Month: February 2023

Exploring histories mysteries, one leaf at a time.

Instead of a leaf, this is more of a branch of my family tree. I took a more in depth look at the Dittus family of which my great-grandmother was a part.

The furthest back I can trace the Dittus family using certifiable data is the mid 1700s in Bad Liebenzeller, Germany. Bad Liebenzeller is located in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. It is a picturesque, spa town today located in the Nagold River Valley in the northern portion of the Black Forest. Bad Liebenzell was founded around 1090 as the Liebenzeller mission which is an evangelical mission that still exists today.

I was able to trace a number of ancestors; Philipp Jacob Dittus, Johann Martin Dittus and Johann Georg Dittus who lived their entire lives in Bad Liebenzell. But in the late 1840s, things in Germany were not ideal. There had been over a decade of economic depression and crop failures led to a major famine. This caused a revolution in Germany during that time.

My 3rd great-grandfather, Leonard Dittus was born in Bad Liebenzell on October 18, 1827. His wife, Anna Maria Rometsch was also born in Baden-Wurttemberg. I have found no official documentation showing when they immigrated to the United States from Germany. I also have no official documentation showing when or where their marriage took place. Given the facts that all four of their parents died in Germany, this would lead me to assume that they were married in Germany and immigrated to the U.S. together. Their first child, my 2nd great-grandfather, Christian Dittus, was born in Ulster County, NY in June of 1853. This would lead me to believe that they immigrated to the United States around the time of the revolution (1848-1849). Again, I have no proof of this, just a guess based on the climate in Germany and the verifiable facts that I have.

Leonard and Anna Maria had five children, Christian, Mary, John Henry, Elisabeth and Theresa Katherine. City directories indicate that they lived at the corner of Union and Hone Streets in Kingston. Leonard worked as a mason and tax records show that he owned his own business working as a builder/contractor. Upon their deaths, large, stone monuments were erected to both Leonard and Anna Maria and still stand today in Montrepose Cemetery in Kingston.

Christian Dittus chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and became an expert stone mason. His obituary states that he assisted in the building of some of Kingston’s finest schools, churches, public buildings and homes. His brother, John Henry was not involved in the stone mason business as census records indicate that he was a brewer and a street cleaner for the city. That left Christian to continue the work of his father. Upon his marriage to Louise Schuler, Christian bought a house at 10 Spruce Street for his family.

Christian and Louise had six children, Elizabeth, Mary, Henry Leonard, Gertrude, Arthur Leonard and Margaret. Christian Dittus died on April 11, 1935 and is buried alongside his wife, who followed him in death on March 29, 1938, at Montrepose Cemetery in Kingston.

My line of the Dittus family tree ends with my great-grandmother Mary Dittus. She was born in 1884 and grew up in the house at 10 Spruce Street before marrying Frederick J. Uhl on June 19, 1905. They moved to 26 Spruce Street and raised their seven children there. Mary Dittus died on June 21, 1967 and is buried next to her husband in St. Peter’s Cemetery in Kingston.

Although my line of the Dittus family ends with Mary Dittus, there is still more to discover about the Dittus family. There are more names that make up the Dittus story than I mentioned. Here is a list of surnames associated with the Dittus family tree that I have encountered:

Baull, Bechler, Bickel, Bohler, Brennens, Deurin, Fuetter, Holzapfel, Kern, Kohlmann, Luzin, Maurer, Rometsch, Schuler, Schweizer, Stadler, Todt and Zollers