Adam Darr's Great-Grandchildren

Gottlieb Durr, immigrant to the US, native of Jagstkreis in Baden-Wurttenmberg, came to the US with all of his children, from both marriages. His first wife, Rosina Eisenbraun, had died, along with several of their children, circa 1814. He married again, this time to Margaretha Auwarter, and they had many children. In 1829 they left their home, and the graves of several children and made the trans-Atlantic voyage to the New World.

Gottlieb's son from the first marriage, Adam Darr (I have some theories about the different spelling. More on that later!), was already grown and married, to Christina Kolb. Their oldest daughter, the future Catharina Obley, had been born in Germany. Their daughter Christina lived but one year, dying the year of their departure. And an infant son, Jacob, began the voyage but died at sea. Think of the terrible conditions, and awful memories they left behind, and the great price paid to get their families to a better place!

Once on American soil, and after a few years of migrating gradually across Pennsylvania, finally settling in West Newton, Adam and Christina Darr completed their family with the arrival of Henry, John, Adam, Daniel, Mary, and Lucetta . . . all of whom lived to old age.

From their small home in West Newton (still standing) . . . the family began to grow and to spread across the US. Today clusters of the Adam Darr family can be found in Kansas and Oklahoma, Northwestern Illinois, the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, central Indiana, Florida and Georgia, and a small handful that remains in the Pittsburgh area. By the year 1900, the large family had establish its large footprint across the Central US. Here is a list of the known Great-Grandchildren of Adam and Christina Kolb Darr, with a few comments in Blue:

Mary Catherine Obley Stone, 1875 – 1925
William Obley, 1877 – we need to get to work learning about these with no known death dates. There is very little information about many of the Obleys, whether they were married, how many children they had. Hopefully people find this blog, that are searching for us, and can help us fill in the blanks!
Grace Obley, 1879 – 
Gertrude E. Obley Lee, 1881 – However, when you see an Obley with a year of death, and a female with a married name, almost always this means there were many children, like more than five.
Lula Blanche Geesaman Ward, 1882 – 1968. Only one son - only one descendant! She lived in the Ft. Smith Arkansas area with her sister Alphea Kirkendall. The Geesamans' mother, Emma Darr, died at the age of 30. The chidlren were raised by their dad and his second wife, who settled in Washington State. But the homing instinct of the Darr family was strong here, and these Geesamans chose to grow old in Oklahoma and Arkansas, where they were children.
Laura A. Obley Galey, 1883 – 1906
George Edgar Geesaman, 1884 – 1905
Jessie Logan Geesaman Mayer, 1885 – 1924. One son - a confirmed bachelor!
Joel Dale Church, 1885 – 1961. This family is prolific. Looking for help from cousins Danny Ross and Gene Church!
Gladys Lenora Church Johnson, 1887 – 1915
Everett Edward Obley, 1887 - 1956
Florence H. Obley, 1888 – 1969
Myrtle F. Siedenberg Penhollow, 1888 – 1974. The Siedenburgs were numerous, and mostly stayed put in the Quad Cities, Clinton Iowa, Savanna, Illinois. Thanks to Don Siedenburg, only living grandchild of Cynthia Darr Siedenburg, and to Gwen Smith, another descendant, the Siedenburgs and their Darr cousins have reunited during the past decade.
Ralph Albert Obley, 1889 – 1962
Lee Rosco Obley, 1889 – 
Ethel Lynn Siedenberg Patterson, 1890 – 1971
Myrtle Blanche Church Tunnell, 1890 – 1984
Dessie Mcalister, 1890 - 
Denis V. Mcalister, 1891 - 
Dwight C. Obley, 1892 – 1953
Alphea Agnes Geesaman Kirkendall, 1892 – 1983 Her descendants can be counted on one hand. They are a very close and outstanding group - the Dressendorfers, of Florida.
William Christian Obley, 1892 – 
Nellie Faye Church Finley, 1893 – 1948
Lillian Siedenberg Mumford, 1894 – 1961
Russell George Troxell, 1894 - 1965. I believe he was the last of his line.
Stella Obley Shive, 1894 – 1988
Edna K. Obley, 1895 – 
Oscar Lynn Obley, 1896 – 1969
Frank D Siedenburg, 1896 – 1974
Florence Mae Darr Halfman, 1896 – 1977. Had some thirty grandchildren!
Howard Ray Church, 1898 – 1964
Harry Albert Obley, 1898 – 1967
Edgar LeRoy Darr, 1898 – 1967. My grandfather. Twenty-two grandchildren. Father of the Ann Arbor Darrs. A majority of those with the surname "Darr" are descended from Edgar.
Marjorie Henderson Sanson 1898 – 
Minard Church, 1899 - 
John Stanley Darr, 1900 – 1967. He, too, had many children and grandchildren.
Laura Mary Darr Rider, 1900 – 1985. 
John E. Obley, 1900 – 
Hany Johnson, 1900 - 
Walter Raymond Darr, 1902 – 1961
Ercyle Fern Church Miser, 1902 – 2004
Engle Church, 1903 - 
Mary Ellen Darr Rogers, 1904 – 1972
Joanna Darr Johnson, 1906 – 1971
Albert Glen Siedenburg, 1906 – 1973. Don Siedenburg's father.
Olive I Obley Blatnick, 1908 - 1991
Maude Alberta Darr McDonnell, 1909 – 1968
Margaret D. Darr Wafford, 1909 – 2005
Ardith I. Obley, 1909 – 
Doris Henderson 1910 – 
Albert R. Darr, 1912 – 1990. Never married. Childless. But beloved of his nieces and nephews.
Elda May Henderson Shorthouse, 1912 – 1990. The family that stayed in Pittsburgh!
Gordon Wellman Darr, 1915 – 1992. Father of the Darrs of east-Central Indiana.
Doris Eileen Darr Lantrip, 1916 – 1963
Helen Rita Darr Johnson, 1918 – 1984

I would love to share stories about all of them! But I will leave it to all of you that read this, and have memories of these wonderful people - to most of us, our Great Aunts and Uncles!

Opa Johannes Dürr - Our Distant Grandfather

Thanks to Marian Johnson, we have a record of our ancestry, that goes all the way back to Hanß, or Johannes Dürr. Opa Dürr ("Opa" is German for "grandfather") was born in 1643, in Oberriexingen, Neckarkreis, Württemberg, (part of modern day Germany).

He died on December 18, 1693, in Niedernhall, Hohenlohekreis, Baden-Wuerttemberg. 

He is my 9th Great-Grandfather.


The Dürr name is quite prominent in Germany today. The Dürr Corporation is still partly owned by members of the Dürr family. Dr. Heinz Dürr, at 77, remains a highly influential person in the company. We have not verified any family connection to him, or the company, yet - but we're working on it!

Opa Dürr married the mysterious "Konigunda". We do not know if this was her true name. According to Marian, the writing, in church records, is unclear, and hard to decipher. We know that they had three children: Martin, Sabina, and Johannes. A fourth child, Maria Elizabeth, may have been born to the couple, but we have not verified that it is the correct Johannes Dürr. Again, the surname is common, and the given names "Johannes," "Johann," and "Hans," even moreso. Even today, we look back and see that almost every generation of Dürr (or Durr, Darr, Derr, etc.), has a son named "John."

His son, Johannes (Jr.) is my direct descendant. Johannes was the father of Johann Georg, father of Johann Georg, father of Gottlieb, father of Gottlieb (last to spell it "Durr", in my line), father of Adam, father of Henry, father of Roscoe, father of Edgar, father of Richard, my Dad.

The search is on, for other descendants of Johannes Dürr, both on this side, and the other, of the Atlantic Ocean.