HENRY L. STUDA is one of the oldest, most successful and highly esteemed farmers of Cross Creek township. He is a son of Charles and grandson of Louis Studa. The latter ancestor was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1757, and was a miller by trade. he there married Idolla Sagulf, a daughter of a leading attorney, and they died in their native land at advanced age, leaving four children, namely: Hannah, Henry, Charles and Lena. Of these Hannah was born in Hanover in 1787, and in 1817 married Christopher Fisher, who was by trade a carpenter, of Shunhogen, and resided there with his wife until death removed them at an advanced age; their five children were Charles, William, August, Henry and Christopher. Henry, brother of Hannah, was born in Hanover in 1789, and married Caroline Henna, daughter of the burgess of Shunhogen; he was a miller by trade; his four children were Charles, Henry, Millicina and Hannah. Charles, another brother of Hanna, was, like Henry, a native of Hanover and a miller by trade. He married Millicina Steingreiver, whose father was the hotel-keeper of Shunhogen; their children were Henry L. and Lena. This Charles Studa received a good education, and served several years in the wars of Napoleon. He participated in the memorable battle of Waterloo, and received a silver medal as an acknowledgment of gallant conduct on that occasion. The valuable relic is yet in the possession of his son Henry L. At one time Charles Studa, with others, was taken prisoner and sentenced to be shot, but was saved by the arrival of Russian soldiers, who captured the prison but a few hours previous to the time appointed for the execution. After the battle of Waterloo, the young soldier decided to seek a fortune in the New World. Lena, the youngest child of Louis and Idolla Studa, born in 1794, married Henry Alburn, a farmer, and bore him three children-Henry, Charles and Christopher; Louis Studa, his wife and the four children died at Shunhogen, each attaining an advanced age. Charles, the son of Henry and grandson of Louis Studa, was born at Shunhogen in 1816, was a miller by trade, and was married to Millicina Steingreiver, whose father also was a farmer by occupation. They remain in their native land. Henry, the son of Henry and grandson of Louis Studa, was born at Shunhogen in 1818, was a farmer by occupation, and was married to Luweza Cook, whose father also was a farmer; they remain in their native land. Millicina, the daughter of Henry and granddaughter of Louis Studa, was born at Shunhogen in 1820, and was married February 20, 1848, to Henry L. Studa, who was a farmer by occupation; soon after their marriage they set sail for America, and landed in Washington county, Penn., where they have been residing ever since. Hannah, the daughter of Henry and granddaughter of Louis Studa, was born at Shunhogen in 1822, and was married to William Didritch, who was an officer in the military troops; they remain in their native land, having three children, namely: Richard, Emma and Menny. Henry L., the son of Charles and grandson of Louis Studa, was born April 14, 1821, in Hanover. His father was a miller by trade, and was the possessor of both an oil and a grist mill, which were located in Capingburg, Germany; but as a panic set in in 1825 and lasted for several years, he and several of his neighbors became discouraged, and came to the conclusion they would proceed to a better country. He had been corresponding with an acquaintance of his in Jamaica, who informed him of some landlord there who was the possessor of a plantation of 2,000 acres, and was desirous of having it inhabited by Germans, just for the purpose of raising ginger and working sugar. So in the year 1833 Charles Studa and several of his neighbors set sail for Jamaica, where he lived for seven years; but as the climate was so much warmer than that of his native land they were troubled with a great deal of sickness, and lost their daughter Lena. In 1840 they set sail for America, landing in New York, where they resided for eight months, and then moved to Washington county, Penn., where his son Henry L. supported the family by working by the month and day for six years. In 1847 he returned to his native land to transact some business concerning his grandmother's estate, and, remaining there eight months, was married to Millicina Studa, a full cousin. In 1848 he returned to America with his young wife, and farmed on the shares for nine years. Putting his money at interest, he was enabled, in 1856, to purchase 133 acres, and some time later bought the balance of the present farm of 222 acres, the best land in Cross Creek township. Mr. and Mrs. Studa have four children, namely: John, David, Alfred and Albert (twins). Politically Henry L. Studa is a stanch worker in the Democratic party. He is a member of the German Lutheran Church at Mt. Prospect, also supporting the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church in that village, which his children attend.

Text taken from page 679 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed May 1997 by Kathy Petty of Evansville, IN as part of the Beers Project. Published May 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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