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George Washington Delp was born on 31 March 1836 in Pennsylvania, probably in Montgomery county, where the Delp family had resided for several generations. His great-grandfather, Johann Georg "Hans" Delp had arrived in the area about 1738, almost 100 years earlier, from the Delp hometown in Klein-Bieberau, Hesse, Darmstadt, Germany.
George was born the third child and second son of John and Lydia (Landes) Delp. George may have experienced considerable hardship in his early years, as his father passed away when he was only 11 years old. The family is believed to have been split up amongst relatives at this point, as we find George on the 1850 U. S. Census no longer living with his mother, but with her sister, Elizabeth Moyer, and her family. On 1 September 1852, when George was only 16 years old, his mother also passed away, leaving him and his siblings orphans. As his extended family were all believed to be devote Mennonites, hopefully he and his siblings were reasonably well provided for.
A large group of these Mennonite families elected to migrate away from Pennsylvania in the mid-1850s and they settled in Whiteside county, Illinois. We don't know what prompted this move or how many families were a part of this migration, but we do know that a number of children of John and Lydia were among them, George included. On the 1860 U. S. Census for Sterling, Whiteside Co., Illinois, we find George living in the household of J. F. Cox, 41 years of age and born in New York. If there was any family connection between George and this man's family, we have not discovered it.
George was still in Whiteside county when the Civil War began. He joined the Union Army and fought with "A 34 Illinois Infantry," [as listed on the successful pension filed from the state of Nebraska by his wife, Ellen, years later] i.e. Company A of the 34th Illinois Infantry division. At present, we know nothing about his involvement in actual battles or how he might have fared during this time. We do know that at the war's conclusion, he married Ellen Almira Doolittle on 18 September 1866 in Sterling, Whiteside Co., Illinois.
Little is presently known of Ellen's background. A distant cousin, Geraldine (Fly) Donaldson, writes in a manuscript that Ellen was the daughter of George Doolittle of New York. From her obituary, we know she was born in Albany, New York on 14 February 1846. She may also have had some hardship in her early life, as this manuscript indicates her father passed away prematurely, while working on the Erie Canal. According to this manuscript, her mother married a "Cole" and this family ultimately ended up in Racine, Wisconsin. None of this has been independently confirmed by the author.
George and Ellen were the parents of 6 children - 3 sons and 3 daughters. All but one, the baby of their family, Bertram E. Delp, lived to be adults and have families of their own. Their firstborn child, Walter Everett Delp, was born in June 1867 in Illinois, so they stayed in the area of their marriage for a time. Their second child, Mabel Edwina "May" Delp, was born 1 September 1869 in Wisconsin. Although we don't know at present, we can speculate that the family moved up to Wisconsin with Ellen's family, leaving the large Mennonite community in Whiteside county, Illinois behind them.
The third-born child, Allie Belle, was born 28 July 1872 in Nebraska. So, the family was not in Wisconsin for very long. We don't know exactly when they moved to Nebraska, but on 10 June 1870 we find them on the 1870 U. S. Census in Sterling, Johnson Co., Nebraska. The family is believed to have lived here for a considerable period of time, as on 9 June 1880 they are found on the 1880 U. S. Census, still in Sterling, Johnson Co., Nebraska. During this period of their lives, the Delps, like most people of their time, made their living as farmers.
We are fortunate to have the following glimpse into what the area was like during this period:
STERLING
Located in Johnson County - On the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad - Thirty-Six Miles
From Lincoln - Population One Thousand
Sterling, a thriving town of 1,000 inhabitants, is beautifully situated on the Big Nemaha,
in the northwestern part of Johnson County and its second city in size and population.
The original site was settled by Mr. John Bentz as early as 1856, but Mr. Wm. Mann, at
present a resident of Wilbur, this state laid out the town and named it after his former
home, Sterling, Ill. He bought the water power of Mr. Bentz who used it to run a sawmill,
and put up a grist mill to run the sawmill which has since become a permanent institution
of the town.
In 1873, the Atchison & Nemaha railroad was built from which there has been a
substantial and steady growth. Sterling's original advantages and the enterprise of its
citizens, together with the thrifty and pushing farmers of the surrounding country, offer
excellent inducement for the investment of capital. Realizing the need for improvement in
the capacity and appearance of the flouring mill, the business men have subscribed a bonus
of $1,000 to be given to parties who will build and operate a first class roller mill. The
gift has been accepted and a company is now arranging to commence work at once. A like
bonus is offered to establish a canning factory and practical experience in this line will
do well to come and look over the advantages Sterling offers before locating elsewhere.
The following is quoted from a recent issue of the Sterling Press. "While Sterling is
well represented in almost every department of business, there are nevertheless excellent
openings. The boom that is upon us, our rapidly increasing population and enlarged trade,
which is daily growing larger, demand new enterprises to cope with the pressing needs. A
hearty welcome will therefore be given those who should contemplate moving into our town
to engage in business."
Our creamery has been in business a year and is a quite a popular institution with the
farmers. They ship butter to New York and other intermediate points. Sterling is one of
the best shipping points on the A. & N. R.R. Immense quanities of grain and live stock
are raised on the splendid farms and cattle ranges on all sides of us, also most excellent
fruit and vegetables. There are three firms doing a general business in buying stock and
grain, two banks, two newspapers, the Press and Gazette, two lawyers and real estate
dealers, two hardware stores, two meat markets, three drug stores, two restaurants, two
hotels, two harness shops, four millinery establishments, three blacksmith shops, one
wagon maker and repair shop, one book and stationary store, one exclusive boot, shoe and
clothing store, one jeweler, two bakeries, seven dry goods and general merchandise stores,
one photographer, one implement firm, two livery stables, two loan brokers, two shoe
makers, one billiard hall, besides contractors and carpenters, carpet weavers,
dressmakers, market gardeners, broom maker, draymen, painters, plasterers and masons.
etc., three allopathic physicians and one homeopathic. There is also a fine public schools
divided into four grades.
The Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian denominations each have comfortable and neat
churches and exceptionally fine pastors and preachers. Each church supports a good Sabbath
school. There are also the Odd Fellows, Masons, Knights of Pythias, Women's Christian
Temperance and the Home for the Friendless Auxiliary and hope to have a Young Men's
Christian Association in the near future.
The prospect of a competing line of rail road crossing the A. & N. at Sterling is a
boom to which all are looking forward.
[Transcribed
from the "Daily Nebraska State Journal," Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday, 5 June
1887, p. 10]
[Ed. Note: The reader will see a reference in the article to this town being named after
Sterling, Whiteside Co., Illinois. Just coincidence the Delp family moved here?]
Francis Eugene "Frank" Delp was born 14 March 1875 in Adams, Gage Co., Nebraska. Myrtle Elsie, born 20 December 1877, was also born in Nebraska, but we don't know where at present. As we can see from Frank's birth place, there must have been some attraction to the neighboring county - Gage - for the Delp family. From the map, we can see that Sterling was just across the Gage county line in Johnson county, while Adams is just across the Johnson county line in Gage county. Perhaps the family owned property in both counties. Future research on property records in both counties may clear this up. As stated above, we do know the family was back in Sterling, Johnson Co., Nebraska for the 1880 U. S. Census.
On 11 October 1884, George Washington Delp passed away of cancer, at the age of
48. Like his parents before him, George had passed away somewhat prematurely,
leaving a large family behind. The oldest child, Walter, was just 17 at the
time. George is buried in Hooker Cemetery in Hooker, Gage county, Nebraska, along
with a number of the family of his oldest son, Walter.
[Ed. Note: Research indicates there are other Delp interments in this cemetery - an
Ina, 1866 - 1867, a Myrtle, 1863 - 1871, and a Walter, who died in 1872. Who are
these children? They are not the children of George and Ellen.]
One thing we can say for sure about George, as we can about many of his era - he lived a full life. When we consider that his predecessors had all lived and died in basically the same general small area, it has always fascinated the author to consider what these pioneering spirits were like who moved out from their ancestral homelands and migrated West. In his 48 years, George travelled first from Pennsylvania to Illinios. Then he fought during the Civil War. Returning back to Illinois, he married and then later moved on to Wisconsin, then out to Nebraska, where he passed away. All during a time when travel was by foot or horse.
With his surviving family, one important question is how they supported themselves after George's death. Referring again to the family history manuscript of Geraldine (Fly) Donaldson, we find that Ellen was apparently quite an accomplished photographer. Perhaps she used her ability in this area to bring in some additional income over and above that supplied by their farming efforts.
Subsequent family marriages show the continuation of the family's travel back and forth across the Gage-Johnson county line and on into Kansas. First, Mable married Edgar Portlock on 27 December 1886 and then Allie married Hiram Watkins on 12 March 1889, both in Johnson county. Walter married Nancy Bigley on 6 March 1890 in Filley, Gage county. Frank married Neva Swartout on 15 September 1899 in Gage county. Myrtle married John Hutchison on 3 December 1895 in Summerfield, Marshall county, Kansas. By 2 June 1900, we find Ellen on the 1900 U. S. Census living alone in Richland Twp., Marshall Co., Kansas. Her son, Frank, was living nearby, with his young bride, Neva, and their firstborn child, Ruth Ethelyn Delp.
While it is not known for certain, there was believed to significant railroad traffic between these areas and Marshall county, Kansas. Perhaps members of the Delp family traveled to and from the area for awhile. We do know from her obituary that Ellen moved to Summerfield in 1892, before Walter, Frank, and Myrtle were married. Here she lived out the remainder of her life, dying on 12 March 1934 - almost 50 years after George had passed away.
Ellen Almira (Doolittle) Delp is buried in Summerfield Cemetery, right on the Kansas - Nebraska border in Summerfield, Marshall county, Kansas.
By the time of her death, all of her and George's children, excepting Walter, had moved away to California, where many of this couple's descendants live to this day.
Author: Roger L. Roberson, Jr. • Last updated: 27 December 2009