Denaple & Beckenbach Family Ancestors

The Denaple family (and many of its associated families) originated in Germany. Like many immigrant families the name has been spelled in a variety of ways. The German spelling was usually some variation of Dannappel or Dannapfel. It was legally changed to William Denaple by Johann Christian Dannappel when he became an American citizen after immigrating from Lubeck, Germany to New York. He then moved his family to Akron, Ohio where he started a "saddlery" business with a colleague. This partnership was known as Denaple and Upington until William's death in 1864.

 

The Beckenbach brothers, Wilhelm and Heinrich, (known in America as William and Henry) came to Cleveland in the 1840s. They were cabinet makers and then furniture makers who later branched out into undertaking. They became fairly prosperous and were a part of a tight-knit German community in the 1800s in Cleveland and what was known as the "Western Reserve"

 

Ahnentafel (generation by generation list) of all the direct line ancestors of Lois Jean Denaple Underwood (mother of Christie Lee Underwood Reider).

Lois Jean Denaple in 1943

For more information on the Denaple and Beckenbach families, please go to the main Documents page or to the Interactive Genealogy Page.

updated 17 January 2021