Dec 12, 1822 in Stoked County, NC. Married about 1773 to Anna Catherine Volk; born june 22,1751 in PA and died April 27,1814. She was the daughter of Andreas Volk and wife Magdalena Romig. They had 6 sons and 7 daughters:

7a – Magdalena Spainhower – b- April 12,1774

7b – Catherina Spainhower – b – July 28, 1776

7c – Barbara Spainhower –b- April 4,1777 married John Rider

7d – Joseph Spainhower –b- May 31, 1778

7e – Jacob Spainhower –b- Feb 16, 1780 married Elizabeth Harris

7f – Jonathan Spainhower – b- March 5,1781 married Katy Boose

7g – Johannes (John) Spainhower –b-June 19,1782 married Elisabeth Helsabeck

7h – Solomon Spainhower –b- May 19,1784 married Maria Conrad

7i – David Spainhower –b- May 22,1786 married Katherine Helsabeck

7j – Marie Elizabeth Spainhower –b- Nov 20, 1787 married Johannes Kreeger

7k – Rebecca Spainhower –b- abt 1789  married Leinbeck

7l – Margaret Spainhower –b- abt 1791 married John Doub Jr

7m – Verona Franky Spainhower – b- abt 1793 married Beroth

The Volks (or Fulks) lived on Bershva Creek which runs into the Yadkin River

Solomon Spainhower’s will in Danbury book #5, page 51

David Spainhower’s will in Danbury book #4, page 198

Jacob Spainhower’s will in Danbury book #2, page 155 ½

Johannes (John) Spainhower’s will in Danbury book #4, page 241

7g Johannes (John) Spainhower*    -b- June 19, 1782 Married Dec 23, 1806 to Elizabeth helsabeck ; born July 8,1782 daughter of Jacob Henry Helsabeck and wife Eve Fiscus. They had 7 childern:

8a – Maria Magdalena Spainhower – b- Feb 28,1808

8b – Susanna Spainhower –b – June 19,1809

8c – Carl (Charles) Spainhower –b- Sept 18, 1812

8d – Anna Catherine Spainhower –b- Aug 23, 1810

8e – Emanuel Spainhower-b- July 11, 1814

8f – Martin Thomas Spainhower –b- March 31, 1817

8g – John Frederick Spainhower –b- March 28, 1822

8g John Frederick Spainhower*    -b- March 28, 1822 Killed in Civil War, died September 18, 1865 and is buried at Antioch Methodist Church near Rural Hall. Married December 20,1852 to Sarah Ann Anderson. They had 5 children together. After John Fredreick’s death she married John Null and they had 2 daughters Eliza and Lizza. She was buried at “Old Dutch Meeting House” Rural Hall, NC       

9a Charles Nathaniel Spainhower    -b- abt 1853 (1) Harriett Lineback and they had five children.

10a – John R Spainhower – b –Aug 18, 1881 –d- jan 14, 1955

10b – Henry N Spainhower married Mary Crater

10c – Victoria Spainhower married Everett Ketner

Married (2) Gussie White (widow) They had 2 children:

10d – Charles Spainhower

10e – Mattie Spainhower married Oscar Bedford

9b – Winfield Spainhower –b- Dec 12,1854 –d- Mar 4,1916 married Ellen Grabs –       daughter of Mr & Mrs James Grabs. Both are buried in Moravian graveyard in Bethania NC, They had 3 children.

10a – Infant b&d Oct 10,1881

10b – Sallie Spainhower –b- Feb 12, 1883 –d- Dec 15, 1949

10c – Georgia Spainhower –b- Jan 9, 1890 married Carl F Carroll (son of James Lacy Carroll and wife Tammy Rufin) They had 3 children.

11a-Frances Christine Carroll –b-Sept 18, 1916 married Ray E Marshall

11b – Karl Janett Carroll – b- April 30, 1920 married James W Snipes, Jr

11c – Lawrence Winfield Carroll –b- April 1, 1930 married Betty Davis

9c – John Spainhower –b- about 1856

9d – James Spainhower –b- died in infancy

9e -  Henry Erastus Spainhower –b- Feb 12, 1858 –d- March 6, 1928 married Sarah Ellen      Vogler. They had 8 children:

10a – Lou Ella Spainhower – b-May 2, 1881 –d-Oct ? 1960 Married al Johnson  and they had 3 children.

11a – Johnny Johnson married Wilma Long

11b – Flora Johnson married Gafton Long

11c – lemmie Johnson married bill Bullis

10b – Seborn Spainhower –b- Aug 11, 1882 –d- Nov 3, 1882

10c – Henry A Erastus Spainhower –b- Nov 14, 1883 –d- Oct 20,1890 or 91 age 7

10d -  Sarah Ann Spainhower- b – Aug 18, 1886 –d- abt 1943 married (1) Benjamin Frank Scott and had 5 children

11a – Erastus (Rassie) Scott

11b – Grace (Gracie) Scott married Croby Atkins

11c – Josie (Jo) Ellen Scott married Everette McGee

11d – Nellie (Nell) Scott married Ralph Douglas

11e – Carl William Scott married Reba Terry

10e – Minnie Lee Spainhour – b- May 13, 1888 –d- Oct 1, 1977 married John Fitzgerald and they had 3 children:

11a – Johnnie Fitzgerald

11b – Goldie Fizgerald married Wilborn Taylor

11c – Margaret Fitzgerald married (1) David Stone (2) Eugene Linn

10f – Stillborn baby May 22, 1891

10g – Eugene Beverly Spainhour –b- march 29, 1893 –d- May 2, 1966 

10h – Mamie lee Spainhour –b- April 5, 1897 –d- Oct 11, 1974 Married Benjamin Forrest and they had 2 children:

11a – Koke Forrest

11b – Fred Forrest

11c – Stillborn Twins

10g – Eugene Beverly Spainhour (1893-1966) married March 15, 1929 to Elsie Scott b-Feb 17 1913 (she was 16 and he was 35) Daughter of Perry Scott and wife Delia Hobson Scott. They had 5 children. 

11a – Delia Ellen Spainhour –b- may 28, 1932

11b – Henry Winfield Spainhour –b-Dec 7, 1933 –d-Nov 7, 1971 age 37 married Shirlene Margaret Pack and had one son Jimmy Wayne Spainhour

11c – Perry Erastus Spainhour –b- Dec 16, 1936 married Barbara Ruth Isaacs and have 3 children

12a – Perry Randal Spainhour -b- Jan 16, 1962

12b – Teressa Ann Spainhour Wright – b- March 7, 1970

12c – Christopher Brian Spainhour –b- June 7, 1972

11d – Stillborn daughter

11e – Nelda Gay Spainhour –b-March 19,1944 married (1) Ocer Martin (2) Stacy Brown

12a – Beverly Gay Martin

12b – Richard Ocer Martin

                                        12c - Marcel Martin

So if you read all that then I know your are smarter than you were before.....lol. History: Its what we are made of!!

Gradma's Homemade Cough Syrup

Grandma Isaacs had a recipe for homemade cough syrup. I have made it several times but this time I had to substitute one ingredient...... the alcohol. I used what I had plus I cant afford to go to the liquor store right now.  Also her recipe was measured by "glass". So I assume that if a regular glass is 16oz then a half would be 8oz.

1. Half a glass of Honey
2. 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
3. 1 Tablespoon Vinegar 
4. 3 Sticks of Hard Candy
5. Half a glass of Brandy 

The first step is to get your hard candy melted. You can put it in with everything else and just let it melt but it could take awhile. I used horehound candy because I like it and its old fashion....lol. I crushed the candy in a Ziploc bag and put it in a makeshift double boiler. 

In a saucepan put all your honey and brown sugar then stir until all is dissolved.

When this is dissolved add the vinegar. 

I had to add this vinegar container because it is just awesome. Plus I prefer white vinegar. 

After everything is dissolved add the hard candy. You will need to stir, stir and stir some more.

The above picture is after the horehound was added and everything was liquefied. Next comes the alcohol. 

I did not have Brandy but I did have some vodka. I substituted and I think it will be fine. Alcohol is alcohol isn't it? 

This is the finished product. When it cools it will thicken up into a nice syrup like you buy in the store. Much better for you I would think. Alcohol is in store bought cough syrup also, so might as well make your own. Plus it may help you sleep. 

Holy Communion

Today is Christmas! Yes it is December 25th and this year it lands on Sunday. What more of a fitting day for Christmas to be. Celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in church with family and friends and with the presence of the Lord. 


As Ricky Bobby would say ~ Look, I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I'm sayin' grace. When you say grace, you can say it to Grownup Jesus or Teenage Jesus or Bearded Jesus or whoever you want.~ lol .....


 So at Christmas I am thankful that God sent baby Jesus into the world to save us of our sins so that we may one day be united with him in Heaven. Jesus is our "real" present and the only one that matters to me. Sure, the other material things are nice but not the reason we celebrate. All the giving is good and we do it out of love (or we should). This year I only bought for my mom and sister. I have not been in the Christmas Spirit because of things from the past year but it growing on me the closer to Christmas it has gotten. 

Today was a first for me .... well maybe a second but I'm not real sure. I know that dont make since but I will explain. I am in the middle of a conversion of sorts. From Baptist to Methodist. I am still learning of how things are done in the United Methodist Church. I knew that when taking communion that it was different than the Baptist. I had been to another Methodist Church several years ago and they were having communion. I was kind of set back at how the ceremony went. If you wanted to partake you went up and knelt at the alter and the preacher came by and broke some bread off and then a cup was passed and you drank. I cant say that I was comfortable drinking after others. I dont care if we were in church or not but I had no idea where those peoples mouths had been!!! lol. 


In the Baptist Church where I grew up communion was totally different. You stay seated and the deacons go to the front with the preacher. The preacher says some scripture and then little crackers that symbolize unleavened bread is passed around to the congregation. You hold on to you bread until everyone has theirs and then you eat it. Next wine (grape juice) is passed around in little individual cups. When everyone has theirs then you all drink at the same time. This is my experience over the past 39 years until today.


Today being Christmas was not only meaningful but also gave me new hope. A new beginning with the hope and Love of Jesus. Yes I am still a sinner but I am also saved by the Grace of God. I have the confidence in that and was glad that I could participate in the tradition of the last supper of Jesus Christ. The preacher broke the bread and blessed it and the wine. We read scripture and text together in remembrance of Jesus. I went up to the alter and bread was broken for me and dipped in the wine and eaten. That was the most meaningful communion I have ever partaken in and I am thankful that the Lord has lead me where I am today. 


For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." (1 Corinthians 11:23–24)


I pray that the church that I grew up in and served the Lord in will grow in the Love of Jesus. I have been blessed my whole life with a good, Christian church family. Today I have been lead to another church and another congregation. I believe that God is working on me and trust me, I need worked on!!! I feel blessed this Christmas and it is because of the Love of Jesus and the people I am blessed to worship with. I wish I could be there each Sunday but my work does not allow that. Maybe one day. 


After church I spent as few minuets at Dads grave. His birthday was last week and he died on December 28th of last year. I was not sad when I was there. After church I had a renewed hope and was happy that Daddy celebrated his birthday and now the birthday of his savior in Heaven. 

Romans 8:28

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.


Thank you for reading and I hope that everyone has a blessed Christmas!!

Fermented Grape Leaf Pickles

This is my recipe for fermented grape leaf pickles. They are a must during the summer for some salty deliciousness!! 

First step is to pick your cucumbers. You will need small to medium size. Don't put extra large cucumbers because they may end up hollow in the middle and take up too much space that can be used for better cucumbers. Make sure to wash them thoroughly and get all the little stickers off them.

I just added this one because it was neat and a Siamese cucumber...lol

You will need a crock. The one I use is a small 2 gallon crock but you can go bigger if you have more cucumbers to do at a time. I did several different batches over the summer in a small crock.

Put some water in the crock and then enough salt to float an egg. Yes that is correct, you need to have enough salt to float an egg to make them brine correctly. They will be very salty when finished but if your like me then you will love them. You may hear them called salt pickles or grape leaf pickles.

Supposedly the gape leaves help with the crispness of the pickles. I go by what my parents and grandparents did and that's good enough for me!!

In this batch I added some dill just to put a spin on it. I also started off with my pickles to see how many I had and put water in to cover. I took them out and then added the water back and salt before putting the pickles and grape leaves in so the measurement of water and salt would be correct.

Put a good size saucer to cover the cucumbers and a gallon jug with water to weight it down. The cucumbers will float but they need to stay completely covered in the brine.

 When all steps are complete cover and put in a cool dark place. I put mine in the basement and wrapped it with a large towel. Every few days you need to check them. Scoop off the scum from the surface and I always test them to make sure they are coming along okay. They should ferment for around 14 days or longer. After they are pickled you can wash the salt off and put them in the refrigerator or even can them. I canned some but I would not recommend it. They are better fresh. This is something I look forward to every summer!!