Zoeller

Family of Capt. John and Rosanna (Zoeller) Seiferth

of Pittsburgh

1830 - Rosanna'a future husband John Seiferth born in Bavaria, Germany. In America, his name was spelled Seiferth and Seifferth.

1837 - Rosanna Zoeller born in Wurtemburg, Germany on May 8, 1837. She was a sister of Phillip Georg Zoeller.

1853 - Rosanna emigrated to the United States at the age of 16.

    -- The date of the Seiferths' marriage is unknown, but is presumed to be circa 1855. They had five children -- John H. Seiferth, Elizabeth Seiferth, Emma L. Seiferth, Katherine Seiferth Connelly and Louisa Seiferth Dravo.

1856 - Son John H. Seiferth born in Pittsburgh. He later may have married Josephine Gelly (1858- ? ) although this is in question. A couple with these names had four children -- Josephine Seiferth, Leonard G. Seiferth, Eliza Emma Seiferth and Herbert Seiferth, born between 1881 and 1898.

1858 - December - Daughter Elizabeth W. "Lizzie" Seiferth born in Pittsburgh. She later married (?) Weiser.

1860 - Daughter Emma L. Seiferth born in Pittsburgh. (In the 1860 census, she is named as "Ida J. Seifferth."

   -- When the federal census was taken in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County in 1860, John (age 30) and Rosanna (23) and their children John, Elizabeth and Emma lived in the city's 1st Ward. That year, John's occupation was listed as "restaurant." Also living in their household was domestic servant Elizabeth Wise, age 17.

1862 - Daughter Katherine Seiferth born. She later married (?) Culp and Clifford B. Connelly and had four children -- Eugene Culp, Ella K. Connelly, Katherine L. Connelly and Eugene Culp Connelly, born between 1887 and 1904.

1865 - May - Daughter Louisa Seiferth born. She would go on to wed A.W. Dravo (1867- ? ) and have one daughter, Margaret Dravo.

 
Obituary, 1881

1870 - June 14 - The federal census shows the family (spelled "Seifferth") continuing to live in Pittsburgh's 1st Ward with children John, Elisabeth, Ida J., Kate J. and Louisa. John, age 40, is listed as "Liquor Dealer." Employed in the household is domestic servant Mary Arrensburg (age 18).

1880 - June 8 - The U.S. census shows the family making its home on Pittsburgh's Market Street with children John, L.W. (Elizabeth), E.J. (Emma), Kate and Louisa, ranging in age from 24 to 16. John, age 49, is listed as "Liquor Dealer" while son John is shown as a "clerk in bank."

1881 - July 31 – John Seiferth died at his residence on Market Street, age 51. He was “the well-known liquor merchant,” said his obituary in the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, and “leaves five children.”

    -- Aug. 3 – Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette called him “Captain John Seiferth” and said his funeral was held at the German Evangelical Protestant Church on Smithfield Street. He was a Civil War veteran, a member of the old “Vigilant” fire company before the paid fire department came into existence, and was a director of the Odd Fellows Saving Bank. Said the Gazette: "The funeral procession was headed by a squad of policemen under command of Lieutenant O'Brien; next came Staley's band, the different secret orders and over one hundred carriages and buggies."

1883 - Daughter Katherine marries her first husband, (?) Culp. In 1887, she gives birth to a son, Eugene Culp.

 
Clifford Brown Connelley

1889 - Daughter Katherine marries her second husband, Clifford Brown Connelley (1863- ? ).

1893 - Daughter Louisa Seiferth marries A.W. Dravo (1867- ? ). In 1898, she gives birth to daughter Margaret Dravo.

1900 - Widowed for 19 years, Rosanna (spelled "Resena") is shown in the U.S. census to be residing with married daughter and son-in-law, Louisa and A.W. Dravo, in Allegheny City (today Pittsburgh's North Side). A.W.'s occupation is listed as "Insurance Agt." Also in the home was Rosanna's 40-year-old daughter Elizabeth Weiser, either widowed or divorced. On the census, Rosanna is shown to have been the mother of two children, when in reality she had five.

1910 - Widowed for 29 years, Rosanna (spelled "Rosena") is listed in the federal census as living with married daughter and son in law, Katherine and Clifford B. Connelley on Maripoe Street in Pittsburgh. Clifford's occupation is given as "Dean" of a "Tech School." Also living under the Connelley roof are their children Eugene Culp (age 23 -- a machinist in a machine shop), Ella K. Connelley (20), and Katherine L. Connelley (6). The 72-year-old Rosanna is correctly shown to have had five children, with all five still alive.

1910s - Rosanna is believed to have died during the decade of the 1910s.

1911 - Son in law Clifford B. Connelley served as Dean of the School of Applied Industries at the Carnegie Technical Schools, and as President of the National Education Association Department of Manual Training and Art. He is mentioned in The Journal of Home Economics, Volume III, published by The American Home Economics Association, Baltimore.

1919 - April 23 - Son in law Clifford B. Connelley was appointed Acting Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry by Governor William Cameron Sproul. On Nov. 13, 1919, he became Commissioner outright. He served until 1923. Among his important rulings during this time were in the areas of anthracite coal labor disputes and women in industry.

1920 - The federal census shows Clifford B. and Kathryn J. Connelley living in Pittsburgh on Marsonia Street. In their household were Kathryn's 60-year-old widowed sister, Elizabeth W. Weisser, and 16-year-old daughter Kathryn L. Connelly. The census lists Clifford as Commissioner of the State Department of Labor and Industry.

  -- In 1920, Clifford is known to have made the following presentations:

  -- Clifford is profiled in the 1920 edition of Smull's Legislative Handbook. Click for more.

1930 - Connelley Vocational High School opens as a boy's trade school in Pittsburgh, the largest vocational high school for boys in Pennsylvania. It is named in honor of Clifford B. Connelley. The school later is renamed as Clifford B. Connelley Technical Institute and Adult Education Center.

Copyright © 2009 Mark A. and Elizabeth (Zoeller) Miner.

Photograph of Clifford Brown Connelley courtesy of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry