This is the story of Joseph Obreiter, who was born in Baden, Germany, immigrated to Philadelphia in the mid 1840s with his family, and later settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
There are a handful of Obreiter families in the United States. Some descend from Max and Elsie Obreiter, who immigrated to New York in the early 1900s, and moved first to Connecticut, and then to Rhode Island. Others descend from John and Katherine Obreiter, who also immigrated to New York in the 1860s, or another John and Katherine, who settled in Newark, NJ in the early 1900s, or Joseph or Martin Obreiter, who immigrated to New York in the 1830s. This is not their story.
Joseph was born in Baden, Germany. The exact date is unknown. Several censuses put it around 1804, but his naturalization records put it at 1812. There, he married Stephania Bauer, who was born about 1816. The two had at least 4 children before coming to America, where they had 4 more. Joseph signed his intention to become a citizen on October 17, 1848, and signed his Oath of Allegiance on October 13, 1851.
It was probably shortly after this that he moved to Lancaster, where he bought a small farm.
His wife Stephania died around 1870. Sometime after this, Joseph moved back to Philadelphia, probably to live with his daughter Sarah. He died there at the age of 69.
Joseph and Stephania had the following known children:
Sarah Obreiter (also called Theresa), born about 1836 in Baden, Germany
Adelheid Obreiter (anglicized to Adeline), born December, 1838 in Baden,
Germany
John Obreiter, born May, 1842 in Baden Germany
Hermann Obreiter, born about 1844 in Baden Germany, who wrote several
letters still in the family.
Leopold Obreiter, born on August 23, 1847 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Joseph Obreiter, born July 10, 1850 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
William Obreiter, born 1853 in Pennsylvania
Jacob Obreiter, born 1855 in Pennsylvania.