Commentary is in italics. Originally written by Laura Katherine Reinhardt Rheinheimer, daughter-in-law of Jacob Rheinheimer, in 1972. Some minor factual edits are not marked; the rest is as originally written.

John Rheinheimer from (Botcion) Germany, stole a ride on a freight ship when he was 20 years old. The reason for it was to get away from military training. The time of his departure there was 1840.

He had a brother and 2 sisters that came over later and lived near Sugar Creek, Ohio. One sister married Jacob Limboch.

The stowing away and military parts might be true, but the facts are wrong. John (Johannes) arrived in the US in 1860. He came from a town called Waldgrehweiler. His only brother died at age 2, though he had an uncle and some cousins (Limbacher) from Waldgrehweiler in Ohio when he arrived, and two sisters came either before or after he did.

John Rheinheimer met and married Anna Miller, daughter of John Miller. Anna had one sister and one brother, Pete. Her father married two other wives, each time having 2 daughters and 1 son with each of the three wives. (Menno C. Miller, Vannie (Miller) Frey, and Lydia Eash from the last wife.)

John Rheinheimer raised a family of 4 boys and 4 girls.

Jacob was one boy's name, who married Rachel Suntheimer, the daughter of Frederick and Rachel (Miller) Suntheimer. To this union were born 3 sons, Edward, Frederick, and Ira. An epidemic of typhoid fever broke out in the family, when Ira was two weeks old. His mother (Rachel) contracted the disease, having taken care of Jacob who was unconscious with typhoid fever after and before Ira was born. Rachel became ill with the disease and died before her husband Jacob regained consciousness. She was also buried before he came to. The oldest son, Edward, also had the disease, but recovered. Because Ira was motherless, some Christian friends by the name of Aaron Yoder took the baby and raised him to manhood. (Aaron Yoder's had no other children of their own, but Louie Miller was Sarah's son when she married Aaron Yoder.) The rest of Jacob Rheinheimer's sons, Edward and Frederick, went to live with their grandparents. Frederick Suntheimers, who lived south of Pashan school house, where Joe Yoders lived. Jacob Rheinheimer went to Hopedale, Illinois, for the summer and worked for a farmer ther by the name of Joe Springer. Reasons for this was he heard that the wages were higher there and he needed more money. At the same time and the same year, there were four members of the Suntheimer family died after contracting typhoid fever. They were Grandma Suntheimer, Andrew Suntheimer (Husband of Carrie Rheinheimer afterward married to Jake Hostetler of which Orie Hostetler was ther son, also Josiah Hostetler was Jake's son by a previous marriage, and Carrie had a son and daughter. The son died at age eight but Nora lived to marry John S. Miller, whose children are Ernest, Payson, and Bernice.)

The third member that died of typhoid fever was Jake Johns who was married to Mary Suntheimer. To this union was born Hettie (who grew to womanhood and married Eli Plank from Kalona, Iowa. They had one daughter, Mary, but when she was six weeks old Hettie died, and she was brought to the Jake Rheinheimer home to be raised by her grandmother Mary (Johns) Rheinheimer.) Mary (Suntheimer) Johns went to live also with her parents, Frederick Suntheimer after the death of her husband Jake Johns. The Jake Rheinheimer children also being at Grandpa's (Frederick Suntheimers) and Hettie being there with Mary, her mother made them brothers and sister after Jake Rheinheimer came home from his work in Illinois—he married Mary Johns so all lived together under one roof.

The typhoid epidemic mentioned took place in November, 1894. Jake Rheinheimer and Mary Suntheimer Johns were married in March, 1898. Ira Rheinheimer remained in the household of Aaron Yoder until adulthood.

After living with Mary (Suntheimer Johns) (who was a sister to his first wife, Rachel) for 38 years, she died of cancer of the breast. Her granddaughter, Mary Plank, was 16 years old when she died.

After her death, two years later, he married Emma (Hooley) who had previously been married to Jake Hostetler. The Jake Hostetler's had one daughter, Effie, who was married to Milton Kauffman. The Jake Hostetler's had five children by the names of Vernon, Orvan, Leroy, Edith, and Dorothy. This made them step cousins of all the Rheinheimer cousins: Edward's, Frederick's, and Ira's children.

After Jacob and Emma Rheinheimer were married 10 years, she died of a heart attack. After being a widow for two years, Jacob Rheinheimer married Nancy Davidhiser, who had previously been married to John Springer. John Springer died and left Nancy a widow with three children: Mrs. Esther Coconour, Mrs. Alvin Miller, and William Springer, which make three more step cousins for Edward's, Frederick's, and Ira Rheinheimer's children.

After living four years with Nancy, Jacob died of a stroke and Nancy lived 4 years longer and died at her grandson's home by the name of Charles. This biography of Jacob Rheinheimer was written by Mrs. Edward Rheinheimer for the benefit of our grandchildren. Written in 1972.