First-Generation Daflers, Part 5: Rosanna Susanna Sophia

This is the fifth in a series of deep-dive studies into each of the eleven children of John Wolfgang and Catherine Dafler.

Rosanna Susanna Sophia Dafler was born on February 19, 1850. She was the fourth child - and first daughter - of John and Catherine Dafler. As we've seen in the stories of her siblings, we don't have records of her birth, but we know from several sources that her family lived in Carroll County, Maryland at this time, and she was almost certainly born at the family's home near Manchester. The five-month-old baby Rosanna shows up in the family's census entry, taken in August 1850, and as a ten-year old in the 1860 census. Unfortunately, these are the only independent records we have of her childhood to support the information found in the Dafler family records.

The 1850 and 1860 census returns for the Dafler family in Maryland.

She traveled to Ohio in 1867 when her parents established their farm in Johnsville, near present-day New Lebanon, OH. There she soon met the family of John T. and Mahala Kepler, and their youngest son. Andrew Jackson Kepler was born on July 22, 1852 in Butler County, OH. By sixteen he had completed a solid primary school education and was working in both agriculture and as a local school teacher. They married on March 3, 1870.

Illustration of A. J. Kepler, from the 1892 "Portrait and Biographical Record of Fayette, Pickaway, and Madison Counties, Ohio" (Chapman Bros.) Much of what we know of Andrew's early life comes from this two-page biography entry.

The Kepler family put a strong value on education. Andrew continued teaching for the first four years of their marriage as their first two daughters were born. He then attended Lebanon High School for two years, graduating with high honors. He resumed teaching upon that graduation, but with his sights set on a higher goal. In the mid 1870s, he was the teacher at School No. 11 in New Hope, northwest of Eaton, where he also farmed and studied - so that when he entered the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical Institute, he graduated third in his class in 1882.

It's worthwhile at this point to take a detour into the state of the practice of medicine in the United States at this time. Andrew graduated as a M.D., but from a school at is drastically different from medical schools we are now familiar with. Eclectic medicine was an American style of practice that blended a mix of medical techniques - traditional European modalities, Native American herbal, and newer osteopathic methods. Their philosophy was to equip independent practitioners to use whatever they found helpful to heal their patients, and so was a popular philosophy for rural doctors who did not practice in a hospital setting. The 1880s were the high-water mark for eclectic medicine - by 1910, the American Medical Association would disavow eclectic medicine for its lack of laboratory and hospital training for its students; by 1940 eclectic medicine was no longer taught in the United States.

During this period, Rosanna does not appear frequently in the record books. Her third daughter was born in 1876, as Andrew completed his secondary school education. The only other mention of Rosanna comes in a series of court reports in the Eaton Democrat in 1883-1885. Rosanna sued the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad, charging that the railroad was responsible for injuries sustained when she tried to alight from a train in New Hope. (The rail line still exists, though the "C, H &D" does not. The right of way runs south of U.S. 35 through western Preble County and is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern.) The initial jury awarded her $1400 (worth $45,000 today), but this verdict was thrown out. On a second trial she sued for $3,000, but eventually ended up with just $535.

Court proceeding excerpts from the Eaton Democrat.

Soon after Andrew's graduation, the family moved to the village of London, OH, situated between Springfield and Columbus, where the newly-minted doctor started his practice. By 1885, he was the vice-president of the Central Ohio Eclectic Medical Association and frequently mentioned in the minutes of their meetings, published in the Springfield and Urbana papers. These meetings were not sedate social calls but in-depth (and, at times, hands-on) studies of interesting medical cases. In one meeting in 1886, Dr. Kepler brought a patient from London to Springfield for demonstration and discussion; that same meeting was interrupted by a telephone report of an amputation, which the Association hurried to attend and observe. (The secretary concluded his report by describing the meeting simply as "a good one, considering the small attendance".) Meetings that involved surgeries or other procedures appeared to be the rule, rather than the exception, for the Central Ohio Eclectic Medical Association. Dr. Kepler was President of that association in 1888. He also served as village councilman in 1886 and 1887 and as a member of the Madison County Board of Health.

Tragically, Dr. A. J. Kepler died at the age of 40 in 1892. I have not found a record of the location or cause of death, but his estate went to Madison County's Probate Court in the fall of 1892, which supports the death date in the family records.

Rosanna and Andrew had three daughters, all of whom benefited from a public school education:

• Lauretta Belle Kepler (1871-1943) graduated from London High School and worked as a schoolteacher in Madison County. She was a key contributor to the "Dafler Genealogical Tree" and her introductory remarks when the original 1927 manuscript was published for family review were included in the book. She recognized her aunts Elizabeth and Margaret, as well as her cousin Hettie, as additional contributors; her uncle Wesley Webster would continue the work. Lauretta never married.

• Dora Viola Kepler (1872-1950) was also a London High School alumna. She was originally trained as a stenographer, but found work first in sales. She married Norman Stackhouse in London in 1901, and they made their home in Buffalo, New York. She found a new career after her marriage, becoming a chiropractic doctor by 1921. Women chiropractors were not uncommon in the 1920s, and Dr. Stackhouse was involved in the Buffalo Women's Chiropractic Club. Norman and Dora had no children.

• Margaret Elizabeth Kepler (1876-1962) also trained for office work. She married twice. Her first marriage was to Francis Stahl in 1894; her second was to James Pyne in 1906. Both marriages ended in divorce and produced no children.

Rosanna's most enduring legacy is her contribution to the Dafler family records. Her work - in partnership with Lauretta - formed the foundation of the "Dafler Book". Her 1925 address to the David Henry Dafler family - the largest wing at that time, and probably still the largest wing today - is the first recognition of the transition of the family from German emigres to a fully-established American family. Three years later, as the oldest living first-generation Dafler, she formally presented Lauretta's work on the initial family tree to the family.

After Andrew's death, Rosanna was supported by Lauretta. They appear as Columbus residents with Margaret in the 1910 census. By 1920 they lived in their own Columbus home. Lauretta passed away in June 1943 from lymphatic cancer. Rosanna died six months later when her heart gave out at the age of 93. Rosanna, Lauretta, and Margaret rest together in Sugar Grove Cemetery with her parents and many of the Daflers she memorialized.