Gustav Friedrich Drollinger

1813 - 1858  (45 years)

• Name	Gustav Friedrich Drollinger
  Birth	4 Sep 1813	Ellmendingen, Pfortzheim, Baden, Germany   [1]
  	Copy of Evangelisches Pfarramt Keltern-Ellmendingen document stating that from the Taufbuch 1813 on the 4 Sep in the evening at 6 and on the 5th at mid day at 230 baptized a son Gustav Friedrich, father Philipp Drollinger, mother Christine Barbara Maerklin, signed R. Jung Pfarrer in possession of Gordon L. Drollinger Germany, Select Births and Baptisms Name: Gustav Friedrich Drollinger Gender: Male Birth Date: 4 Sep 1813 Birth Place: Ellmendingen, Baden, Germany Baptism Date: 4 Sep 1813 Baptism Place: Ellmendingen, Baden, Germany Father: Philipp Drollinger Mother: Christine Barbara Maerklin FHL Film Number: 1238338 Reference ID: 2:X312J9
  Gender	Male
  Death	16 Sep 1858	Hannahstown, Butler, PA   [2]
  Burial	Cabot, Butler, PA
  	Burial: Saint Luke Lutheran Cemetery Cabot, Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA shared stone with wife is now illegible close to Koedel plot Church records of former English Evangelical Lutheran Church, Saxonburg PA translated by a couple of German exchange students found by Louis P. Drollinger
  Person ID	I2235	Drollinger Genealogy
  Last Modified	20 Jun 2023

  
  

  Father	Philipp Drollinger,   b. 21 Aug 1784, Ellmendingen, Pfortzheim, Baden, Germany d. 24 Aug 1834, Manhattan, New York, NY (Age 50 years)
  Mother	Christina Barbara Merckle,   b. 20 Sep 1792, Feldrennach, Baden, Germany d. 2 Nov 1814, Feldrennach, Baden, Germany (Age 22 years)
  Family ID	F714	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Magdalena Braun,   b. 26 Nov 1815, Graben, Baden, Germany d. 15 Jun 1886, Butler County, PA (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	19 Jun 1843	St Matthew's Ev. Lutheran Church, NYC
  	New York City, Lutheran Church Records Last Name: Drollinger ID#: D First Name: Gustav Friedrich Place of Event: Elmendingen, Baden Date of Event: 1814 Remarks: married 19 Jun 1843, Magdalena Braun Code: Baden copy of marriage register in possession of Gordon L. Drollinger
  Children	+ 1. Maria Christina Drollinger,   b. 25 Apr 1844, Butler County, PA d. 22 Jul 1866, Butler County, PA (Age 22 years)   2. PVT Gustav Friedrich Drollinger,   b. 10 Nov 1845, Butler County, PA d. 5 May 1864, Wilderness, VA (Age 18 years)   3. PVT Adolphus Wilhelm Drollinger, Sr.,   b. 20 Feb 1848, Clearfield Twp, Butler County, PA d. 9 Mar 1906, McKees Rocks, Allegheny, PA (Age 58 years)   4. Philipp Gottleib Drollinger,   b. 16 Apr 1850, Clearfield Twp, Butler County, PA d. 20 Feb 1880, Denver, Denver, CO (Age 29 years)   5. Louisa Katherina (Catherine) Drollinger,   b. 19 Sep 1852, Hannahstown, Butler, PA d. 20 Mar 1929, Donora, Washington, PA (Age 76 years)   6. Amelia Margaretha "Emma" Drollinger,   b. 19 Apr 1856, Hannahstown, Butler, PA d. 1926, Manhattan, Riley, KS (Age 69 years)   7. Henrietta Clementine Drollinger,   b. 12 Jun 1858, Hannahstown, Butler, PA d. 16 Feb 1910, Pittsburgh, Allegheny, PA (Age 51 years)
  Family ID	F715	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Mar 2017

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 4 Sep 1813 - Ellmendingen, Pfortzheim, Baden, Germany Marriage - 19 Jun 1843 - St Matthew's Ev. Lutheran Church, NYC Death - 16 Sep 1858 - Hannahstown, Butler, PA Burial - - Cabot, Butler, PA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Gustav Friedrich and Magdalena Drollinger

  
  

  Headstones

  
  

• Notes

  The old German or the original immigrant was a man of mystery to me for many years. It was my father's first cousin, Nancy Drollinger's husband, Leroy Perry who as a young attorney found the court cases in the Butler County Courthouse on him. One for running a tippling house without a license. One for assault and battery on a Conrad Klotzbaugh and two counts of tampering with the ballots while serving as foreman of the elections. His birthplace eluded discovery for many years until I tumbled on the idea of searching churches in the surrounding area for clues. It was my father who found the record of his burial in a church one mile away in Saxonburg which gave his town of birth . It was a church that once upon a time had been Lutheran but converted. They had a couple German exchange students who translated the old German script into English for them. With that information I wrote first to the main Archiv in Baden. They sent my query to the Archiv in Karlsruhe. I wrote to the Burgermeister of Ellmendingen. He sent me back a letter from the local pastor confirming the birth of Gustav, a page out of the phone book and a history of the village. I wrote to a Gustav Drollinger but unfortunately he had passed away so my letter went through several hands until it ended up in his son Rudi's possesion. Mean while I wrote to a Werner Drollinger and he didn't have the time so he gave it to his sister. His sister and his children went into the old church books and after researching both their lines sent me five generations back. As I was in the Army at the time I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Germany for 3 years and got to meet my unknown cousins and enjoy some of southern German hospitality. A lot of his life remains shrouded in mystery and what has been discovered about him raises more questions. I first thought he arrived in the USA in 1842 being confirmed by the facts of his buying 310 acres in Clearfied Township, Butler County in July 1842 and his uncle taking the oath of Intention to become a citizen in 1847. Then I tumbled to the NYC arrival that was indexed under "Drullinger" Gastav. He arrived 4 June 1839 on the ship Waverly out of Le Harve. What he did while in New York remains a mystery. As is why he came to western Pennsylvania. I at first thought he returned to New York City to marry his wife. As it turns out I wasn't paying close enough attention to the Indenture. It was a mortgage rather than a deed and was done in New York City. "Between Philip Frey formerly of the County of Allegheny in the State of Pennsylvania, now of the City, County and State of New York and Christine his wife of the first part and Gustav Frederick Drollinger of the second part. It states that Philip Frey was indebted to Gustav for the sum of $985." Exactly how Gustav managed to accumulate this debt is unknown. So the sequence of events was mortgaging for 310 acres of land. Then marriage to Magdalena Braun of Graben and finally moving to Butler county Pennsylvania. Which raises the questions of where did he know her from and when did they meet? Probably from going to the same church. Yet he moved around quite a bit which is rather obvious by his naming his "good friend Gottlieb Seif of Allegheny" as the executor of his will. He wrote his will in 1853 while living in Buffalo Township rather than Jefferson. Gottleib in turn named him as the executor of his will. He died in 1858 but his friend predeceased him in 1856. There is no doubt of the friendship between the two as Gottlieb and his wife were the Godparents of Gustav's first four children baptized in St Mark's Lutheran Church in Butler. Gustav also witnessed Gottlieb's will (copy in my possession). Gottleib was from the nearby village of Langensteinbach in Baden. Did he know him there or where did they meet? For that matter where did he get the money to travel from Germany to the USA let alone buy land? According to the History of Allegheny County 1886 Gottleib came to the USA in 1828. The census of 1850 gives Gottleib's age as 48. Gustav named his third son Philipp Gottlieb in his honor. If the German custom had been followed he would have gone through life as Gottlieb. He recorded the deed to the land in Clearfield township in 1843 and in Jefferson township Butler county 16 Feb 1854, ran a hotel on the Butler Freeport Pike until his death. He attended St. Mark's Lutheran in Butler and St. Lukes Lutheran Church in Hannahstown, Butler county. The rest of the children were baptized in St. Luke's starting with Philipp. Evidently he was baptized twice! He was arrested for selling whiskey without a license. My father always said it was to the Indians. A second arrest was for assault and battery for punching a man in the face. The third arrest was for two counts of tampering with the ballots while foreman of the elections. The arrests lend an aura of mystery to Gustav. He purchased land within three years of coming to America. Where this money came from is unknown but his father suffered a bankruptcy sale by the Crown in January 1839. He sent his uncle, Jacob, to take the oath of intention in 1847. Jacob is listed as the head of family in the 1850 census. History of Butler County, 1886 mentions "...Drollinger carried on (Nathan) Skeer's tavern until it burned down, when he erected a new building." That much is confirmed by sale of some land in Hannahstown by Susan Denny where it mentions it was the same lot conveyed by "the estate of the late Nathan Skeer" to Susan Denny 3 Oct 1856. She sold it to Gustav 1 Oct 1857, the deed being recorded 23 Oct 1894. Why the executors waited until 1894 to record and sell the land I have no idea. My father said it was because they wanted to wait until Gilbert Koedel was 21. The heirs of G.F. Drollinger are listed in the sale of the land to one John Frederick, 8 Oct 1894. They are listed on the deed, Adolph Drollinger and Josephine his wife of the City of Allegheny; Louisa Koedel (widow) and Henrietta Baesel and John Baesel, her husband, of the city of Pittsburgh; Emma Burtner and James Burtner, her husband of Manhattan Kansas; Henry Bauer and Mary Bauer his wife and Anna Dunn and Louis Dunn her husband of Bennett Allegheny County (said Henry Bauer being the surviving husband of his former wife Mary [Drollinger] Bauer now deceased and said Anna Dunn being the sole and only surviving child and heir); Betha Allen and R.G. Allen her husband of Kansas and Robert Krause of Delano Butler County PA guardians of Viola and Della Drollinger, said Bertha Allen being the surviving wife of Philip Drollinger deceased, Viola and Della being the minor children and all the children of Philip Drollinger; all of the heirs at law of G.F. Drollinger and Magdalena his wife late of Jefferson Township, Butler County both deceased. Deed dated 10 Aug 1843 Philip Frey and Christina Frey to Gustavus Frederick Drollinger for $1486.80 310 acres 126 perches being parts of tracts of land the Commonwealth granted by warrant to Cooper Shaefner, Leonard Eicholz and Daniel Barton and patented to Stephen Lowry patent date 10 September 1807, to Sarah Collins by will dated 29 November 1821 Census of 1850 enumerated the 20th of August: Gustavus Fr Drollinger 36 m farmer Germany Magdalena 37 f Germany Mary 6 f Pa Gustavus Fr 4 m Pa Adolphus W 2 m Pa Philip G 1/12 m Pa Jacob Drollinger 58 m none Germany Of his early life not much is known beyond his baptism in Ellmendingen. His mother died when he was a little over one year old. There is no evidence that his father remarried so one wonders what sort of home life he had. As his uncle came to the new world with him, perhaps it was a household of men he grew up in. In any event he appears to have traveled alone to the new world. What exactly he did after he arrived in New York City is not known. Yet he seems to have prospered enough to have acquired a nest egg to obtain land. whether or not this was gainfully gotten is up for grabs. Given his later escapades with the legal system he may have skirted the law. This lends an aura of the rogue to his mysterious image. Gordon Louis Drollinger

  
  

• Sources

  [S16] Ellmendingen Baden Church Records. [S17] U Presb Saxonburg PA Records.