Information for Genealogists and Researchers
The Dafler Family History Project is a study of the ancestors and descendants of Johann Wolfgang Dörfler (a.k.a. John Wolfgang Dafler). Born in 1798, he immigrated from Heinersreuth, a village in Upper Franconia, to the United States in 1839. His family was established circa 1841 in Carroll County, Maryland and relocated to southwestern Ohio in 1866-1867 where the majority of Daflers can still be found today. Our research is focused on expanding the tree from the most recent family-submitted record study in 1947, and adding anecdotal and historical history to generate a fuller family story.
Data Policies
The Dafler Family History Project is happy to share data with collaborating genealogists and researchers, subject to the following rules:
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Data regarding living persons will not be published or shared with collaborators. We use "living persons" flags in our databases to denote persons who are or reasonably could still be alive. This data will be redacted from the data we share with collaborators.
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Please cite our project as a source as appropriate.
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Understand the limitations of our data. Our starting point is self-reported or family-reported data, published by our family in 1947. It has largely stood up to scrutiny. While we are working to corroborate this data with the typical primary and secondary sources, this effort is a work in progress and therefore researchers are encouraged to weigh this data against other supporting sources.
We welcome feedback, connecting or corroborating data, and reports of errors or conflicting data. You can send your data to our Family Genealogist.
Resources for Reserchers
This 2025 document includes a brief biography of John and Catherine Dafler, the foundation of the Dafler family in America. It also includes a family tree of their descendants from the 1947 Dafler Genealogical Tree, and a list of ancestors of John Dafler from a family records researcher in Germany from 2012. A surname index for the American records is included.
This file reproduces the 1947 Dafler Family Tree data in GEDCOM data format.
This work from 1947 contains biographical data from 1928 and family tree information. While no sources are given for names or dates, they have generally been found to match official records.
This copy has handwritten addendums that have not been scrutinized for accuracy or added to the GEDCOM files below.
This GEDCOM file reproduces the ancestral data regarding the Dafler family for genealogical software. This data was provided by Annaliese Uckele of Heinersreuth, Germany, (author of "Ortsfamilienbuch von Heinersreuth 1559-1900, mit Denzenlohe, Flur, Vollhof und Tannenbach") in 2012.
Our Current "Most Wanted" List
c. 1825
How did Rosanna Catherine Rumler get here, and how did she get by until she met Johann Wolfgang?
1839
This newspaper article lists several traveling companions with Johann Wolfgang Dafler. Who were they, how were they related, and where did they end up?
1839
Family lore says Johann Wolfgang Dafler landed in Baltimore on or around this time. Is there a record that confirms this?
1840-1841
When and where were Johann Wolfgang and Rosanna Catherine married?
1842-1845
Birth or baptism records for the earliest Dafler sons – John Earhart and David Henry, presumably in either Baltimore or Carroll County, Maryland.
1861-1865
Did John Earhart Dafler serve in the Civil War? There is a mention of a “Johann Doerfler” as a draftee in German Township, Montgomery County, Ohio – is this the same person? (If so – how did he end up here?)
1860-1870
When did John Earhart and David Henry Dafler each arrive in Ohio? Did they travel at the same time as their father (1867)?
1867
Are there any social connections between the Maryland Dafler family and their eventual home in Montgomery County, Ohio? Why did they end up there?
1900-1910
​What can we learn about David Henry Dafler’s second marriage (which does not appear in the “Dafler Book”)? Did it have an impact on Joseph Raymond’s life (farmed out to other families after his father’s death)?
1920-1923
How did two Dafler sisters (Mae and and Alda; youngest daughters of Lewis Phillip Dafler) end up married to two Johnson brothers (Aja and Harry)?
Contact us to learn more.
Let us know if you have questions or want to get more involved!