Jacob & Mary Ditzenberger

The first of the Ditzenbergers to come to America was Jacob Wesley DITZENBERGER. What we know about him and his family comes from family histories written by Pearl Ditzenberger Stonebreaker, Margaret Vardeman and Sparkle Moore Furnas and confirmed by official records. He was born in Gelnhausen, Hesse, Germany in 1809. Stonebreaker states he was a baker and farmer and Vardeman states he was an apprentice baker in Germany and a huckster [peddler] and farmer in America. She quotes Hazel Squires that Jacob never learned to read or write English. When he was a young man, Jacob came to America. When and where he landed is in dispute. The first reference to him in official records was his marriage to Mary Elizabeth MOORE. This marriage took place on 2 June 1836 in Montgomery County, Ohio . She was the daughter of Jacob and Mary MINNICH MOORE. According to the 1850 Indiana Census , Mary Moore was born (20 Dec 1817) in Ohio as were their first 4 children (Charles, Jacob, Henry and John). In 1842, Jacob DITZENBERGER, who was listed as from Preble County, Ohio, purchased 40 acres of land in Boone County, Indiana, from Jesse Smith. This land was located in Worth Township, in the country between Whitestown and Zionsville. Later he purchased land in Sections 7, 21, 28 and 34. There is record of the sale of the acres in Sections 7 and 34 and the distribution of land to his heirs in Section 21. 10 more children (David, Catherine, Margaretha, Conrad, Wm. Nelson, Alexander, Lewallen, Mary and Jonathan) were born in Boone County making 14 in all. Margaretha died in a bonfire accident at age 4 . David died when he was 16 and Conrad died when he was 10. Margaretha, David and Conrad share a tombstone. Samuel died before 1860 because he isn't listed in the census. They are all buried in the Lutheran Cemetery near Whitestown . All of the rest of the children grew to adulthood and were married.

Mary died in Dec 1880 at the age of 63 years and 3 days. A will had been prepared for her in June which she signed with an x. She left all of her property, including land in sections 21 and 28, to her husband. She was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery. Jacob died in 1891, without making a will. His estate was administered by Jonathan Ditzenberger. Jacob was buried next to Mary and one stone marks their graves.

Submitted by: Nina Andrew
Sources and End Notes:

1. Pearl Ditzenberger Stonebreaker was a daughter of Jacob's grandson, Perry Ditzenberger. In 1981, she filled out many family group records of the Ditzenberger family. One of the references she cited was the notebook of John F. Ditzenberger (son of Henry Ditzenberger).

2. Margaret Vardeman filled out several family record sheets and donated them to the family files of the Lebanon Public Library in Lebanon, IN. She cited Cordelia Squires Stultz and Hazel Squires Slider as sources. Mary Ditzenberger, a daughter of Jacob, married Lewis Squires. Cordelia and Hazel were her daughters.

3. Sparkle Moore Furnace, "Genealogies of the Moore and Brunes Families", privately printed in 1978, P. H. Sullivan Museum, Zionsville, IN. Sparkle was a descendant of one of Mary Moore's brothers.

4. Stonebreaker said he was from "Bingham-on-Rhine, near the Swiss border in Germany." There is a Bingen on the Rhine River but it is in the Palatinate, at least 160 miles from the Swiss Border. Vardeman stated he was from Hanault, probably because this is where the 1860 Census lists as his birthplace. The 1870 Census states Hesse and the 1880 Census states Bavaria.

Among Stonebreaker's notes was an undated letter that was perhaps from someone who lived in Germany and found the record of Jacob's birth:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Draper,
At least we've found the book and the following sentences I translated into the English language, hoping that you can understand them. Sometimes I could not find the translation for an old German word, so I put these words in brackets:

Johann Jakob Ditzenberger
Born 6 Feb 1809 5am
Baptised: 7 Feb 1809
Father: Johann Ulrich Ditzenberger
Citizen and [Beilermeister = his job]
of Zigelhaus, part of Gelnhausen
Mother: Eva Maria Roderin
[Gevalter]: Johann Jacob Roder"

A. A. G. Wagner
In the state of Hesse in Germany is the town of Gelnhausen about 15 miles from Hanau"
 
5.  Again Stonebreaker and Vardeman disagree. Stonebreaker states Jacob came to America when he was 16 (1825) and landed in New York. Vardeman states he came to America when he was 25 (1833) on the Bark Leontine and landed in Baltimore. Research has failed to reveal an official source. Vardeman also states that Jacob "left Germany because he didn't want to do military service."

6.  Marriage Record B, Montgomery County Archives, Dayton, Ohio; page 140. "Married Jacob Ditzenberger and Mary Moore on 2nd day of June 1836 by William Emerick."

7. 1850 Federal Census, Boone County, Indiana, (Washington DC), District 7, p 336, entry 1579 1536.

8. Deed Book 3, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN., pg 418. SE ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 27, Township 18N, Range 2E. containing 40 acres for the sum of $200.
When the courthouse burned down, landowners had to submit their deeds for rerecording. Jacob Ditzenberger submitted 8 deeds in 1857.

9. In regards to when Jacob came to Boone County, Indiana, the records confuse more than they help. According to the marriage record, Jacob married in Montgomery County, Ohio in 1836. His first 4 children are listed as born prior to 1842 in Ohio in the census record. He is listed as from Preble County, Ohio when he purchased land in 1842. And yet he is listed among the first congregation of the Lutheran Church at John Good Sr's cabin in 1834 (Whitestown, Indiana, 1971, Sullivan Museum, Zionsville, IN and "Early Life and Times in Boone Co., IN" compiled by Hardin and Spahr, Lebanon, IN, May 1887). Also his obituary stated that he had come from Germany to Boone County 55 years ago. From this it is easy to speculate that he came West to Boone County, IN and then for some reason he went back East to Ohio to be married. Perhaps he met Mary as he was passing through to Indiana and decided to go back and marry her. They may have lived with her parents until they could earn enough money to buy land in Indiana.

10. Deed Book 2, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN, p 393, 1845, James Cragen to Jacob Ditzenberger: NE ¼ of SW ¼ and NW ¼ of SE ¼ of S21 T18N R2E containing 80 acres for $300. Page 392, 1853, Elizabeth Whitson to Jacob Ditzenberger: NW ¼ of SW ¼ of S21 T18N R2E for $500.

11. Deed Book 2, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN, pg 395, 1854, Enoch Cragen to Jacob Ditzenberger: SW ¼ of NW ¼ of S28, T18N R2E containing 40 acres for $575.

12. Deed Book 4, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN, p 491, 1845, Thomas Goodnight to Jacob Ditzenberger: 30 acres off of the S end of NE ¼ of NW ¼ of S34 T18N R2E for $150.
p 492, 1845, William Morgan to Jacob Ditzenberger: 2 and 50/100 acres off of the N end of SE ¼ of the NW ¼ of S34 T18N R2E for $25.

13. Deed Book, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN, p 420, 1847, Jacob Ditzenberger to Noah Byrket: SE ¼ of SW ¼ S7 T18N R2E containing 40 acres for $150.

14. Deed Book 4, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, IN, p 493, 1854, Jacob Ditzenberger to James Ogden: 30 acres off of the S end of NE ¼ of NW ¼ of S34 T18N R2E and 2 and 50/100 acres off of the N end of SE ¼ of the NW ¼ of S34 T18N R2E for $625.

15. Vardeman.

16. Jewell Funkhouser, Lutheran Cemetery, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. p5. Sammy and Margaretha aren't listed. This cemetery was adjacent to the St. Mark's Lutheran Church before it moved to Whitestown. There is no building now standing at the cemetery. The cemetery is located in a bend of the N 78 Rd north of W. 146 St in Union Township in Boone County, IN. All of the stones are badly weathered.

17. Tombstone, Lutheran Cemetery, near Whitestown, Indiana.

"Mary
Wife of Jacob Ditzenberger
Died Dec. 24, 1880
Aged 63 YRS & # D
She was the mother of fourteen children"

18. Last Will and Testament of Mary Ditzenberger, Will Record 2, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon, Indiana; p74.

19. Jewel Funkhouser, Lutheran Cemetery, 1978, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN, p2.

20. Obituary, Lebanon Pioneer, 26 Feb. 1891, front pg.

21. Circuit Court Book 13, Boone County Courthouse, Lebanon Indiana, p13.

22. Funkhouser, p5.