This page details the history of the Koch family through a detailed ancestry of Daniel and Barbara Brandon Koch.

Tree: Ancestors of Daniel Henry Koch

Origins

The earliest known ancestors in the Koch family lived in the Holy Roman Empire (in what would later be Germany) in the 18th century.

Between 1772 and 1795, the country that had been known as Poland-Lithuania went through a series of “partitions” whereby its territory was progressively divided between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. One of these territories was Galicia, covering a portion of current-day Poland and Ukraine.

Galicia was in medieval times part of the Kievan Rus’ before it had come until control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century. The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II organized the Josephine colonization to settle German-speaking people in the region (which mostly had Ruthenian/Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish residents prior to that time).

The Koch family joined this colonization effort in the late 1780s, first settling at Landestreu (today Kalush) in the part of Galicia that is now in western Ukraine (after many territorial changes in the 19th and 20th centuries).

Other families that would marry into ancestors in the Koch line also came to Galicia about the same time (Kohlenberger, Kühnling, Göhres, Laufer, Metzger, Steininger, Körbel, Nerbas, Wagner, Pfeifer, Bröder, Fassig, Adam, Bechtel, Matthis, Schuppin, Bauer, Messner, Habersock, Wirth, Rückert, Dressler, Kandel, Werle, Herbyin, Hartung, and Friess).

After several generations in Galicia, ultimately ending up in and around the city of Kolomea, as the Germanization effort faltered and poverty wracked the area, members of the Koch family (and Rosie Bauer, who would become Daniel Koch’s wife) emigrated to the United States and settled near Portland, Oregon. Descendants of the family continue to live in the Pacific Northwest.

Mathias Koch (d. 1788)

Mathias Koch died in Landestreu in 1788, but not much is known about him. Some Ancestry trees say that his family came from Dahlheim, in Rhennish Hesse, Germany (then part of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt) but without sources.

His wife was Anna Sara Koch (maiden name unknown), who was born about 1740 and after Mathias died married Georg Heinrich Müller (1731-1805), who also died in Landestreu. Anna Sara died 10 August 1814 in Landestreu.

Johann Georg Koch (1771-1832)

Johann Georg Koch was born about 1771 in Germany, the son of Mathias Koch (d. 1788) and Anna Sara Koch (c. 1740-1814), whose maiden name is unknown.

He seems to have emigrated with his parents from Germany to Galicia before 1788, when his father Mathias was recorded dying in Landestreu.

In 1791, also in Landestreu, he married Anna Margarethe Kohlenberger. She was born 27 September, 1775 in Lambrecht, Germany to Johann Georg Kohlenberger (1745-1797) and Anna Maria Elisabetha Merkel (1754-1804).

Their children included a son Johann (1793), but a full listing of their family has not been found.

He died 28 February 1832 in Landestreu. His wife died 26 April 1839, also in Landestreu.

Johann Georg Koch (1793-1848)

Johann Georg Koch was born 11 November 1793, probably in Landestreu, Galicia. His parents were Johann Georg Koch (1771-1832) and Anna Margarethe Kohlenberger (1775-1839), who were born in Germany and emigrated to Galicia before 1788 (when his grandfather Mathias’ death was recorded).

His family settled in Landestreu (now called Kalush). A map was made of the settlement c. 1890-1908 showing that there was still a Koch household in the village as of that time.

On 7 April 1812 in Landestrau, he married Maria Katharina Kühnling, who was born in Galicia in 1792. Her father was Christoph Kühnling, who died in 1812 and was associated with records in Landestreu, Kolomea, Neudorf (Ottynia), and Gelsendorf (Stryj).

Their children included Maria Katarina (1819), Georg (1822), Anna Maria (1824), Elisabetha (1826), Joseph (1827), Johann Christian (1828), Jakob (possibly 1833), and Johann (1833).

The family later moved to Neudorf (now Otyniia). Georg died 11 February 1848 in Otyniia. His wife Maria Katharina died there on 15 March 1857.

Johann Christian Koch (1828-1898)

Johann Christian Koch was born 14 May 1828 in Konstantynówka, Galicia (close to current-day Otyniya). His parents were Johann Georg Koch (1793-1848) and Maria Katharina Kühnling (1792-1857).

On 25 November 1850, he married Margaretha Göres in Kolomyia. Margaretha was born about 1828 to Johann Wilhelm Göres (1798-1852) and Maria Philippina Steininger (1801-1862).

Their children were Johann Friedrich (1851), Jakob (1852), Georg (1855), Katharina (1857-1860), Maria Elisabeth (1859), Johann (1861), Christian (1863), Heinrich (1864), Daniel (1866), and Katharina (1869).

He died 16 August 1898 in Kolomyia.

Johann Friedrich Koch (b. 1851)

Johann Friedrich Koch (who apparently went by “Friedrich” and is called “Fredrick” in his son’s death record) was born 16 October 1851 in Kolomyia, Galicia. His parents were Johann Christian Koch (1828-1898) and Margaretha Göres (1828-1899). He is listed along with his parents and siblings in a family book in Kolomyia from roughly the late 1860s.

On 9 February 1876 he married Katharina Margaretha Göhres in Kolomyia. She went by Margaretha and was the daughter of Johann Friedrich Göhres (1824-1866) and Katharina Elisabeth Pfeifer (1826-1875).

Their children included Johann (1886), Jakob (1889), Daniel (1893), and Heinrich (1898). It’s likely they had other children, but a full listing of the family has not been found.

Not much else is known about him. Two of his sons (Johann and Daniel) emigrated to the United States in 1910, while the other two sons did not. Presumably he died still living in Kolomyia.

Daniel Koch (1893-1937)

Daniel Koch was born 20 January 1893 in Kolomyia in Austrian Galicia to Johan Fredrick Koch (b. 1851) and Katharina Margaretha Göhres (b. 1856).

Daniel was the descendant of German-speaking settlers who had arrived in the 1780s as part of a colonization effort organized by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. By the time Daniel was born, the Germanization efforts in Galicia had been suspended and the region was largely an impoverished, famine-wracked Polish-speaking part of Austria with a significant Ukrainian/Ruthenian minority. Starting in the 1880s, Galicians of all ethnic backgrounds often traveled seasonally back to the newly formed German Empire, and as the decades went on, this became a more permanent emigration that expanded to include emigration to the Americas, with a total of about 750,000 people emigrating across the Atlantic between 1869 and 1910.

Daniel was among those who left Galicia for the United States. On 5 March 1910, Daniel embarked from Hamburg, Germany on the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria bound for New York via Cuxhaven, Southampton, and Cherbourg. He was accompanied by Johann Koch of Kolomea, his brother, and their first cousin Filip Koch of Bagensberg (now part of Kolomyia but then a separate village). Daniel’s profession was listed as “schmied” (blacksmith).

Daniel and his brother Johann settled in Portland, Oregon, but Johann died of typhoid fever, shortly after arrival, on 7 October 1910. Their cousin Filip (Philip) settled in Chicago.

On 29 June 1918, Daniel married Rosa “Rosie” Bauer in Portland. Rosa was born in Sitauerowka, a Galician village not far from Kolomea. Her parents were Daniel Bauer (1846-1925) and Antonina Dressler (1855-1902).

Daniel and Rosie’s children were Daniel Henry (1919) and Walter Gustave (1921).

Daniel, Rosie, and their son Daniel appear in the 1920 census living at 614 Southeast Sherrett Street in Portland. His profession was “mechanic” at an iron works, which is in keeping with his experience as a blacksmith. By 1930, the family (including Walter) were still living at the same place, with Daniel the proprietor of the iron works.

In June or July of 1936 (the record refers to dates in both months), Daniel was working at Portland Iron Works and was struck in the abdomen by a piece of iron while he was lifting it, causing a severe injury with an infection that persisted for months, and led to a series of abscesses. He was under the supervision of doctors for months, and they tried to operate in November 1936. However, he died on 13 February, 1937 at the age of 44, leaving his wife Rosie alone with her two sons (aged 15 and 17).

Daniel Henry Koch (1919-2007)

Daniel Henry Koch was born in Portland, Oregon on 28 September 1919. His parents were Daniel Koch (1893-1937) and Rosa “Rosie” Bauer (1897-1974), both immigrants from Galicia in what had been Austria-Hungary until 1918, then the West Ukrainian People’s Republic from 1918-July 1919, and then was split between Ukraine (soon absorbed by the Soviet Union), Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania by 1920.

In 1920, Dan was living with his parents at 614 Southeast Sherrett Street in Portland (an address that no longer exists). His father was working as a mechanic at an iron works. His parents’ birth country was listed as Austria.

They still lived at that house in 1930, with Daniel joined by a younger brother Walter (b. 1921). His father was now the proprietor of the iron works he had been working at as a mechanic ten years before. The birth country of his parents was now listed as Poland.

Dan’s father died 13 February 1937 (of an infection from an injury at work) when Dan was only 17 years old.

Dan graduated from Washington High School about 1938. (He then went to college.) On 14 June 1942, he married Barbara Mae Brandon in Portland. Barbara was born 8 September 1924, the daughter of Benjamin Brandon (1889-1948), a Christian Science practitioner from Texas, and Ethel Mae Singer (1897-1947), a native of Pennsylvania.

Dan and Barbara had two children, Daniel Brandon (1948) and Kathleen.

In the 1950 census, Dan and Barbara were living at 660 24th Avenue in Longview, Washington with their son Dan, who had been born in Longview. Dan Sr. was working as a research technologist for a lumber company.

Dan and Barbara later moved to Lakewood, near Tacoma, Washington. Dan had a long career in the lumber industry and both Dan and Barbara were involved with the Fellowship for Spiritual Understanding and Unity Church.

Dan died 1 February 2007 in Lakewood.

Ancestors of Rosie Bauer

Rosa “Rosie” Bauer as born 18 November 1897 in Sitauerowka, a Galician village not far from Kolomea (where her husband Daniel Koch was born). Her parents were Daniel Bauer (1846-1925) and Antonina Dressler (1855-1902).

Rosa emigrated to the United States aboard the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, leaving Hamburg on 23 November 1912 and arriving in New York on 3 December 1912. She was 15 but reported her age as 17, and was traveling with her brother Karl, who was 17 but reported his age as 19.

Note that the names of her parents were listed on a death record for her brother Martin in Portland for which a woman named Rosa Bauer (apparently his wife, and not his sister) was the informant. Her parents both show up on the list of names associated with Sitauerowka, Horocholina, and Mikulsdorf, but Rosie’s name does not appear for those places. Information about Rosie’s parents and siblings (and her birth date) can be found in the 1902 death record for her mother (Ancestry account required).

Johann Abraham Bauer (1771-1846)

The earliest Bauer ancestor about which much is known was Abraham Bauer. Johann Abraham Bauer was born about 1771, possibly in Reichenbach, (in modern Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). His father was Peter Bauer, about which nothing is known except his name on Abraham’s wedding record.

On 3 January 1802, Abraham married Maria Barbara Hartmann (aka Hartung) at St. Julian church in Obereisenbach in the Kusel District northwest of Kaiserslautern. Maria was baptized 18 December 1776 in Reichenbach, the daughter of Henrich Hartmann and Saara Weber (who married in 1763 and had several other children, but whose ancestry is unknown).

Abraham and Barbara’s daughter Christina Margaretha was baptized 14 April 1802 in Reichenbach.

Their son Phillip Daniel Bauer was baptized 21 March 1804 in Ugartsthal, Galicia (now Kausz, Ukraine), indicating that the family had emigrated to the German-language colonies there between 1802 and 1804. Note that after 1797, the region they lived in came under control of the French Republic until Napoleon was defeated in 1814. So they seem to have left in the wake of this period of French annexation.

Abraham died 25 February 1846 in Horocholina, Galicia.

Phillip Daniel Bauer (1804-1866)

Phillip Daniel Bauer was born 21 March 1804 in Ugartsthal, Galicia. He was the son of Johann Abraham Bauer (1771-1846) and Maria Barbara Hartmann (b. 1776).

He married Dorothea Messner, although the date is unknown. Dorothea was born in Solotwina, Galicia in 1811. She was the daughter of Johann Adam Messner (1768-1843) and Christina Elisabetha Margaretha Haberstock (b. 1787). Sometime after marrying, they moved to Horocholina. They also show up in records in Sitauerówka, probably before they moved to Horocholina.

They had at least one son, Johann Daniel Bauer (1846), who was born in Horocholina. Philipp died 23 August 1866 in Horocholina. His wife Dorothea died 9 July 1875, also in Horocholina.

Daniel Bauer (1846-1925)

Johann Daniel Bauer was born 19 or 20 January 1846 in Horocholina, Galicia. His parents were Phillip Daniel Bauer (1804-1866) and Dorothea Messner (1811-1891).

He married before 1875 Antonina Dressler. Antonina was born 13 March 1855 in Sitauerowka. Her parents were Johann Peter Dressler (1814-1892), born in Landestreu, and Maria Margaretha Werle (1817-1895), born in Dolina.

Daniel and Antonina’s children were Peter (1875), Martin (1877), Katharina (1878), Philipp (1881), Margaretha (1883), Dorothea (1889). Johann (1891), Elisabeth (aka Elsie, 1893), Karl (1895), Rosalia (1897), Eleanora (1900), and Karoline (1902). Based on the birth places of his children, his family moved from Horocholina to Sitauerowka (Ottynia) between 1881 and 1883.

His wife Antonina died 13 February 1902 in Sitauerówka.

His daughter Margaretha died in 1906 in Sitauerówka.

Over the next several years, at least six of his other children emigrated to the United States: Martin, Johann (John), Elisabeth (Elsie), Carl, Rosalia (Rosie), and Caroline.

Daniel died in Sitauerówka about 1925.

Ancestors of Barbara Brandon Koch

Tree: Ancestors of Barbara Mae Brandon (Koch)

Origins

Very little of the paternal ancestry of Barbara Brandon Koch is known, going only back to her grandfather, Joseph Burnett Brandon.

Joseph Burnett Brandon (1856-c. 1903)

Joseph Burnett Brandon was about 1856. The exact time and place is unclear. His birthday in some Ancestry trees is listed as 22 January 1856, but the underlying records are unknown. As for the place, his 1880 marriage record has his birth in Albany, New York. The 1900 census has his birth in Canada, and the death record of his son Robert has him born in England. Various census records for his children have his birthplace as Canada, England, New York, Wisconsin, or Michigan, with multiple records citing Canada, England, and New York. There’s also at least one record of a Joseph B Brandon born in Ireland.

His parents are also unknown. The first clear record of Joseph is his marriage on 5 June 1880 to Minnie Rinehart in Jackson, Michigan. Minnie was born about September 1865 in (according to the marriage record) Steuben County, New York. Her parents were Joseph Rinehart (1824-1895) and Emily Hall (1835-1884). At the time of their wedding, Joseph was working as a painter.

Joseph and Minnie’s children were Robert (1881), Belle (1883), Benjamin (1889), and Lila May (1895). Robert was born in Michigan, Belle was born in Portland, Benjamin was born in Athens, Texas, and Lila was born in Portland, showing various places Joseph’s family must have lived during that period. By 1900 the family lived at 592 Howe Street in Portland, Oregon. Joseph was working as a carpenter.

Joseph seems to have died about 1903, although his death record has not been found. Minnie appears in a city directory that year listed as a widow, and is listed as a widow in the 1910 census and several other directory listings from 1905 onward.

Benjamin Franklin Brandon (1889-1948)

Benjamin Franklin Brandon was born 20 July 1889 in Athens, Henderson County, Texas. His parents were Joseph Burnett Brandon (1856-c. 1903) and Minnie Rinehart (1865-1952).

By 1900, his family was living at 592 Howe Street in Portland, Oregon with his father (a carpenter), mother, older brother Robert (1881), and younger sisters Belle (1883) and Lila (1895).

In 1910, his family was living at 19 1/2 East Burnside in Portland. His brother Robert had moved out, and his mother was listed as a widow, indicating that his father had died sometime over the previous ten years.

On 18 September 1913, Benjamin married Ethel Mae Singer. Ethel was born 4 January 1897 in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Owen Singer (1863-1913) and Sarah Mosier (1859-1946). Her parents might have been estranged, with her father living in a boarding house in Seattle with her brother Robert in 1910, and no records of where she and her mother were living that year. Ethel had been married briefly in 1912 in Vancouver, Washington to a man named Edward Schofield Streeter (1893-1956).

Benjamin and Ethel’s children were Benjamin Franklin Brandon, Jr. (1914), Ross (1917), Barbara Mae (1924), and June Demaris (1928-1932). Ben, Jr. was born in Oregon City and the other children were all born in Portland, Oregon.

The family’s 1920 census records have not been found, but by 1930 they were living at 5709 SE 39th Ave (later renamed to 5709 SE Francis Street) in Portland with all four of their children. They were still living there in 1940 with their daughter Barbara, although their youngest daughter had died as a young child and both sons had moved away.

Sometime after 1940 and before 1947 Benjamin and Ethel moved to Fresno, California. Ethel died in Fresno on 16 October 1947.

Benjamin died in Los Angeles, California less than three months later on 7 January 1948.

Barbara Mae Brandon (1924-2014)

Barbara Mae Brandon was born 8 September 1924 in Portland, Oregon. She was the daughter of Benjamin Brandon (1889-1948), a Christian Science practitioner from Texas, and Ethel Mae Singer (1897-1947), a native of Pennsylvania.

In 1930, she was living at 5709 39th Ave SE in Portland with her parents, older brothers Ben (1914) and Ross (1917), and younger sister June (1928-1932). (There is no house at that address today.)

In 1940, she was living at that same house with her parents, but the street was renamed to Francis Street (and you can see the addresses south of it are the 3900 block). Her brothers had moved out, and her younger sister June had died in 1932 at the age of 4.

On 14 June 1942, she married Daniel Henry Koch (who is detailed earlier on this page) in Portland. Some of the later details of their life are described in Daniel’s entry.

Barbara’s husband Dan died 1 February 1907. Barbara died 14 November 2014 in Pierce County, Washington.

Ancestors of Ethel Mae Singer

Ethel Mae Singer (1897-1947) was the mother of Barbara Mae Brandon (Koch). She was married to Benjamin Franklin Brandon (1889-1948), whose ancestry is detailed in the previous section. Unlike the Brandon family, however, her known ancestry goes much further back.

Johannes Saenger (1706-1755)

Johannes Saenger’s origins are a bit unclear. Most likely he was born near Oberlustadt, Germany. His parents are unknown. He traveled with his wife Catharina and only daughter Catharina in 1734 from Oberlustadt down the Rhine to Rotterdam, where they sailed for Philadelphia.

Some Ancestry trees show his parents as Nicolaus Zenger (1671-1710) and Johanna Wagener (b. 1677). Nicolaus died during the voyage to New York in 1910 as part of the German Palatine immigration. His wife was recorded in the Palatine lists of 1710 as “Johanna Zangerin,” a 33-year old widow, with children John Peter (age 13), Johannes (7), and Anna Catharina (10). John Peter Zenger apprenticed to printer William Bradford and later printed a newspaper with his wife that led to a famous libel trial in 1734. The listed Johannes (b. c. 1703) is roughly the same age as this Johannes but unless he then moved back to Germany, married, and then returned, he is not the same person. Nicolaus Zenger was from Rumbach, only 50 kilometers from Oberlustadt with the latter town on the route from Rumbach to the Rhine (the town Impflingen where Nicolaus Zenger was employed as a school teacher according to Wikipedia is only 20 km from Oberlustadt), but these appear to be separate families, even if they might have had some relation. (I have not seen the original immigration records that show a voyage from Rotterdam. In theory, it’s possible that John (possibly the son of Nicolaus) and Catharina were born and married in New York and then emigrated via ship to Philadelphia in 1734. It is a bit curious that they would arrive the same year John Peter Zenger was involved in a public controversy, but it is probably a coincidence.)

From the story on Ancestry (account required) that details John and Catharine Saenger, their children were Catharina (1732), Christian (1734), Margaret, Philip, Barbera, George, John, Samuel, and Mary. 

Johann Christian Singer (1734-1783)

Johann Christian Singer (who went by “Christian”) was born 20 October 1734 in what is now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, most likely in or near Perkiomen township where he was baptized. Secondary sources also mention nearby Trappe. His parents were Johannes Saengar (1706-1755) and (Anna) Catharina (maiden name possibly Baumuller or Reitz) (1710-1783). His family settled in Whitpain township.

On 23 February, 1763, he married Anna Maria Appolonia Vollmer in Germantown, Pennsylvania (then a separate settlement, but now a neighborhood in northwest Philadelphia). She was born 1 December 1742 in Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Jacob Vollmar (1721-1758) and Justine Catharina Kaercher (1720-1820).

Their children included Maria Margaretha (1772) and Christian (1777), although they likely had more children born earlier.

His wife died in 1780. Christian died in 1783.

Christian Singer (1777-1855)

Christian Singer was born in 1777 in Pennsylvania. No original source has been found, and secondary sources differ on whether he was born in Germantown (now a neighborhood of Philadelphia) during the Battle of Germantown on 4 October, or in Monroe County, just to the northwest of Germantown possibly about 11 September. He was the son of Johann Christian Singer (1734-1783) and Anna Maria Appolonia Vollmer (1742-1780).

His family was recorded in the nation’s first census in 1790 living in Montgomery County (under his father’s name listed as Christian Singer, with one free male under 16 and two free females in the household along with the head of household).

As a young man, Christian was one of the early settlers in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, arriving near Reeders (later part of Jackson township).

He married Susannah Woodling (1780-1813) in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania on 30 March 1800. Their children were Peter (1801), Andrew (1803), Jacob (1805), Hannah (Susannah) (1810), and Samuel (c. 1813).

The family might have been recorded in the 1810 census living in Hamilton township.

Susannah died in January 1813.

Christian married Rachel Van Horn in 1815 (some Ancestry trees have 8 December 1815 in Easton, but no corroborating sources have been found). Rachel was born 9 July 1791 in Hamilton township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Benjamin Van Horn (1759-1833) and Nancy Young (1860-1818).

Their children were Benjamin (1816), Mary (1821), Theodosia (1824), Elizabeth Ann (1826), Unias or Eunice (a son, 1826), Amos (1828), and Christian (1829).

The family might have been listed in the 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses in Pocono in Northampton County. They also appeared in the 1850 census in Jackson township with Christian and Rachel living with children Amos, Christian, Mary, and Unias and younger relatives Charles, Anna Maria, Sally, and Edward (possibly their grandchildren).

Christian’s estate was registered for sale on 22 February 1855, indicating that he had died before that time. His wife Rachel outlived him by four years and died in 1859 in Hamilton.

Amos Singer (1828-1899)

Amos Singer was born 8 December 1828 in Hamilton township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. His parents were Christian Singer (1777-1855) and Rachel Van Horn (1791-1859).

In 1850, he was living with his parents, siblings Christian, Mary and Unias/Eunice, and four other younger Singers (Charles, Ann Maria, Sally, Edward; possibly nieces and nephews) in Jackson township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

On 16 February 1857, Amos married Rebecca Williams in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Rebecca was born 15 October 1831 in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Joseph F Williams (1804-1860) and Susannah Bellesfeld (1808-1869). She was in Jackson township by 1850 and must have met Amos there.

Their children included Perry (1861), Owen (1863), Anna (1866), Frank (1868), and Arthur (1872). The 1880 census seems to indicate another child whose name is unclear (Amos? Arncy?) but that child shows up in no other records and could be in error. Given their marriage date four years before the birth of their first known child, they might have had one or two children before Perry who did not survive. The 1860 census suggests these might have been Alena and Steward but the dates (1854 and 1856) are before the likely marriage date, so it’s unclear if that’s the same family, or if these might be children from an earlier undiscovered marriage. (And that would still leave a gap in the birth of children just as big.) In any event, Alena and Steward do not show up in any other records.

Amos might have been the man who registered for the Civil War draft on 1 July 1863 in Coolbaugh township, Pennsylvania (for the 11th Congressional district of Pennsylvania covering several counties including Monroe County). Coolbaugh is about 20 miles from Jackson township (where Amos lived in 1860), both in Monroe County. There is no record of whether, where, or with which unit he might have served.

Amos’ wife Rebecca died 20 November 1895 in Scranton.

Amos died 22 June 1899, also in Scranton. Their apparent residence at the time of their deaths was 1115 Blair Avenue in Scranton.

Owen Singer (1863-1913)

Owen Singer was born about 1863 in Pennsylvania. His parents were Amos Singer (1828-1899) and Rebecca Williams (1831-1895).

He is first recorded in the 1880 census living in Scranton, Pennsylvania, age 16, living as a boarder.

About 1882, he married Sarah Mosier. Sarah was born 8 November 1859 in Middle Smithfield township, Pennsylvania (about 50 miles southeast of Scranton). Her parents were Emanuel G Mosier (1833-1919) and Susan K Hoffman (1835-1915). She was still living in Middle Smithfield with her parents, grandmother, and 9 younger siblings in 1880.

Owen and Sarah’s children included Robert Lester (1894) and Ethel Mae (1897). They apparently had another child who died prior to 1900.

In the 1880s, Owen worked as a brakeman, conductor, and carpenter in Scranton, and had at least four different addresses. In the 1890s, he worked as a carpenter, pattern maker, and clerk and lived at two additional addresses.

In 1900, Owen and Sarah and their two children were living at 1312 Eynon Street in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Owen was working as a mill wright. He lived at three more locations over the next ten years, working mostly as a machinist, mill wright, or laborer. In 1908, he worked as an insurance agent for Met Life.

He also apparently became estranged from his wife during that period, because in 1910 Owen was living with his son Robert in Seattle, and working again as a mill wright. Meanwhile, his wife Sarah and daughter Ethel Mae were living elsewhere, although no records have been found. (Sarah is listed in the 1909 directory for Scranton in the house Owen lived in 1908, but Owen is not listed, suggesting the separation happened in that year.) Ethel had a brief marriage in Vancouver, Washington in 1912 (at the age of 15) and married again in 1913 in Portland, Oregon (at the age of 16). His wife Sarah by 1920 was living alone in Portland, near their daughter’s family.

Owen died in 1916 in San Francisco, where he had been treated for chronic kidney disease for three months, ultimately leading to kidney failure and a coma that preceded his death. His body was returned to Portland where he was buried in Rose City Cemetery. He was about 53 years old.

Descent

Johannes Saenger (1706-1755)

m. Catharina (1710-1783)

|

Johann Christian Singer (1734-1783) Mathias Koch (1738–1798)

m. Anna Maria Appolonia Vollmer (1742-1780) m. Anna Sara (1740–1814) | |

| Johann Georg Koch (1771–1832) —^ Peter Bauer ——-<

| m. Anna Margarethe Kohlenberger (1775–1839) |

Christian Singer (1777-1855) | Johann Abraham Bauer (1771–1846)

m. Rachel Van Horn (1791-1859) | m. Maria Barbara Juliana Hartmann

| | (b. 1776) |———————–<

| Johann Georg Koch (1793–1848) |

| m. Maria Katharina Kühnling (1792–1857) |

Amos Singer (1828-1899) | Philipp Daniel Bauer (1804–1866)

m. Rebecca Williams (1831-1895) | m. Dorothea Messner (1811–1875)

| Johann Christian Koch (1828–1898) |———————–<

| m. Margaretha Göres (1828–1899) |

Owen Singer (1863-1913) | Daniel Bauer (1846–1925) ———^

m. Sarah Mosier (1859-1946) | m. Antonina Dressler (1855–1902)

| Johann Friedrich Koch (b. 1851) |———————–<

| m. Margaret Göhres (b. 1856) ———< |

| Joseph Burdett Brandon (1856–1903) | |

| m. Minnie Rinehart (1865–1952) -< | |

| | | |

Ethel Mae Singer (1897-1947) | Daniel Koch (1893–1937) |

m. Benjamin Brandon (1889-1948) —^ m. Rosie Bauer (1897–1974) ——^ | |

Barbara Mae Brandon (1924-2014) |

m. Daniel Henry Koch (1919-2007) —————————-^

|

2 children

3 grandchildren

2 great-grandchildren