John Zittle was a son of Mary Magdalena (née Hiestand) and Michael Zittle, senior, born in Washington County, Maryland. His date of birth is unknown—possibly around 1810. John Zittle grew up in or near Zittlestown in Washington County. His father made his first purchases of land there in 1811 from two couples named Summers.

John Zittle and Sarah Summers were married on 19 June 1833 in Washington County. The couple are known to have had two daughters: Elizabeth Ann and Mary Ellen. Sarah predeceased her husband; her date of death is unknown.

John Zittle and Mary "Laport" were married on 12 February 1845 in Frederick County, Maryland. Mary (née Fink) was the widow of Mathias (or Matthew) Leopold, with whom she had a son, Andrew Thomas Leopold. John and Mary Zittle are known to have had two daughters: Sarah Catherine and Caroline Rebecca. John Zittle died after about June 1847 (based on his youngest daughter's birth date), and before his father (who died in January 1850). Mary and her daughters moved the area of Sharpsburg, Washington County, where she died in 1896.

Apart from his two marriages, there are few records of John Zittle. He is not found in any census nor in any land records. In 1853, William H. Miller, who administered the estate of Michael Zittle, senior, deposed: "He believes that John Zittle who died in the life time of his father left four children all of whom are minors and reside in this County, viz. Mary Ellen, Elizabeth Ann, Sarah Catherine and Caroline Rebecca [...]"*

In 1850, John Zittle's second wife Mary resided with their two children (and her son from her first marriage). John Zittle and his first wife Sarah's younger daughter, Mary Ellen, resided with Sarah's mother Elizabeth Summers. John and Sarah's elder daughter, Elizabeth Ann, not found in 1850 U.S. Census.

Burial

"There is a John and Sarah Zittle buried in the older section of the Boonsboro Cemetery. Most likely it is this couple." (Elizabeth Jayne Blair and Leona Miller Hart, The Descendants of Michael Zittle, Sr. (Anchorage, Alaska: n.p., 1995), p. 144.)

Notes

1830 U.S. Census, District 6 (Boonsboro Dist.), Washington Co., Maryland; p. 105 (written).

[9.] Sittle, Michael.

[13.] Summers, Jacob.

• John Zittle's father's household, and Sarah Summer's father's household enumerated on the same page. Michael Zittle , senior, founded and resided in Zittlestown.

" 'Little' John | [page] 162 | Sarah Summers | 6-19-1833 | [minister:] Reck" (Clerk of the Circuit Court, Washington County, Maryland, Index Marriage Licenses, 1799 to 1860, Washington County, n.p. [image 153/299].)

• John's brother Peter H. also married in 1833, also indexed as "Little."

"Feby 12 1845 | Zittle John | Mary Laport" (Frederick County Court, Maryland, Index to Marriage Licenses, Male, 1778-1851, p. 432. [image 273/274])

* Circuit Court of Washington County, Maryland; Jacob Beagley vs. Wm. H. Miller. Transcription in Blair and Hart, p. 291.

1850 U.S. Census, Subdivision 2, Washington Co., Maryland; dwelling 450, family 466, lines 1-4, p. 33 (printed), 9 Sep 1850.

1. Mary "Sittle," 35, Md.

2. Andrew -----, 10, Md.

3. Elizabeth -----, 4, Md.

4. Rebecca -----, 2, Md.

• Andrew was the son from Mary's first marriage, to Mathias Leopold. Elizabeth may be an error for (or conflation with) Sarah, Mary's daughter with John Zittle who was born in 1847. Elizabeth Ann Zittle, John Zittle's daughter with his first wife, was born about 1836.

1850 U.S. Census, District 1, Washington Co., Maryland; dwelling 1303, family 1361, lines 28-31, p. 210 (printed), 13 Aug 1850.

28. Elizabeth Summers, 73, Md,, cannot read or write.

29. Cath. -----, 43, Md.

30. Mary E. Zittle, 11, Md. attended school.

31. Jas. K. P. Summers, 5, Md. [James Knox Polk Summers]

• Elizabeth Summers with unmarried daughter Catherine, and orphaned grandchildren Mary (Sarah's daughter) and James.

1860 U.S. Census, Boonsboro Dist., Washington Co., Maryland; dwelling 1558, family 1675, lines 38-40 & 1-2, pp. 213-14 (written), 5 Aug 1860.

38. Otho A. Smith, 50, physician ($32,000; $10,000) Maryland.

[...]

2. Elizabeth "Gittle," 24, Maryland.

1860 U.S. Census, Boonsboro Dist., Washington Co., Maryland; dwelling 1571, family 1688, lines 25-29, p. 215 (written), 5 Aug 1860.

25. Jonas Davies, 46, cabinet maker ($1,200; $400), Maryland.

26. Mary -----, 36, Maryland.

27. Mary E. Zittle, 20, servant, Maryland.

[...]

1860 U.S. Census, Sharpsburg Dist., Washington Co., Maryland; dwelling 1342, family 1446, lines 37-40, p. 194, 27 Aug 1860.

37. Morgan Miller, 41, farmer ($7,000; $2,700), Maryland

38. Andrew -----, 39, farmer, Maryland.

39. Mary Zittle, 35, housekeeper, Maryland.

40. Sarah -----, 15, Maryland.

1860 U.S. Census, Tilghmanton Dist., Washington , Maryland; dwelling 1186, family 1285, lines 10-14, p. 175 (printed), 16 Aug 1860.

10. John Snively, 58, farmer ($7,500; $1,000), Maryland.

[...]

14. Rebecca Zittle, 13, servant, Maryland.

The 1912 Maryland death certificate of daughter Elizabeth Ann Alexander (née Zittle) identifies her parents as John Zittle and Sallie Summers, both born in Maryland

The 1923 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, death certificate of daughter Sarah Catherine—as "Sarah M. Miller"—identifies her parents as John Zittle and Mary Fink, both born in Washington Co., Md.

Reviewed 13 March 2024.