Remembrance of Peter Paul Dellinger, by his grandson, Hartley Dellinger, who wrote this in October 1984.
"I can only remember my grandfather as an old man with white hair, slender built, about six feet tall, with a mustache. In his late years, he would live with the families of his children for several months at a time. I think he stayed with us three summers in the early 1930's. He died in 1934 at 77 (he was actually only 75) years of age in Elwood, Indiana.
When he first came to stay with us he must have been 70 plus. My dad was operating a gravel pit at the time and was selling and delivering gravel to the county. Peter Paul would help in this work. My dad and older brother, Eugene, would operate the horse-drawn scoop to clear off the top dirt. Bob and I, together with Peter Paul, would help load up the wagon bed and haul the gravel and spread it on the road. The bottom of the wagon bed was made of 2" by 4" boards running the length of the wagon. To dump the gravel, the 2 by 4 boards were turned edgewise. Unloading was easy. The real work was loading with hand shovels.
In later years, he was not able to help in this work, and would mostly sit around the house and yard.
He chewed tobacco and was pretty good at spitting 8 to 10 feet. Becky and Shirley recall that he would spit tobacco juice at their bare feet.
The times that he stayed with us are the only occasions that I can remember ever seeing Peter Paul. It seems odd now but it also seems that we never referred to him as Grandfather but always as Peter Paul."
Peter was born at
Freeport, Stephenson Co., Illinois, on 7 October 1859. He was the son of
Peter Dellinger and
Charlotte Spangler. He married
Charlotte Hartley at
Arcadia, Hamilton Co., Indiana, on 13 February 1882. He resided at
Greencastle, Putnam Co., Indiana, in 1900. For about 18 months Peter Paul and his family lived in the Fox Ridge area of Greencastle. Fox Ridge is in the southeast part of Greencastle. After being there for about 18 months, the family moved back to Arcadia.. Peter Paul Dellinger was census 1910 on 16 April 1910 at
Freeport, Stephenson Co., Illinois; According to the 1910 census for the City of Freeport, Stephenson Co., Illinois, living in a boarding house run by a Clara Beck is a 50 year old Paul Dellinger, who is married for 28 years and who was born in Illinois and whose parents were born in Pennsylvania. Paul Dellinger speaks English and laborer in some sort of factory. He can read and write. He married
Mary Shepherd at
Anderson, Madison Co., Indiana, on 20 September 1919. Peter was divorced from
Mary Shepherd in 1921. He married
Sarah Clem on 21 November 1921. He married
Mary Ellen Artuk on 21 October 1923. Peter died on 1 December 1934 at
2100 No. A St., Elwood, Madison Co., Indiana, at age 75. His body was interred on 3 December 1934 at
Arcadia, Hamilton Co., Indiana, at Dunkard Cemetery at the Church of the Brethren. Headstone, which was laid out by Thomas Baynes Dellinger, Peter Paul's grandson, has that he was born in 1857..