Jacob Bortner had died 23 years prior to Catherine's passing, Most of the children were grown and had moved away to raise their own families. Amos and Julian were the only children living there to see that she had what she needed. She lived the rest of her days out with her youngest child Julian, her husband Israel Fairand their 8 children. One year after Catherine died, Israel and Julian had two more children and they were twin girls, Annette Elizabeth and Ellen Nora.
It was not long after her husband passed that she would have to endure her sons fighting for the state of Pennsylvania in the Civil War. They all made it back home. In fact she had never had to endure what it is like to lose a child in an era where this was commonplace although nearly 30 of her grandchildren had died. Jacob Bortner was Commissioner of York County. While Jacob was away involved with the affairs of the benefit of the county they lived in, she was raising her children up to be something their father would be proud of.
Her first child and daughter Elizabeth Catherine became the mirror image of her mother in every way. Raising a very large household of 10 children with her husband Peter Lau Rohrbaugh. Her other daughters would also hold those same family values. Lucy who married farmer George Steffey, Catherine married Jonas Markel Bortner who owned and operated a mill, Matilda married George Deveney, a Civil War veteran and popular auctioneer in York, and her youngest Julian married farmer Israel Fair, all of them would have large families.
Her sons Lewis, Jesse, Daniel, Amos and Miffly would all become farmers and all of them lived close together as did all of Jacob and Catherine's children. They learned farming from their father and farmed the land their father handed down to them until they died. Charles who married Lydia Lau was a laborer and he had a pretty large family. Only two were daughters. Most of his sons would become musicians, forming the Green Ridge Cornet and Orchestra Band with friends and cousins. Emanuel who married Annie Krebs went into business with his wife's brother in law David Becker to form a successful ice cream business, Bortner and Becker and sold ice cream as far away as Maryland until Becker passed. Jacob married Matilda Masimore and was a tanner, He owned and operate a tannery and became one of the leading businessmen in Shrewsbury.
In all Jacob Bortner and Catherine Gerberick have 13 children, 106 grandchildren, 454 great grandchildren and over 900 2nd great grandchildren.