William married WITMER, Fanny Mann on 27 Feb 1873 in York County, PA. Fanny (daughter of WITMER, Christian Habecker and MANN, Maria Schneider) was born on 12 Jan 1844 in Town of Niagara, Niagara County, NY; died on 7 Oct 1909 in York, PA area. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John + KNIESLY, Sarah. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Drowned in Niagara River at foot of his mill. Body found at Lewiston October 26, 1859.

Buffalo NY Daily Courier - 10/27/1859

The BODY OF M R . W I T M E R F O U N D ,-
The Niagara Falls Gazette says: " The body of our
late townsman, Christian H. Witmer, was found a
short distance below Lewiston on Friday. It was
lying in the edge of the water, partly on shore
where It had evidently been driven within a day
or two by the wind! The body was In a very good
state of preservation. The relatives were at once
notified. and readily recognized it. The clothing
was nearly all gone- necktie, one wristband and shoes and stocking being
all that was left.
It will be recollected that Mr. Witmer was
drowned by falling into the river, near Suspension Bridge, on the 17th of September.

Christian married MANN, Maria Schneider on 31 May 1831. Maria was born on 11 Jan 1808 in Columbia, Lancaster County, PA; died on 30 May 1885 in WItmer Rd. near Hyde Park Blvd., Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY; was buried in WItmer Memorial Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Niagara Gazette

About a week ago-Mrs. Witmer, widow
of the late Christian Witmer, received,
a stroke of paralysis, followed by a
seooud Sunday morning, from which
she did not rally, dying the same evening,
aged 77 years.
Her late husband came to .Niagara
with his parents, from Pennsylvania, in
1811. Miss Mann was from Manor
township, Lancaster, Pa., and after her
marriage with Mr. Witmer settled on
the homestead where her death occurred,
a short distance from this village.
Her husband was engaged in the milling
business at this-place-and Suspension
Bridge, and was for many years
the owner of the Witmer mill, now being
torn dowu. In September, 1859, he
was drowned near his mill at Suspension
Bridge, Since that time_,until recently
the business has been carried on by the
Witmer Bros... The sons. J. M.,
Abraham, and John, and two daughter,
Elizabeth and Fannie, survive. Mrs,
Witmer was an earnest, christian wom-
an, beloved by all who knew her. The
funeral vwil be observed from her late
residence tomorrow afternoon at 2.30
o'clock.

Notes:

Abraham Witmer was a pioneer settler from Lancaster County, PA, who settled on a farm of several hundred acres about one mile northeasterly from the old suspension bridge in the town of Niagara., NY


Tonawanda News - 7/18/1970

By WILLARD DITTM AR
President
Historical Society
of the Tonawandas
Witmer Road, connecting
Niagara Falls Boulevard
and River Road in North
Tonawanda, was named for
a family of early frontier
settlers.
In 1810, John Witmer and
his family, consisting of his
wife and eight children, left
Lancaster, Pa., and settled
on a 100-acre farm on
Military Road, which he had
purchased from one Isaac
Swain. At that time there
was only one other clearing
on Military Road.
Abram Witmer, a brother
of John, came to the Niagara
Frontier in 1811 from the
same place in Pennsylvania
with his wife and four children.
They settled on a tract
of land purchased from the
Holland Land Co. on
Saunders Settlement Road.
When the War of 1812 broke
out, Abram took his family,
which had grown larger,
back to Pennsylvania. The
Witmer brothers were
Mennonites and had
religious scruples against
war.
Tobias Witmer, one of
Abram's seven sons, was
born in 1816 at Bellevue
(Suspension Bridge) and
became one of the first
surveyors of the region. He
made several maps of early
Tonawanda which are still
the main reliance for lot
lines and street boundaries.
On an 1852 map of Niagara
County there are shown
nine families of Witmers
living at different points in
the Town of Niagara. The
two first Witmers. John and
Abram. reared 17 children,
most of whom survived and
married.

Abraham married HABECKER, Barbara on 8 Oct 1804 in Columbia, Lancaster County, PA. Barbara (daughter of HABECKER, Christian and HERR, Esther) was born on 23 Oct 1782 in Manor Township, Lancaster County, PA; died on 6 Jul 1859 in Witmer Homestead, Town of Niagara, Niagara County, NY; was buried in WItmer Memorial Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]