Peter and Amelia were the great-great grandparents of Pierre LaBarge, whose mother was Louisa Lauck. They are both famous in their own rights. Peter for his Revolutionary War experiences and Amelia for her quilt making.

A wonderful website created by Beth Humphrey can be viewed by following the link
Peter Lauck Family

At this site, you will see portraits of the family painted by the famous artist Jacob Frymire. The paintings are housed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. One of his most famous paintings is of Amelia.






You will also read about the Lauck brothers, Simon and Peter, and their service with the famous rifleman company Morgan's Raiders during Dunmore's War of 1774. They answered Washington's call to arms to Boston, performing the famous "bee line" march. Later they fought in the Battle of Quebec, where Peter was captured. Simon Lauck later became a famous rifle maker, and his guns are today prized collectors items.

Simon probably apprenticed with J.P. Beck during the revolution. Beck's first wife, Anna Maria Lauck, was the daughter of Peter and Amelia. Listed as a gunsmith 1783-1785 in Lebanon Township, Lancaster County, Simon returned to Winchester by 1787 and took on Henry Harding as an apprentice early that year. He trained 2 sons, took on apprentices, employed journeymen, and was a successful businessman.

This rifle is his earliest known example produced in Winchester. There are strong Lebanon characteristics, i.e. architecture, trigger guard, and engraving technique. However, Simon’s transition to existing design characteristics already established in Winchester are evident. The upper and lower plates of the patchbox, carving and engraving design, and patchbox lid release relate to those used by the Haymakers prior to 1790

Simon was an excellent carver but never executed in high relief. This design is not too distant from Lebanon but is seen on a rifle by John Haymaker dating to 1785. Rocco styling is evident in the venated wavy line surrounding the C scrolls. This rocaille motif, found on furniture, silver, and other decorative arts in Europe and America, is based on the naturalistic appearance of the edge of a shell. One of Simon’s rifles was exhibited/published by Morrison Hecksher and Leslie Greene Bowman in “American Rocco, 1750-1775”.





THE BATTLE OF COWPENS, S.C. JANUARY 17, 1781

Cowpens was a brilliantly-led victory by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan with his Valley of Virginia frontiersmen sharpshooters. His strategy of feints and planned withdrawals with his infantry resulted in his entrapment of the British there with his frontier cavalry and infantry, a well-planned and successful strategy.
General Daniel Morgan outgeneraled the British forces at Cowpens led by the Britisher "Bloody" Banastre Tarleton who had theretofore given no mercy to the Americans he defeated and had put to the sword many of those he captured or had defeated who were helpless and unable to defend themselves. He was brutal.

Morgan's Rifle and Cavalry Regiment has been described as the most decorated unit in Washington's army during the Revolution.



Morgan used his two forces, cavalry and infantry, in brilliant strategy, the riflemen as the point men in the beginning of a battle to draw the enemy's troops towards them, then withdrawing for an ambush by Morgan's cavalrymen who swooped down on the enemy, supported by the infantry who had set up the ambush and then again attacked. Morgan was an old hand with this strategy.

General Daniel Morgan, earlier in The Battle of Saratoga, New York on October 17, 1777, had at the beginning of the battle positioned one of his best sharpshooter snipers in a tree on the battlefield. He described to the sharpshooter how British General Simon Fraser was dressed and told him that when he saw him to take him out of the battle.

The sniper did as Morgan directed, which, together with the ferocity with which Morgan's men fought, contributed to the defeat there of the British in which they captured some 4900 of British soldiers defeated principally by Morgan's men. General Fraser's death by the sniper left the British forces in confusion and Morgan's men attacked.

General Morgan had seen at the defeat of British General Braddock in 1755 how, when the leading general was killed, as Braddock was there, the men were left in disarray. Morgan took advantage of this strategy and repeated it at Saratoga.

These two 1780 and 1781 victories, Kings Mountain and Cowpens, gave a great morale boost and support to Washington's forces in the North. When the British moved north toward them into Virginia, Washington marshaled his forces and those of the French and trapped and defeated British General Cornwallis at Yorktown, the battle which won the War for Independence. in October 1781.

Peter Lauck Huguenot American Hero (1753-1839) by Edna Collins

A fictional book on Peter Lauck was written in 2008 by Edna Collins, a writer and descendant of Peter. While the story is fictional, much of it is based on fact. Note the two pages of the book where it is stated that one of Amelia's quilts sold at Christie's in 2007 for $96,000. The book can be purchased on Amazon.





AMELIA'S QUILTS

The Museum of the Daughters of the Revolution have two of Amelia's quilts, and Alden O'Brien of the museum has described them as the most important pre Civil War quilts of their kind. Amelia made one for each of her children. Two others are in the Williamsburg Museum.

in the summer of 2010, Tom and Jim Morrison visited the DAR musuem where they were met by Alden O'Brien. She graciously brought out William's quilt from their most protected storage. In fact, the box that the quilts are stored in are labeled with instructions to save them first in case of fire. The other historical textile mentioned along with Amelia's quilts are Thomas Jefferson's socks!

Pierre Lauck - Circus Aerialist of the famous "Lauck & Fox"

Courtesy of our Uncle Gene LaBarge, we have the beginning of the story of Pierre Lauck, brother of Loulou LaBarge, grandmother to Gene, our great grandmother to others. The billing below is one of numerous documents and letters that Gene has and is in the process of compiling at this time. Pierre was a famous aerialist at the birth of the modern circus, and the team of Lauck & Fox are credited with inventing some of the most creative and daring trapeze acts. They traveled extensively throughout Europe between 1870 and 1894. Pierre's career was his life as well as the cause of his death.



By Pierre Couderc. Bandwagon, Vol. 8, No. 6 (Nov-Dec), 1964, pp. 15-18, 23-24. "This act which we have just witnessed, with others of varying characters, requires for its execution technical perfection as well as super-physical qualities in the performer beyond that demanded by any and all forms of art; for life and limb are involved as well as pride of professional of artistic accomplishment." - Irving K. Pond

The Three Bars (Les Barres Fixes)

Obviously the above quotation is applicable to all circus performers. But it becomes even more relevant - almost axiomatic - regarding the artists who perform that most difficult and most hazardous branch of acrobatics named: The Three Bars!

It is indeed deplorable that this speciality, which once was considered a standard attraction on all circus programs, has been steadily falling into decadence.

Though still considered by pros and connoisseurs as "the acme" of circus ring artistry, the three bars are seldom seen nowadays. Once upon a time there were literally countless triple bar acts flooding every circus ring here and abroad. Today only a mere handful can be found performing this old acrobatic standard.
Why? What are the reasons for this deplorable decline?

Two of the more obvious factors can be cited:

1. the uninitiated spectator, rarely aware of the intricacies involved in this type of performance, lacks a proper sense of appreciation.

2. the performer, aware of this lack of appreciation, has found it more rewarding to devote himself to much less exigent fields - such as the flying trapezes or teeterboard, either of which always trigger more applause than the best of bar acts.

Perhaps, to a degree, our circus historians and chroniclers can be held accountable for this lack of appreciation from the average spectator. For some strange reason difficult to fathom, most of our circus writers have always devoted a disproportionate amount of space extolling the feats of the flying trapezist, while sadly neglecting those of the barrist who, ironically, is by far the greatest of the two artists. To read more, see this website.

Again, using the same pass as an illustration, a back somersault while passing from the 1st to 3rd bar is also more dangerous than doing it with a "half-twister" - though the latter appears more difficult. The single is more dangerous because if for any reason the performer lacks sufficient height while passing over the 2nd bar, he risks cracking his skull against that 2nd bar. With a "half-twist", the pass becomes somewhat like a long "fly-over", where in instead of catching the 2nd bar, the performer is able to catch the 3rd bar from underneath.

Because of the danger involved in all three types of passes from the 1st to 3rd bar, some performers use a dismountable 2nd bar, which is removed for this particular routine. Again, from the spectator's point of view, this removal of the 2nd bar enhances rather than lessens the effect, for it focuses the spectator's attention to the distance between the two end bars, making it appear more spectacular and seemingly more dangerous.

Our circus historians, past and present, are not in complete accord regarding the origin of the triple bar act. There are some who contend that Lauck & Fox created that speciality back in 1875 - and later were performing it in Paris in 1878. Others claim that the team of Berli, Leach & Foster originated it in England around 1864; while still others credit the Hanlon Bros. for the innovation at some earlier date.

Circus History Website


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The Semon Family

Veronica Semon was born February 25, 1952. She was the third daughter born to Vernon Semon and Rose Resetaritz. On August 17, 1973 she married James Morrison in St. Louis. They have one daughter Lydia.

To view the census image of 1930 of Vernon Semon and his parents, click below:
View Semon 1930 US Census image

To view the census image of 1930 of Rose Resetaritz and her parents, click below:
View Resetaritz 1930 US Census image

To view the family tree of the Semon and Resetaritz families of St. Louis Missouri, click here:
View Semon Resetaritz Family Tree

Download Semon Resetaritz Ged File

This is a picture taken at the marriage of Vern Semon and Rose Resetaritz in 1941.

This is a picture taken the summer of 1989 of Veronica Semon, husband Jim Morrison and daughter Lydia.

This is a picture of Jim (website host) and Veronica Morrison, with their daughter Lydia. This picture was taken in the winter of 2006 when visiting Lydia in London. Lydia is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park, and was spending a semester abroad in the UK.

Rose Resetaritz was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 10, 1915. Her parents were born in Stinatz, Austria. This is a picture of their wedding party in 1910.

Close cousins of Rose still reside in Austria and have been visited by the family over the years. A picture of Franz Zsifkovits and their families follow:

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