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Genealogical Contributions by Wm. J. Dietrich

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Genealogical Contributions by Wm. J. Dietrich

William Joseph Dietrich (1875-1950) -- WJD for short -- was engaged in genealogical activities for only a dozen years (1903-1914) of his 75-year long life. Much of what we know about his genealogical contributions comes from material WJD apparently wrote himself, and the tone suggests a streak of self-promotion. His legacy is severely tainted, however, by a curious fabrication affecting the genealogy of several Dietrich families (including his own) that he managed to insert in "History of Lehigh county" (Roberts 1914, vol II pp 253 ff). This prank -- WJD may have regarded it as a practical joke -- apparently ended his genealogical career. (See the WikiTree free space page Wm J Dietrich's Fictional Genealogy.)

William graduated from Keystone State Normal School, at Kutztown PA, in June 1898, and taught at public schools near Reading off-and-on until 1906. During the same period, he worked at various odd jobs: trolley car conductor (1900), representative of a textbook publisher (1901), post office clerk in Philadelphia (1904), and selling(?) life insurance in Reading (1904-05). "In 1903 [WJD] organized along original lines the Dietrich Family Association, which held successful reunions in 1903, 1904 and 1906" (WJD bio, Montgomery 1909, p 552).

Dietrich Family Association

"The Dietrich family held its first reunion at Lenhartsville, Pa., Sept. 26, 1903. This meeting was well attended and much interest was manifested. A permanent organization was effected, and at the instance of the founder, William J. Dietrich, the same 'Dietrich Family Association' was adopted. ... The Dietrich Family Association is a flourishing organization. It success in large measure is due to the efforts of the founder. The officers are:

President, Lawson G. Dietrich, Esq., Kutztown, Pa.
Vice-President, Henry O. K. Dietrich, Lenhartsville, Pa.
Secretary, William J. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.
Treasurer, Daniel F. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.
Executive Committee, Mahlon C. Dietrich, Kempton, Pa.; Rev. W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown, Pa.;
C. .H. Dietrich, Hopkinsville, Ky.; Jonathan P. Dietrich, Klinesville, Pa.; C. Joseph Dietrich, La Grange, Ill.; Charles H. Dietrich, Kutztown, Pa.; A. M. Dederick, Albany, N. Y.; Samuel Detrick, Sunbury, Pa.; Harry A. Dietrich, South Bethlehem, Pa.; Joel D. Dietrich, Virginville, Pa.; Dr. Charles J. Dietrich, Reading, Pa.

"The Association has also ten active Assistant Secretaries. An illustrated pamphlet [for the 1906 Dietrich Reunion], really a finely gotten up souvenir program, contains a history of the Association, names of its officers, and the names and dates of emigration of the sixty-two immigrants; also a copy of the coat of arms with an explanation of same. ... This Family Association is not merely a local organization, but it has members in most of the States of the Union. It has been the means of arousing much enthusiasm in the matter of reunions of other families and of stimulating research into family genealogy." (Montgomery 1909, p 313)

Dietrich Reunions 1903, 1904 and 1906

"REUNION OF DIETRICKS
"Third Annual Convention Of The Family Will Be Held At Kutztown Park, Sept. 1. ...

"The organization of the Dietrich Family Association was effected in Reading about the middle of September, 1903. It was decided at this meeting to hold a re-union of all the Dietrichs and relatives through inter-marriage.

"The first re-union was held September 26, 1903, at Lenhartsville, Berks county, Pa., in a large orchard which was decorated with the National colors. In less than two weeks time in response to the invitation issued, more than 400 Dietrichs responded to the call. At this meeting a permanent organization was effected. Officers were elected to collect data for the construction of family trees and the publication of a complete history of all the Dietrichs of this country. Considerable material has been secured. The secretary has the records of one family running back over 400 years.

"The second re-union was held August 13, 1904, in the beautiful Kutztown Park, Kutztown, Pa. This was a red letter day in the history of the family. More than 2,500 people were present at this re-union, which is reputed to have been the largest family gathering ever held in Pennsylvania. The following States were represented: California, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and the Dominion of Canada. Of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania. 51 had representatives at this great re-union." (Reading Times, 20 Aug 1906, p 5)

"REUNION OF DIETRICKS
"Seventeen States Represented At The Largest Family Gathering Of The Year At Kutztown

"The Dietrich familly had a successful reunion at Kutztown Park, Saturday [1 Sep 1906]. It was the largest family reunion held in Berks this season. Seventeen States and two Territories were represented, as well as Canada and Mexico.

"When the assemblage had been called to order the business session was conducted. The secretary, William J. Dietrich, of Reading, read his bi-ennial report. He wrote. 736 letters, received 422 letters, sent out 1,675 announcements and 103 programs. ... 'The Dietrichs in Europe and America' was the subject of an exceedingly interesting address by Rev. W. W. Deatrick, A. M., Sc. D., Kutztown. [Remainder of a lengthy summary of the event omitted.]

"The souvenir program for the occasion was a splendid specimen of the printers’ art. It was neatly bound with a pale blue cover, bearing a Dietrich coat of arms. Among the many souevnirs was a postal card bearing a hand-painted Dietrich coat of arms, the work of Eugene P. Deatrick, son of Dr. W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown. On exhibition were light charts of immigrant ancestry. photographs of the tomb of Theodorich the Great, and of the monument erected at Verona, Germany, to the memory of the first Dietrich." (Reading Times, 4 Sep 1906, p 8)

"At the third reunion, held in Kutztown Park in 1906, over three thousand people were in attendance." (Montgomery 1909, p 313)

It's unclear why WJD put so much effort into the Dietrich Family Association and its Reunions. It appears to have been a genuine effort, and not just a money-making scam. Maybe the contacts WJD developed were useful to him otherwise, possibly providing source material for biographies included in the Annals of Berks County (Montgomery 1909).

Contributions to Histories of Berks and Lehigh counties

"Since the early spring of 1906 Mr. [William J.] Dietrich has been in the employ of J. H. Beers & Co., publishers of Chicago, collecting much of the genealogical material used in their Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County, Pa. ..." (Montgomery, loc cit). "[S]ince April, 1906, [WJD has been] engaged in historical and genealogical research, having assisted in compiling the histories of Berks, Northumberland and Lehigh Counties. ... In 1914, he edited and compiled the Dietrich Families in America, which includes the records of years of research, both in this country and abroad. Mr. Dietrich has membership in a number of county historical societies, the Pennsylvania German Society, and the National Geographic Society." (Roberts, vol II p 264)

A lengthy section on the descendants of Adam Dietrich (1740-1817) -- WJD's line -- was included in the Montgomery book (1909); WJD probably wrote this section (it included a lengthy bio for himself), and may have been paid something for doing so. It's unclear how much else he contributed to the Montgomery book, since all the bios are unsigned. Before 1910 WJD moved to Allentown, Lehigh County, where he worked with Roberts on the Lehigh History (1914). He published a number of biographies in Allentown newspapers in advance of this book, some co-authored with Roberts (see list below). But these bios are for other families, not Dietrichs -- most of the Dietrichs WJD knew lived in Berks County.

Again, contributions to the Lehigh History were unsigned, but those published earlier as newspaper articles should be credited to WJD. In addition, much of the Dietrich material which appeared in the Annals of Berks County was copied almost verbatim into the Lehigh History, even though most of these folks lived their entire lives in Berks County! (WJD moved to Allentown before 1910, so he's an exception.) For the Lehigh version, WJD rewrote the biography of Adam Dietrich, drastically shortened his own, and added bios of his brothers. He prefaced this material with a curious -- and obviously fabricated -- fable tracing the origins of several colonial era Dietrich families to a common noble ancestor, Wilhelm Emanuel Dietrich. See the WikiTree page Wm J Dietrich's Fictional Genealogy for details about this fabrication.

WJD deserves most of the credit for organizing the Dietrich Family Association and its Reunions, and he appears to have made significant biographical contributions to the Montgomery and Roberts Histories. But these positive genealogical contributions are overshadowed by his outrageous transgressions -- wholesale copying of the Berks material into Roberts, and especially the inclusion of the fabricated Dietrich genealogy. Finallly, in his 1914 bio WJD claimed to have "edited and compiled the Dietrich Families in America" (Roberts vol II p 264), but no book with this title exists. What comes closest to fulfilling this description is the Dietrich article in Roberts, which runs to some 15 pages including a page of photos ("Four Generations" of Dietrichs, including WJD). This article appears to have been his final genealogical contribution.

Sources

Newspaper articles by William J. Dietrich

  • "Fetherolf Family" (part 1), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 6 Feb 1912, page 11.
  • "Fetherolf Family" (part 2), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 7 Feb 1912, page 9.
  • "History of the Fetherolf Family," by WJD & Charles R. Roberts. The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 13 Mar 1912, page 11.
  • "History of the Weiser Family," by WJD & Charles R. Roberts. The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 5 Apr 1912, page 4.
  • "The Follweiler Family" (Installment No. 1), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 18 Apr 1913, page 9.
  • "The Sechler Family" (Installment No. 1), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania 21 May 1913, page 8.
  • "The Sechler Family" (Installment No. 2), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania 24 May 1913, page 7.
  • "The Griesemer Family" (Installment No. 1), by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 23 Jun 1913, page 9.
  • "The Griner Family," by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 15 Jan 1914, page 7.
  • "The Griesemer Family," by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 20 Feb 1914, page 2.
  • "The Hollenbach Family," by WJD. The Allentown Democrat, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 23 Mar 1914, page 8.




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