#50913 Mary A. Deffler ( John Deffler◊ )

Mary was born Abt 1842 in Pennsylvania.

I'm uncertain if Mary A. is really a Deffler or, at least, the child of John & Barbara Deffler. She is listed on the 1860 Census of the Deffler household with that surname and, for that reason, I've given her a family entry. However, there is no corresponding 8 year old Mary in the family in 1850; the 1860 Census is the only one on which she appears. Nor does she appear to be fostered out, as I find no Mary A. Deffler — or variation of that name — anywhere else on the census of a reasonably appropriate age.

Another possibility lies with Ann Smith, a 10 year old girl living with the Defflers on the 1850 Census, who isn't listed in 1860. Since family relationships weren't recorded in 1850, we don't know if Ann was a servant, relative or foster child. We appear to find Ann on the 1860 Census living in town as Mary Ann Smith, a servant with the Trepler/Tressler family. The age of the latter woman is 20, as expected, but her birth place is Pennsylvania instead of Maryland.

Mary A. Deffler is also shown as born in Pennsylvania. Her surname is dittoed down, not written in. If we speculate that the census taker missed a mention that Mary A. had a different surname, then there is a possibility that Ann Smith (1850 with the Defflers), Mary Ann Smith (1860 with the Tresslers) and Mary A. Deffler (1860 with the Defflers) are one and the same person. If she was working part-time for each family then she may have been double-counted.

1850 U.S. Census, Southampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009, Roll: M432_828; Page: 216B; Image: 430. Note that Southampton, Pennsylvania is listed in Ancestry.com under Northampton, Pennsylvania although the actual images show correctly.

1860 U.S. Census, Northampton Twp., Somerset Co., Pennsylvania, Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009, Roll: M653_1183; Page: 339; Image: 347; Family History Library Film: 805183.

Line Generation: 2

Relationship: Great-Great-Grand-Aunt