| The
material in this summary was organized and contributed by Kathy
Waples, whose husband John is the great-grandson of Anna Middendorf. Anna was the sister of Frank Middendorf who
married Mary Catherine Farrell, mother of Elizabeth Middendorf who wrote
the well-known poem about her uncle Frank (see Settlers Page
XVII). Kathy can be reached for inquiries at
:kwaples@cinci.rr.com.
The Sullivan County Settlers Web Page is grateful to Kathy for
this historical information.
Francis (Frank) Xavier Middendorf's father was Barnard Middendorf, born in Prussia, Germany
in 1810, and died March 22, 1869, aged 59 years, 1 month and 10 days. He settled two miles north of Dushore, PA in Cherry Twp in 1840. He married Caroline
Richley. She was born in 1829 in Baden or Prussia, Germany and died February 4, 1887 in Dushore. She is
buried at St. Basil's Cemetery in Dushore. After Barnard's death, Caroline remarried to Gearhart Schweiter.
The Sullivan Gazette
February 16, 1887
Mrs. Gearhart Schweiter, formerly Mrs. B. Middendorf, died at the residence of her
son-in-law, Mr. John Waples, on the 4th inst., cause of death was paralysis.
She had a stroke about 26 years ago and had entirely recovered. She was attacked by the
second stroke 3 days previous to her death.
She leaves a large number of loving children and many relatives and friends to mourn her
death. She had reached the age of 58 years 3 months and 12 days. Interment in Catholic
cemetery.
The Sullivan Review
March 5, 1903
Gearhart Schwieter died at the home of his stepson, John Middendorf, in Cherry township,
February 26, and was buried at St. Basil’s, in this place, February 28. Deceased was 88
years of age at the time of his death. The funeral was quite largely attended.
The children of Barnard and Caroline were:
FRANK MIDDENDORF, b. 03/25/1863 and d. 01/17/1926; he lived in Sayre and was killed when hit by a trolley car
ANNA MIDDENDORF, born 1859. She married John Waples of Bernice, son of James Waples (who was born in 1811 in the
Parish of Killeshandra, Cavan County Ireland and emigrated to the US as a young man). They had seven children:
Caroline B. "Carrie" Waples, born 1/6/1889 died 3/2/1894
Frank L. Waples born 4/13/1891, died 11/11/1918 in the flu epidemic; married
Anna J. Touschner; two children: Donald and Dorothy
Theresa Waples born 9/6/1893, died 11/19/1918 in the flu epidemic
James Henry Waples, grandfather of John Waples, Kathy's husband; born 10/9/1895, died 9/28/1969
Catharine "Katie" Waples, dates unknown, married Frank ________, no children; reported in the March 19 Sullivan Review to be
suffering from pneumonia at the family home in Albany, PA
Joseph Waples born 3/28/1898, died 11/9/1918 in the flu epidemic
John Eugene Waples, born November 18, 1902, died 9/4/1980
ANTHONY MIDDENDORF, born 1851, married Mary Lusch, daughter of F. Lusch; they had 3 children:
Raymond G. Middendorf
Agatha Middendorf
Clement J. Middendorf
The Sullivan Review
January 19, 1927
The body of Anthony Middendorf was found Sunday morning, in a field between his
home and that of his neighbor, Michael Byron.
Mr. Middendorf has been in poor health for more that a year. He was making his home
with his son C.J. Middendorf on the old homestead. He had retired as usual the night
before but evidently had gotten up some time during the night and wandered from the house.
When the family arose on Sunday morning, it was discovered that Mr. Middendorf was not
in his room and a search was instituted and his lifeless body was found near the line
fence between the two farms.
Mr. Middendorf was about 80 years of age and is survived by two sons, Raymond of Vestal, N.Y.
and C.J. at home, and two brothers, Joseph of Wyalusing and John of Cherry Township.
Funeral services were held Wednesday morning in St. Basil’s church with interment in
the family plot.
The Sullivan Review
July 11, 1923
Mrs. Mary Middendorf of Cherry Township died at her home Saturday after a brief illness.
She is survived by her husband and two sons, R. G. Middendorf of Vestal N.Y. and Clement
Middendorf at home, also one brother and three sisters.
Funeral service was held in St. Basil’s church Tuesday morning with interment in the
family plot.
The Sullivan Review
May 16, 1928
Irene V. Middendorf the 13-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Middendorf of Vestal,
N.Y., formerly of this place died at the Endicott Hospital Thursday of appendicitis.
Funeral was held from the home of the parents Monday. Interment in the family plot at
Johnson City.
JOSEPH MIDDENDORF, b. about 1853 and d. 1936, m. Elizabeth Donegan; he lived in Wyalusing, Bradford County, PA. They had
one son named Edward Middendorf (1886-1961). The Sullivan Review for January 18, 1894 reported that:
Joseph MIDDENDORF, of this place, has leased the HALLOND House, at Wyalusing, and
will take possession the first of next month. Mr. MIDDENDORF was
formerly the proprietor of the Dushore House and was one of the
most popular landlords Dushore ever had. He has always been prominent
in our borough government and is counted as one of our leading citizens,
one we regret to lose.
You can see a picture of the Middendorf Hotel in A Brief History of Wyalusing.
MARY MIDDENDORF, b. about 1855 and d. before 1903
JOHN B. MIDDENDORF, b. 1857 and d. 1944, m. Elizabeth North *;
one son named Vincent Middendorf (1887-1957) and a daughter named Mary Middendorf
* Editor's Note: We are indebted to Leigh Taffe Acla who, in January 2009, provided us with additional information on the John Middendorf family:
The unknown wife of John Middendorf was Elizabeth North, daughter of James and Mary Ann (maiden unknown) North. This information was confirmed by a 9 Aug 1894 blurb in the The Sullivan Review in which it states that "Miss Theressa North, of Towanda, is visiting her sister Mrs. J. Middendorf".
Elizabeth and John actually had three children - Mary, Vincent and Catherine. The 23 Aug 1894 issue of The Sullivan Review announced the birth of Catherine. The 23 Sep 1894 issue gave her obituary. She is buried at St. Basil's in Dushore. The article stated that four little girls acted as pallbearers. Elizabeth, her mother, died shortly after Catherine's death as you can see by her obituary posted below. Elizabeth was born 22 Feb 1862 in Wilmot, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
The Sullivan Review
November 23, 1944
John B. Middendorf, of Cherry Township, died at his home Friday morning, November 17th at
the age of 87 years, five months and five days.
He was born and has always lived on the farm on which he died. He was a highly respected
citizen and will be greatly missed in his community.
Mr. Middendorf is survived by a daughter, Miss Mary Middendorf, and a son Vincent Middendorf,
both at home. Also a number of nieces and nephews.
The Sullivan Review
November 1, 1894
Mrs. John Middendorf, of Cherry, died October 27, aged 32 years, eight months and five days.
In this case, consumption has claimed another victim in the person of one whose youth entitled her
to look forward to many years of happiness. She is mourned by numerous relatives and
friends.
The funeral was held at St. Basil's in this place, October 30, and was very largely attended.
HENRY MIDDENDORF, b. about 1862 and d. 1919, m. Hannah _______;lived in Wyalusing, PA. They had four children:
M. Angie, Leo, Harry and Genevieve Middendorf.
HELENA "LENA" MIDDENDORF, married George Dohm of Sayre, PA
Frank Middendorf's wife was Mary Catherine Farrell, b. in 1867 in Dushore, PA and d. 05/13/1861 in Buffalo, NY.
Her parents were James Farrell and Ann O'Donovan. They were also the parents of Frank Farrell who was killed in the ill-famed
logging accident in Ricketts, described in Settlers XVII: Frank Farrell:
A Death in the Forest. Frank and Mary Catherine had
four children:
Elizabeth Middendorf, born 1892, m. Joe Watson
Bernard, m. Anna Kane
Ann, m. Frank Sellers
Edmund Middendorf; he is pictured with family members at the end of the Settlers XVII page.
Three of the Waples children died in the 1918 flu epidemic. Frank L. Waples, one of these, had just seen a daughter, Dorothy, born in the preceding May. Within a ten-day sequence in November,
Frank and two of his siblings were dead. His daughter DOROTHY WAPLES grew up to marry LEWIS COBB of Dushore. Here is her obituary:
The Daily Review
Towanda, PA
November 29, 2002
Dorothy Waples Cobb MacInnis, 84, a longtime resident of Dushore, passed away
peacefully early Thursday morning, Nov. 28, 2002, at the Highlands Care Center in
Laporte.
Dorothy was born in Mildred, on May 17, 1918, a daughter of the late Frank and
Anna J. Touschner Waples. She graduated from St. Basil's High School, a member of the
class of 1935. Dorothy married Lewis Cobb of Dushore, who predeceased her on Nov. 16,
1952. She was a factory worker at the former Weldon Manufacturing Co. of Dushore,
and later its successor, Dushore Lingerie, from which she retired.
Dorothy was a loving spouse, mother and grandmother. She moved to Sullivan Terrace
when she retired and was involved with the care of the indoor plants. She kept them
alive and transplanted them from the halls to the community room, keeping them fresh
to maintain a pleasant appearance throughout the apartment building.
Surviving are: a son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Meda Cobb of Bethel, Pa.; one
daughter and son-in-law, Ann and George Grant of Lorton, Va.; two grandchildren,
Richard Winnie Jr. of Woodbridge, Va., and Lisa Winnie of Ft. Meyers, Fla.; and
seven nieces and nephews. Dorothy was predeceased by a granddaughter, Renee Winnie
of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and a brother, Donald Waples of Lewistown, Pa.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2002, at 9 a.m. at St.
Basil's Church, Dushore, with the Rev. Michael B. Harris, her pastor, presiding.
Interment will be in St. Basil's Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the
direction of the P. Dean Homer Funeral Home, 206 Water St., Dushore.
James Henry Waples married ESTHER MARIE BOWSER (09/28/1900-03/17/1950) on February 20, 1917. They had six children:
James Eugene Waples, born 04/17/1919
Joseph William Waples, born 07/23/1920
JOHN FRANCIS "JACK" WAPLES (03/17/1923-04/23/1994), father of John Waples
Rita Marie Waples, born 03/12/1926, married Anthony "Tony" James Barrett (b. 06/06/1925) on 12/27/1947; they live in Sayre, PA. Tony was a
dairy farmer.
Robert Lee Waples, born 03/17/1928
Eugene Donald Waples, born 06/26/1923
John Francis Waples married MARY SERENA THERESA ABBY of Poughkeepsie, NY (09/21/1925-12/15/1977) on May 28,
1949. They settled in the Cincinnati, OH area about 1970, where he was a sheet metal worker. They had four children:
Cynthia Lou Waples, born 01/05/1953, married Michael "Mike" Duffens (b. 10/03/1952); they have five children:
Karen Marie, Kasey Michelle, Kristi Marie, Kevin Matthew, and Kyle Matthew. They live in Ccincinnati, OH.
JOHN PATRICK WAPLES, born 06/24/1955, Kathy's husband
Nancy Marie Waples, born 08/28/1956, married Donald Harry Vollmer; divorced; two children: Damien Michael and Brandon James. They live in
Cincinnati, OH.
Debra Ann Waples, born 08/02/1958, married John Joseph Ginandt (b. 03/15/1953); two children: David Michael and Theresa Marie. They
live in Harrison, OH.
John Patrick Waples was born in Sayre, PA and married our contributor, KATHLEEN IVEY, of Cincinnati, OH, born 03/16/1956. They
married on 08/02/1975 in Cincinnati and have three children:
John Christopher "Chris" Waples, born 09/24/1976 in San Diego, CA while his father was on a four-year tour
in the US Navy (04/01/1973-04/01/1977), m. Heather M. Foley; divorced; two children: Tiara Kathleen (born 08/08/1996) and Taylor Christine (born 03/09/1999
Shannon Ivey Waples, born 01/12/1978 in Cincinnati
Heather Elaine Waples, born 05/07/1979 in Cincinnati
The Middendorf family is also cited in the Streby history of
Cherry Township found on the Sulivan County Genealogical Web Site at The Streby History of
Cherry Township.
Copyright © 2001 Robert
E. Sweeney and individual Contributors. All Rights Reserved. Prior written
permission is required from Robert E. Sweeney and individual Contributors before
this material can be printed or otherwise copied, displayed or distributed
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is a FREE genealogy site sponsored through PAGenWeb and can be reached directly
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