Adam Siegfried
Adam Siegfried, agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, at Delaware, was born in Delaware Township, Delaware County, Ohio, March 23, 1837, and is a son of William and Susan ( Swartz ) Siegfried.
The grandparents of Mr. Siegfried came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, in 1827. They were Jacob and Elizabeth (Lantz) Siegfried, both of whom were members of well-known old German families of Berks and Northampton Counties. Jacob Siegfried located first at Stratford, in Delaware County, but in a few years he moved to a point north of the town of Delaware, where he kept a tavern for a short time. He died prior to 1848, aged fifty-six years. His eight children were: Angeline; William; Catherine, who married Ephraim Willy; Sallie; Rebecca; Samuel; Isaac, who was blind from the age of eleven years, was a broom-maker by trade and a natural musician; and Benjamin, who removed from his farm north of Delaware to Columbus, where he died. He married Harriet Willy. Of the above family several never married and all have passed away with the exception of Angeline, the first-born. She married John Troutman and resides in Troy Township, having reached the age of eighty-six years.
William Siegfried, father of Adam, was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, January 6, 1822, and was five years old when he accompanied his parents to Ohio. In November, 1848, he was married to Susan Swartz, who was born October 17, 1829. in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and died August 31, 1905. She was a daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Smith) Swartz. Daniel Swartz brought his family to Ohio in 1835, settling first in Fairfield County. Conditions there did not altogether please him and he left his family there while he came on a prospecting tour through Delaware County, covering the distance on horseback. He found two tracts of land located one and one-half miles north of Delaware, which met his requirements, and these he secured, and in 1836 brought his family to Delaware Township. At that time the land was all heavily timbered. He cleared it and made most of the substantial improvements. In 1849 he built a stone barn which still stands, and which, at the time of its erection, was the finest in the county. He also built a residence, which his son-in-law, William Siegfried, replaced, in 1876. with a fine brick house. Daniel Swartz died in 1870. aged seventy-seven years. His widow survived him seven years and was seventy-seven years old at that time. They had five children, namely: Susan M., the mother of Adam Siegfried; Daniel, who died in Delaware County; Ellen, who married Lewis Graham, and lived and died in Marlborough Township; Caroline, who married Daniel Miller, and died at Delaware; and Elizabeth, who married Thomas Slough, and died on the old homestead. Daniel Swartz had 240 acres of land in his two farms, and this was considered the finest piece of agricultural property in Delaware Township.
William Siegfried took charge of the old tavern on the Marion turnpike, north of Delaware, which he conducted for two and a half years and then bought a farm adjoining that property, on which he resided from 1852 until the death of his father-in-law. Daniel Swartz. He settled on the Swartz farm in 1871 and resided there until his death, wl ich occurred May 9, 1899. He and his wife had seven children, as follows; Three daughters, all of whom died in infancy: Adam, the direct subject of this sketch; Samuel, born May 5, 1861, who married Martha Thomas, and resides on his fine farm north of Delaware; Wilmer, born in 1864, who married Gwendolyn Hudson, and now owns his father's first farm and also the farm adjoining the old tavern property; Charles, born in 1869, who resides in Delaware, having sold his farm and invested in city realty, and who married Mary Gross.
Adam Siegfried attended the district school, the sessions of which were held in the old stone school-house, north of Delaware. He continued to work on the home farm until he was twenty-two years of age, when he married. He then farmed for several years more in Delaware County, but in 1883, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in which city he resided for two years, being employed as a shipping clerk in a lumber yard. His next move was to Lincoln, in the same State, where he remained until the fall of 1885, when he returned to Delaware. He now remained on his father's farm until 1891. when he embarked in a livery business at Delaware, which he conducted for eighteen months. In 1893, Mr. Siegfried went to work for the Columbus & Sandusky Short Line Railroad and continued as one of its employes after it became a part of the Pennsylvania system, in 1903. He has now maintained this connection for fifteen years. He entered the railroad business as a freight hand and baggage man and has been steadily advanced to his present responsible position as passenger and freight agent at Delaware. For fourteen years. Mr. Siegfried remained at his post without a single day of absence. His fidelity was recognized by the company, which, in the summer of 1907, not only gave him a vacation but presented him with a pass over all its eastern lines. He thoroughly enjoyed this period of recreation but, like the excellent business man that he is, was ready to return to his routine work when the vacation expired.
In 1880. Mr. Siegfried was married (first) to Maria Stimmel, who was a daughter of John and Hettie Ann Stimmel. They had one son, John, who was reared mainly in Delaware County and became a clerk in the freight department of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Delaware. He was popular with his employers and associates and was a valued member of Hiram Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M., at Delaware. His death took place February 12. 1906, when he was aged twenty-four years. He was buried with .Masonic honors, from the Masonic Temple at Delaware.
Mr. Siegfried was married secondly to Ida Davis, in October, 1892. She was reared west of Delaware and is a daughter of David and Sarah Davis. Of this union there are two children. Paul D. and Ruth Helen, aged fourteen and eleven years, respectively.
In politics, Mr. Siegfried, like his father, always been identified with the Democratic party. The elder Mr. Siegfried was a stanch supporter of its policies through the greater part of his life and on many occasions was elected to political office. In 1874 he was elected county commissioner of Delaware County and served in that capacity for three years, his election taking place when the county had an adverse majority of 600. Adam Siegfried has been equally successful in overcoming the normal Republican plurality. In 1907 he was elected a member of the City Council of Delaware.overcoming the regular majority of 200 in the city, and in 1891 was made the Democratic nominee for sheriff and came within three votes of being elected to this office. He is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M. He is a man who stands very high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens, one whose business capacity and personal integrity are universally recognized.
From 20th Century History of Delaware County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Edited and compiled by James R. Lytle, Delaware, Ohio, Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1908