A copy of the text below was given to Ted Smith in 1988 by Mary Froehlich, a descendant of James McGinnis Appleby.

"A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE APPLEBY FAMILY--As of August, 1955"

"With emphasis on that Branch descended from John and Priscilla Appleby,and compiled in part from a family history written and presented inperson by Thomas A. Appleby of Mt. Union, Pa., at the first APPLEBY REUNION held September 13, 1928 at the ancestral farm, Pleasant Hill, Dublin township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

"Although the name APPLEBY is definitely English, our ancestors are said to have come to America from Ireland.

"When the original John Appleby, great grandfather of Thomas A. Appleby, came over the mountains from the east, the country was one vast forest.This John Appleby had two brothers, William and James. For a time, William resided in the vicinity of Newville, Pa., but later moved to Virginia, and still later to Georgia, where his descendents may still befound. James seems to have drifted into Maryland, and his posterity is now widely scattered.

"John, our ancestor, reared a large family of daughters, with two sons,John and Alexander. John married Mary Moreland and their children were as follows: William, John and Alexander, and Thomas who died while young. Descendents of William are still found in the Tuscarora Valley, while those of Alexander are scattered throughout Pennsylvania, Illinois and Colorado.

"John, brother of William and Alexander, married Priscilla Montague, and from them is descended the family which assembles each year for the Appleby Family Reunion. He was the father of five sons who were as follows:

"Daniel Curlet Appleby, who left no posterity, but is remebered with pride for his brilliant record as a soldier and officer in the Civil War.

"Thomas A. Appleby, who resided for a large portion of his life in Mt.Union, Pa., where he owned and operated a general store and edited a newspaper. His children, three of whom still reside in Mt. Union, are as follows, John, Catherine, J. Donald, Martha Stratford, Robert, Janet Tiffany and Nellie Baldwin. Catherine and Robert are deceased.

"The third son was John Scott Appleby. For many years he had charge of the County Home at Shirleysburg, Pa. He was the father of six sons and five daughters, the following of whom are deceased: Lauretta Alice,Tillie Mary, John Orrian, Jesse Warren, Rollo Roy and Thomas Bruce, the latter having died during the past year. The following survive: James Chalmers, of Clear Ridge, Pa.; Harry Cloyd of Rockville, Ill.; Ulie Ellice of Altoona, Pa.; Priscilla Belle Colgate of Pine Grove, Pa., and Anna Jane Kurtz of Mechanicsburg, Pa.

"The fourth son was James McGinnis Appleby, who was commonly known as James Y. Appleby. Witn the exception of two children who died in infancy, his entire family located in Harrisburg, Pa., where the brothers are engaged in Wholesale Supply business. There names are as follows: George Montague, deceased, Charles Edwin, James Rosco, Robert Harold, John Winfred, Kenneth Meredith and a sister, Helen McLaughlin Arnold.

The youngest of the five sons of John and Priscilla Appleby was George Sharrer Appleby, who resided for many years at Ryde, Pa. His children were as follows: Eugene, Faye, Dale and Katherine, all of whom are now deceased. Surviving is Wayne, who resides near McVeytown, Pa., and his sister, Blanche Miller, of the same place.

"Another generation of Applebys has arisen with a second in the process of development, and it is to acquaint these later generation with their ancestors that this brief summary has been prepared. Some of the names of these appear in the kept (sic) by the secretary, Laura Covert, and we commend that each member consult this book and if his name is not yet recorded, make the proper entry so that the record may be prepared and kept up to date."

From History of Huntingdon Co. (http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofhunting00lytle/histor...):
"William Morrow and John Appleby settled along the
Kittanning or Indian path, in the ridges about two miles
east of Shade Gap, and James Wilson and William Moreland in the same neighborhood. The land there was considered the most desirable because it was smooth and easy to clear in comparison with that along the mountains, but now the preponderance of value is largely in favor of the
latter. About the centre of this settlement was built perhaps the first school house in the township. Another was
built on Jerry's ridge shortly afterwards, if not at the same time. Among the earliest teachers were James McGee,
William Woods and George Moreland."

Ted adds: After England conquered Ireland in 1536, it moved Irish off farms in what is now Northern Ireland and moved about 80,000 Scottish and English Protestants into that region. It is likely that the ancestors of this Appleby family may have been some of those who were relocated either ten or following later wars. Most of those who relocated from Ireland to North America prior to the American Revolution were Protestants. Historians estimate that about 1/3 of Washington's army was comprised of disaffected immigrants from Ireland.