Sullivan-Lycoming County PA Archives Biographies.....Dieffenbach, Daniel Emanuel 1839 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 30, 2008, 2:43 am Author: Thomas J. Ingham (1899) DANIEL EMANUEL DIEFFENBACH. - The subject of this sketch is the representative of one of the most prominent families of Sullivan county, typifying those sterling qualities which in that county, as well as in any locality, must bring to their fortunate possessors the successes of life. The history of the family in America dates back four generation. His great-great-grandfather was Conrad Dieffenbacher (as the name was then spelled), who was the son of Leinhart Dieffenbacher and was born at Eppingen, in Grait Herzogthum, Baden, March 1, 1743. In the autumn of 1764 Conrad emigrated to America and settled at Faulkner Swamp, Pennsylvania. There he was married January 30, 1769, to Catherine Betz, a native of Faulkner Swamp. Afterward he moved to Limerick township, now Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. He had eleven children, as follows: Abraham, born November 16, 1769; John, July 13, 1771; Frederick, May 4, 1773; Jacob, grandfather of our subject, November 17, 1775; Philip, February 3, 1778; Henry, January 31, 1780; Elizabeth, May 11, 1782; Conrad, February 15, 1785; Catherine, May 2, 1787; David, June 17, 1789; and Susannah, August 31, 1791. Conrad Dieffenbacher moved with his family to Derry township, Northumberland county, in April, 1793. There his wife died June 3, 1809, aged about sixty years and he married as his second wife Catherine Hass, a widow, of Selins Grove. Conrad died in Derry township, Northumberland county, August 6, 1813, at the age of seventy-one years. Jacob Dieffenbach, grandfather of our subject, was a farmer and miller of Lycoming county. He married Christina Gardner, who was born in Lycoming county, February 14, 1784, and to them were born these children: Susan, who was the wife of Jacob Fullmer; Daniel; Elizabeth, wife of Christol Springer; Sarah, wife of William Kessner; Charles; John, father of our subject; Hannah, wife of Adam Thrasher; Mary, wife of Anthony Weaver; Jacob; Henry; and Rebecca, who married Amos Reeser. Jacob Dieffenbach, in 1829, removed to what is now Sullivan county.He remained a lifelong farmer and died October 30, 1840, aged sixty-four years; his widow died December 21, 1859, aged seventy-five years. John Dieffenbach, father of our subject, was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1813. In 1829 he came with his parents to Sullivan county and at Dushore from 1840 to 1850 he operated a mill, having at the age of twenty years served an apprenticeship at that trade. He also engaged extensively at farming and became a prominent citizen of the county. In Lycoming county he served as constable and in Sullivan county he was a county commissioner. He married Miss Elizabeth Hoffa, who was born at Mahatonga, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1819, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Swallow) Hoffa, who moved from Schuylkill county to Dushore April 1, 1827, where he engaged in farming. Jacob Hoffa was a very prominent citizen. He was county commissioner and served as justice of peace for many years. To John and Elizabeth Dieffenbach these children were born: Hannah C., born January 4, 1836, married John Lawrence and is now deceased; Jacob, born November 26, 1837, died October 1, 1840; Daniel E., the subject of this sketch, born October 11, 1839; John S., born October 29, 1841, was lieutenant in Company D, One Hundred and Forty-First Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and died in the army, October 11, 1862; Henry S., born December 15, 1843, served in the United States Army during the Civil war and died February 6, 1871; Catherine A., born March 19, 1846, became wife of Julius Vogel, a merchant of Mildred, this state; Clinton A., born July 20, 1850, is a farmer and carpenter of Cherry township, who married Caroline Kingsley; George F., born June 6, 1857, married Gertrude Strong, of Wyalusing, Bradford county; Elizabeth, born October 29, 1864, became the wife of George Heverley, a traveling salesman of New Albany. Mrs. Elizabeth Dieffenbach died November 11, 1886, and was buried in Thrasher's cemetery. For his second wife John Dieffenbach married Mrs. Caroline (Hoffa) Suber, a sister to his first wife. She was born in Cherry township, Sullivan county, April 18, 1827, and her first husband was Benjamin Suber. John Dieffenbach is a member of Christ church, and is a Democrat in politics. He now lives a retired life at Dushore, enjoying the comforts which he has won from the world by a life of industry and business prosperity. D. Emanuel Dieffenbach, the subject proper of this sketch, was born October 11, 1839, on the homestead farm, now also his property, which adjoins his home farm; it was then in Lycoming county, but is now a part of Cherry township, Sullivan county. He was reared a farmer and remained at home until his marriage at the age of twenty-three years, to Miss Loretta C. Zaner, daughter of one of the most prominent residents of the county. She was born in Cherry township, Sullivan county (then Lycoming), November 17, 1837. Her father, Lewis Zaner, was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1804. He married Miss Eve Chrisher, and in the spring of 1828 the young couple emigrated to what is now Cherry township, Sullivan county. Here he settled in almost an unbroken wilderness, upon a farm now owned and occupied by his grandsons, Lewis and Nelson Zaner. In this forbidding environment, single-handed and alone, he began the struggle for life. By his exercise of patience, perseverance and economy, his struggle ended happily. Fortune favored him with winning smiles. He soon attained prominence in the affairs of the county. He became the first sheriff of Sullivan county and for many years was actively influential in the administration of the new county's affairs. His life partner passed away August 20, 1883, aged eighty-one years, four months and twenty-four days. After her death he removed to Muncy, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a handsome home and surrounded himself with all the luxuries of life, which his fancy dictated and which his wealth made obtainable. Though living in ease at Muncy, his attachment to his old home remained, and family ties drew him in frequent visitations to the homes of his children in Cherry township. His sturdy and erect figure was a familiar and cheering sight on the streets of Dushore. Only one week before his death, which occurred October 27, 1887, he had visited the old home. His remains were borne to the grave in Bahr's cemetery, Cherry township, and laid beside those of his wife, by C. W. Garey, James Thompson, Hon. F. B. Pomeroy, Hon. D. H. Fairchild and B. M. Sylvara, of Dushore, and Peter Yonkin, Sr., of Cherry township. To Lewis and Eve Zaner were born four sons and five daughters, among them Adam H.; Levi, who married Christia Ann Crawford; Rebecca, who married Henry Whitmire; Hannah, wife of Amos Cox; Loretta C., wife of our subject; and Elizabeth, the oldest, who married Jonathan Colley. The family of D. Emanuel and Loretta C. Dieffenbach consists of the following children: Sylvellin A., who married Eudora Brown, and is a miner at Mildred, Pennsylvania; Alverna M., wife of S. H. O'Brien, a farmer of Columbia county, this state; Charles M., who married Mary Kinsley, and is a farmer of Cherry township; Harry L., a contractor and builder at Cleveland, Ohio, who married Anna Bushy; and Cora E., wife of F. J. Grover, agent for the Union Tea Company, at Dushore. After his marriage our subject for eleven years was engaged in farming "on shares" on his father's farm. He then purchased the farm of one hundred acres which he now owns and occupies, and about ten years ago he bought the old homestead of ninety-five acres, which adjoins his present home. Mr. Dieffenbach is a member of the Reformed church and in politics is a Democrat. He is one of the foremost farmers in the county, and in Cherry township has frequently been called to fill local office, serving from time to time as treasurer, school director and collector. He is a progressive agriculturist and a good business man. Financial success has crowned his labors, and in the community he is held as a man of sterling character and worth, possessing excellent business judgment and in every sense a substantial and representative citizen. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Sullivan County Pennsylvania by Thomas J. Ingham Compendium of Biography The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago: 1899 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 9.0 Kb