First-Generation Daflers, Part 2: John Earhart Dafler

This is the second in a series of deep-dive studies into each of the eleven children of John Wolfgang and Catherine Dafler. This post was updated on Oct. 6, 2025, to add in additional findings provided by the Brookville Historical Society and from Ron Dafler's research.

The amount of evidence available to us about each member of our family varies from person to person. Some people didn't draw the attention of the newspapers or leave behind artifacts. Shorter lifespans leave less opportunities to leave lasting impressions. Men in America were disproportionally represented in commerce, church, and civic society for a long period as compared to women. And some people, by chance, lived in places with more diligent record-keeping - or in a place where modern record-keepers have made those records widely available. (Note: if you're enjoying this series, please thank your local County Recorder!) John Earhart Dafler, however, left quite the trail in his adult life. While he left no writings of his own, I think the evidence he left behind tells a captivating tale of hard work, enterprise, and the value of family.

Northern New Windsor Tp. in Carroll County, MD. The Roop and Frounfelter farms are on the northern border, next to "Sch. H." (Springdale School). Click for full map.

Photo of the restored Springdale School. It's now a museum in Carroll County.

There's a lot we still don't know about John's childhood. He was born on August 16, 1842, presumably in Maryland - though we don't have any source records for his birth and we don't know precisely when John and Catherine moved from Baltimore to Carroll County, MD. Census records show that he was a seven-year-old living with his parents in 1850, and by 1860 he was working as a laborer on David Frounfelter's farm, north of New Windsor. His younger brother David worked nearby, at the home of Upton Roop. Both of these farms were close to Springdale School, a one-room schoolhouse which opened in 1854,which offered courses up to the sixth grade. It's possible that John and David were boarding to attend this school, and working to earn their tuition (or the tuition for younger siblings).

We know that at some point between 1863 and 1864, John left Maryland for southwestern Ohio. The cause and timing of his travels are unclear, though the Civil War must have loomed large in his mind as an eighteen-year-old at the start of hostilities. John registered for the Union Army draft in Hampstead, Maryland, in July of 1863 (making the "John Daffler" listed in Dayton newspapers in October 1862 an unlikely match for our ancestor, unless he traveled frequently between the two places). At some point between July of 1863 and December 1864, John made it to Ohio - which we know from marriage records in Preble County.

John's first wife, Catharine Miller, connected him to the Miller faimily - the first family that played a key role in John's adult life. The Miller family had relatively large farms in southern Twin Township, near the Montgomery County line, and were devoted German Baptists ("Dunkards"). John appears to have made close relationships with the Millers and joined their faith. None of his children were found in Preble County birth records, which appeared to be the norm for families outside the Dunkard tradition. His brother David joined him from Maryland; he established a home on a property neighboring the Millers in 1868. During this time, the family farmed and had four children: Mary Anna (1865-1886), John Henry Harmon ("Henry", 1866-1909), Sarah (born 1868), and Joseph Daniel. The birth of Joseph led to tragedy for the family. He was born on June 25, 1869 and his mother died two months later; a week later he passed away as well. John had to get help to care for his young family. His youngest children went to live with his parents, John and Catherine, who now lived in Jackson Township in Montgomery County. His oldest daughter, Mary Anna, lived with her maternal grandfather in Preble County.

Another death in the German Baptist community in 1869 would set the stage for John's second marriage. Elizabeth Kilmer was born in a farming family in Johnsville, Ohio (now part of New Lebanon) in 1846, the sixth of at least 8 children. Not long after her eighteenth birthday, she married John B. Wrightsman; by 1866 he was ordained as a minister of the Gospel in the German Baptist Church (according to Montgomery County Probate Court records, which licensed him to solemnize marriages). John and Elizabeth had one child, Susan Dora Wrightsman (born 1869). Sometime in the summer of 1869, he passed away, according to the probate records that identified Elizabeth Wrightsman as his widow. John and Elizabeth married on October 30, 1870 in Preble County, but moved to a farm in Perry Township in Montgomery County in the years to follow. They had three children; Warren (1871-1879), Emma (born 1873), and Johnathan Perry (born 1878). John was also named as the guardian of his stepdaughter Dora.

John's public profile started to rise in the 1880s. Before this time, John appeared to be a very quiet member of the community. He didn't appear in newspapers and the best evidence seems to indicate that he was a devoted farmer and Dunkard. A modest inheritance from his father-in-law allowed him to buy a larger farm in ther area. In 1883, the German Baptists split, and the progressive wing formed what we now call the Church of the Brethren; John would align with this new faith body in the years to come. The increased openness to the outside world that the Brethren permitted opened doors for developments that John would take advantage of. Over the next ten years John becomes so familiar with steam thresher technology that he joins Gaar, Scott & Co. as a traveling sales agent. He begins to invest in land during the real estate speculation boom. We know of at least some of his purchases - a lot in Findlay, OH as well as a town lot and 320 acres in Herington, KS.

This Kansas land purchase is interesting because John's foray to Kansas also benefitted his brothers and brothers-in-law. Real estate records show that the 320 acres that John bought were transferred to Isaac and Henry Kilmer, his wife's brothers. We'll see later that Wesley Webster Dafler, John's younger brother, also spent time in Kansas at the same time learning about thresher operations, according to a biographical article written about him, and Lewis Dafler also farmed in the same part of Kansas at the same time. It's impossible to know from these records how involved John was in setting up his brothers in these endeavors, but some level of communication and coordination seems obvious.

An 1899 advertisement for Gaar-Scott threshers and traction engines.

Upon his return to Ohio, he moved to a new home in Brookville.

By 1889 his step-daughter Dora married, and John would become a close partner with his new son-in-law. Amza ("A. E.") Hay, a shopkeeper, combined his retail experience with John's capital and agricultural knowledge to open Dafler and Hay ("The Hardware Men", according to their advertisements) in 1893. Their business was located on the corner of Market and Walnut Streets in Brookville. They sold general hardware as well as buggies, agricultural equipment, and sporting goods. In addition to a son-in-law and business partner, Amza became a neighbor and fellow churchgoer. Hay was an inaugural deacon in the Brookville Church of the Brethren when it was founded in 1910, and John and Amza would represent their church communities at conferences in Indiana and Maryland.

By 1910 John was a well-known and well-respected member of the community - enough that he stood as candidate for election to the village council. (He lost in 1903 but was appointed in 1910.) However, a final tragedy would befall John. His son Henry, following an argument with his family, committed suicide in 1909. In his retirement, he was surrounded by his children. In addition to Dora and A. E., his surviving children included:

• Sarah Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Franklin Maphis. By 1914, their 21-year-old son Ohmer was preaching in the Brookville Church of the Brethren - the church his grandfather and uncle attended - to fund his continued theological studies.

• Emma Victoria, who married William Clayton Baker. John brought William into Dafler and Hay as a clerk soon after the marriage.

• Jonathan Perry, his youngest son. Perry stayed close to home with interests that diverged from agriculture. He worked as a bookkeeper, and passed the civil service exam with the highest score in the area for postal carriers. By 1918, he was the cashier of the Citizen's State Bank in Brookville.

Photo believed to be of John and Elizabeth Dafler at the 1926 Dafler Family Reunion,

John Earhart Dafler passed away on May 12, 1929, in his home, from heart disease at the age of 86. His wife Elizabeth died on Sept. 15, 1936 at the age of 90. There is a stereotype of the first-born child of the family being pressured to perform and excel, to be a leader of their siblings, and to represent the family. While no stereotype is universal, it seems to hold true for John E. Dafler. His history seems to indicate a generosity towards his family that he expressed by sharing his opportunities with those he was closest to. Using one's wealth and talents not for one's own comfort but as a stepladder to help others is a principle that I find very inspiring.