The Michel Family of Abington, PA

This site is focused on the John Lewis Michel (JLM) Sr family who lived in Abington, PA from about 1930 until approximately 1965. Other families discussed are related to the ancestors, descendants, and other relatives of this family.

The Paternal Side of the JLM Family Tree

The JLM tree begins with the birth of John Michel, his father, as reported by JLM to be in Alsace-Lorraine, which was under German rule at the time of his birth. JLM wrote that his father was born about 1865 and was 66 years old when he died (ca 1931) and is said to be buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery, 3499 West Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, PA.

Google AI has transcribed John Michel's wedding register entry from 26 October 1887, that showed occupation and birth place. AI's review of the image: "The writer recorded "John Michel," "of," and "shoemaker" in a standard, clear Western cursive script.
The Location: The location names are written in German Kurrent script. The letter B in Bindsachsen uses the sharp, closed loop characteristic of the script, and the lowercase h and sf combination gives it its distinct shape. The word Nassau includes a straight line over the lowercase u (a u-breve /ū), which was standard practice in old German handwriting to distinguish a "u" from an "n"."

The town Bindsachsen, Nassau (historically a village in the Duchy of Nassau) is located in present-day Hesse, Germany. Efforts are on-going to uncover more of his early life and his relatives from Germany.

This is what is currently known about the basics of JLM's father. Some background information may be found on his page here.

According to one website: "the cemetery is not abandoned; however, no plots have been sold since 1968 and it has become heavily overgrown. Mount Vernon is not open to the public. The owner requires an appointment to be made for visitations 24 hours in advance and only for people who have a family plot in the cemetery and know the location." Similar information is seen at this site and this article from Jul 2024 found here.

As a result of some court activity in 2025, there is a new owner of the cemetery. That is detailed here. The new owner has instituted some clean-up of the cemetery as described on this Facebook entry. Additional insight may be found at here at the company's site for the cemetery.

Mount Vernon Cemetery Gatehouse

Alsace-Lorraine

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Alsace-Lorraine, German Elsass-Lothringen, area comprising the present French departments of Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle. Alsace-Lorraine was the name given to the 5,067 square miles (roughly the size of Connecticut) (13,123 square km) of territory that was ceded by France to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-German War. This territory was retroceded to France in 1919 after World War I, was ceded again to Germany in 1940 during World War II, and was again retroceded to France in 1945. Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Alsace-Lorraine

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The Maternal Side of the JLM Family Tree

More is verifiable on JLM's mother's side of the family.

• The father of JLM's mother was Mathias Braun, who is thought to be from Belgium (Lindgoo, Luxenburg). He was born about 1831 and came to America in about 1844. He was a machinist by trade and along with William, his brother, started the Pennsylvania Lawn Mower Company. Mathias is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pa.
• JLM's mother's mother was Kunigunde Dietrich. She was born (1839 estimated) in Tranau, Lichtenfels, Bayern in Germany. "Lichtenfels is a town in the Upper Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany, the administrative seat of Lichtenfels district. It is chiefly known as the German "Basket City"." Kunigunde is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA.
• Mathias and Kunigunde married on 21 Oct 1860 at Saint Michael's and Zion Church, Philadelphia, PA.

Detailed information on these and other relatives are provided by presenting their information as a member of a family from their birth up until they marry. Once married, their life is detailed in that new family's timeline. Pages will be developed as information is developed and the page code is produced.