The North Mountain Historical Society

Meeting: January 2001

January 15, 2001

January 15, 2001, Dr. John Herbert Laubach, "The Laubach Family."

The History Buffs met at the Brass Pelican on Monday, January 15, 2001 with 40 people present. Zane Hartman returned thanks before breakfast was served. The minutes of the last meeting were read.
Following breakfast, Jim Vance introduced John Laubach who spoke of the settlement of the Laubach family in this area.
The Laubach family as we know it originated in the town of Budingen, Germany. The first ancestor on record is Konrad Laubach.
John and Diane visited this area and researched family records. They saw the gravestone of Knorad Laubach in an old cemetery there.
In 1738 the descendents of Konrad immigrated to the United States, landing in Philadelphia. The family consisted of a grandfather, a mother and father and four children. They settled close to Bethlehem, PA.
John was given access to a diary of John Christian Laubach owned by Mrs. Ethel Laubach. John Christian was one of the four children that made the trip from Germany to
Philadelphia in 1738. John had translated the diary from the original German into English. It gave a good picture of life as it was for the immigrants. In 1791 John Christian married a girl named Mary. In 1794 he moved to Columbia County, possibly the Mount Pleasant Area. In 1800 the family moved to Sugarloaf Township.
John traced the family to C.M. Laubach known to many older Sugarloaf Township residents. He conducted a general store in the area for many years and raised a large family. His son, Joe Laubach, operated the store after C.M.'s death.
John also traced the lineage of Dr. Frank Laubach of Benton who became a world famous missionary.
Of added interest were the many photographs Diane shared with us. Our thanks to John and Diane for a very interesting presentation.
The next meeting will be Monday, Feb. 19 at the Brass Pelican. The topic will be "The Fritz family in Sugarloaf Township". Betty Victory will lead the discussion.