to

Pfeffer Family c. 1902

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Introduction

Surname Index

Newsletter Archive

Ancestral

Migration Routes

Immigrant Ancestors

War Veterans

Source Documents Archive

Ancestral Locations

Photographs and  Images Archive

About This Webpage

introduction

     Our paternal line of ancestors who stem from the DELLINGER-SILAR families are, for the most part, German in origin.  Most came from the southwest region of Germany, the areas known as the Rhineland, Palatinate, Wurtemberg, and Baden.  They were among the approximately 65,000 German immigrants who landed in Philadelphia between 1727 and 1775.  There are many reasons why they left their homeland to make the treacherous journey across the Atlantic to America.  Many made the voyage primarily because of the economic devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) and the subsequent wars between the German principalities and France. They tended to come in family units.  Many were not only farmers but also tradesmen or artisans.  They eventually settled in York county, Pennsylvania and most remain there to this day.  On the whole our ancestors were typical of the Germans who settled in rural Pennsylvania.  They were orderly, industrious, carefully frugal, and affiliated with the Lutheran or Reformed church.  If any interested themselves at all in politics, it was usually at the local level.

      Our KNECHT-PFEFFER ancestors were among the 5 million Germans who came to the United States during the 19^th century.  This secular transatlantic mass exodus from Germany was instigated mainly by socio-economic problems created because of a tremendous growth in population and a corresponding lack of employment opportunities during the crisis of the transition in Europe from an agrarian to an industrial economy.  Frederick Pfeffer was the last of this line to immigrate to America.  He and his wife Catharine Clement were among the 800,000 Germans who arrived, in America, between 1866 to 1873, to escape the, particularly difficult, hardships caused by Bismarck’s unification of the modern German imperial state and economy.   In the United States our Knecht, Pfeffer, and Mildenburg ancestors lived within a distinctively German-American culture which flourished between 1870 and 1914. They resided in a part of Philadelphia almost exclusively German that maintained German-language publications, as well as churches, fraternal organizations, singing groups, saloons and orchestras.  They made their living working in the many factories found at that time in the city.

     Our 2^nd great-grandfather Jonathan Dellinger served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was involved in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia during the summer of 1864.  In April 1865, when the funeral obsequies of President Lincoln arrived in Philadelphia the 187th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, which included Jonathan as a member, led the procession from the railway station to Independence Hall and guarded the remains while they lay in state where a double line of mourners stretched three miles deep while waiting to view their fallen leader. Together with the 1st City Troop the Regiment was then detailed to escort the remains back to the railroad. 

Johann "Jacob" Dellinger wife Maria Barbara Gossner and family arrived in Philadelphia 27 August 1733 on the ship "Elizabeth" that sailed from Rotterdam.   By 1755 he and his family had moved west of the Susquehanna River into in York County.  Jacob settled in Windsor Township on land purchased from the sons of William Penn who were the proprietors on the Colony of Pennsylvania.   Anthony Keller, Sr. his wife Anna Maria Barbara Chateau and three children arrived in America at the port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 25 November 1740.  They came over on the ship "Loyal Judith".  The ship sailed from Rotterdam and made a stop in Deal.  Paulus Schaffer, Sr. his wife Anna Maria Elizabeth Bracher and son Paul Schaffer, Jr. came on the ship "Thistle", which arrived in Philadelphia on 19 Sept 1738.  Like most of these immigrant ships the brigantine “Thistle” left Rotterdam with a stop in England before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to North America.  Johann Paul Ilges, his wife Maria Catharina Blau and family emigrated from Thaleischweiler, Bayern-Pfalz, Germany.  They arrived in Philadelphia aboard the “St. Andrew” on August 18, 1750.  Valentin Kuffer left his home in Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, and arrived at Philadelphia aboard the “Billender Townsend” in October 1737.  He then moved west and settled in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania.

Dellinger, Knecht, Pfeffer, Silar and allied families (DKPS)

Surname index

The following the surnames of direct ancestral lines found in our maternal family tree. Web pages have or will be constructed for each name. For more information about a specific family you are invited to click on the appropriate surname link listed below. Please note that we have two distinct MULLER families in this database.

Abel;   Arnold;   Attig;   Bannheurs;   Barth (Bard);   Beck;   Beissel;   Blau;   Born;   Beyer;#   Bracher;   Cammerer;   Chateau(Schatto);   Clement;   Dellinger;   Forster;   Gamer;   Gardner(Gartner);   Gilbert;   Gossner;   Haas(Hasen);   Hauer;   Haug;   Hayes;   Heidecker;   Helcker;   Ilges(Ellis);   Jacobs;   Katterman;   Keller;   Klein;   Knecht;   Kohler;   Keiffer(Kueffer);   Laux;   Leyonberger;   Leiberknecht;   Longenecker;   Mildenberg;   Müller(1);   Müller(2);   Nagel;   Pfeffer;   Precht;   Reinhard;   Ruppert;   Schaffer;   Schall(Shaul);   Schieck;   Schmid;   Schaeffer;   Schuster;   Siler(Silar);   Stober(1);   Stober(2);   Ulrich;   Wagner;   Wambold;   Zeiter;   Ziegler;   Zimmerman

# Other prominent spelling variations: Bayer/ Boyer;

Additional information about the persons in our database  as   well  as   a   complete

listing of individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on this LINK.

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or

"tricks" that may likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

Newsletter archive

We have archived copies of our family newsletter.  The Newsletter is published quarterly, and focuses upon interesting aspects in the lives of our ancestors included in the family tree of our maternal ancestors. Inquiries concerning this publication should be directed to us via the contact information found at the end of this page.

Use the following LINK to view the past newsletters pertaining to our maternal family.

DKPS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

Ancestral migration routes

Tracing your own family’s paths of migration can prove crucial in identifying previous generations and eventually, figuring out where and how they arrived in the “New World” as well as where they eventually settled.  Knowing the network of trails American pioneers traveled can help you guess where to start looking.  The trail descriptions provided on these pages will assist you in understanding the routes your ancestors may have taken to find new homes and opportunities in the vast area now encompassed by the United States.

LINK to more information about direct ancestors within our database for whom

we have identified probable migration routes to new opportunities in America:

AMERICAN MIGRATION ROUTES:

 Dellinger, Knecht, Pfeffer, Silar; and allied families

LINK to our web-pages dedicated to historic American roads and migration routes:

Historic American Roads and Migration Routes

Your LINK to resources and research strategies designed to assist with investigating

the paths taken by your ancestor’s as they moved throughout the United States:

Researching Our Migrating Ancestors

immigrant ancestors

Castle Garden, America’s first

immigration center 1830-1892

Ellis Island, immigration

Reception  center 1892-1921

Almost everyone has had a desire to know from where his or her ancestors emigrated.  Once this discovery is made you will most likely begin to track your ancestors back in time and place. Finding an immigrant ancestor's place of origin is the key to finding earlier generations of the family. It provides access to many family history resources in that home area. Once you know a former place of residence or a birthplace, you may be able to add more generations to your pedigree. Learning about your family's history and experiences can be a source of enjoyment and education for you and your family.

LINK to more information about direct ancestors within our

database identified as progenitors of their family lines in America:

IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS: Dellinger; Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar; and allied families

LINK to resources and research strategies designed to assist with your

research To  learn more about Ancestors  who immigrated to the New World:

IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS:  Research & Resources

War veterans

The discovery that an ancestor was involved in one of our national wars or conflicts is usually an exciting and fulfilling experience.  The information we glean from records regarding military units and battles fought tends to provide researchers and their families with a heightened feeling not only our ancestors’ sacrifices but also our own sense of having roots back to those important events that made our country what it is today.    Information about the war veteran’s of one’s family is also an excellent means of gaining the attention of children as well as indifferent relatives.

LINK to more information about persons in our DKPS database identified as veterans of

America’s wars, and the various military units in which they served our country:

WAR VETERANS: Dellinger: Knecht; Pfeffer; Silar; and allied families

Listed below are some of the American military units in which our ancestors  served.  This link will take

you to the webpage where you will be able to access the story of each unit and the men who served in them

Pennsylvania Militia, York County –  Revolutionary War

187^th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment (USA) – Civil War

110^th Infantry Regiment, 28^th Division, U.S. Army – World War One

6^th Special Naval Construction Battalion, USN -  World War Two

LINK to our archives of

source documents and

picture galleries of the afore-

mentioned military units.

Your LINK to information designed to assist with your research to

 learn more about ancestors who served in the United States military:

Researching our War Veterans