Family Reunions: The Dietrich Family

Family Reunions: The Dietrich Family

Source: Morton Montgomery, p. 313

Surnames: DIETRICH, DEATRICK, VON BERN, ARNOLD, BALDY, STEINBRUCH, ZIMMERMAN, SCHMIDT, BECKER, HEFFNER, SEISHOLTZ, FRY, DEDERICK, DETRICK

The Dietrich family held its first reunion at Lenhartsville, Pa., Sept.
26, 1903. This meeting was well attended
and much interest was manifested. A permanent organization was
effected, and at the instance of the founder,
William J. Dietrich, the same “Dietrich Family Association” was
adopted. The second reunion was held in
Kutztown Park in 1904, more than two thousand five hundred people being
present – reputed to have been the
largest family gathering ever held in Pennsylvania. Eight States and
the Dominion of Canada were
represented. At the third reunion, held in Kutztown Park in 1906, over
three thousand people were in
attendance. Seventeen States, as well as Canada and Mexico, were
represented. “The Dietrichs in Europe and
America,” an address by Rev. W. W. Deatrick, A. M., Sc. D., was a
feature at this gathering. This Family
Association is not merely a local organization, but it has members in
most of the States of the Union. It has
been the means of arousing much enthusiasm in the matter of reunions of
other families and of stimulating
research into family genealogy.

The Dietrichs trace their origin to Dietrich Von Bern, 454-526, the
Champion of Civilization, and King of the
Ostrogoths in southern Europe. Members of the family were leaders in
the Crusades, in peace and in war,
and in the Reformation they helped to make history. The Dietrichs are
prominently mentioned in the annals
of Germany, and six distinct families in the German Empire have coats of
arms.

The association, having collected considerable data, has nearly complete
records of the following immigrant
forebears: Johannes, Adam, John Ludwig, Elias and John Jacob Dietrich.

The Dietrichs of Berks county are descendants of Johannes, Adam and
Conrad Dietrich.

Johannes Dietrich came to America on the ship “Phoenix” in 1751, and
about 1760 settled in Greenwich
township, where he died in 1785, in which year his widow, Barbara, took
out letters of administration. They
had three sons: Johannes, Jacob and John Adam. The first two located
in the upper end of this State, and
John Adam lived and died in Greenwich township, where he was a farmer.
His wife Susanna Arnold bore
him twelve children, as follows: Maria, Rebecca, Jacob, Isaac,
Elizabeth, Annie, Gideon, Adam, Moses,
Rufena, Catharine and Reuben.

Adam Dietrich (1740-1817), a brother of Johannes, crossed the ocean on
the “Britannia,” landing at
Philadelphia, Oct. 26, 1767. He was accompanied by his brother, Casper
Dietrich, who first located in
Northampton county, Pa., and some time after the Revolutionary war
settled in Virginia. Adam Dietrich was a
sergeant in Capt. Jacob Baldy’s Company in the Revolutionary war. He
located in Maxatawny first, but later
because of good water settled in Greenwich township. He was a farmer.
His wife, Maria Barbara Steinbruch,
bore him the following twelve children: Adam, Georg, Maria Barbara
(married Johannes Zimmerman),
Catherine married Rev. Johann Michael Schmidt), Jacob, Michael,
Heinrich, Johan, a daughter that died in
infancy, Christian, Polly (Maria Magdalena) (married a Becker), and
Beckie (Anna Margaret) (married Jacob
Heffner).

Conrad Dietrich (1763-1841) was born in Baltimore, Md., and came to
Berks county, locating in Hereford
township. Here he married Elizabeth Seisholtz, from Longswamp
township. About 1795 he and his family
came to Reading, where he died and is buried. The following are four of
their nine children: George, Jacob,
Susan (married Henry Fry), and Conrad (born 1798, died 1861, who had
sons Conrad and William H., the
latter now living in Reading).

The Dietrich Family Association is a flourishing organization. It
success in large measure is due to the
efforts of the founder. The officers are:

President, Lawson G. Dietrich, Esq., Kutztown, Pa.

Vice-President, Henry O. K. Dietrich, Lenhartsville, Pa.

Secretary, William J. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.

Treasurer, Daniel F. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.

Executive Committee, Mahlon C. Dietrich, Kempton, Pa.; Rev. W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown, Pa.; C. .H. Dietrich, Hopkinsville, Ky.; Jonathan P. Dietrich, Klinesville, Pa.; C. Joseph Dietrich, La Grange, Ill.; Charles H. Dietrich, Kutztown, Pa.; A. M. Dederick, Albany, N. Y.; Samuel Detrick, Sunbury, Pa.; Harry A. Dietrich, South Bethlehem, Pa.; Joel D. Dietrich, Virginville, Pa.; Dr. Charles J. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.

The Association has also ten active Assistant Secretaries. An illustrated pamphlet, really a finely gotten up souvenir program, contains a history of the Association, names of its
officers, and the names and dates of emigration of the sixty-two immigrants; also a copy of the coat of arms with an explanation of same.