Sgt. Hubert Laurence Ditner died in Italy on January 5th, 1945. He had been shot during world war 2. Hubert was a fifth-generation member of the Ditner family in the Petersburg, Ontario region. His great-great-grandfather, Ignatius B.Ditner, came to Canada from France. The generations of Ditners contributed to the development of Wilmot Township.
Ignatius B.Ditner was born on May 9, 1793, in Ammertzwiller, Haute-Rhin, Alsace, France. He was the original Ditner ancestor to come to Canada. He married twice. He had one child, Ignatius N. Ditner, with his first wife, Catherina (nee Bohrer), who died April 10th, 1824 in France at the age of 21. 8 months later, on December 6th, 1824 he married Maria Francikia (nee Stimpfling) with whom he had 3 children before sailing to Canada. (They had 2 more children, a total of 6, after arriving in Canada.)
He sailed on the ship Adeline, arriving at the port of Philadelphia on June 25th, 1833 with his wife and 4 children. He spoke German and French. He had 50 acres of land in Wilmot Township, lot #1, concession #1. He cleared the land for his farm and used stones from the clearing to build the house and the foundation of the barn.
Ignatius N. Ditner, Sgt. Hubert Ditner’s great-grandfather was born in France on September 4th, 1823, and arrived with his parents via ship in 1833. He and his wife Barbara Francisca had 10 children. Their 7th child, Ignatius B. Ditner, was born on February 3rd, 1857. Barbara died in 1862 and is buried in the RC Cemetery, St. Agatha. Ignatius N. married Marianna (nee Bierenbuler) on January 10th, 1865. They had no children together. She was 47 when they married. Ignatius N. died in 1892 and is buried in the RC Cemetery, St. Agatha.
Ignatius B. Ditner, Sgt. Ditner’s grandfather was born on February 3rd, 1857 in Wilmot Township. He and his wife Caroline (nee Dietrich) had 13 children. Their 3rd born was Alphonse, born on July 25th, 1882. Alphonse is the grandfather of Rosemary Sobiera (nee Bisch) who presently lives in Foxboro Green, Wilmot Township with her husband Stanley. Rosemary and Sgt. Hubert Ditner are distant cousins. Their 5th born was Simon Andreas.
Simon Andreas Ditner, Sgt. Ditner’s father was born on January 5th, 1887 in Wilmot Township. Simon married Christina (Nee Reuth) on March 13th, 1913. They had 9 children. Their 5th born was Sgt. Hubert Laurence. Both Sgt. Ditner’s parents are buried in the RC Cemetery, St. Agatha.