Dorothea "Dora" (Rehmann) Doerfel was born circa 1836 in Brunswick, Germany. She was the daughter of Carl Heinrich "Conrad" and Sophia (Heineke) Rehmann.

In April of 1852, Dorothea, Conrad, Sophia and family boarded the SS Louise Marie for the trip to America. They landed in Philadelphia on May 6th.

Around 1836, she married Julius Ferdinand Doerfel and they had nine children.

  1. Emma (Doerfel) Polster

  2. Agnes I. (Doerfel) Seely

  3. Amelia (Doerfel) Polster

  4. Alvira Doerfel

  5. Alvina Doerfel

  6. Clara Doerfel

  7. Edward Doerfel

  8. Louis Doerfel

  9. William Doerfel

In the 1870 census, the family was living in Philadelphia with Julius employed as a tavern keeper. In the 1900 and 1910 census, they were listed as living on Chew Road in Hammonton, Atlantic County, New Jersey.

Julius was born circa 1832 in Saxe-Weimar which is in the present-day Thuringia, Germany. He died in Hammonton on April 11, 1894 at the age of 62 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Philadelphia.