Daniel Roller

     Daniel Roller was born on 4 September 1862 at the George W. Roller farm, Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.² He was the son of George W. Roller and Susannah Grove. Daniel Roller married, at age 23, Annie Alice Smith, age 22, daughter of Oliver Smith and Mary Ann Sweeley, on Thursday, 10 June 1886 at home of Reverend H. A. Miller, Newberry, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, by the Reverend H. A. Miller.¹ Daniel Roller died on 4 February 1949 at Linden, Woodward Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, at age 86 years and 5 months.^3,2 He was buried in the Buchanan Baptist Church Cemetery, located in Old Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.²
     He appeared on the census of 28 June 1870 in the household of George W. Roller and Susannah Grove at Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Daniel Roller and Annie Alice Smith appeared on the census of 5 June 1900 at Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Daniel Roller was blinded in a blacksmith shop by flying metal pieces in the early 1900's. After this accident he continued to function normally, splitting wood for two families and doing odd jobs around the house. He would walk over the hill to his daughter's house, about 2 miles, only getting lost once in 30 years. He and his wife Annie celebrated their 56th Wedding Anniversary.

The following is by Dorie DeRemer, 28 Dec 1991:

What I Remember About Daniel Roller, My Grandfather

     Grandpap became blind when he was a young man never seeing some of his children. He was still a very active man as his blindness did not slow him down. He could still drive horses and do some farming. Mostly the things he did that I remember were, helping to cut fields of corn and putting it into shocks. One of the men that would be helping would start him in a row and he would make what is called the 'Hearts of the Shocks.' Then the other men would put more corn around the hearts to make the larger shocks, he would then help husk it later. According to some of the remarks of the men helping he could cut corn almost as fast as they could.

     Splitting wood was his favorite past time in later years, as he spent most of the day splitting wood. He had a three or four foot log laid in front of him, then he would lay the piece to be split on an angle against the log and feel where he wanted to hit it. He very rarely missed his mark. The log that he used as a balance was pretty well worn in the middle when he gave up splitting wood.

     He would walk to different places possibly not more than a couple of miles from home but he always got to where he was going and back home again. The Lord was certainly with him and gave him the insights that he needed. He was a man of great faith, when his health allowed him, he was in church. Otherwise he would sit by the radio in the morning and listen to the ministers that would be preaching. I think that seeing his faith, helped me as a kid to see how important that God should be in our lives. Grammy every morning would read from the Bible to him for their devotions and they would then have pray together. They received $40 a month from the Blind Association, this was their only source of income except if they happened to sell eggs or butter from the farm. In later years when they weren't able to make butter or keep the chickens it would be just their pension for income. The first thing that would come out of that check was $4 for the church.

     He had to remember people's voices so that he knew who was there. He had quite a good memory for not ever have seeing a lot of the people that came around.

     Early in the evening of the night that he died he had asked me to do something that I didn't do and I still regret it to this day. He liked me to play the guitar and sing, even though I couldn't sing he liked the songs. He had asked me to sing and play the guitar that night before we went to bed, I don't remember what I was doing but I asked if I could do it in the morning and that was alright with him. He wasn't sick when he went to bed, but shortly after he had a Cerebral Hemorrhage and died. I learned a hard lesson that night. He had always sat at the end of a couch that was in their kitchen, afterwards it was very hard to look at that and not see him there after his death. We all have our memories happy or sad, and nothing will ever take them from us.