George Walter Singleback, Sr. is the maternal grandfather of Rebecca Fulton, my ex-wife. I don’t have much information about either side of Rebecca’s family; I seem to have the most about George Sr. This is a summary of what I know and can document, but should not be taken as a definitive compilation.

My information is that he was born December 25, 1898 in DuBois, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. I’m not clear on his parents. My original source, my ex-mother-in-law Mary Singleback Fulton said that she didn’t know George Sr.’s father’s first name, but believed his mother’s name to be Ada Gorton Shettler. This tree at Ancestry.com (hereafter referred to as the Devereux Tree) suggests that George Sr.’s father was Michael Singleback, but it also suggests his mother’s name was Jennie. The 1900 US Census for Reynoldsville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania seems to back that up.

The Devereux Tree lists Michael’s birth as July 1863 in Germany and says that he immigrated 31 Mar 1880, but does not list any sources for this information. The 1910 Census gives an immigration year of 1880; 1920 gives 1881.

Other than that Census entry though, I have seen no information to further verify Jennie as opposed to Ada. Did Jennie die at some point? Was there a divorce and remarriage?

Michael Singleback possibly appears in the 1920 Census for McCalmont, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania as a widowed man born about 1864, but I’m not sure that’s the right person. It could be—his age and immigration dates are close and he’s still in Jefferson County, but where is George? There are seven other people living at that farm, none named Singleback or Singlebeck. Searching Find A Grave and Ancestry for death records for Jen/Jennie Singleback/Singlebeck produced no useful results.

Reynoldsville, DuBois (or Du Bois) and Johnsonburg all seem to figure heavily in the Singleback family history. They are within about 45 miles of each other, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Reynoldsville and DuBois seem to be just across the county line from each other, and all three counties (Clearfield, Jefferson, and Elk) abut each other. McCalmont is just southwest of Reynoldsville, so it’s reasonable to think that the Mike Singleback in the 1920 Census is the right Singleback.

The Devereux Tree only mentions one child born to the couple: George Walter Singleback.

George Sr. married Frances Fitch around 1923, based on information from Mary Fulton and the 1930 US Census for Elk County, Johnsonburg Boro, PA. I have not yet checked previous census images for George Sr.

George Sr. and Frances had three children:

• George Walter Singleback, Jr. (1926—1928)
• William Eugene Singleback (1929—2008)
• Mary Abbie Singleback (1931—present)

Mary married Leslie Lybert Fulton; they had one daughter, Rebecca Elizabeth, born 1970.

Goals

For 2018, my primary goal is to clearly establish George Sr.’s parents. I have no information about Jennie, and I’d like to nail down his father’s immigration date. The Devereux Tree suggests that Michael left Germany via Liverpool, England and Queenstown, Ireland which makes me think Meredith Devereux may have more information regarding immigration. I also want to figure out where Ada Gorton Shettler figures into the family.

If you’re related to George Walter Singleback, Sr., please contact me. I suspect there are several descendants working on filling in the details of his family, and I’d love to collaborate on the work. You can use the Contact form here, or the Suggest tab on his page at my genealogy site.