Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-09-03
For the SPECTATOR.
The Imb0den Family.

Have you ever INDUCED in an anti
quarian taste? If so, you have doubt
less been struck with the utter ignor-
ance, perhaps I ought to say the indif-
ference, that the average citizen mani
tests as to who he descended from, or on
what part of this mundane sphere his
ancestors had home. Sometimes the
research may not be regarded profitable,
or attended with agreeable result. It
happened years rgo, in England some-
where, that knot of gentlemen were
engaged in pleasant discussion on the
subject of heraldry and the ensigns ar
mortal of their respective families. One
contended that the coat of arms of his
family was "lion rampant" another
that his escutcheon was so and SO, each
one tracing the family-arms back to a
| remote period, and arguing that his was
the most respectable. One of their num-
Der remained silent, and the enquiry
was made as to what was the ensign
armorial of his family, when he replied
that he had never been disposed to pry
into the history of his family, for fear
that his curiosity would result in find
ing that the coat of arms would be found
to consist of a pair of beams vertical,
with one transverse and a rope pendant
| While this sometimes might be the case
| here, where it is rare if any one can
trace his family back to this or that por-
tlon of Europe, whence his ancestors
migrated three, four, or five generations
ago, yet we have sometimes encountered
an instance where the genealogy is kept
bright for hundreds of years. Indeed,
we lately encountered gentleman of
much more than ordinary intelligence,
and his name having brought to mind
that of very celebrated physician,
whose services we had occasion, in far
off State, over forty years ago, to call
into requisitiOn, we mentioned the fact,
when he replied that he was near rel
ative of his family, and said that Gov
ernor of one of the Northern States, also
a near connexion, had amused himself,
years since. in tracing the family back
to the year 700 and some thirty. This
usually reached in any such quest. -
Excuse so lengthy an introduction,
vet permit me to say that when I have
attempted to trace up the history of any
one of our families, have invariably
learned something that has thrown light
on some locality of our country of inter-
est to the general reader. So here, note
what is said of the Forts, that at the date
when the smoke curled for the first time
over your tree tops, where your town
stands, from the white man g rude cabin,
were erected, as necessity required, to
protect the sparse population from the
willy Indian.
In the year 1903, colony of German
iSwiss, of considerable magnitude, emil
grated from the Canton of Berne, and
settled at Lebanon, Pa. About 1922,
when some accessiOns were made to the
colony, a sprightly lad of 1e years, with
an education somewhat in advance OF
his day, was included among the arriv-
ais. This was John I'm -Boden. The
Im-as prefix like Won or Mac-was
soon dispensed with, and the name, as
now, spelled Imboden. John came from
Berne, and soon found employment in
/ the family of one of the colOnists of 1909,
then largely engaged in manufacturing
oil from hax-seed. Presently, he mar.
ried the only child of his employer, and
Il became very wealthy, as tradition rep
resents, but the Revolutionary war com.
i ing on, and human nature being the
same then as during the late unpleas-
antness, he became surely for I. quarter
/ master and lost much of his wealth. II
i is handed down, that one beautiful Sum.
i mer day, having returned from the town
Of Lebanon, and gotten his dinner. and
having lighted his pipe, took his accus-
toned seat on the porch for d smoke.
After some time he was found seem
ingly asleep, With tie exfineuisbed bins
id his mouth, but dead. This was ir
the year 1912, when he had attained The
remarkable age Of I06 years, and sons
months. He had a family Of seven