After more than 15 years of research, this family can now trace their origins back to about 1600 in Germany. The immigrants arrived in 1737. Each family paragraph includes the following information when known: generation number, child number, name of descendant, dates, name of spouse, parents of spouse, residence, burial, children, and biographical notations. Some of the major surnames in the every-name index include: Batdorf, Butdorf, Dieffenbach, Fisher, Holstein, Irick, Kaser, Knoop, Lauer, Lower, Miller, Smith, Snyder, Spangler, and others. There is a wealth of information in this massive genealogy!

This genealogy traces the family origins of the Theiss/Deiss/Tice/Dice family back to 1600 in Germany, their immigration to America in 1730, and the descendants of eight children. This two-volume set contains over 50,000 names, all indexed! Each family paragraph includes the following information when known: generation number, child number, name of the descendant, dates, name of spouse, parents of spouse, residence, burial, children, and biographical information. Some of the surnames in the index: Allen, Baeshore, Behney, Bennett, Bland, Bodkin, Bowers, Caplinger, Colaw, Dahmer, Dice, Dolly, Gerberich, Good, Hammer, Harman, Harper, Hedrick, Homa, Judy, Kile, Kilmer, Kimble, Kisamore, Lambert, Line, Lough, Mallowo, Miller, Nelson, Roberson, Ruddle, Sholly, Shuey, Sites, Smith, Thompson, Tice, Wagoner, Walmer, Warner, etc. There is a wealth of information in this massive genealogy!

Johann "Peter" Ruth was born ca. 1700 at Steinberg, Germany, the son of Johann Melchior and Maria Catharina Trein Ruth. Anna "Sophia" Lauer was born in 1703 at Hierstein, Germany, the daughter was Hans "Claus" and Maria "Margaretha" Wentz Lauer. Peter Ruth and Sophia Lauer were married in 1724 at Wolfersweiler, Germany. They had four sons, the first three born 1724-1728 at Walhausen, Germany. The family immigrated to America in 1733 and probably settled first in the Myerstown or Stouchsburg area of Berks County, Pennsylvania. After Sophia's death, he married 2) Catharin Mayer Meyer. They had ten children. He died in 1771 in Cumru Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Descendants of his oldest three sons lived in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and elsewhere.

"Our early Theiss and Lauer ancestors migrated to America from the villiage of Hirstein in the Wolferswiler parish of the Dutchy of Zweibrücken in what is now the state of Saarland, Germany. Large numbers of Germans flowed into Pennsylvania which was the most widely advertised of the British colonies in America. Our ancestors joined their countrymen already here ..."--Introduction.