John Bliem Bechtel married Mary Ann Shelly in the early 1870s, and they made their home on the farm in Gablesville where their three children were born.  One child was stillborn, but the other two boys, Andrew and Harvey, grew up there.

Harvey, John, Andrew and Mary Ann (Shelly) Bechtel, c1890

Andrew answered the call to the pastorate and became a Mennonite minister.  He served pulpits in Bally, PA; Deer Creek, OK; Hanston, KS; and Summerfield, IL.  He married Susanna Idella Hauck and and the couple had four children.  Harold, my grandfather, was a teenager when the family moved to Deer Creek, OK, and graduated from Deer Creek High School with the class of 1929.  He married his high school sweetheart, Esther Kuehny, and the couple made their home in Deer Creek together for over 50 years.

The final 10 photos from the album:

 Photo 41: origin unknown

 Photo 42: taken in Bethlehem, PA

 Photo 43: taken in Philadelphia, PA

Photo 44: taken in Reading, PA.  This may be the same gentleman who appears in Photos 17 and 25.

 Photo 45: taken in Reading, PA

 Photo 46: origin unknown

 Photo 47: taken in Allentown, PA

Photo 48: taken in Pottstown, PA.  The tax stamp on the reverse side indicates this photo was taken on July 2, 1866.

 Photo 49: taken in Norristown, PA

Photo 50: origin unknown