So, are you really Irish?

So, are you really Irish?

Posted by Cindy (Staub) Washburn on Oct 25th 2019

        This is my first entry to our very first blog for our business, Oxford Hall. We hope that there will be many more. Some will be written by me, while other entries may come from my son or other members of the Oxford Hall family. I decided for my first blog entry to address the question that Steve and I get. We are asked this question at least once a week by customers walking into our shop. The question is “So, Are you really Irish?” The answer for me at least, is a bit complicated. I am not from a 2nd or 3rd generation immigrant family. My "kin", as they say, have been here for a long time.
       For years, I have been doing my ancestry on line and have traced my family back over 300 years. The earliest settler, Johanne Adam Staub, came to Pennsylvania from Gimmeldingin, Germany as an indentured servant on the ship,  Winter Gallery on Sept. 5, 1738. Johanne married in 1743 Catherine Bewerts, at St. Paul's Jesuit Catholic Mission in Goshahocken, Berks Co, PA. The couple eventually received a land grant from the Penn family and moved to Adams County PA in 1755 . There they joined a growing community of Catholics in a place called Conewago. Many historians consider Conewago Chapel, or Sacred Heart Church (its official name) to be the cradle of the Catholic Church here in the US. The parish is one of the first in the country. The current church was completed in 1787 making it the oldest Catholic Church in the US made of stone. Just about any Catholic family who arrived in the 1700's, traces their roots to this church. This is where my family settled, raised their kids and lived for over 270 years. Other ancestors soon followed, coming from the same regions of Germany, France, England and Ulster Ireland. Their common goal was to find a safe and nurturing place to practice their Catholic Faith, raise their families and become part of this new country. They lived in the little towns of McSherrystown, Hanover, Irishtown, New Oxford and Edge Grove where I spent my childhood. I went to school and church at Sacred Heart, just a block from my house. Named a Minor Basilica in 1962, the church, school  and parish are still thriving. It's a kind of "Cheers Church" where everyone knows everyone and nothing  changes. Generations of families have lived and died there. When I visit, it amazes me that I always run into someone from my childhood who still belongs to the parish, only now as grandparents with their own kids and grandkids. I still stare at the beautiful murals that adorn the walls of the church or gaze at the stained glass windows. Going there for mass with my sister, her family and my mom still feels like home.
       Recently, to answer the question and have proof, I had my DNA done. The results 52% German/France, 44% England/Ulster Ireland. The remaining 4% was Norwegian, well because those Vikings did really get around. The next time I am asked the question, "are you Irish", I can say with certainty, yes, with a couple of other things thrown in.