Transcription contributed by Martie Callihan 6 February 2005

Page
801

DAVID DEARDOFF, deceased; was so intimately associated during his long life with the social, religious and industrial interests of this community that some account of his life seems eminently appropriate. The family have in their possession a family chart, prepared by Jesse S. Deardoff, of Canal Dover, Ohio. It represents six generations and covers a period of more than a century and a half. The Deardoff family in the United States sprang, in a large part, if not wholly, from Anthony Dierdorff, a German Baptist or "Tunker," from Manheim, Germany. Driven out by religious persecution, he, with some thirty families, sailed for America July 7, 1779, in the ship Allen, and landed in Philadelphia Sept. 15, 1779. He with his three sons located near Germantown, Penn. Daniel, the father of our subject, entered land in Franklin Township, Warren Co., in 1805. He lived, for a time, in the "Old Stone House," where our subject was born, April 6, 1807. The fiftieth anniversary of his married life was celebrated by his children. In 1841, Mr. Deardoff joined the M. E. Church and was a recognized member till his death, he having filled the various offices with perfect acceptability. He was a member of the committee that superintended the building of the present M. E. Church in Franklin. It is a beautiful and substantial edifice and is as a memorial of his capacity and usefulness as a prime mover in this religious enterprise.