... John Dibert, son of David and Elizabeth Dibert, resided at Dibertville, Somerset county, which was named in honor of him, its eldest and most prominent citizen, and there gave his attention to farming and the operating of a mill of which he was the owner, also to the pursuits of tanning and distilling. About 1816 he removed to Johnstown, where he purchased a farm upon which is now located the Sixth ward of the city. Here he built the Dibert homestead at the corner of Franklin and Dibert streets, and this building would have been destroyed by the great flood of 1889 had it not been so strongly built. It was raised by the waters to the tops of the trees and carried away about one hundred feet from its foundation. He engaged in the hotel and mercantile business, invested largely in real estate, and became one of the most wealthy and prominent citizens of the city. He married Rachel Blaugh, who bore him eight children :
David, whose history appears in the sketch of Scott Dibert, his son, elsewhere in this work ;
Jacob, died 1849 ;
John, see forward ;
Sarah, widow of De. Henry Yeagley, resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania ;
Mary, married Rev. John D. Knox, a Methodist clergyman, resides in Topeka, Kansas ;
Samuel, died retired, in Johnstown, July 1, 1904 ;
Elizabeth, married Mahlon W. Keim, resides in Johnstown ;
Charles A., a retired citizen of Oakland, California.
John Dibert, the father of the family, died in 1849, aged forty five years in the full prime of manhood ; he was a member of the Lutheran church. His wife survived him many years, passing away about the year 1878 ; she was a member of the Methodist church. ...
