"A strong thread in the fabric that was once rural America" Our house had no electricity or indoor plumbing for many years. There was no money for new clothes and we all wore hand-me-downs. We bartered at my uncle Milt's store for items we couldn't produce on our farm, with fresh eggs, butter and milk. Strong work ethics were developed in all of us which we have carried into our adult lives. I have many fond memories of "Mom" and "Pop" and my brothers and sisters as we worked together as a family. All in all, we were a happy family with the usual squabbles and "ups" and "downs," but we had many happy times together. "Ephraim's Farm is a historical sketch of a western Pennsylvania working farm family of the early 1900s. Although this family may be ordinary in every detail, the totality of the lives so factually described, is extraordinary. The Romesbergs represent a single but strong thread in the fabric that was rural America." -Irvin Pritts, Ph.D. "The author shares many seemingly insignifi cant stories that help portray the underlying love that existed between the members of the family. The book preserves many daily farming activities and styles of country living in southwestern Pennsylvania from a time period that has completely changed. As you proceed through the book, the stories have a way of building one's desire to visit the farming and coal mining community where the Romesberg farm was located." -David R. Hay "What an intriguing history of the Romesberg family! Once you begin to read this history, you will want to continue reading on to the very end." -Betty Arnold "Organization of the book is excellent with chronological information starting with immigration, through today's life. There are many fi ne stories, a message from the sky, description of farm living, and then memoirs added by family members with yet new stories and different info on previous ones." -Dennis Carey Zeiss "Although monetarily poor, the large family that the author was born into and writes about, was truly blessed with family values and a caring concern for each other. The author shares many seemingly insignificant stories that help portray the underlying love that existed between the members of the family. The book preserves many daily farming activities and styles of country living in southwestern Pennsylvania from a time period that has completely changed. As you proceed through the book, the stories have a way of building one s desire to visit the farming and coal mining community where the Romesberg farm was located. Ephraim s Farm keeps your interest with stories about Henry Pritts trial, eventually being hung, and then buried in a lone grave near the border of the Romesberg farm. The ghost stories associated with Pritts grave add extra suspense." David R. Hay "What an intriguing history of the Romesberg family! Once you begin to read this history you will want to continue reading on to the very end." Betty Arnold "This true account of the Romesberg family is so factual it transported me back to my childhood - which was about a mile away - in Wison Creek." Avis Engleka, cousin "I am a friend of Floyd Romesberg from his days living in Midland, Michigan. We hunted deer together, attended the same church, are both engineers, past members of Toastmaster s International, and I am living on my first farm. This book was intensely interesting to me. I read it carefully to absorb details and add understanding to stories from my own family as I grew up. Organization of the book is excellent with chronological information starting with immigration, through today s life. There are many fine stories, a message from the sky, description of farm living and then memoirs added by family members with yet new stories and different info on previous ones. Many of the stories could have been describing my own family. I would like to have a book like this written for my family. I suppose I will have to write and edit that book. My grandmother s family were Quakers from Plymouth Colony in 1635 and from Pennsylvania Colony in 1683. My grandfather s family are descendents of German immigrants who homesteaded near Tiffin, Ohio in 1830. We still attend reunions there every year. Ephriam s Farm renewed many memories and helped me to understand my roots." Dennis Carey Zeiss Ephraim s Farm is a story of a family descending from Stephan Romesberg, born in Germany in 1711. He came to this country as a young boy, and as an adult he settled in Frederick, Maryland, where he became a well-to-do land owner. Several of his descendants moved to the hilly woodlands of Western Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh.The land which was to become our family farm was originally owned by the Pritts family. Polly Pritts married Solomon Romesberg. Polly had inherited the farm. Polly and Solomon were the grandparents of my father, Ephraim.Ephraim married Mayme Swearman and they had 11 children, 5 boys and 6 girls. One daughter died when she was 5 years old. I was the 10th c