Handbook N-P - Fulton County Public Library

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Mr. and Mrs. Perschbacher are the parents of seven children--Lavina E., Anna M., Nora
B., Catharine, Alma J., Miles W. and Hattie E. Of these, Lavina and Nora are married and
Catharine is deceased.
[T. B. Helm, Fulton County Atlas, A. L. Kingman, 1883, p. 50]
BIOGRAPHY
George Perschbacher is a self-made man, who began life empty-handed, but by marked
business ability, industry, energy and perseverance has worked his way steadily upward to a
position of affluence. He was born near Baltimore, Md., July 7, 1833. His parents, George and
Anna D. (Grayer) Perschbacher, were natives of Hessen Darmstadt, the father born Jan. 18, 1794,
and the mother July 1, 1802. They were married April 23, 1825, and on April 19, 1833, sailed for
America. After a year spent near Baltimore, they located in York county, Pa., and in 1839 became
residents of Wayne county, Ind., whence in 1845 they came to Fulton county. The father bought a
tract of land in the forest near Tiosa, where he developed an excellent farm, reared his family, and
spent his remaining days. He died March 23, 1866, and his wife April 24, 1881. George
Perschbacher is the fourth of their nine children. He was reared on the frontier farm, and in early
life fitted himself for teaching, which profession he ably followed for a number of years. His
earnings went toward the purchase of a home, and then to its improvement. Abandoning school
teaching, he engaged in farming and in the handling of grain and stock, and so well have his
business interests been managed that he is today the owner of 540 acres of valuable land in Fulton
county, together with extensive commercial interests in Tiosa, his investments there amounting to
$10,000. This includes the ownership of the elevator and leading stores of the village. On April
2, 1854, Mr. Perschbacher married Jane Wright. Her father, James Wright, was born in Maryland,
July 26, 1813, and married Margaret, daughter of William Reid, a native of Virginia. Mrs.
Perschbacher was the first white child born in Newcastle township, Fulton county. She died in
March, 1887, leaving the following children: Ellen, wife of E. S. Bair, of Tiosa; Anna, wife of
George Kiler, who lives on the Riverside farm; Nora B., wife of Obadiah Haimbaugh; Alma J.,
wife of C. D. Shobe, of Tiosa; Miles W., who operates the old homestead; and Hattie E. In
March, 1891, Mr. Perschbacher wedded Mrs. Martha Plank, widow of Dr. A. K. Plank, of
Rochester. In the fall of the same year he moved his family to Rochester, where he is now living
retired, save for the superintendence of his investments. In 1872 he was elected on the democratic
ticket as county assessor and land appraiser, filling the position with satisfaction to all. He was
one of the promoters of the Agricultural and Mechanical society of Fulton county, and for many
yeas has been a consistent Christian, a faithful member of the Evangelical Lutheran church.
[Elia W. Peattie, Fulton County History, National Publishing Co., Chicago 1896, pp. 117-
118]
OVER THE ALLEGHENIES
By George Perschbacher
When a person is asked to write a story of his life, he usually begins back as far as he can
remember, or farther if possible. Since I have been asked to tell something about myself, my
thoughts have reverted to incidents and moments of my childhood; especially to a number of very
old, yellow, time-worn documents that give me a fair idea of my ancestry. One of the documents,
stamped with the arms of the Grand-duchy of Hessen, Germany, and also with the tax stamp, six
kreuzer, I read record of my father’s birth as follows: “An item from the records of the church in
Schaafheim. On the year of Christ, 1794, the 18th day of January, there was born to citizen
Johann Conrad Perschbacher and his wife, Anna Maria (born Stelz), a son, and the 18th of the
same month was baptized and received the name John George.
Another document tells how, in the year 1825, April 23d, my father, John George
Perschbacher, and my mother, Dorothea Kreher, signed a marriage contract. Next is found the
birth record of my three older brothers, and then a very important document, the passport from
Schaafheim to America. About May 7, 1833, my parents left Schaafheim and May 13th they
embarked from Bremen, Germany, on the sailing vessel “Columbus.” After a tedious voyage of