Dillinger Family

THE DILLINGER FAMILY.— BETHANY STATION.

Daniel Dillinger was born, Aug. 6, 1787, in the east part of the State, and came to this county at an early period, settling at Bethany, on the farm now owned by his son Samuel, and occupied by Moses Hickson. He died Feb. 9, 1845, aged fifty-seven years, and his wife (Mary Myers) June 19, 1871, aged eighty-one. She was born in Lancaster County. Their children were Daniel, Christian, Joseph, Jacob, Samuel, Daniel, Abraham, Elizabeth, married to Alexander Myers; Sarah, to Michael Sheetz; and Mary, first to John McCollum, and afterwards to John Billheimer. Of these Samuel Dillinger was born Oct. 28, 1810, and married Sarah Loucks, born in 1808. He moved to his home farm in 1832, before which, after his marriage, he lived near Scottdale. Their children were: Annie, married to Joseph Hickson, and deceased; Mary, married to Abraham Sherrick; Catharine, married to Moses Hickson; Sarah, married to J.C. Fox; John L., married to Mary McIntyre; Elizabeth, married to C.T. Hanna; Eliza, married to A.A. Hasson; Daniel L.; Samuel, married to Katie Hutchinson. About 1830, Samuel Dillinger started a small still on his farm in 1851, and in 1852 erected a frame distillery at Old Bethany (West Bethany post-office), to which in 1856 he added a grist-mill, which was operated until 1881, when destroyed by fire. The same Mr. Dillinger, with his two sons, Daniel L. and Samuel, erected a new three-story frame distillery at Bethany Station, and began distilling in March, 1882.

The firm of S. Dillinger & Sons manufacture pure rye whiskey, the only rye distillery now in operation in the township. It has a capacity for two hundred bushels a day. Its market is Pittsburgh and the East. All its grain is purchased in the West. Mr. Dillinger owns nearly a thousand acres of land in the township, half of which is full of undeveloped coal. They have at Tarr’s Station sixty-four coke-ovens, and fifty-one at Hawkeye Station. The former were erected in 1879, and the latter in 1871. This firm does a very extensive business in its distillery, coke-ovens, and flour trade.

Bethany Station is a growing village that arose nearly three years ago on the Dillingers establishing their coke-ovens, and is fast increasing in population and business. It lies a mile and a half northeast of Old Bethany and a mile northwest of Tarr’s Station. The Dillinger family is excelled by no other in the northern part of the township in amount of business done, and has ever been specially active in the cause of education, several of the best school-houses being built through the persistent energy of Samuel Dillinger, Sr. He was one of the projectors of the South Penn Railroad in 1870 and 1871, at which time he and his sons had seventy coke-ovens in Fayette County, at Pennsville, now owned by A.O. Tinstman, who purchased them in 1881. They employ at their two coke-works over a hundred men.