Four Blystone Brothers: Westmoreland to Crawford County, Pennsylvania and Beyond. (The Descendants of Abraham Blystone) Hardcover – February 27, 2023

Virtually every Blystone in the United States can trace their ancestry back to one single individual – Abraham Bleistein (1728-1790). The name Blystone is an Anglicized version of the German name Bleistein or Pleystein. Abraham was born in Germany and died in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. There were 15 children mentioned in his will. This book primarily deals with four of them – Isaac, Christian, Peter and Henry - who are most responsible for the diaspora of the Blystone family throughout the country. Isaac and Christian went to northwestern Pennsylvania, and are buried together in the small rural graveyard at Skeltontown. Henry went there as well, but pushed on to Ohio and finally Indiana. While Peter himself did not leave Westmoreland County, most of his children did. The opening chapter contains the first few generations of all the remaining siblings.The first major work on the family, Three Blystone Brothers, was published almost a half century ago. In the decades since, several editions of The Descendants of Abraham Blystone were published, each larger than the one before. As the number of descendants increases exponentially, it has become virtually impossible to include them all in a single volume. For this reason, as well as in homage to the original work, this book concentrates on these Four Blystone Brothers, in order to maintain a book of manageable size.So many Blystones! Some were hardy pioneers, while many others still live in Pennsylvania where Abraham originally settled. Some had very large families. Others died alone and forgotten. Many lived to be centenarians, while others had their lives tragically cut short. Some were heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Others were stone-cold killers. Sadly, a few were even victims of brutal crimes. Scientists, farmers, doctors, coal miners – all of them, good or bad, noteworthy or not – weave together to create the marvelous tapestry that is the Blystone family. Read more