Home of the Dreisbach-Dresbach Family Association
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A fascinating look at Early Dreisbachs when they lived in Wittgenstein!
DREISBACH-DRESBACH FAMILY ASSOCIATION
We invite you to look around - there is much information about our genealogy and history
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Are you interested in joining the Dreisbach-Dresbach Family Association - we’d love to have you!
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Winter in Wittgenstein. Photo by Martin Dreisbach
Interested in Dreisbach-Dresbach GENEALOGY?
see our updated DDFA Genealogy Database at:
https://ddfa.tribalpages.com/
click on the above link to learn more about it.
This database is as accurate as our current knowledge - but there are errors, we would appreciate if you let us know about errors you find
A change to the database does require documentary evidence
Barn in the village of Balde, Wittgenstein on the property of Georg of Balde ( Abt 1560 - Abt 1615), first ancestor to use our surname, Dreisbach. Georg either was a son of Abraham of Balde or he married a daughter of Abraham. He is the ancestor of everyone in the Simon, Martin and Henry Dreisbach lines.
The barn shown is of unknown age but is at least 200 years old and at one time the end closest to the street was probably used as a living quarters while the opposite end housed animals. Georg is listed in the “Schweinerregister” of 1606 as having 11 full-grown pigs and 2 young pigs. A successful farmer.
Books about Dreisbachs
The Dreisbach Families Settle in Ohio 1801-1875 - by Rachel Woolever Meyer
If you spell your surname as “Dresbach” and if you live in Ohio or have ancestors who did, than you will want this book! It is the definitive study about Dresbach/Dreisbach deeds in Ohio. It follows the Ohio tracts purchased by Dresbachs/Dreisbachs through the years and identifies when they inherited property and when they sold it to settle their spouse’s or parents’ estates. Superlatively illustrated, the book can be downloaded here for free, or a full-color paperback version can be purchased on lulu.com.
The life and times of Martin Dreisbach (1717-1799) - by Marcia Dreisbach-Falconer
This is the illustrated story of Martin Dreisbach’s life, from his birth in Raumland, Wittgenstein in what is now Germany, until his death in Pennsylvania. In between there is a lifetime of experience including marriage to Anna Eva Hoffman. Many of Martin’s children moved to Ohio in the early 1800’s. This book can be purchased at cost on lulu.com.
Simon Dreisbach Jr (1730-1806), A Most Interesting Life - by Marcia Dreisbach Falconer
Simon Dreisbach Jr, a man at home in two cultures. An active Patriot during the Revolutionary War, he served on the Pennsylvania Constitutional Conference in 1776 and signed Pennsylvania’s own Declaration of Independence. He also was instrumental in guilding Zion Stone Church. He was a tanner and a family man who owned large tracts of land in Lehigh Township, Northampton County, PA. The book is available at cost on lulu.com.
First Tracts of the Simon Dreisbach Family in Northampton County, PA. 1747-1806 by Marcia Dreisbach Falconer and Ardis Dreisbach Grosjean
This book documents and locates the tracts of land purchased by the Simon Dreisbach Sr family. Arranged in chronological order according to the first known warrant for each person. Using Google Earth satellite imagery we were able to locate still visible field outlines and correlate them with the known surveys found online at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission website. Short biographical information is included about each person. It must be emphasized that the information present here was accurate according to what was known at the time of writing.
Available for free download here! Paperback version can be purchased at cost (nobody makes any profit) on lulu.com.
Three Major Dreisbach Immigrants:
Simon Dreisbach Sr. (1698-1785) - 1743 immigrant with his wife Maria Katharina Keller (1696-1768), sons Jost (1721-1794), Adam (1722-1803), Simon Jr. (1730-1806), George (1733-after 1800), John (1735-1796) and young daughter Anna Catherina (1738-after 1763). Settled in Lehigh Township, Northampton Co, PA. Most of his descendants stayed in the Lehigh Valley not too far from Allentown, PA.
Martin Dreisbach Sr. (1717-1799) - 1751 immigrant with his wife Anna Eva Hoffman (1722-1789), son Martinus (1745-ca.1763), daughter Margaretha (1748-ca.1800), and baby son Jacob (1750-1804). Martin used both Dreisbach and Dresbach surname spellings. He settled first in Lancaster Co and then in what is now Union Co PA. Many, but not all, of his descendants moved to the area of Chillicothe and Circleville, Ohio.
Henrich Dreisbach (1735-1808) - 1754 immigrant who traveled as a single man. He and his descendants settled mostly in Bucks County PA.
It is certain there were other early Dreisbach immigrants. They have left traces behind, but we do not have any information about them other than that they are named in several documents.
There were also many later immigrants, but the three above are the progenitors of most of the Dreisbach descendants found today in the United States.
We spell our surname in many different ways!
“Dreisbach” is the earliest known form and was in use in the 1600’s. By the 1720’s “Dreysbach” was found in at least one document. Simon Dreisbach descendants generally use the “Dreisbach” spelling. 1751 immigrant Martin used both “Dreisbach” and “Dresbach” sometimes in the same document and his descendants mostly use “Dresbach”. Many surname spellings were used, often depending upon pronunciation. Only after 1900 did spelling begin to stabilize. Our surname lent itself to many variations including: Dreisbach, Driesbach, Treisbach, Tricebaugh, Trespach, Dresbach, Dresback, and many more. That’s fine. We are all family! No matter how we spell our last name.
It was a GREAT 2023 DDFA REUNION!
Thank You, Matt, Jennifer and Sharon.
2023 Dreisbach-Dresbach Family Association - August 18, 19 and 20
Dedication of new tombstone for Magdalena Buchs Dreisbach, the wife of Revolutionary War Soldier and Patriot, Johann Jacob Dreisbach, at Dresbach Cemetery, Tarlton Road, Circleville, Ohio. L-R: Terry Dresbach, Pastor Dan Shepard, Debbie Forquer, Jennifer Dresbach, Patt Clifton, Tod Dresback, Jerry Cotton, Rachel Meyer, Rex Parker, Marquell Segelken, Stephen Roediger, Sharon Driscoll, and Matt Dresbach with two 7th great grandchildren of Magdalena.
