| Paternal |
| DIEPOLDER, c.1754-1974 | Related Families: Anruech | Riederer | Steiner | Kilborn | Carter |
(1) Josef Diepolder, born about 1754 in Brugg-Allgaeu, Schwaben, Bayern, Germany; married about 1779 Franziska Anruech at Brugg-Allgaeu.
Children:
- Florian, born 4 December 1780 at Brugg-Allgaeu; married about 1808 at Memhölz, Schwaben, Bayern, Chreszentia Stauber. Parents of:
- Maria Josefa Diepolder, born 29 July 1809 at Memhölz, Schwaben, Bayern
- Johann Georg, mentioned below
(2) Johann
Georg Diepolder,
born 24 March 1785 at Brugg-Allgaeu, Schwaben, Bayern, Germany; married
Biebinia
Riederer.
The family made its home in Memhölz
(pictured at right).
Memhölz was independent until 1972, when it became part of Waltenhofen
county. It is probable that this family is related to the famous
twins Hans and Sepp Diepolder of Bavaria who are invited to perform their
traditional Alps music at Oktoberfest celebrations around the world today.
Children (all born in in Memhölz, Waltenhofen, Schwaben, Bayern, Germany):
- Anna Maria, born 18 January 1824
- Johann Georg, born 10 January 1825
- Ludwig, born 27 January 1827; married 29 October 1860 at Memhölz, Caroline Haslach. Parents of:
- Chreszenthius, born 28 Mar 1854 in Memhölz; married about 1900.
- Pauline, born 6 Mar 1863; married about 1861 in Ulmerthal, Johann Deiner. Parents of:
- Ludwig (Diepolder) Deiner, born 14 October 1882 in Ulmerthal; married about 1904 at Oehningen, Mathilde Lohner.
- Engelbert, born 11 September 1868
- Josefa, born 18 June 1860; married 2 October 1888 in Memhölz/Maierhoefen, Johann Michael Gasser
- Leopoldina, born 3 Aug 1861; married 8 February 1900 in Ulmerthal/Maierhoefen, Johann Michael Gasser
- Wilhelm, born 21 June 1867
- Luitpold, born 8 February 1870
- Johann Baptist, born 11 November 1873
- Engelbert, mentioned below
- Wilhelm, born 10 Apr 1831; married 28 November 1861 in Memhölz, Theresia Kling. Parents of:
- Johann Georg, born 30 January 1873 in Gerrats, Memhölz, Schwaben, Bayern; married 14 June 1902.
(3) Engelbert Diepolder was
born about 22 November 1828 in Memhölz, Waltenhofen, Schwaben (Swabia),
Bayern (Bavaria), Germany, a town near the border of Austria and Switzerland,
west of Munich. Engelbert's original birth record, found in the International
Genealogical Index (IGI), is available on microfilm #183578, page 353,
ord.# 12352 at the Salt Lake City Temple of the LDS Church. The submitting
relative was Werner Alfred Lohner, who also contributed record of another
Engelbert born in 
Memhölz
on 11 September 1868. There are records in the IGI of Diepolders
living in Schwaben and Bayern far back into the 1600's and are probably
Engelbert's relations. Sometime around 1853 or before in Germany,
Engelbert married Salome
Steiner,
born about 1834 in Germany, died after 1890 probably in Rochester, Monroe
Co., New York.
While living in Göratz, Engelbert applied to immigrate (Archives application
# STAA-BA-Ke 3116), and in 1859 he at age 30, "his bride" Salome at age
25, and son Johannes Michael at age 6 years, set sail for the United States
from Hamburg aboard the steamship Bavaria,
under the command of H. Taube. Their quarters while on board were
"between decks" and they were enumerated as passengers 94 through 96 respectively.
More passengers were picked up at Southampton, England, before setting
out for the final stretch of the long voyage to America. They finally
landed in New York City on 1 September 1859.
Passenger manifest from the Bavaria showing Engelbert Diepolder, Salome Steiner, and son "Joh:" |
The Diepolders made their way north and by the summer had settled in LaFargeville,
Town of Orleans, Jefferson Co., New York, where they were enumerated (page
69) in dwelling number 552, family number 553, as the "Dupolder" family
on page 427 of the federal census. "Englebert" reported his age as
31, brithplace as Germany, and occupation as "chass maker"; living with
him were wife "Saloma," age 26, born in Germany, and son Michael, age 7,
born in Germany, who was attending school that year.
On 10 March 1865 Engelbert died of unknown causes at the young age of 36,
a mere five and a half years after arriving in New York City. He
is buried in Grove Cemetery in the village of Lafargeville (at
right). It is said that he was a
casualty of the Civil War, though so far no records have been recovered
that indicate such service. The process of naturalization at that
time took a minimum of five years, with declaration of intent allowed after
two years. It is not yet known whether he submitted a petition prior
to his death.
In the 1870 federal census of LaFargeville, "Diepolder, S.", a female age
36 years, was enumerated as head of household in dwelling number 245, indicating
that Salome remained in the county for at least five years after her husband's
death. Next door lived the local hotel keeper, Samuel
Kilborn,
whose daughter later married Salome's son Michael.
Michael's lighthouse logs indicate that as late as
the 1890's Salome was living in Rochester, Monroe Co., New York, where
Michael was sending his daughter, Ada,
to school. His records also show that Ada and "her grandfather" visited
Michael at the lighthouse at a time when both Engelbert Diepolder and Samuel
Kilborne were dead, suggesting that Salome remarried sometime between 1870
and 1890. Salome's new husband would have been the only grandfather
young Ada would have ever known. No research has yet been done to
determine who Salome married, but possibly his home was in Rochester, prompting
her move to that locality.
Engelbert
and Salome were the parents of:
(4) Michael Johannes Diepolder,
a harness maker, was born about 14 December 1853 in Memhölz, Bavaria,
Germany, and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1859.
Michael first married Sophia who died 4 November 1875 at age 28 yrs 2 mos.
17days. She is buried next to Michael's father in Grove Cemetery,
LaFargeville. Sometime in 1877 or before, he married his next door
neighbor, Mary Adel Kilborn,
born 6 September 1860, daughter of the local hotel keeper, who was of purely
old New England stock. The land ownership map of the village of LaFargeville
(at right)
shows the Diepolder home on Main St. as "Harness Sh." and the hotel run
by the Kilborns as "D.D. Calvin Hotel" (Mr. Calvin owned the property).
In 1878, they had one child together, Ada,
but their marriage was short-lived, for Mary died on 22 February 1886 at
just 25 years 10 months 29 days, after ebing sick with consumption for
three years.
On 13 September 1886, seven months after Mary's death, Michael took a job
as the acting keeper of Rock Island Lighthouse
about 4.5 miles northeast of the village of Clayton in the Thousand Islands
region of the St. Lawrence River. The 1882 structure was a replacement
of the original, constructed in 1847. On 20 July 1887, Michael was
promoted to Principal Keeper, a position he filled until the day of his
death.
Soon after settling into his job at the lighthouse, Michael took Emma Ron,
born January 1855, as his third wife. References in the lighthouse
logs indicate that Emma's mother lived in Brockville, Ontario, Canada,
just across the St. Lawrence River. Emma was probably born there
and Michael probably met her there on one of his many runs to the shore
for supplies. In March 1895, Emma gave birth to their first and only
child, Lawrence Engelbert, named in honor of his grandfather who died soon
after immigrating at age 36. Letters written in the 1950's by his
half-sister indicate that Lawrence never had any children and lived in
Florida during his old age.
In the family of Michael's grandchildren, through daughter Ada, a tradition
survives that "Grandma Diepolder" was a full-blooded Native American.
Kathleen Carter, Ada's daughter, who died in 1984, knew this grandmother
personally. She must have been Emma Ron from Canada, since she is
the only one of Michael's wives to have lived long enough to have known
his grandchildren. Though the tradition that there is "Indian blood"
in the family survives, there actually is no blood relation in Ada's line
of descent to the woman who everyone knew as the "Indian grandmother."
According to the 1900 federal census of the town of Orleans, Jefferson
Co., Michael was a naturalized citizen, but it is unclear if he filed for
citizenship himself, or if his parents were naturalized and he received
citizenship as a minor. A recent search of naturalizations in the
U.S. District Court for eastern New York failed to uncover a petition for
naturalization from Michael or his parents. Those records, if they
still exist, are likely to be found in Jefferson County. In that
year, he and Emma were renting the keeper's house on Rock Island.
An entry in a local resident's diary (quoted in the recent PBS film "Lighthouses
of the Seaway Trail") says: "The keeper of
the lighthouse was a Mr. Diepolder. He wore a helmet when he would
ride his blue skiff to shore, usually standing up....Mr Diepolder is shown
in the door of the light-house in the picture on this page. At that
time the light was on the middle of the island, but later was moved down
to the westerly point of the island, where it could be better seen."
The photo referred to is the one (at right)
published in 1895 in John Haddock's "the Picturesque St. Lawrence River."
This photo was taken before the light was reconstructed in 1892.
According to the official records kept by the Livingston Masonic Library
for the Grand Lodge of New York, Free & Accepted Masons, Michael Johannes
Diepolder joined LaFargeville Lodge #171 in 1901. He was 46 years
old at the time, with his occupation listed as "lightkeeper." He
took his first degree on 18 March 1901, his second degree on 1 April 1901,
and his third degree on 15 April 1901.
Not long after, in the early morning hours of 16 July 1901, Emma walked
out to the workshop where she found Michael dead on the floor. Lighthouse
logs for thsi day indicate: "Keepers wife
found him dead about 5:30 am in shop where he had fallen after bathing
-- cause heart failure." The diary mentioned
above indicates: "Mr. Diepolder went in swimming,
managed to get back on the light house dock, and dropped dead of heart
disease." The medical attendant listed
on his death certificate (filed with Town of Orleans Clerk) was J. L. Cole.
Two days later, Michael was buried with full Masonic
rites in Grove Cemetery, LaFargeville.
Emma assumed the position of Keeper of Rock Island Lighthouse that same
day, and resigned from her duties that fall on 12 September 1901.
After one more keeper, the Ward family became the last caretakers of the
grounds and light before it was decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The logs Michael and Emma wrote from while at the lighthouse
can be read today at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Michael Diepolder and Mary Kilborn were parents of:
- Ada B.,
born 23 May 1878 on Rock Island, Town of Orleans, Jefferson Co., New York,
(according to vital records, but born in the village of LaFargeville according
to her obituary), died 7 May 1974, buried in Omar, Town of Orleans, Jefferson
County, New York; married at age 21 on 29 November 1896 in Orleans, Floyd
Lewis Carter,
born 1877, died 1935, a resident of Omar, age 24. The ages listed
on the marriage certificate do not match the years of birth for either of
them. A local diary entry by an unknown writer about Michael Diepolder
indicates, "His daughter married Floyd Carter,
somewhat to the sadness of her parents, it was said."
- Lawrence Engelbert, born March 1895, probably on Rock Island, Jefferson Co., New York. He moved to Florida later in life. No children, according to letters written by his sister in the 1960s.
 |
Grave for Sophia, Michael's first wife, in Grove Cemetery, LaFargeville, Jefferson Co., New York, next to Engelbert's stone. Monument
for Michael Diepolder
& Mary A. Kilborn in Grove Cemetery, LaFargeville,
Jefferson Co., New York.
|
 |
| © Mark A. Wentling, 2000 |
|
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~legends
/diepolde.html |
|
|
Rock
Island Lighthouse
Fisher's Landing,
New York
Rock Island Lighthouse
is located in the Thousand Islands about 4.5 miles northeast of Clayton,
Jefferson County, New York, off of Fisher's Landing. One of six lighthouses
put up along the St. Lawrence 
River
to guide traffic to and from Lake Ontario through the waterway, the Rock
Island station is the best preserved, as all of its structures still survive.
Originally commissioned in 1847, it was rebuilt and reopened in 1882.
The 40 foot limestone tower, built on a concrete foundation a few feet
off shore, is connected to the island by a stone and concrete walkway.
A two-story shingle-style dwelling, clapboard boathouse, carpenter shop
and metal-sided generator house make up the station. A small stone
structure, now identified as a paint locker, may originally have been the
oil house. In its active days, its lantern held a sixth-order fresnel lens.
One of the early keepers there was said to have been William Johnston,
the infamous pirate of the Thousand Islands. In 1988, the station
was converted to use solar power. Today, the lighthouse and island are
maintained by the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation, and, while
only accessible by private boat, are open for touring and picnicking.
Michael J. Diepolder's Rock Island Lighthouse Keeper's Logs
Inscription page for volume two.
25 September 1886
Michael's appointment as keeper
3 October 1886
Daughter Ada's first ride on a skiff
Record of Michael's wife Mary's uncle James Kilborn's funeral
Michaels' 35th birthday record, establishing his birth year as 1852
A special occasion noted with ornate penmanship
A World's Fair exhibit passes the lighthouse
Lines one and two, written by someone other than Michael's wife Emma on
July 16, record the circumstances of his death. The others were written on
July 18 and make record of his funeral.