Pennsylvania, and specifically, Philadelphia, is where all known Dreisbach immigrants landed. It is certainly the first place where they all lived.
Simon Dreisbach Sr and his family began life in Germantown, PA in 1743 just after they arrived. They moved to “Dreisbachsville” in Lehigh Township, Northampton County, a few years later, applying to buy land there as early as 1748.
Martin Dreisbach and his family, after 5 years working as a blacksmith, probably in Lancaster, County, settled in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County in 1755-56 and lived there for about 8 years before moving on to the area near Reading, PA and eventually north to new Lewisburg in what is now Union County, PA.
Henrich (Henry) Dreisbach appears to have settled in Rockhill Township in Bucks County soon after his arrival in 1754. His descendants appear to have remained more or less in this area of Pennsylvania.
MORE will be added to this page in the future.
Where Dreisbachs Settled in Pennsylvania
Maps designed by Ardis Grosjean-Dreisbach for The Dreisbach Book
1. Philadelphia (the old city, with its grid-plan layout.) Port of entry for most Dreisbachs in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
2. Dotted circle: Upper Northampton County (formerly Bucks Co.) Here "Yost Tricebaugh" applied for a survey of 25 acres of land in June 1747. His brothers Adam and John (Johannes) and father Simon also applied for surveys in this area in 1747, 1749 and 1750.
3. Moore and Lehigh Townships, Northampton Co., where Simon Dreisbach Sr. settled (near Little Moore Church.)
4. Lehigh Township, Northampton Co., location of Jost Dreisbach's mill, and also the church and cemetery on his property-- all probably established before 1750. In 1755-56 Jost's mill was used as a fort for defense against marauding Indians.
5. Lancaster. Adam Dreisbach married Susanna Coerber (Corber - Koerber - Kirber) here in Trinity Lutheran Church in July 1749 (barring arrival and Land Office documents, this is the first known appearance of a Dreisbach in American records.)
6. Alsace Township near Reading, Berks County. Simon "Drisebogh" and Adam "Swasbogh" appear on the township's first tax list in 1752. Several children were born to Simon Jr. here.
7. Germantown. Important for German-speaking immigrants as a point of contact and a place of departure when heading into the interior of Pennsylvania. Here, Simon Dreisbach Jr. married Maria Dorothea Dies/Taes in St. Michael's and Zion Church in April 1752.
8. Allen Township, Northampton Co., where Simon Dreisbach Jr. eventually settled after he left Berks County.
9. Gnadenhütten, a Moravian mission to the Indians (present-day Lehighton, Carbon Co.) Site of a massacre by hostile Indians in November 1755 which caused many settlers living in northern Northampton County to flee.
10. Fort Allen (now Weissport) Carbon Co. A blockhouse was constructed here in January 1756 by Benjamin Franklin and a troop of 100 men. It guarded the passageway through the Lehigh Gap.
11. Rockhill Township, Bucks County. Henry Dreisbach settled here near Almont (formerly Schlichtersville) probably in the mid to late 1750's.
12. Indianland Reformed Church, Telford, Montgomery County. Henry Dreisbach belonged to this congregation. A daughter was baptized here in 1760.
13. Tohickon Church, Bedminster Township, Bucks County. Henry Dreisbach's sons and their families appear in the church records here. So do certain members of Simon Dreisbach's family at the time of the Indian attacks.
14. Cocalico Township, Lancaster County. Location of Martin Dreisbach's first known settlement. Here he had a smithy, a gristmill and a sawmill until about 1763.
15. Alsace Township, Berks County, where Martin Dreisbach lived, three miles from Reading on the Easton Road, ca. 1763- ca. 1773.
16. Zion Stone Church, Kreidersville, on the borderline between Allen and Lehigh Townships, Northampton County. Dedicated in 1772. The sons of Simon Dreisbach were involved in its establishment. The church at Jost Dreisbach's was abandoned, and its communion pewter etc. (still extant), were transferred to the new church.
17. Easton, County Seat of Northampton Co. Formerly the administrative center of the Lehigh Valley. Adam Dreisbach, who was a saddler, moved here later in life and died here.
18. Bowmanstown and Palmerton (Towamensing) and
19. Weissport and Pohopoco (Big) Creek, all in Carbon County. Descendants of Simon Dreisbach settled in this area and then spread to adjacent counties.
20. Buffalo Valley in Union County. In 1773 Martin Dreisbach and his family moved here, settling along Buffalo Creek, just outside what is now Lewisburg. The Dreisbach Church was built on land donated by Martin. The homestead remained in the family until the death of Martin III, a judge, in 1880.
21a. Nescopeck Township, Luzerne County.
21b. Berwick, Columbia County
21c. The Roaring Creek area, Columbia County.
Late 18th century settlers here included various descendants of Simon Dreisbach.
22. Harding, Exeter Township, Luzerne Co. (off the map). Here, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, Jost Driesbach, 1773-1858, is buried.
23. Gilbert, Monroe County. Conrad Dreisbach, 1784-1863, is buried here. Several Dreisbach children were also baptized here at Salem Church in the early 19th century.
24. Kreidersville, Allen Township, Northampton Co. Here, shoemaker Henry Dreisbach, 1800-1890, had a small farm.
25. Wapwallopen, Luzerne County (just off the map.) Home of George Washington Dreisbach.
26. Mifflinburg, Union County. Many descendants of Martin's son John lived here.
27. New Berlin, Union County. An early center of the denomination which grew out of preacher Jacob Albright's work in the early 1800's. John Dreisbach, son of Martin Jr., joined the movement here and soon became its leader (Presiding Elder.) Rev. John established a denominational printing press here in 1817.
28. Upper Montgomery County. John Treisbach (1791-1867) and descendants lived in Frederick and Upper Salford Townships. John was possibly a grandson of immigrant Henry Dreisbach of Bucks County.
29. Harrisburg. Like Lancaster, a starting point for the westward trek to Ohio.