#50909 John Deffler◊
John was born Abt 1815 in Bavaria, Germany.
I have not found a good candidate for John on the censuses before 1850. One possibility is that he immigrated after the 1840 Census and before the birth of his son, John, in 1843 in Pennsylvania.
A second possibility is that this John is the first Deffler ancestor in the United States and the family story about about an ancestor arriving with his maternal (and differently surnamed) grandparents is true. Since pre-1850 censuses don't list anyone but the head of household, this would make locating him on the census impossible.
A third possibility is that he is the John Dofler found in Frederick, Maryland on the 1830 Census. The problem with this John is that he is listed as 20-29 years old, which would put his birth year 1801-1810. This isn't consistent with later census ages. The Maryland Doffler families are not impossible, however. There is a George Doffler who appears on the 1830 and 1840 Census records for Frederick. George does not appear on either the 1810 or 1820 Censuses that I can find so, presumably, he immigrated between 1820 and 1830. George has a young man of approximately the correct age in his household.
It is interesting to note that a 10 year old girl, Anna Smith, born in Maryland is living with John and Barbara in 1850. However, Southampton is only a couple miles from the Maryland border, so we cannot assume too much from that.
There are a few passenger list entries that are reasonable matches to the name Johannes Doffler but they are either too young, too old, or did not arrive in the United States until after we see John on censuses. A John Doefler of Bavaria is naturalized in western Pennsylvania on 3 Oct 1903, but we have no further information to know if this is our John and he would have been quite old at the time.
On the 1850 Federal Census of Southampton, Somerset Co. Pennsylvania his age is given as 31, indicating a birth year of Abt 1818/9. However, on later censuses his birth year is closer to Abt 1815.
On the 1860 Federal Census we find him at the same place, although it is now listed as Northampton Twp. after it was split from Southampton in 1851. His real estate is valued at $800 and his personal effects at $300. His birth place has changed to Pennsylvania, as has that of his wife, Barbara. Edward L. Walker's 1860 Map of Somerset Co. and other maps of that year show John's farm. A map of original surveys for the area shows that this appears to be property originally warranted by Jacob Miller in 1794, although the rivers and civil boundaries of the township do not line up exactly on the various maps so identifying co-located points is uncertain.
By the 1870 Federal Census his real estate is worth $1,500 and his birth place has reverted to Germany.
The 1880 Federal Census (here the name is spelled Defler) shows a Susanna Hartzel, widow, age 46, and daughters Mary E. Hartzel (age 15), Mary Jane Rannels (age 12), and Agnes E. Rannels (age 3) living with them. This is Susanna Heutzel, the widow of Dennis Heutzel who owned the farm a short distance from the Defflers, and her daughter Mary. You can see the location on the maps above as Mrs. Hutzel. The two other girls are Reynolds; John Reynolds and (presumably) his daughter, Jane, are living with the Heutzels in 1860.
There was a John Doefler, born in Bavaria, who was naturalized in the Western District of Pennsylvania on 3 Oct 1903. There is no further information in the record to help identify this as our individual.
There is an entry in FindAGrave that notes two adult graves marked "Deffler" are found in the Lebanon Cemetery, Glencoe, Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. There is no way to know if these are John and Barbara. However, their farm was just outside the town so I tend to think it likely.
John married #50912 Barbara Freund◊.
Relationship notes |
They married. |
Barbara was born Abt 1817 in Bavaria, Germany. She died Bef 1900.
The 1860 Federal Census shows her born in Pennsylvania, but the other censuses show Bavaria.
Children of this relationship:
| #50913 | F | i | Mary A. Deffler | (Abt 1842–) |
| #126 | M | ii | John Blaine "J.B." Deffler◊ | (31 Mar 1843–18 Sep 1929) |
1830 U.S. Census, District 2, Frederick, Maryland, Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Page: 120; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 57; Family History Film: 0013180.
1840 U.S. Census, Frederick, Dorchester Co., Maryland, Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Roll: 165; Page: 129; Image: 265; Family History Library Film: 0013185.
1850 U.S. Census, Southampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009, Roll: M432_828; Page: 216B; Image: 430. Note that Southampton, Pennsylvania is listed in Ancestry.com under Northampton, Pennsylvania although the actual images show correctly.
1860 U.S. Census, Northampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009, Roll: M653_1183; Page: 339; Image: 347; Family History Library Film: 805183.
1870 U.S. Census, Northampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009, Roll: M593_1452; Page: 405B; Image: 392; Family History Library Film: 552951.
1880 U.S. Census, Northampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010, Roll: 1195; Family History Film: 1255195; Page: 391A; Enumeration District: 017; Image: 0387.
Somerset County Atlas of Surveys and Warrants Collected and Plotted as a WPA Project, sponsored by Somerset County Commissioners and Bar Association, Somerset, PA: 1939, Copy located in the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Somerset Co., PA, Page: Northampton Twp.
Edward L. Walker, Map of Somerset Co., Pa., color map, 108 x 103 cm, Pittsburgh: 1860, Copy in Library of Congress, Catalog No: 2012592183.
F. W. Beers, County Atlas of Somerset, Pennsylvania, color maps, 16 x 13 in, New York: F. W. Beers and Company, 1876, Copy on AncestorTracks.com.
Indexes and Registers of Declarations of Intention and Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1820-1906, Ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007., Microfilm Serial: M1208; Microfilm Roll: 2.
Indexes and Registers of Declarations of Intention and Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1820-1906, Ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007, Microfilm Serial: M1208; Microfilm Roll: 2.
John B. Deffler death certificate, file no. 90591, registered no. 863 (19 Sep 1929), Bureau of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Year: 1840; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237; Microfilm Roll: 42; Line: 19; List Number: 340.
U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010, Collection Number: G&M_22; Roll Number: 22.
Line Generation: 1
Relationship: Great-Great-Great-Grandfather