My father in law, the late Frederic Austin Stonesifer was in correspondence with Doyle F. Wildasin from Hanover PA in the late 1970's, early 1980's. Mr. Wildasin was in the middle of a rather lengthy research of the Stonesifer, Yingling, and Bankert surnames. He probably contacted every Stonesifer he could find, interviewed them, and collected the valuable genealogical information. He worked for nearly 12 years to complete a wonderful book on the descendants of John Daniel Stonesifer from Eiserfeld, Germany. Here is part of the preface he wrote:
After nearly twelve years of research this History and Genealogy of the Stonesifer Family of Maryland and Pennsylvania has finally been completed. The information contained within these pages should enable practically any person claiming such a descent to find their own proper lineage back to our immigrant ancestors.
These pages contain not only genealogy, but also a great deal of valuable and interesting historical material associated with numerous members of our over-all family relationship as well as background on our German origins.
Research started out originally regarding the Stonesifer family. However, it soon became apparent that the full story could not be told without it including our Bankert and Yingling background. This manuscript, therefore, tells the story of the long involvement between these three families since colonial times, and it also shows how many other families became a part of our relationship.
A great amount of time and research has gone into the compilation of this manuscript. The material included was that which was believed to be correct at the time of writing. However, as in any work of this kind, it is entirely possible that some misconceptions or errors have occurred, and if so, the writer regrets this having happened. The writer also regrets that the names of a number of family members were not able to be included because of a time factor as well as the necessity to set a stopping point in recording the descendants of various families. This seemed to be the only way to be fair to all in a family and keep things equal. In many cases, some descendants would be determined while others were virtually impossible to be found.
Readers may wonder at the seeming incongruity of such a manuscript being authored by someone who apparently is not a part of the families being written about. This seeming disparity is easily explained. The writer is a 6th generation direct descendant of John Daniel Stonesifer of Silver Run through not only his daughter, Barbara, and his sons John Daniel, JR and Jacob, but also through the immigrant's wife, Maria Elizabeth, and her sister, Susanna, who thus directly connect him to our Yingling and Bankert immigrant families.
The writer is indebted to numerous cousins whose interest and informative help each will notice within these pages. The writer is, perhaps, most indebted to his father, John E Wildasin, now deceased, whose relating of incidents in his Stonesifer background spurred on the writer to initiate this manuscript. Although he did not live to see the manuscript completed, nevertheless its existence stands as a tribute to his interest and encouragement in it.
Mr. Wildasin's manuscript, "History and Genealogy of the Stonesifer Family of Maryland and Pennsylvania", is the source of most of the information on the Stonesifers. I have completed entering the information from the manuscript that my father - in - law dated 12/16/1983. Mr Wildasin probably kept up his research after 1983 and may have uncovered new information. If you are interested in researching further, the best places would be the York Co., PA Historical Society, Hanover, PA area libraries, the PA and MD archives. My guess is that Mr Wildasin's files may have been donated to one of the area libraries or historical societies.
As with all information, confirming the family connections with your own research is essential. Having copies of the original documents adds greater depth to the story of the family and assures you that the research is accurate. Happy hunting.