Settlers LX: Peter Dennis Emig: The Observant Farmer
Compiled by Bob Sweeney
July 2017
Updated June 2020
Obituary (Unattributed Source and Date): Peter D. Emig Obituary
Editor's Note: I first became aware of the Emig surname while building the Sullivan County Genealogical Web Site
over the last twenty years. The Emig family has brief entries in the several histories of the county, so we know that they came to the United States in the mid-1900s from
Germany. They settled in several parts of the country: near York, PA, in Ohio, Indiana and Kansas, and also in Sullivan County, PA. In late 2014, eBay offered for auction the estate papers, records and photographs of Peter Dennis
Emig, who dies in 1988 and, in doing so, apparently ended the Emig surname in Sullivan County where he lived. For our purposes, the diary and other items ke kept for over 50 years expand our knowledge of this
family. They also provide a bird's eye view of life as a farmer in north central Pennsylvania, from the days of mules and candle lighting up until modern times. Except for occasional automobile ventures in the
area or perhaps to York, Peter never left the farm that he inherited from his father, Phillip Emig. Here, we tell his story. In doing so, I want to express gratitude
to Lisanne Lange, a descendant of John Dietz, a brother of Katherina (Dietz) Emig, and also to her mother Joan Lange. I also want to thank Bonita "Bonnie" Karpel,
daughter of Anna Emig, who was a sister to Peter Dennis Emig, as well as Bonnie's first cousin, Wayne Fisher, son of Peter's sister Helena (Emig) Fisher. They all contributed
photos and documents, but, more importantly, direct information and anecdotes about the Emig family.
There is another source of information about the Emigs that comes to us from his descendant in-laws: the Dietz family. Among the items preserved over time by the
Dietz family is a trove of handwritten (mostly in German) letters from the mid-19th century between the Dietz and Emig families, which we will endeavor to mine for information. Our translator, Isabella Bednarz, a German national, spent several months in the Fall of 2017 transcribing the
letter collection from 19th century handwritten German into modern German, and then translating those results into English. You can see her impressive work at The German Letters Collection.
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John Leoanrd Emig (April 2, 1816-January 6, 1892)
Husband of Catherina Dietz (November 1822-May 1862)
Grandfather of Peter Dennis Emig
Courtesy of Bonnie Karpel
First Photo: The House that Peter Dennis Emig Built in the 1950s
Note: That is Bonnie Karpel at the Door
Second Photo: Original Homestead of the Emig Family in Sullivan County, PA
Courtesy of Bonnie Karpel
The Emig story in Sullivan County begins with John Leonard Emig. A handwritten note in
the Ninth Grade Notebook from the Ringdale School, kept by Peter Dennis Emig, his grandson, tells us the general picture:
Leonard Emig came from Germany to Sullivan County in 1848 and purched [sic] one hundred acres of land, and then he went back to Germany, and got Kathern Dorth Dietz [sic] and they
came back to Sullivan County PA in 1849 and got married in the Peace Church in Cherry Township. And they built a log house which is now (in) Laporte Township Sullivan County Pennsylvania.
Born to Leonard and Kathyrn [sic] Emig are Kathyrn, Philip, Maria, Rose, Peter N.
Here are the Original and a Copy of the June 1849 passenger manifest of the Hercules, saling from Bremen to New York, on which we find Leonard Emig and "Kathern" Dietz.
We know that the marriage of Leonard and Katherine (using the anglicized versions of their names) actually happened because we have a copy of the original marriage record in the
Old Lutheran Records from Peace Church, dated August 5, 1849.
Also, the
Streby History of Laporte Township has a biographical paragraph on Philip Emig which tells more or less the same story about how the Emig family got to Sullivan County.
Let's take a brief look at the other children of Leonard Emig and Katherina Dietz before we focus on
the family of Phillip Emig, and then on his son Peter Dennis. Once again, we have some information from the notebooks kept by Peter Dennis as a teenager in school. We can supplement this source with information online from multiple online sites
as to the grandchildren. Here is what we know:
* Kathryn Emig (1849-1926), their oldest chld, married John Cable (02/22/1844-01/18/1914) about 1903 when both parties were older adults. John was born in Sunbury, PA and died in Dushore. They never had any children of their own, but they did
take on raising Helena, the youngest daughter of Philip, her brother, after Philip's wife was diagnosed with tuberculosis and hospitalized. They took care of her until she was
five years old. John did odd jobs in
the community including, according to the
1900 Federal Census for Dushore, being a hostler for a local physician, Dr. William Randall. Catherine worked as a
domestic at least some of the time. After her husband John died in 1914, she adopted a son named Walter "Jerdon", as shown in the
1920 Federal Census for Dushore. Both John and Kathyn Cable are buried at
Peace Cemetery in Dushore, where you can find their death certificates as well.
* Phillip Emig married Elizabeth Broschart and had these children: John L., Ernest F., Lloyd P., Mary E., Peter D., Anna F., Theodore R., Henry A., and Helena D.
* Maria Emig never married
* Rose Emig married James Fitzpatrick and had these children: Amy, Alberteena ("Tina"), Elsie, Leona, Daniel and Charles
* Peter Nicholas Emig, moved to Kansas where he married Anna Horton, and had these children: Charles Nicholas, Lewis "Chester", Frederick, Floyd, Champ C.
and Wilson; a few photos taken of several of these childen onsite in Kansas are shown below:
Let's now look at some older photos of the Dietz and Hitschler ancestors.
John and Maria (Hitschler) Dietz
Undated Possible Wedding Photo
Immigrated to New York City
Brother and Sister-in-law to Catherina Dorothea (Dietz) Emig
Courtesy of Bonnie Karpel
Passports
John and Maria (Hitschler) Dietz
Dated 1849 and 1851, Respectively
Courtesy of Lisanne Lange
Let's give some historical and geographical context for these passports. Look at the terminology on each. Grossherzogthum is German for the
"Grand Duchy of Hesse", which was an independent kingdom in 1850 in what is now Germany; it did not become part of Germany until 1871. That is the term at
the top of the passports and is the largest geographical entity referred to here. Hessen is also printed on the passports and refers to one of the
three political divisions of the Grand Duchy--Upper Hesse.
The third term, Schaafheim, is actually a city in Germany which, at the time these passports were written, was part of Starkenburg, another of the political
divisions of the Grand Duchy. However, that part of Starkenburg is not far from Upper Hesse. As you can see, the passports were actually signed in
Darmstadt, the capital city of Starkenburg and not far from Shaafheim. You can find Schaafheim on any map of Germany.
As we noted, Leonard Emig married Catherina "Dorothea" Dietz. Dorothea had a brother named John Dietz who married Maria Hitschler and they immigrated to New York City.
It was their daughter, Anna Dietz (1863-1951), who married Philip Welter; in turn, their son, John Walter ("Welter") (1866-1905) married Anna Rathjen, whose daughter,
Joan (Walter) Lange, is the mother of our contributor Lisanne Lange. Both Joan and Lisanne are responsible for many of the photos and documents about the Emig family presented here.
It seems that the Emig family used the mail to stay in touch from their earliest arrival in the United States. Both the children of Leonard and Dorothea, and their grandchildren communicated by letter, and we are fortunate that Peter Dennis Emig kept a large collection of these letters. Let us share with the reader just a
sample of these interchanges:
* Henry A. Emig to Theodore R. Emig (1928)--brother to brother
* Rose ("Rosa") (Emig) Fitzpatrickto Henry Emig (1929)--aunt to nephew
* Rosa to Henry (1929)
* Rosa and John Fitzpatrick to Henry (1929
* Letter to Philip Emig About His Son Ernest--from the latter's employer in Virginia
* Letter from Peter Nicholas Emig to Philip Emig (1930)--brother to brother
* Rosa to Philip (1932)--sister to brother
As you can see, the letters are often just local chit chat and a means of checking in on another family member. However, several also contain lengthy remarks about life, work and living conditions where the
various family members are living. We know, for example, that the family of Peter Nicholas Emig lived in Goodland, Kansas, a town in the remote northwestern part of the state, and near the
last part of Kansas seized from the Indian tribes in the second half of the 19th century. Here is a photo of Philip and Peter Nicholas together, a photo of the Emig Homestead in Kansas,
as well as a photo of a few of the children or grandchildren of Peter Nicholas and Anna (Horton) Emig. Check out the old car.
* Editor's Note:In June 2020, we recieed an e-mail from Beverly (Emig) Fitch, great granddaughter of Peter Nicholas Emig. Born in Goodland, KS in 1954,
she is the granddaughter of Lewis "Chester" Emig and the daughter of Robert James Emig, and now lives in Wichita She goes on as follows:
Peter is my great grandfather. Not sure,
but the picture by the car with the boy and dog look like my grandpa
Chester and my dad, Robert Emig (born 1931). Chester's farm was just southwest of his father Peter Nicholas Emig's homestead.
That's where my dad was born and raised. My uncle Richard Emig still lives just south of the
original home of Peter NIcholas Emig which is SW of Goodland. Their gigantic
barn can be seen for a great distance and we would try to pick it out
in the skyline miles away when coming to visit when I was a kid. Richard's
son, Nathan Emig, is farming the ground owned by Chester's children.
My grandpa Chester's youngest brother, Wilson, was killed in June, 1950 at a AFL International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' union meeting in Norfolk, VA.. It was pretty shocking!
A disgruntled electrical worker, Charlie W. Drury, tried to kill the business manager of the union, Otis Freeman, but his second shot of several hit and killed my great uncle, probably by mistake.
Really enjoyed Peter Nicholas's letter to his brother Phillip included in your papers...
Philip and Peter Nicholas Emig--Brothers
Photo Likely Taken in Late 1920s or Early 1930s
At the Kansas Homestead of Peter Nicholas and Anna (Horton) Emig
Courtesy of Bonnie Karpel
Homestead of Peter Nicholas and Anna (Horton) Emig near Goodland, Kansas
Caption reads "The Emig Cousins"
Presumably the Children of Peter and Anna
From the ages of the children, we would guess the photo was taken about 1915
Courtesy of Lisanne Laing
"Kansas Cousins"
Children and Possibly Grandchildren of Peter Nicholas Emig
At the Kansas Homestead
Photo Likely Taken in Late 1920s
Courtesy of Bonnie Karpel
Philip Emig (1851-1938) was the father of Peter Dennis Emig. He married Agnes Mary "Elizabeth" Broschart (1873-1918) about 1893. She was the daughter of Christian Broschart (1846-1914) and Hannah Graff.
The Broschart family has deep roots in Sullivan County, going back to three brothers who emigrated there in the mid-1800s. Christian was the son of Jacob and
Maria (Press) Broschart; Jacob, one of the emigrant brothers, settled in Laporte Township near the Murray farm after his emigration in 1852. Christian had several
children by both Hannah, his first wife, and Emma Sollinger, his second wife. Here's an undated photo of Hannah Graff, mother of Elizabeth (Broschart) Emig.
Hannah Graff (1855-)
First Wife of Christian Broschart
Mother of Agnes Mary "Elizabeth" Emig
Undated Photo Taken in Dushore, Sullivan County
Source: Peter Dennis Emig Estate Papers
And here are Philip and Elizabeth perhaps in a wedding photo. Notice that he looks a lot like his father, John Leonard, and she looks a lot like her mother, Hannah. Many of the photographs on this
page, including this one, were taken at the Englebreckt Studio in Dushore. George O. Englebreckt was a prominent photographer in Dushore until late in November 1894, when he sold his studio to Isaac Hoag of Wyalusing. So, we know that
all of the Englebreckt photos presented here were taken before that year. This photographer was sufficiently well known to have been recruited by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC to go to Franklindale, PA and make a photographic record of
the major tornado damage suffered there in 1893.:
Philip Emig and Agnes Mary "Elizabeth" (Broschart) Emig
Undated Photo Taken in Dushore
Possibly at Their 1893 Wedding
Parents of Peter Dennis Emig
Photo Contributed by Bonnie Karpel
Philip lived on until the last day of 1938, when he passed away at the Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, PA. He was 87 years old. Elizabeth died young at the age
of 44. She had been admitted to the Homeopathic Hospital at
Allentwon, PA in 1913 where she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She passed away there in 1918. Their official death certificates are shown here:
Philip Emig Death Certificate
Elizabeth (Broschart) Emig Death Certificate
Here is the obituary published in the local newspaper when Phillip paased away:
Sullivan Review
Dushore, PA
January 4, 1939
Philip Emig, lifelong resident of Laporte township, died at the Robert Packer hospital, Sayre, December 31.
Mr. Emig, who was 87 years old, is survived by one sister, Miss Mariah Emig of Dushore; three sons, Peter D. and Theodore at home and Ernest of California; two daughters, Mrs. Robert Thompson and Mrs. Harris Fisher, both of Endicott; one granddaughter, Marian Emig of Sayre, and several nieces and nephews.
The deceased's father, Leonard Emig, was among the first settlers of Sullivan County. He was born in Grosbartsog, Hasson, Germany, in 1816. He came to Towanda in 1846.
After contracting for a certain tract of land which is now the homestead where Philip died, he returned to Germany and married Catherine Deatz. In 1848 they returned to America
and built their log cabin in the virgin timber overlooking Loyalsock creek in Laporte township near an intersection now called Ringdale. Twelve years later Catherine died leaving
Leonard with five children, among them Philip.
In early manhood Philip cleared land, drove logs down the Loyalsock and worked on the Lehigh Valley railroad. On Christmas eve approximately 64 years ago he saw the first
train cross the Dushore trestle. At the age of 45 Philip married Elizabeth Broschart. To them were born nine children, John killed in the war, Lloyd who died at the age of 12,
Mary at the age of one, and Henry who died a few years ago, besides the present survivors.
With the death of Philip Emig one of the oldest residents of Sullivan County has passed away.
Funeral services were held at the home Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 and at the Peace Church at 2 o'clock. Rev. H.G. Deisher officiated. Burial in the adjoining cemetery.
As mentioned earlier, Peter Dennis Emig kept comprehensive daily notes in annual diary books for nearly half a century. The topics ranged from simply reporting the weather to
details of farm labor, anecodtes about neighbors and friends that he worked or socialized with, and comments on his own health and that of others. Attached below you will
find a few samples, taken arbitrarily from 1934 and 1959. The full set of records is now in the Sullivan County Historical Society and Museum at Laporte, PA, where you
can examine them onsite.
Temperatures, Weather and Brief Notes--February 1934
Driving to A Funeral, Jaunts Around Town--April 1934
Weather and Daily Encounters--January 1959
Weather, Farm Routines and Visitors--March 1959
Here is a letter that stands out. Written in September 1963 to his brother Ernest, then living in Portland, Oregon, Peter Dennis goes to great length to describe his life on the farm in Pennsylvania
over the preceding Summer and early Fall. He also mentions family members, friends who drop by and the details of farming life. Peter explains that he supplements his farm income in the Summer by working in the
"woods" as well. At this point in time, he has not built a new house yet and still lives in the original Emig farmhouse. He even invites Ernest to return and live with him on the farm if he
cannot land work elsewhere. Presumably, Ernest returned at some time to the area, since Peter left this letter in his papers at the time he passed away. Here is the Letter itself
and the Envelope it was mailed in. *
* Editor's Note: The letter mentions that Peter's sister Helena had been in Canada seeking medical care. According to Joan Lange, both Helena and her sister Anna went to Canada to gain access to laetrile to
treat cancer. Unfortunately, laetrile, which is found in extracts from the pit of the apricot, has been determined to be ineffective as an anti-carcinogen.
The diaries bring out the close ties between Peter Dennis and his neighbors and friends, many of whom were Irish. It is well known from local history that the
German and Irish communities had very close connections in Sullivan County, going back to the first days of settlement in the 1840s. When the Irish came to these hills in those days, before
they had built their own Catholic Church, the local German Lutherans allowed the Catholic Irish to use the Lutheran's Peace Church for their services. Over time, and particulalry with the
Catholic Germans who came over, there were marriages, work relationships and more. For example, the first item listed above tells how Peter drove with members of the Sweeney family over to nearby Colley for
the funeral of Mrs. James Sweeney. Born Bertha Kuhnle, she was the widow of James Sweeney, a lumber scaler. Bertha ran an ice cream sotre in Jamison City on the
border with Columbia County, a prominent lumber town at one time. Peter Dennis also listed godparents for several of his siblings, as shown below, and more than half of them are Irish, the rest being German. The listed surnames are Murray, Broschart, Tourscher,
Gallagher, Gaughan, Kernan, Rouse and Dorner.
Godparents
One of the more interesting events in the life of Peter Dennis Emig occurred on July 30, 1971, as reported in his Diary Entry for that day. At the age of 71 he married a
woman named Ruth Ann Snelbaker from Manchester, PA, a small town near York. The marriage took place at St. Basil's Church in Dushore.
Here is the Marriage Certificate. According to another diary entry, she left him on July 10, 1975, taking
both children. Here is that Entry. He also named Joseph and Joan McDonald, a farming couple in nearby Cherry Township as executors of his estate and custodians of his children should he die or become incapacitated.
Ruth later filed for divorce in the York area, although she continuted to vist Peter Dennis with their children at least into 1977, as shown by the diary entries below.
The fascinating part of this story is that Ruth was age 18 when she married Peter. We imagine this marriage was likely facilitated
by Emig relatives in the York area, where a branch of the old Emig line had been resident since at least the 18th century . Ruth had
two children by Peter, Nancy and Peter Dennis, Jr. ("Dennis"). They were both still living in 2018, as was their mother, who remarried and went by Ruth A. Blair,
lived in Strinestown near York at the time. Ruth Ann (Snelbaker) Blair passed away on January 14, 2019 in York, PA: Obituary.
