CREDITS AND NOTES
1.Thanks goes to Agnes Tomechec of the Westmoreland County Historical Society who revealed the connection of the Stairs Families to Jacob and Conrad Steer. She also provided other contacts with persons researching the Stairs, including Anne Stairs.
2. Thanks also goes to Anne Stairs of Acme, Pa. who invited me into her home where she lives with her son Jesse Stairs, a Representative from Mount Pleasant Township to the Pennsylvania State Legislature. She and her brother-in-law, Russell Stairs, provided family tree information showing their descendancy from Adam, one of the sons of Conrad.
3. Much time was spent attempting to determine the origins of Conrad and Jacob Steer. All of the Steers (and variations to the name) were listed that might provide a clue about where they might have migrated or immigrated from. Names were taken from Stassburger, PILI, American Biographical Index and the Pennsylvania Archives. Historical Societies, libraries, and archives were visited in West Chester, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg all with no success. There were many Steer and Steeres, who were mainly Quakers who immigrated from Great Britain. These were discounted first since no connection could be made, and since it is unlikely Jacob or Conrad were Quakers. There were Jacob and Conrad Stiers and Stoehrs who immigrated from Germany, via Amsterdam, who seemed more likely. But still no connection could be made with our forefathers. It was likely that Jacob, and Conrad as well, either migrated or immigrated into Westmoreland County after 1770, since this territory was officially closed to settlers before that time. They were likely German based only on the fact that Conrad belonged to the Lutheran Church. Also his grandson in The Encyclopedia of Westmoreland History speculates that Conrad came from Germany. One other avenue pursued, was the possibility that Jacob was a German mercenary leased to the British Government by his German Prince to fight during the Revolutionary War. No evidence of this could be found, either.
4. Information on Samuel Stairs was very sparse, indeed. An attempt to find he or his family members recorded in church records was attempted, without success. The most desirable piece of information not found was the maiden name of his wife, Elizabeth. One possible source to explore is military records for the Mexican War.
5. One of the greatest unsolved mysteries in researching the Stairs Family is the burial place of Elizabeth O. Stairs. Four people die of Typhoid and four graves are found. The grave one would expect to be the mother's, is inscribed Elizabeth Orose, 1813-1903. It is unlikely anyone made a mistake as bad as including totally wrong dates and not including her married name. Its possible she was born in East Greensburg, but again unlikely.
