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.
Click on this link for the DORNSIFE , PA map page & Google links
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)

"Susan03/22/1832 to 09/05/1899  +       RAKER, Conrad H.11/08/1828 to 09/24/1911
(daughter of  Daniel & Anna M. HERB)
"Annie10/06/1834 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, Sarah08/31/1853 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.)
Click here to go to The DORNSEIF Family Home Page at  www.dornseif.org/
(Photos below were taken by George Gustave Dornseif in October, 2007 )
A U.S. Postal Service employee stated that there are over 400 addresses in the DORNSIFE, PA  postal area but no DORNS(EIF)(IFE)s, etc.
Signs on Highway 225 Southbound
DORNSIFE, PA Post Office (ZIP code 17823) located on Creek Road
The Original Train Station for DORNSIFE, PA   ( Located on Creek Road )
Houses located on Creek Road in DORNSIFE, PA