FENELTON - The Boals of Butler County trace their ancestry back to Ireland in the 1700s when a James Boal emigrated to the United States. The Boals of Boalsburg also began with ancestors coming from Ireland.

"It's hard to tell where the family trees collide," said Barbara Gibbs, who lives near Sugarcreek. She is the daughter of the late Patricia Boal Hutchison.

Still, members of the local Boal family have gone over to Boalsburg to visit many times.

"We did go over one time to the Mass (at Columbus Chapel)," said Fenelton resident Ethel Boal, 78, who was married to the late Charles Boal.

"There was a reception in the mansion after. We got to meet this man who was 91 and the last surviving member of Col. (Theodore "Teddy" Davis) Boal's regiment. And we met Christopher Lee - he's a direct descendent."

Altogether, she and Charles visited the estate about five times before he died in 1993.

"When we went up to the Mass and then went over to the mansion, they said, 'It's so nice to have a Boal here,'" she recalled. "They treated us real nice."

She described Columbus Chapel as "breathtaking" and "something you never saw before."

"All these gold things, it's so pretty. It's one of a kind," she said.

Her husband, Charles, had two brothers, Orville and Theron, and a sister, Patricia. Their earliest ancestor to come to America was James in 1790. He came from Ireland along with Elizabeth Walsh, whom he married. They settled in Penn's Valley.

In Butler County, Orville, also known as "Doc," was married to Peg. They are both deceased and had no children.

Charles and Ethel's children are Ellen, Edward, Curtis and Gregory.

Theron and his wife Jean had Brenda and Gary.

Patricia and her husband, Leslie Lee Hutchison Jr., had Deron and Barbara.

"Most of my husband's relatives are in Clearfield," Ethel Boal said.

She has four grandchildren.

"I make copies of everything so they can each have one," she said.

Her niece, Barbara Gibbs, said she, along with her husband, James, just took her children Erika and Chad Bowser to visit the estate last spring.

"It's very weird to go and see a whole town named after Boals," said Barbara Gibbs. "Just to see the chapel itself ... it's unbelievable."

<i>Ethel, of Fenelton, and the late Charles Boal of Butler County visited the Boal estate five times .</i><br></br><br></br>

<i>The late Theron Boal, with wife Jean, is a brother of Charles Boal. </i><br></br><br></br>

<i>The late Orville "Doc" Boal was married to Peg. They had no childern</i><br></br><br></br>

<i> The late Patrica, a sister of both Charles and Theron, with husband Leslie Lee Hutchison Jr.</i>