Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 68

Author: Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 538

USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 68

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

John Ditz, the founder of the fam- DITZ ily in this country, was born in Ger- many and died in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, on his farm, which is now a portion of the town of Fryburg. On May 28, 1825, he' emigrated from Germany to America and landed at New York City, then traveled overland by way of Harrisburg, Somerset and Greensburg to Clarion county, where he ar- rived October 4. 1825, and where, in 1826, he purchased one hundred acres of land on which

he built a block-house and cleared a farm which he cultivated until his death. He mar- ried, in Germany, Magdalene Witzigmann, and among their children was Ferdinand, men- tioned below.

( II) Ferdinand, son of John and Magda- lene (Witzigmann) Ditz, was born in Renth, Baden, Germany, February 26, 1810, died on his farm near Fryburg, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1881. He received his early education in Germany and in 1825, when fifteen years of age, emigrated with his parents to America and settled in Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He later purchased a farm of one hundred acres adjoining the land of his father and worked in the furnace of Jacob Black, at Ship- pensville, until he had paid for the land. He married in 1834, and in 1835 built a house on his farm which is still standing and later, in order to educate his children, he drove eighty miles to St. Mary's and engaged Magdalen Buchheid as a teacher and established a school which was later removed to the basement of the church. In 1849 he built a hotel on the westerly portion of his land which he con- ducted until it was destroyed by fire May 12, 1879. He married, April 9, 1834, Franceska, born in Germany June 22, 1808, died August 4, 1903, daughter of Jacob Eisenman (see Eisen- · man). Their marriage was the first solemn- ized in Fryburg. Children: 1. Mary, born 1836, died at Fryburg, Pennsylvania, aged seventy years ; married (first) Killean Aul- bach, (second) Joseph Buechner. Children : i. Herman, born June 20, 1857 ; resides at Fry- burg, unmarried. ii. Frank, died about 1898; was educated for a priest, and was a member of the Brotherhood of Xavier, at Baltimore, Maryland. iii. Rosa, born 1860, died young. iv. Lena, born 1862, married a Mr. Mayer. v. Lizzie, born 1864, resides at Fryburg in 1913, unmarried. 2. Walburga, deceased, born about 1838; married George Strubler, deceased. Children : i. Elizabeth, married Nathaniel Mal- rich; children: Mary, married a Mr. Reedy and resides at Oil City, Pennsylvania ; Frank, Stella, Anthony, Anna, Elizabeth, John, de- ceased. ii. Joseph, died in 1898; married Lizzie Siegel, resides at Oil City ; children : Beatrice, Elizabeth, Agnes. iii. John, resides at Pitts- burgh; married Laura Lampman; children : Harry and Lawrence. iv. Frances, a sister in St. Benedictine Convent, died there. v. Anna, a sister in St. Benedictine Convent, died there. vi. Alfred, resides at Oil City, unmarried. vii.

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Frank, unmarried. viii. George, Jr., resides at Oil City; in the hotel business. 3. Caroline, deceased, born about 1840; married Patrick Graham, deceased. Children: i. Joseph, mar- ried Josephine Keener. ii. Walter, married Stella Ormston. iii. Augustin, unmarried. iv. Francis, unmarried. v. Agnes, unmarried. 4. Augustin, mentioned below. 5. Veronica, born 1846; married Joseph Bauer. Children: i. Augustin, married Lottie Weaver, one child. ii. Frank, unmarried. iii. Carrie, unmarried. iv. Bertha, unmarried. v. Ferdinand, unmarried. vi. Edward. vii. Andrew. viii. Anthony. ix. Mary. x. Joseph.

(III) Augustin, son of Ferdinand and Franceska ( Eisenman) Ditz, was born in Fry- burg, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1844, died there September 27, 1897. He received his early education in the Roman Catholic paro- chial schools and in private schools of Fry- burg, and then entered the hotel business with his father in which he continued until his death. He also owned and cultivated a farm. He married ( first ) November 21, 1871, Agnes, daughter of John and Mary (Fogel- bacher) Seth, born at Lucinda Furnace, Clar- ion county, died in Fryburg, March 17, 1878. He married ( second) May 6, 1884, Mary Magdalene, daughter of Lawrence and Mary Magdalene (Leicht) Songer. Mrs. Ditz's grandfather was born in Germany and emi- grated to America, being one of the pioneer settlers of Limestone township, Clarion county, and her father was born in Shannon- dale and died in Corsica, February 4, 1901. Her mother, Mary Magdalene Leicht, was born in Holshouse, Germany, March 15, 1826, and died March 29, 1902. In 1849 she came to America with her parents, locating at Shan- nondale, Pennsylvania, where in 1850 she mar- ried Lawrence Songer, who was born at Shan- nondale, August 9, 1825. He remained there until 1856, when he and his family removed to a farm near Corsica, Pennsylvania, and here engaged in the lumber business and farming until his death February 4, 1899. Children of Lawrence and Mary Magdalene (Leicht) Songer: 1. Catherine, born September 24, 1851, died August 2, 1864, of diphtheria. 2. Peter, born October 28, 1853, died August 8, 1864, of diphtheria. 3. Theresa, born Febru- ary 18, 1855, died July 30, 1864, of diphtheria. 4. Mary Magdalene, born October 15, 1856, became the wife of Augustin Ditz, as noted

above. 5. Caroline, born April 19, 1858, died August 7, 1864, of diphtheria. 6. Elizabeth, born April 13, 1860, died August 5, 1888. 7. Edward, born May 6, 1863, died August II, 1864, of diphtheria. 8. Francis Albert, born March 14, 1865; married Cecelia Aaron and lives on the old homestead. 9. and 10. Twins, Sarah Ann and Veronica, born February 16, 1867; Sarah Ann died February 26, 1867, and Veronica married Harry Aaron, of Kings- ville, Pennsylvania, a farmer of that place, and they are now ( 1913) the parents of seven children. 11. Charles Gabriel, born February 14, 1869; he married Ann Newhouse and has three children. He is engaged in the lumber business at Tionesta, Pennsylvania. 12. Lewis Edward, born March 23, 1871 ; married Cath- erine Green and has five children ; they live at Marienville, Pennsylvania. 13. John, born March 28, 1873; married ( first ) Rose O'Neil, by whom he had five children, married ( sec- ond) Josephine Aaron, by whom he has one child ; he is superintendent of the steel mills at South Sharon, Pennsylvania. Children of Au- gustin Ditz (two by first marriage) : I. An- thony F., born June 1, 1873 ; resides in Cleve- land, Ohio; married Anna Curry ; children : Augustin, Alice Margaret, Helen, and a son, name unknown. 2. Mary F., born Octo- ber 19, 1875: resides in Fryburg; married George Fletcher, engaged in the drug busi- ness ; children : Antoinette, Mabel, Catharine, Alvis, Marie. 3. George A., mentioned below. 4. Aloysius A., born May 17, 1886. 5. Leo M., born October 5, 1887. 6. Frances E., born December 31, 1888. 7. Michael V., born April 5, 1890. 8. Edward L., born October 14, 1891. 9. Irene V., born January 7, 1894.

(IV) George A., son of Augustin and Mary Magdalene (Songer) Ditz, was born in Fry- burg, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1885, and is now ( 1913) living there. He received his early education in St. Michael's parochial schools and later graduated from Holy Ghost College, now Duquesne University, at Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, and then returned to Fryburg where he took up the cultivation of the old homestead farm, and the management of a large hotel which was built on the prop- erty by his father in 1879, and he still con- tinues in those occupations. He is also inter- ested in lumber and gas businesses, and was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Fryburg, being now cashier and one

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of the directors of that institution. He is a Democrat in politics. He is president of the Knights of St. George, and was the first presi- dent of the branch of the society at Fryburg. He is a Roman Catholic in religion. Mr. Ditz is unmarried.

(The Eisenman Line).

(I) Jacob Eisenman, the founder of the family in this country, was born in Baden, Ger- many, died in Clarion county, Pennsylvania. He emigrated to America in 1820, and settled near what is now the town of Fryburg where he bought and cultivated a farm of two hun- dred and sixty acres, a portion of which he later gave to the Roman Catholic church and on which the first church building of that faith in the section was erected, the congregation worshipping in his house until the building was completed. His wife's name is unknown. Chil- dren: Jacob; Lambert, mentioned below ; Joseph : Barbara; Franceska, married Ferdi- nand Ditz, referred to above.

(II) Lambert, son of Jacob Eisenman, was born in Germany, died in Fryburg, Pennsyl- vania. He emigrated to America with his parents, was brought up on his father's farm and later conducted a hotel in Fryburg for many years. He was ?. Democrat in politics, and a Roman Catholic in religion. He mar- ried Catherine Fasenmyer, born in Germany, died in Fryburg. Children : Edward, referred to below ; Helen ; James, now living in Pitts- burgh ; Mary Agatha ; Francis ; Balser ; Luke; Veronica ; Mary ; Catherine ; Lambert.

(III) Edward, son of Lambert and Cather- ine ( Fasenmyer) Eisenman, was born on his father's farm near Fryburg, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1841, and is now (1913) living in Washington township, Clarion county, Penn- sylvania. He received his early education in the Roman Catholic parochial schools and later engaged in farming in which occupation he still continues. He has developed several oil and gas wells on his property. He mar- ried May 10, 1864, Magdalina, born in Lu- cinda Furnace, Clarion county, June 22, 1841, died July 9, 1911, daughter of John and Mary (Fogelbacher) Seth. Children: Agnes, born April 3. 1865; Clara, born June 9, 1867 ; Con- stance ; Albert, born February 3, 1871 : Frank, born March 14, 1873: Joseph, born March 21, 1875: Anna Mary, born September 2, 1876; Christiana, born January 13, 1880.

James Mckinley moved on MCKINLEY a tract of land settled by John Donaldson, who was followed by Judge Robert Mitchell, from whom Mr. Mckinley purchased in 1834, in Irwin, now Clinton township, was a farmer after coming to this place, but had previously been a carpenter and cabinet-maker. He was born in 1792 and died in 1872, at the age of eighty years. He lived for a while in Beaver county, then in Ohio, coming to Irwin town- ship in Venango county in 1834. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Repub- lican, growing to be a man of considerable prominence, and serving as school director in Irwin and Clinton townships. He belonged to the Associated Presbyterian (afterward the United Presbyterian ) church, and was a mem- ber of session from 1851 until the time of his death. He married Elizabeth McKelvey, and had the following children, all of whom, as well as himself and wife, are now deceased: I. Mary, married Thomas Baird; children : James, Cyrus, Jefferson, and Calvin. 2. Martha, married Robert Weakley, who is also deceased; no children. 3. John, married

(first ) a Miss Orr, (second) Elizabeth. Moore ; he had children by both marriages. 4. James, married twice, his second wife having been a Miss Reimold : the children by this lat- ter marriage were: Elizabeth, married Frank Wiandt ; Philip M. and James C. 5. Marvin, married Mary A. Moore, who survived him and now lives in Clinton township; no chil- dren. 6. Nathaniel, twin brother of Marvin, who is mentioned further.

(II) Nathaniel, son of James and Elizabeth (McKelvey) Mckinley, was born October 26, 1826, in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he passed the first two years of his life. He then lived in Ohio until he was eight years of age, when coming to Venango county he re- mained for the rest of his life in this place. Here he attended the public schools in his youth, and at the conclusion of his studies be- came a farmer, which vocation he followed until his death. He was a Republican in poli- tics, but never an office holder ; he was a sober and respected citizen, living a useful and up- right life. He was noted as never having used tobacco in any form, and died September 12, 1881. He married Catherine Daugherty, born June 1, 1825, in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Lewis)

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Daugherty, whose children were: Anna, died unmarried at the age of eighty-two; Rachel, also died unmarried; Catherine, became Mrs. McKinley; Mary, died unmarried; William, died unmarried when over seventy-nine years of age ; Mrs. Daugherty lived to be eighty-four years old, dying in 1871. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Kinley were both members of the United Pres- byterian church, of which Mr. Mckinley was a trustee for several years ; Mrs. McKinley died December 18, 1912. ,Children: Samuel, died in infancy ; H. John, of further mention.

(III) H. J. Mckinley, son of Nathaniel and Catherine (Daugherty) Mckinley, was born May 21, 1860, in Clinton township, near Clintonville, Pennsylvania, and here his early life was passed, attending the public schools of the township off and on between the ages of seven and eighteen years. He then entered Clintonville Academy, where he remained five terms; after which he attended Grove City College for one term, and then finished his educational career by a course in civil engin- eering with the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. During his early career he taught school for a while, and also worked on the farm ; he then devoted his attention to surveying, in which profession he has been engaged for the past nineteen years with marked success. He was county surveyor for nine years, and has been town- ship auditor at different times for several years. On May 1, 1910, he was commissioned justice of the peace for a six year term, and is now serving in that capacity ; he is a Prohi- bitionist in his political belief. Mr. Mckinley is a member of the Engineering Club of Ven- ango county, and belongs to the United Pres- byterian church of Clintonville.

Mr. Mckinley is the only living descendant of his family on the maternal side, though his mother's parents had six children in all. On July 10, 1884, he married Miss H. Lissa Schrefler, of Barkeyville, Venango county, Pennsylvania.

The Dales came from England to

DALE the American colonies at an early period, settling in New England, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The inference is that the Virginia and Pennsylvania families were related. Bishop Meade in his "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia," says, "I must not forget to mention among the families of Norfolk county, that of Dale, an

ancient and respectable one of this and sur- rounding counties."

Winfield Dale, a "respectable shipwright" of Portsmouth, Norfolk county, Virginia, was the father of Commodore Richard Dale, born in Norfolk county, November 6, 1756, the famous naval hero who fought as first lieu- tenant with John Paul Jones and was the first Yankec to leap aboard the "Serapis," where he received the sword of the British Captain Pearson.

(1) The earliest ancestor of the Tionesta family of whom record is found, is Christian Dale, of Northampton and Center counties, Pennsylvania. He is believed to be the first of his branch in this country, and on first com- ing settled in Northampton, where his children were born. He was one of the first settlers in the Buffalo Valley of Center county, obtaining and clearing a farm near Lewisburg. In 1790 he moved to the end of Nittany Mountain, and in 1796 erected a grist and saw mill. These he willed to his son Felix. The name of his wife is not known. His children were: Henry, of whom further ; Philip; Felix ; Fred- erick; Mary, married Nicholas Straw; Eve, married Peter Earhart ; Rachel, married Louis Swinehart; and Christian, who moved with his brother Frederick to Ohio. Christian Dale, the father, died in Ferguson (now Harris) township, July, 1805.

(II) Henry, eldest son of Christian Dale, was born in Northampton county, 1758, died in Harris township, Center county, March, 1844. He was a farmer of Center county, and served in the revolution, fighting at Tren- ton and Princeton. In the year 1800 he built a large stone house on the road between La- mont and Oak Hall. He lived to be eighty- six years of age, and was very well to do. He married and left male issue.

(III) Rev. Joseph Dale, son of Henry Dale, was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, 1786, died 1814. He was reared on the farm, obtained a good education, and became a min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was at one time superintendent of an iron foundry and works at Bellefonte, Center county, but died at the early age of twenty- eight years. He married Mary Gates, born 1789, died 1872, daughter of Thomas, son of Henry Gates, of an early Pennsylvania family. After the death of her husband she joined her own family in western Pennsylvania (now Forest county ), making the long and perilous

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journey in wagons with her small children. The family home was for several years in a log cabin, but with the aid of her sons all diffi- culties were surmounted and she lived to see her two sons and daughter grow to be honored members of their community. For a long time prior to the termination of her years, eighty-three, she was tenderly and lovingly cared for by her children, whom she had always shown the example of a Christian life of self-sacrifice and devotion. Children, all born in Center county: 1. John A., November 14, 1808; educated in the public school of Venango (now Forest) county, and for sev- eral winters taught school. He also studied medicine, but was never in regular practice. In 1835 he began merchandising in Tionesta, and in 1847 was elected sheriff of Venango county, and later was appointed prothonotary of the county to fill a vacancy. He was active in the formation of Forest county and the selection of Tionesta as the county seat. In 1867 he was appointed associate judge, and filled many positions of trust in the new coun- ty. From 1870 he was connected with the Atlantic & Great Western railroad, and until his death, June 25, 1877. He was an honored member of the Masonic order, and was buried with Masonic ceremonies. He married (first) Jane E. Richardson, of Kittanning, Pennsyl- vania. He married (second) in 1852, Eliza- beth E. Watson, who survived him. She was a sister of Lewis F. Watson, who was United States congressman for several terms. Chil- dren, all by first wife: Mary Elizabeth, de- ceased, married Ephraim Davis; James H., deceased; Ellen, married David Hays, de- ceased, whom she survives, living in Arkansas ; Florence, married L. Ross Freeman, a capital- ist of Warren; Gertrude, married W. A. Graves, whom she survives, living in Warren. 2. Susan, married William McClatchey; both deceased ; children : John, now living in Craw- ford county; Eliza, deceased, married Mr. Mitchell ; Emma, married Mr. Hull, and lives in Iowa; Samuel, now living in Crawford county ; Joseph, lives in Kansas; William, resides in New York City. 3. Joseph Gates, of whom further. 4. A son, who died soon after the removal to Venango county.

(IV) Hon. Joseph Gates Dale, son of Rev. Joseph and Mary (Gates) Dale, was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, near Belle fonte, May 15, 1815, died in 1898. He was but one year of age when his widowed mother made

the journey from Center county to the home of her father, Thomas Gates, in Venango (now Forest) county. She remained there a few years, then moved to a small improved tract near the mouth of the creek, now known as the Kiser farm. Here the lad spent his boyhood days, becoming familiar with the hardest work and learning all the secrets of the forest and stream. The country at that time was densely covered with timber; even the site of the present borough of Tionesta was covered with a thick growth of hickory, walnut and butter- nut timber. There were no roads, and the only method of travel was by canoe in summer and over the frozen river in winter. Those possessing horses could travel on horseback after trails were broken, and in this way the old doctors traveled to minister to their widely scattered patients. Amid the rudest possible surroundings he grew to manhood, absorbing all knowledge that it was possible to obtain from the early schools. At the age of fifteen he began working in the lumber works, log- ging, and later rafting the logs to market. He continued lumbering eight years, and at the age of twenty-one years was appointed lieu- tenant of militia by Governor Ritner. Two years later, in 1838, he used the little capital he had accumulated and opened a small general store, continuing in successful operation as a merchant for seven years. He then sold out, investing his capital in the lumber business, a line of activity he continued during the greater part of his long and active business life. He was one of the prominent lumber men of the region, and later, after the discovery of oil, he became a large producer, opening his first well on the Blood farm, on Oil creek. Later he purchased the Ball farm, near Pithole, paying therefor $105,000. In the balmy days of Pit- hole he was a director of the Pithole Valley Railroad Company, the only railroad that ever entered that bubble city. From 1865 to 1873 he was the principal owner of a savings bank in Tionesta, and was the leading business man of the village. He was largely instrumental, in connection with his brother John A., in securing the removal of the county seat from Marionville to Tionesta, and gave much time to the public service. He was postmaster of Tionesta for several years under President Lincoln, resigning in 1867. Under President Johnson he held the position of internal revenue collector, and for five years was asso- ciate judge of Forest county. In his conduct

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of public business he used the same cautious energy as in his private affairs, and was a model public official. He was originally a Whig in politics, later a Republican, but at one time united with the Greenback party as a pro- test against some of the wrongs he felt were being inflicted upon the people. For three years he owned and published the Forest Re- publican, for many years the only Republican newspaper published in Forest county. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1853. He was a most capable man of affairs, of clear judgment, quick insight, and always had the courage of his convictions. His ruling trait was kindliness of heart and many were his benefactions.

During the eighty-two years spent in Forest county he saw the great changes that time wrought, and could feel a just pride in the fact that he bore a man's part in the great development, settlement and upbuilding of a prosperous community. In the winter of 1897 he wrote and published in the l'indicator a history of Tionesta, from which we learn that "Indians were very numerous here at that time along the creek and river, in the summer time, fishing and killing deer. Game of all kinds was plentiful, especially deer, and wolves could be heard howling every night." These condi- tions he helped to change, replacing the forest with well cultivated farms and prosperous villages, railroads, churches, schools, banks, and all the comforts of modern life. The many positions of honor and trust he filled were well filled, as on a good public school educa- tion he built a world of knowledge gained by a lifetime of study and close observation. His library, comprising hundreds of volumes, was not ornamental, but each volume bore evidence of the devotion of its owner to reading and study. As associate judge he was dignified and just to all. He was held in high esteem by his brethren of the fraternities to which he belonged, and as the last mark of respect they could show, buried him with fraternal cere- monies. He took an active interest in the social life about, and was concerned always in all that tended to the betterment of his town and country. His kindly disposition and open, generous, genial nature endeared him to all, and at his funeral there was a great gathering of all ages and conditions of life. He arranged for his funeral. wishing no display, asked that the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians be read and prayer offered at the house, and that

the Odd Fellows have charge of the cere- monies at the cemetery, which was done. In religious faith he was a Universalist.

Mr. Dale married, December 24, 1840. Nancy Agnes Holeman, born at Holeman's Flats, three miles from Tionesta, on the Alle- gheny river, September 14, 1822, daughter of Alexander and Clarissa (Sexton) Holeman (see Holeman ).

Mrs. Dale survives her husband, and in No- vember (1912) is living at Tionesta, enjoying excellent health, although ninety years of age. On December 24, 1890, Mr. and Mrs. Dale celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding day, and at their home in Tionesta received the congratulations of a very large number of relations and friends. Not until eight years later was this lifetime association sundered by the death of Mr. Dale. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. Chil- dren : I. Belle M., married Colonel Jacob H. Dewees ; children : i. Jacob Dale, born Novem- ber 5, 1867, married Kate Kingsley, and lives in Salem, Ohio; they have a son, Alexander Harry, born November 5, 1890, married, No- vember 29, 1911, Nina Fairfield, and resides in Cleveland, Ohio; ii. Joseph Dale, born June 2, 1892 ; iii. Howard K., October 25, 1901. 2. Jennie C., married M. A. Patridge, a merchant, residing in Pittsburgh ; children : Charles, de- ceased; Joseph, living in Pittsburgh; Fred- erick, living in Pittsburgh ; Dale, deceased. 3. John Taylor, born February 25, 1849; educated in the public schools, and has been engaged in banking and lumber business and in the public service of Forest county all his life; he was county commissioner three years, county clerk nine years, deputy prothonotary, and member of Tionesta borough council several years; unmarried. 4. Alexander Holeman, born May II, 1861; educated in the public schools, and Bucknell College; until 1905 a prominent oil operator and lumberman of Forest, Venango and Warren counties. In 1905 he moved to California, where he is still located in the real estate business at Oakland and San Francisco. He was burgess and councilman of Tionesta several years. He is unmarried.

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Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 68

Author: Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 538

Author: Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 538