01-Penn1

DORNSIFE, Pennsylvania, USA

Latitude 40.7456N Longitude 76.7894W

Driving Directions From Harrisburg, PA To Dornsife, PA

Distance: 41.9 miles; Duration: 63.8 minutes

(1) Starting at Harrisburg, PA, begin on HWY230 heading north for 0.3 miles

(2) Continue on HWY 22 heading northwest for 6.7 miles

(3) Turn right on HWY 225 heading north for 6.0 miles

(4) Continue on HWY 147 heading northeast for 21.2 miles

(5) Continue on 147 SPUR heading east for 0.3 miles

(6) Continue on HWY 225 heading northeast for 7.4 miles to Dornsife, PA

DORNSIFE, Pennsylvania is located approximately

42 miles north of Harrisburg, PA on state route 225.

Photos of postcard shown below were provided by Harold R. Hartman in February, 2007.

(Postmark shows April, 1910)

The following information was provided by Dennis Byerly in February 1997

According to J.L. Floyd in his History of Northumberland County, Penna. published in 1911, DORNSIFE, Pennsylvania was named for Henry H. Dornsife, a miller who had a gristmill (a mill for grinding grain) nearby on Mahanoy Creek. In 1911 Dornsife, Pennsylvania was a station on the Herndon branch of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and was a village of about 100 people. Henry H. Dornsife was the grandson of David Dornsife, a Hessian soldier who remained in America after the Revolutionary War and settled on the east side of the Susquehanna River south of Sunbury, Pennsylvania along the base of Mahanoy Mountain. David Dornsife married Elisabeth Kahwel(1761-1827) who bore him two sons; Daniel Dornsife & Henry Dornsife. After David Dornsife's death at a comparatively early age, Elisabeth remarried to a John Dunkelberger and moved through the gap to Little Mahanoy Township. Both Daniel Dornsife and Henry Dornsife and many family members are buried in the cemetery of Immanuel Lutheran and Reformed Church at Hunters Station about 3-4 miles east of Dornsife, Pennsylvania on Pennsylvania route 225.

It is difficult to find information about the Hessian soldiers who remained in America because they had a fear and distrust of anything that had to do with the government. For the most part they settled in remote areas along what was at that time the frontier. If someone such as a census taker would arrive, they would find no one around or would be given misinformation. Quite a few Hessian soldiers settled in the northern part of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and the southern part of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Emmanuel/Immanuel (Lutheran & Reformed) Church Cemetery

Hunter's Station, Pennsylvania

(On route 225, 3-4 miles east of Dornsife, Pennsylvania)

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The following information was received January 1997 from:

"The Northumberland County Historical Society,"

The Hunter Home 1150 North Front Street Sunbury, Pennsylvania 17801 (717)286-4083

DORNSIFEs buried at Emmanuel/Immanuel Church Cemetery

DORNSIFE, Daniel 12/27/1792 to 08/02/1858 + HERB, Anna Maria 09/02/1800 to 01/25/1856

(son/of Hessian soldier)

Henry 06/09/1794 to 09/03/1867 + FASOLD, Elizabeth 12/18/1799 to 08/13/1873

(son of Hessian soldier)

John

02/20/1817 to 05/19/1892 + ___?____, Hannah 10/04/1827 to 01/20/1914

(son of Henry & Eliz. FASOLD)

Samuel H. 05/20/1824 to 04/04/1889 + RAKER, Harriet

07/01/1836 to 03/19/1902

(son of Daniel & Anna M. HERB)

(Charcoal drawings and the grave sites of Samuel H. DORNSIFE &

Harriet Raker DORNSIFE are shown below)

Susan

03/22/1832 to 09/05/1899

+ RAKER, Conrad H.

11/08/1828 to 09/24/1911

(daughter of Daniel & Anna M. HERB)

Annie

10/06/1834 to 08/20/1905

+ RAKER, Daniel Z.

04/29/1836 to 07/13/1898

(daughter of Daniel & Anna M. HERB)

Lydia H. 10/29/1837 to 08/25/1863

(daughter of Daniel & Anna M. HERB)

Henry H. 06/10/1841 to 08/22/1874

+ FALTZ, Amelia

07/07/1839 to 09/26/1863

(son of Henry & Mary(?) E. FASOLD)

Israel

07/19/1855 to 07/21/1933 + #1 BILLMAN, Sarah

08/31/1853 to 03/11/1905

(son of John & Hannah __?__)

#2 __?___, Catherine 02/15/1863 to 12/18/1918

Anna

05/19/1863 to 12/26/1926

+ REED, Henry M.

09/30/1859 to 03/31/1929

(daughter of Samuel H. & Harriet RAKER)

Thomas 03/18/1866 to 08/11/1875

(son of Henry & Sarah ?)

Samuel R. 05/07/1869 to 01/22/1901

(son of Samuel H. & Harriet RAKER)

Susanna 12/27/1872 to 09/23/1890

(daughter of Samuel H. & Harriet RAKER)

Robert 01/31/1873 to 08/03/1875

(son of Henry & Sarah ?)

Infant

--?-- to 07/22/1877

(son of Samuel H. & Harriet RAKER)

Daughter

--?-- to 04/17/1894

(daughter of of William H. & Susan E.?)

Verna E.

__/__/1902 to __/__/1912

(daughter of D.R. & A. J. ?)

Ezra E.

07/01/1903 to 09/23/1904

(son of Daniel & Agnes REITZ)

Irvin R.

__/__/1908 to __/__/1909

(son of Daniel & Agnes REITZ)

John H.

05/17/1909 to 08/27/1909

(son of Israel & Catherine __?__)

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DUNKELBERGER, Frederich 07/24/1747-01/24/1815 + Catharina HAUER 10/18/1749-02/17/1831 (son of Clement D. + Anna M. Hauer)

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Children of Frederich DUNKELBERGER & Catharina HAUER

Christofel 02/27/1773-01/29/1827 + Eva FERSTER 07/08/1780-11/30/1830

Barbara 04/07/1779-12/17/1838 + Conrad RAKER 06/07/1778-09/04/1849

Elizabeth 02/18/1784-02/10/1861 +Leonhard RIED 03/10/1790-02/22/1852

Eve C. 09/28/1786-04/09/1867 +J. George HENSYL 09/05/1787-12/20/1863

Samuel H. Dornsife

1824-1899

Harriet (Raker) Dornsife

1836-1902

Harriet was the first Sunday school teacher at the Lutheran Church in Hunter's Station. Hunter's Station and Dornsife are neighboring villages.

It is rumored that

Harriet Raker Dornsife

was the first Sunday school teacher at the

Little Mahanoy Lutheran Church.

The Charcoal sketches from the 19th century (shown above) were provided by

Samuel J. DORNSIFE (1916 - 1999) and forwarded by Peter DORNSIFE in Sept 2000.

Grave site photos provided by Peter DORNSIFE June 2001

Front Row: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Daniel Ellen Mary Harriet Felix Lizzie

Raker

Dornsife

Back row; Jeremiah Samuel Fred Henry Katie Riley David.

R. R. A.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

According to information published in Rootsweb, about 30,000 German mercenaries were hired by the British to participate in the war against the American colonies and since the majority of them were from Hessen-Kassel, they are generally referred to as Hessians, but they also came from Braunschweig, Hessen-Nassau, Ansbach, Waldeck, and Anhalt-Zerbst. Some of the men deserted the English army in favor of their cousins in Pennsylvania. Sometimes during and just after the American Revolution an entry will be found in church records referring to "Brunszwickers." About 6,000 mercenaries remained in the country after the war.

The Lutheran Church

at Hunter's Station

The photograph below was taken in the autumn of 1900 and was given to Peter D. Dornsife in 1999 by Martha Matchett (age 96). The photo shows Harriet Raker Dornsife with 12 of her children. Harriet was first married to Israel Dunkleberger and she had four children with him. Harriet Raker Dornsife married Samuel H. Dornsife, in 1864 "and to him, she bore 12 children, including one still born." (Samuel J. Dornsife (1916 - 1999), son of Henry A. Dornsife shown in photo , was the family historian.)