The Kitzmiller family originated in the Kitzbuehl region of Upper
Austria, migrating from there through Austria to Bavaria, then to
Leimen, near Heidelberg, before emigrating to Pennsylvania. One member
of the family eventually settled with his family in Bloom Township.
Adam Kitzmiller was among the early settlers in Bloom Township and is
one of several Revolutionary War veterans buried in the township. He was
born January 19, 1744, in that part of Lancaster County that is now
Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania, and was baptized in ther German naming style
as George Adam Kitzmiller three days later by Rev. Casper Stoever.
Adam's father, Jacob, died when he was four years old and on September
6, 1748, Adam and his brothers and sisters were placed under the
guardianship of Rev. Stoever and others.
The first official record of Adam Kitzmiller is a tax list in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania in 1773. He was probably married by that time. His
wife's name was Elizabeth "Betsey", but her surname is still unknown. By
1777 Adam and Betsey were living in Paxtang Township, Dauphin County,
Pennsylvania, where Adam was on a list of "Non-Associates" and
ineligible for military service. The following year, however, he took
the oath of allegiance to the Revolutionary cause and paid taxes to
support the war effort. He eventually enlisted in the 6th Class,
Lancaster County Militia, and received pay in 1781 for his militia
service. After the war the family moved to Marsh Barren Hundred,
Washington County, Maryland, and paid taxes there from 1783 until at
least 1803. Adam and Betsey then moved to Bloom Township, Fairfield
County, Ohio, with several of their children. Adam died at the age of 61
on July 7, 1805, not long after settling in Ohio, and is buried in Old
Coffman Cemetery in Bloom Township. His grave is now marked with a stone
honoring his service in the American Revolution.
Betsey Kitzmiller paid taxes in Bloom Township in 1806, and was a party
to a deed there in 1807. The authors of a recent history of the family:
"From the Danube to the Susquehanna....", claim that Betsey later moved
back to Maryland and was living there with her son, John, when the 1840
census was taken. This has never been proven.
Their children are in two groups, those who remained in Maryland, and
those who settled with their parents in Bloom Township:
Adam, Jr., Catherine, Jacob remained in Maryland. John stayed there for
many years, but eventually moved to Ogle County, Illinois. Two children,
whose names are not known, probably died young.
Their fourth child, Benjamin, was born about 1776 and was probably the
leader in the move to Bloom Township. He married Elizabeth ----- and
lived in Bloom Township until about 1833 when he moved to Logan, Ohio,
where he was the town's blacksmith. The writer of this history is a
descendant of Benjamin and Elizabeth's son, Daniel, who married Anna
Karnes and lived in Royalton before they also moved to Logan.
The other children who moved to Bloom Township with their parents were:
William, Rosina, Jonathan, Rhoda, Andrew, Milton, Susannah, and Samuel.
The last four children were minors when their father died in 1805.
Rosina is believed to have died young. Three sons: William, Jonathan,
and Andrew, served in the War of 1812 from Bloom Township. The military
rolls list Jonathan as dying in 1814 while serving in the army, but he
lived until 1831 when his will was filed in the Fairfield County court.
He left no wife or children, but lists his brothers: Jacob, John,
William, Andrew, and Benjamin; his sister, Susannah Kenoyer, and the
children of his deceased brother, Adam, and deceased sister, Catherine
Betz.
Above article written by Richard Welch, Richard_welch@hotmail.com and submitted to this website on October 20, 1998
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