Reitz Family History and Record Book

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THE REITZ FAMILY HISTORY AND RECORD BOOK

compiled by the Rev. J. J. Reitz

PREFACE

A Reitz Family History and Record Book has been desired for a long time.
It had truly been

regarded as a stupendous and laborious undertaking, and by some as too
difficult for

accomplishment. Several years ago, the Reitz Reunion decided to publish
it, and the great task fell

to the lot of the author. We have hopefully worked at it for years at
our leisure, and cheerfully

endeavored to gather the records of all dear and affectionate blood
relatives, the descendants of

Pioneer Johan Friedrich Reitz, to preserve their full names birth,
death, burial place, marriage,

parents, children, occupation and residence. After years of difficult
research we have finally obtained

many official records from Europe of the ancestors of our Pioneer Johan
Friedrich Reitz, tracing

completely back to near the middle of the 17th century, or about 1670.
The Reitz people have

scattered to all parts, the residence and even names of some are unknown
to us, wherefore records

are difficult to obtain, and in some cases not available. We have,
however, tried and tried again to

find them. In many cases surprising results rewarded the strenuous
efforts. With great pleasure and

affectionate feelings for one\'s own blood relations we have opened the
many letters bringing the

desired records and tabulated and written them out.

We heartily acknowledge the general support and kind help and
cooperation of many in the

matter. Some have furnished very complete records, while others only
meagre one, and the author

had to accept and arrange what he had received. Mistakes are very apt to
happen in such a work, but

we have tried very hard to avoid any and all mistakes.

During the many years while serving as pastor of congregations the
author often noted the

carelessness in keeping family records, which often became lost. Even
tombstones, which were

carefully created many years ago by loving hands to preserve the memory
and records of their dear

departed, were often found neglected and sometimes even carelessly cast
a by, when unfortunately

sometimes all available records were lost.

In this book we try to preserve for all time, and especially for the
coming generations, the

Reitz Family Records, for the pleasure and information of all readers.
We beg the reader to make

allowance for incompleteness in this book and where co\_e are not
included, which is by no means

intentional; all of which is left for a revised and more complete future
edition. It should be remarked

that the many Reitz people, regardless of their praiseworthy ancestral
heritage, good qualities,

accomplishments and achievements, are all human and have their faults
just like others; but generally

we feel very proud of them as the Reitz Clan, and let their faults
alone. The most cordial and

affectionate feelings for all Reitz Relatives, and the prayer for better
and stronger family ties and

mutual appreciation of one\'s own kin, accompany this book.

THE AUTHOR.

(Rev. J. J. Reitz, A.B., M.D.)

Walnutport, Pa.

1930

REITZ NATIVE LAND

It has long been a foremost question among the many Reitz people,
especially of the present

generation, from what land or country their ancestors came. Pioneer
Johan Friedrich Reitz, the

progenitor of most of the Reitzes in Lehigh Co., Pa. and adjacent parts
elsewhere, who landed at

Philadelphia, Pa. Sept. 7, 1748, came from the southwestern part of
Germany. We consider

ourselves very fortunate in having secured copies of the official
records tracing the Reitz lineage

completely back to 1690, some of which will be presented in this book.
Johan Friedrich Reitz

emigrated in 1748 from Florsbach, at that time in the principality of
Hanau, but now (1930) in the

District of Gelnhausen, Reg. Bez. Kassel, Province of Hessen-Nassau,
belonging to Prussia,

Germany; and from thence he came to Philadelphia, Pa. The location is
several miles east of the city

of Hanau and about 40 miles east of the large city of
Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Germany. The

Germans kept very complete and satisfactory records for centuries,
especially in their churches where

clergymen were paid state officials whose duty, among other things, was
to make and preserve careful

complete family records.

1690 GENEALOGY

The ancestors of the Pioneer Johan Friedrich Reitz, who came to
Philadelphia Sept. 7, 1748,

as taken from the official records of the Florsbach and Kempfenbrunn
Lutheran Church Parish, in

the District of Gelnhausen, Hessen-Nassau, Germany.

JOHANNES REITZ, was the great-grandfather of Johan Friedrich Reitz, and
lived at 1690

at Rohrig, in the Biebergrund parish, District of Gelnhausen, and not
far from Florsbach, which is

several miles east of the city of Hanau, Germany.

JOHANNES REITZ, son of Johannes Reitz of Rohrig, now belonging to the
Bieber

Lutheran Church, in the district of Gelnhausen, and Anna Barbara
Friedrich, daughter of Stoffel

Friedrich of Lohrhaupten, Seulbach, held their engagement services Jan.
15, 1690, and their

marriage ceremony Feb. 11, 1690. They were the grandparents of Pioneer
Johan Friedrich Reitz.

JOHANNES PETER REITZ, (also called Hans Peter, Johann Peter, or only
Peter), son

of Johannes and Anna Barbara (Friedrich) Reitz, of Rohrig (now Bieber
Luth. Church) Gelnhausen,

born Dec. 3, 1690, baptized the same day, the sponsor being Peter
Freund, son of Hans Freund (a

smith or tailor). Married Jan. 4, 1715 Magdalena Weygand, born on the
day of Simonis and Judae,

1687, daughter of Niclas Weygand, of Lohrhaupten, baptized on the same
day, the sponsor being

Magdalena, housewife of Peter Kesler. Johannes Peter Reitz died and was
buried Dec. 2, 1732, aged

41« years. His wife Magdalena (Weygand) Reitz died and was buried A.D.
1740, aged 53 years.

They lived at Lohrhaupten and were the parents of Johan Friedrich Reitz.

JOHANN FRIEDRICH REITZ, (the Pioneer) son of Johannes Peter and
Magdalena

(Weygand) Reitz of Lohrhaupten, Gelnhausen, born and baptized Aug. 22,
1721, the sponsor was

Joh. Friedenberger, single; married Nov. 29, 1746, during public service
in the church, Anna

Margaretha Steigerwalt of Florsbach; she was born and baptized Feb. 20,
1719, the sponsor being

Anna Margaretha, the wife of Henrich Samers of Florsbach. He was a mason
by occupation. They

lived at Florsbach til they emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1748.

Rev. George Maldfeld, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran parish of the
churches of

Kempfenbrunn and Florsbach, writes as follows: \"Florsbach, Kempfenbrunn
, Lohrhaupten in former

times belonged together as one parish. These places and Bieber (with
Gassen and Rohrig-

Biebergrund) are the only Evangelical Lutheran Parishes in Spessart in
this part of the country; they

belonged formerly to the Earldom, of Hanau, while now they belong to the
District of Gelnhausen.

In Lohrhaupten the name Reitz has all died out, while in Florsbach it
appears manifoldly yet at this

day. The name was also brought over from Rohrig to Lohrhaupten only
through the marriage of Joh.

Reitz to that place, while it has remained in Florsbach, even though it
is not found there before

1745.\"

From the church records at this place it is clearly established that the
emigrant Johann

Friedrich Reitz emigrated from Florsbach in 1748 with his wife and only
one child. This child, a

little son (Johann Henrich?) as verified by the church record was born
Feb. 12, 1747, only one year

before their emigration. The church records also show that Johann
Friedrich Reitz, son of Johannes

Peter (also called Hans Peter, Johann Peter, or only Peter) and
Magdalena (Weygand or Weigandt)

Reitz, had yet four brothers of whom the name of one was Johann George
Reitz, born Feb. 5, 1726.

The official church records of Kempfenbrunn and Florsbach also state
that \"In the years

1748 to 1754 and in 1766, 167 persons emigrated to Pennsylvania from
Florsbach and

Kempfenbrunn, or from 1748 to 1754, 90 persons (1748, 22 persons; 1749,
2; 1750, 24; 1751,

32; 1752, 2 and 1754, 8), and in 1766, 77 persons.\" This reduced the
population of these two

towns about 20 percent. The list of emigrants for the aforenamed years
follows:

1748, FROM FLORSBACH:

Hans Kunkle with wife and 6 children.

George Steigerwald with wife and 3 children.

FRIEDRICH REITZ WITH WIFE AND 1 CHILD

Eberhard Kunkle.

Catharina Keyserin with 1 child.

FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Johann Adam Dietrich.

Peter Kohler.

Margaretha Uhlin.

1749, FROM FLORSBACH:

Peter Steigerwald, son Johannes Steigerwald.

Johannes Steigerwald, son of Melchior Steigerald.

1750, FROM FLORSBACH:

George Kunkle with wife and 3 children.

Johannes Huth with wife and 4 children.

Elisabeth Kleinfellerin with 1 child.

Andreas Schuster, Wehl, son of George Schuster.

Melchior Kleinfeller, son of Hans Peter Kleinfeller.

Eberhard Steigerwald, stepson of Melchior Kunkle.

FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Peter Hartman with wife and 4 children.

Anna Maria Fischerin, daughter of Henrich Fischer.

Friedrich Steinberger, son of Casper Steinberger.

1751, FROM FLORSBACH:

Lorenz Kunkle with wife and 1 child.

Hans Peter Klienfeller with wife and 1 child.

Magdalena Kayserin with 1 child.

Regina Kayserin with 1 child.

Hans Adam Koch with 1 wife and 5 children.

Anna Maria Dietrichin, daughter of Peter Dietrich.

FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Michael Fischer, Jr., with wife and 3 children.

Peter Herr with wife and 2 children.

Philipp Dill.

1752, FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Johannes Hartman and his wife.

1754, FROM FLORSBACH:

Johannes Schuster.

FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Nicolaus Keppler with wife and 2 children.

Philipp Lindenberger\'s sons, Adam and Michel.

Magdalena, daughter of Casper Steinberger.

DEPARTED FOR PENNSYLVANIA IN 1766

FROM KEMPFENBRUNN:

Michael Kohler with woman and 2 children.

Johannes steingerger with wife and 4 children.

Henrich Heuser with wife and 1 child.

Margareta Kohlerin and Johannes Koholer, children of Michel Kohler.

Lipps Linneberger\'s W and son.

Peter Kohler\'s W and 1 daughter.

FROM FLORSBACH:

Henrich Kunkle with woman and 2 children, Melchior Kunkle\'s W.

Casper Dietrich with woman and 4 children.

Johannes Hens with woman and 2 children.

Melchior Schuster\'s W with 3 sons.

Johannes Bauer with wife and 7 children.

Friedrich steigerwald with wife and 4 children.

Magdalena, a born Herr from Ulrick.

Schoolmaster Bach\'s W with 4 children.

Johannes Kleinfeller with wife and 1 son.

Johannes Steigerwald with wife and 3 children.

Johannes Kunkle with wife and 1 child.

Catharina \_utin, a single maid and Adam Steigerwald\'s W.

Hanns Michel Kunkle, smith, son of Melchior Kunkle.

Margaretha Dietrichin, daughter of Herm Schulther\'s Dietrich.

YET FROM FLORSBACH:

Catharina Heuserin, a single maid with 1 son.

Margaretha Uhlin, daughter of Johannes Uhl, miller.

CONDITION OR DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVE HOME

Of the Reitz Ancestors in Europe. A few words on the subject may be
appreciated. The

country in Europe where many of the immediate Reitz Ancestors lived two
to three centuries ago, was

mostly a country of farming district with small towns or villages like
Florsbach, Kempfenbrunn,

Rohrig, Lohrhaupten, Bieber, etc. situate several miles east of the city
of Hanau, in Gelnhausen

District, Province of Hessen-Nassau, Germany. A description of their
country verifies the tradition

among their descendants here in Pennsylvania, that they came from a
hilly and mountainous country

just like many parts here in Pennsylvania. There were many hills and
beautiful narrow valleys, good

springs and many delightful creeks like the Florsbach Creek (the name
implying flowery brook) and

also some high mountains. At some places the soil described sandy and
naturally not very fertile.

There dense forests on the mountains, where there were berries much like
we find on our mountains.

The people had small houses, often built with stone, with a simple
fireplace of stone (hearth)

leading up a chimney, where they cooked on a tripot or with iron kettles
hung on a hook above the

fire. They had small fields and their cultivating tools were primitive.
The inhabitants were generally

poor. It is related that in the Spring many of the men would go away to
cities and other industrial

places to earn some money while the women and children attended to the
work at home on their

small farms during the Summer. Their taxes were often exorbitant, and
frequently royal decrees

restricted their free and reasonable pursuit of life, liberty and
happiness. Regardless of all hardships,

they prospered, and some had evidently saved enough money to emigrate
and make the long and

hazardous journey to Pennsylvania. It is no wonder that such sturdy
energetic laborious people made

so many prosperous homes here in Pennsylvania and promoted a numerous
frugal industrious worthy

progeny. The description tells us they were a very religious people, had
for centuries everywhere their

church and a schoolhouse aside it, where a thorough education,
especially morally, was strictly carried

on. A picture of the little church at Florsbach is presented in this
book, a little Lutheran Church,

which is said to be standing already for about 500 years, being renewed
from time to time as in 1728

and 1928. It is the same church building which our ancestor Johan
Friedrich Reitz and family

attended before they came to Pennsylvania and where they were married
Nov. 19, 1746. The Reitz

ancestors seem to have dwelled for centuries in that District of
Gelnhausen, as called now, to the

East of the city of Hanau of which principality it was formerly a part.
They generally adhered to the

Evan. Lutheran church. Evidently not all the Reitz people in olden times
lived in the hilly country

to the east of the city of Hanau. Some lived in other places like in
Fulda. Persons who visited

recently over there report that many with the name Reitz are living at
this day in the cities of Hanau

and Frankfurt-on-the-Main. History informs us that in olden times the
Reitz people in Europe were

a noble people, regardless of the fact that some were poor. Some were
poor. Some were university

professors, clergymen, physicians, state officials and princes. They had
their Reitz Knights. They had

their \"Coat-of-Arms\", and armorial insignia, of which several are
mentioned in old European records

and histories. A picture of one of them is presented herewith. From
their original habitation near the

city of Hanau they scattered to all parts of the earth.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME REITZ. The Reitz people living over there in the city
of Hanau,

Germany, have a tradition as to how the name REITZ originated. It is
given herewith for what it is

worth. The tradition runs as follows: In olden times there were no
surnames, and persons were known

by only one name, like in the time of Christ we speak of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. But in the

course of time surnames were acquired in addition to the first names for
better designation.

Frequently the father\'s names was used. The tradition has it that
several centuries ago there appeared

near the city of Hanau and old man with a long white beard riding a
noble horse, who had escapes

from somewhere in the East, might have been last from Saxony, on account
of religious persecution,

and who rode on his horse about the country, advocating especial freedom
of religion and admonished

the people everywhere in religious assemblies in their free country.
They knew him as the

\"Reitczaronitsch\" or the riding czarewitch, that is the riding son of
the czar or prince, or a rider of

noble birth. His children were known as John or Jacob, etc. von
Reit-czaronitsch, or Reit-czargeburt,

of noble birth. Some time later the hind part of czaronitsch or
czargeburt was dropped and only the

\"z\" was retained and pronounced in addition to the \"Reitz\", leaving
the name \"Reitz\", which

thereafter became the common adopted surname of the Reitz clan.

\[Transcription Note: At this point, the book begins the account of
Johan Friedrich Reitz and his

descendants, primarily of Lehigh County, PA, of which I have only the
first ten pages or so. The

account of Johan George Reitz, who came to PA shortly after his brother,
and his descendants,

primarily of Northumberland County, PA, begins with Appendix II some 80
pages later, and which,

for our purposes, is transcribed next.\]

APPENDIX II

PIONEER JOHAN GEORGE REITZ

of near Rebuck, PA

at the Swabian Creek

Northumberland County, PA

PIONEER JOHAN GEORGE REITZ, progenitor of most of the Reitz people of
Northumberland

and adjacent counties of Pennsylvania, was a brother of Johan Friedrich
Reitz, the ancestor of most

of the Reitzes of Lehigh and adjacent counties of Pennsylvania, of whose
descendants this book is

mostly written. Johan George Reitz was a son of Johannes Peter (also
called Hans Peter, Johann

Peter, or only Peter) and Magdalena (Weygand) Reitz, of Lohrhaupten,
District of Gelnhausen, in

the Province of Hessen-Nassau, Germany. The country district is several
miles east of the city of

Hanau, to which it formerly belonged, and about 40 miles east of the
large city of Frankfurt-on-the-

Main, Germany. For more description refer to the beginning of this book
under the subjects \"Native

Land\" and \"Genealogy\" of Johan Friedrich Reitz, which applies also to
him. He was born at

Lohrhaupten, Gelnhausen, Hessen-Nassau, Germany, Feb. 5, 1726, as the
Lutheran Church

records show at that place, and which also show that in addition to his
brother Johan Friedrich Reitz,

there were yet three other brothers. He also emigrated to Pennsylvania
and sailed on the Ship Duke

of Bedford, and landed at Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 14, 1751, as the
Penn. Archives at Harrisburg,

Pa., show; where an examination disclosed that in taking the Oath of
Allegiance he made his mark

to his name which the clerk misspelled \"Ritz\" instead of \"Reitz\".
Some time later he settled on a

large farm at the Swabian Creek, about half a mile east of what is now
Himmels Church, near

Rebuck, Northumberland Co., Pa. Penn. Archives show land warrants by
George Reitz in

Northumberland Co., Oct. 14, 1772, 200 acres; Sept. 16, 1773, 50 acres.
He and his wife

engaged in farming, and at death were buried on their farm. They had a
family of sons and daughters.

We have record of two:

1\. Andreas Reitz, b. Jan. 1, 1755; d. mar. 16, 1837.

2\. Michael Reitz, b. Jan. 1757; d. Dec. 17, 1825.

They were Lutherans, and it is reported they were instrumental in
organizing and building

the original Himmels Church, near Rebuck, Pa. Evidence points to their
influence and prominent

religious character, because two large tombstones mark their graves in
the first row near the Himmels

church in the Church cemetery.

\[Transcription Note: At this point, Appendix II is divided into 2
sections, the first dealing with

Andreas Reitz and his descendants, the second with Michael Reitz and his
descendants. For our

purposes, the second section will be transcribed here, leaving the first
to be done at a later date.\]

Appendix II, Sec. 2.

MICHAEL REITZ, SR., the other son of Pioneer George Reitz, at the
Swabian Creek,

Northumberland Co., Pa., b. Jan. 1757; d. Dec. 17, 1825; married
Elizabeth Rebuck, b. 1766,

d\. Dec. 18, 1853. Both are buried at Himmels Church. They were devout
Lutherans; he was the

building master of the second or stone Himmels Church in 1818. Were
farmers near Rebuck, Pa.,

and had ten children:

1\. Michael, Jr.

2\. Peter, Juniata Co., Pa.

3\. William, Jefferson Co., Pa.

4\. Daniel, lived on the old homestead.

5\. Jonathan, lived on the old homestead.

6\. Henry, Washington Township.

7\. George, Jefferson Co., Pa.

8\. John, Jefferson Co., Pa.

9\. Bevvy, m. John George Reed.

10\. Christina, m. Michael Hetrick.

MICHAEL REITZ, JR., (also called Johan Michael), son of Michael Reitz,
Sr. (Son of

Johan George), b. in Washington Township, Northumberland Co., Pa., Aug.
12, 1785; d. July 28,

1874; m. Magdalena Eister, b. July 1788, d. Oct. 12, 1846, both are
buried at Himmels Church;

were farmers in Washington Township, and had six children:

1\. Peter, Rockfeller Township.

2\. Abraham, Little Mahanoy Township.

3\. Christianna, m. Michael Hoch.

4\. David, Washington Township.

5\. Leonard, Washington Township.

6\. Jonas.

DAVID REITZ, son of Michael Reitz, Jr., (son of Michael Reitz, Sr., son
of Pioneer Johan

George), of Washington Township, whose son William married Susanna
Raker. He was a merchant

at Greenbrier, Pa., and they had four children:

1\. Katie, m. G. M. Houghton, Shamokin, Pa.

2\. John Lewis, b. 1876.

3\. David W.

4\. Charles J., b. Apr. 30, 1884.

DANIEL REITZ, son of Michael, Sr., son of Johan George, b. near Rebuck,
Pa., Aug. 11,

1804; d. Jan. 9, 1886; m. Susanna Burrell, b. June 10, 1810, d. Jan. 12,
1881. Both are buried

at Himmels Church, were farmers on the old homestead and had ten
children:

1\. Maria, m. Elias Rebuck.

2\. Jonathan B., d. in Missouri.

3\. Samuel B.

4\. Katie, m. 1st, Godfried Rebuck; 2nd, Andrew Rebuck.

5\. John B., Nebraska.

6\. Salome, m. Milton Drumheller.

7\. Elizabeth, m. Jared Snyder.

8\. Michael B., Washington Township.

9\. Leonard B., Nebraska.

10\. Daniel B., Mifflintown, Pa.

SAMUEL B. REITZ, son of Daniel and Susanna (Burrell) Reitz, b. 1832; d.
June 29,

1906\. Buried at Himmels Church; m. Eliza Reitz, daughter of Philip and
Annie (Wagner) Reitz.

He was a tailor and farmer of part of the old homestead. They had nine
children:

1\. Nathan, d. young.

2\. John R., Nebraska.

3\. Elias R., Mt. Carmel, Pa.

4\. Henry M., Sunbury, Pa.

5\. Mary A., m. William Rebuck.

6\. Andrew D., Jefferson Co., Pa.

7\. Susan, m. George A. Floltz, Sunbury, Pa.

8\. George W., on the old homestead.

9\. Hannah A., unmarried, Sunbury, Pa.

ELIAS R. REITZ, of Mt. Carmel, Pa., is the son of Samuel B. (Son of
Daniel, son of

Michael Sr., son of Pioneer Johan George) Reitz, and his wife Eliza
Reitz, daughter of Philip and

Annie (Wagner Reitz, born near Rebuck, Pa., Jan. 19, 1858; m. Lydia E.
Kehres. He was a school

teacher five years, a merchant and justice of the peace eleven years, at
Rebuck, Pa., and merchant

at Mt. Carmel, Pa. They were devout Christians and active members of the
Lutheran Church at Mt.

Carmel, Pa., where he was the Sunday school teacher for many years. He
was president of the

Sunbury Reitz Reunion of the descendants of Johan George Reitz, held
annually at or near Sunbury,

Pa. They had their home at 234 West Third Street, Mt. Carmel, Pa., and
had three children:

1\. Bertha M. Reitz, b. Oct. 23, 1886, d. Aug. 4, 1904.

2\. Mabel G. Reitz, b. Sept. 16, 1889; d. Jan. 4, 1929; was graduate of
Kutztown State

Normal School.

3\. Charles H. Reitz, b. Dec. 1, 1894; was a graduate of Dickinson
College, Carlisle, Pa., and

lived with his parents.

GEORGE W. REITZ, of Rebuck, Pa., son of Samuel B. and Eliza (Reitz)
Reitz, b. near

Rebuck, Pa., Sept. 7, 1869; m. June 17, 1894, Polly Geist, b. Aug. 17,
1874, d. Apr. 27, 1920.

He was a farmer, Lutheran, and occupied the old homestead near Rebuck,
Pa. They had four

children:

1\. Mazie Reitz, b. Dec. 25, 1895; m. Eston Scheib.

2\. Grace Reitz, b. Feb. 18, 1899; m. Francis Hepler.

3\. Carrie Reitz, b. Oct. 29, 1904.

4\. Alma Reitz, b. Mar. 29, 1910.

JOHN LEWIS REITZ, of Lewisburg, Pa., son of William (son of David, son
of Michael

Jr., son of Michael Sr., son of Johan George) and Susanna (Raker) Reitz,
b. near Greenbrier, Pa.,

in 1876; m. Elizabeth Schwalm, daughter of Daniel E. and Fietta
(Schlegel) Schwalm, of Hubley

Township, Schuylkill Co., Pa. They lived near Lewisburg, Pa., where he
conducts two large farms

in up-to-date scientific methods, and generally grows around 25,000
bushels of potatoes and is

familiarly known as the \"Potato King of the Buffalo Valley\". He had
constructed three gigantic

practical potato cellars, two 100 feet long and 40 feet wide, and the
third 80 feet long and 40 feet

wide; with a total capacity of over 35,000 bushels. He is favorably and
well known for his practical

agricultural methods, is an active and foremost participant in
furthering many local community

affairs, and is treasurer of the Sunbury Reitz Reunion. They are
presbyterian, and had eight children:

1\. William D. Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.; graduate from Bucknell and
Columbia College.

2\. Charles David Reitz, b. Aug. 28, 1902.

3\. Grace V. Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.

4\. Kathryn Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.; graduate from Penn State College.

5\. Bessie Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel; graduate from Penn State College.

6\. Alma M. Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.; R.N. at University of Pennsylvania
Hospital,

Philadelphia, Pa.

7\. Robert Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.; graduated from high school 1930.

8\. John Reitz, b. Mt. Carmel, Pa.

CHARLES DAVID REITZ, son of John Lewis and Elizabeth (Schwalm) Reitz, of

Lewisburg, Pa., b. at Mt. Carmel, Pa., Aug. 28, 1902; m. Oct. 21, 1922,
Margaret C. Moran.

They lived near Lewisburg, Pa., assisting his father and had two
children:

1\. Charles Reitz, b. Apr. 25, 1924.

2\. Cecilia Reitz, b. Apr. 25, 1925.

CHARLES J. REITZ, of Sunbury, Pa., son of William (son of David, son of
Michael Jr.,

son of Michael Sr., son of Johan George) and Susanna (Raker) Reitz, b.
at Rebuck, Pa., Apr. 30,

1884; m. Mar. 17, 1903, Bertha M. Hetrick. He clerked a few years in
stores at Allentown, Pa.,

then engaged in store business at Rebuck; later in store and hotel
business at Dornsife, Pa. He was

also the warden of the Northumberland Co. Jail at Sunbury, Pa. He built
a pleasant bungalow with

spacious shady grounds surrounding it on the west bank of the
Susquehanna River, a short distance

below Sunbury, Pa. They had one son, Harold W.

HENRY REITZ, son of Michael Sr., son of Johan George, b. at Swabian
Creek, buried at

Himmels Church, aged over 90 years; Lutheran, and a farmer in Lower
Augusta and Washington

Townships; m. 1st, Bechtel, and they had one child: Lovina. M. 2nd,
Maria Dunkleberger, b. Dec.

23, 1803, d. Jan. 3, 1863, and they had three children:

1\. Sarah Reitz.

2\. Adam D. Reitz, b. May 6, 1836; d. Mar. 22, 1885; m. Mary Raker, had
three children:

William H., Dennis, and Galen.

3\. Joseph Reitz, b. 1843, at Fishers Ferry, Pa.; d. Jan. 21, 1908,
buried at Emmanuel

Lutheran Church, little Mahanoy Township; was a farmer and merchant at
Dornsife, Pa.; m.

Catherine Pfeifer and had six children: Daniel (d. 1900); Alvin P.,
George, (Dornsife); Edward,

(Dornsife); Joseph, (Shamokin); Gertrude.

ALVIN P. REITZ, son of Joseph (son of Henry , son of Michael Sr., son of
Johan George)

and Catherine (Pfeifer) Reitz, b. at Mine Run, Pa., in 1867; attended
Muhlenberg College,

Allentown, Pa.; was engaged in contracting and building; was general
manager of the East End

Limber Co., a large business concern of Shamokin, Pa.; m. Tamie Zartman,
daughter of Jacob

Zartman of Shamokin, Pa. They lived at Shamokin, Pa., and had one son,
Henry Elwood Reitz,

b\. 1901.

GEORGE REITZ, son of Michael Sr. (Son of Johan George) and Elizabeth
(Rebuck) Reitz,

of near Rebuck, Northumberland Co, Pa., lived in Jefferson Co., and had
children: George, Godfrey,

Jacob, and Daniel.

JOHN REITZ, son of Michael Sr. (Son of Johan George) and Elizabeth
(Rebuck) Reitz,

of near Rebuck, Pa., lived in Jefferson Co., Pa., and had children:
Isaac, Peter R., Michael, and

Harry. (and Walter?)

WILLIAM REITZ, son of Michael Sr. and Elizabeth (Rebuck) Reitz, of near
Rebuck, Pa.,

lived in Jefferson Co., Pa., and had nine children: Levi, Peter L.,
Daniel, Morris, Jonathan, Caroline

(m. Howe), Margaret (m. Shaffer), Lydia (m. Spare), Susan (m. Swab).

MORRIS REITZ, son of William Reitz, who was the son of Michael and
Elizabeth (Rebuck)

Reitz, lived at Brookville, Pa., and had eight children:

1\. Manerva Reitz, m. 1st, Frank Chles, had children: Flora and Pearl; m.
2nd, John

Fenstermaker.

2\. Clara Reitz, m. J. C. Chles, had a son: Wilbur.

3\. Amanda Reitz.

4\. Turney Reitz.

5\. John Reitz, d. Mar. 16, 1927, had a daughter: Grace.

6\. Blair Reitz, had children: Ina and Dawson.

7\. Homer Reitz, of Brookville, Pa., had children: Mary, Paul, and Fred.

An abstract and lineage has been presented here of Johan George Reitz\'
descendants who are

also very numerous. The date and records are not now on hand for more
description, all of which is

left for a future and more complete edition. During the past years the
descendants of the two brothers

Johan Friedrich Reitz, of Lehigh Co., Pa., and Johan George Reitz, of
Northumberland Co., Pa.,

have very agreeably made the acquaintance and association of each other,
and many of both clans

attend joyfully both Reitz Reunions held annually at New Tripoli, Pa.,
and at Sunbury, Pa.

OTHER REITZ FOLKS. Besides the many Reitz descendants of Johan Friedrich
Reitz and

Johan George Reitz mentioned in this book, there are many other Reitz
people in the United States,

and it seems the ancestors of many of them lived also for centuries in
that Gelnhausen Province,

Hessen-Nassau, Germany, which was no doubt the ancestral home of the
Reitz Clan for centuries.

The following extract of a letter from Rev. George Reitz, 90 years old,
is self-explanatory: \"All I can

say is that my father and grandfather and their forefathers belonged to
the original stock of

Gelnhausen Reitzes to which you belong. My father, Rev. Nicholas Reitz,
and my grandfather, came

to America about 1834, directly from the province of Gelnhausen to
Illinois. They and their

forefathers lived in small village (Dorf) in the province of Gelnhausen
by the name of Biber.\"

\[Transcription Note: The book continues with Appendix III which gives a
program for one of the

reunions and various addenda. In this transcribed portion, all names of
individuals appear exactly as

they did in the copies of pages from the book being transcribed, even if
\"obviously\" misspelled. Some

spelling of words in the body was corrected, but as a whole, it has been
transcribed \"as is\".\]

RR, Honolulu, HI

9 November 1997
