| Life fact | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Peter M. Dorsch |
| Born | 1878, in Washington, D. C. |
| Parents | Michael Dorsch and Catherine Kraft |
| Spouse | Mary Agnes Brown |
| Children | Mary Catherine Dorsch and Agnes Regina (Jean) Dorsch |
| Career center | Staunton, Virginia |
| Principal role | President of the Spalding Baking Company |
| Religious affiliation | St. Francis Catholic Church |
Genealogy of Peter M. Dorsch
This genealogical account was constructed from the family information contained in the biography below. No relationships or life facts have been added from outside sources.
Peter M. Dorsch was born in 1878 in Washington, D. C., the oldest of nine children of Michael Dorsch and Catherine Kraft, both natives of Bavaria.
He married Mary Agnes Brown. Their daughter Mary Catherine Dorsch married Eric William Tattersall and had four children: Mary Catherine, Agnes, Peter Dorsch, and Patricia Tattersall. Their daughter Agnes Regina, called Jean, married Thomas Fitzgerald and had two sons, Thomas M. and Peter Michael Fitzgerald.
Family outline
Peter M. Dorsch
- Father: Michael Dorsch
- Mother: Catherine (Kraft) Dorsch
- Wife: Mary Agnes Brown
- Daughter: Mary Catherine Dorsch
- Husband: Eric William Tattersall
- Children: Mary Catherine, Agnes, Peter Dorsch, and Patricia Tattersall
- Daughter: Agnes Regina “Jean” Dorsch
- Husband: Thomas Fitzgerald
- Sons: Thomas M. and Peter Michael Fitzgerald
Source
This biography appeared in History of the Shenandoah Valley: Family and Personal Records, Volume III (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1952), pages 40-41.
Verbatim biography
The following is a faithful transcription of the original biography. OCR errors have been corrected against the printed page images, but the original wording, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and factual claims have not been rewritten.
PETER M. DORSCH—As the president of the Spalding Baking Company, Peter M. Dorsch is an important factor in the business circles of Staunton, and a large adjoining territory. A self-made man, he graduated from salesmanship into manufacturing, beginning when this term meant making by hand in his chosen vocation. It was with an exceptionally wide experience that he came to Staunton and developed on a large scale the company that he purchased at that time.
Born in Washington, D. C., in 1878, Mr. Dorsch is the son of Michael and Catherine (Kraft) Dorsch, both natives of Bavaria, Germany, who came when young to the New World. After first engaging in farming, the father became interested in merchandising and eventually became the owner of several markets and delicatessen stores. Peter M. Dorsch was the oldest of the nine children in the family (three of whom are living), and when financial conditions became limited he felt called upon to get out and contribute to his own livelihood. Thus it was that at an age, eleven years, when most boys were centering their attention on school, he went to work, acquiring the education that is learned in the School of Hard Knocks.
After selling papers as a boy, Peter M. Dorsch started learning the baker’s trade and advanced so rapidly that at the age of nineteen he was the operator of his own bakery. All the space that he had in this first venture was twelve by twelve feet, but he managed to turn out a large volume. He went on to larger and larger enterprises, in 1936 coming to Staunton, where he purchased the Spalding Baking Company. This down through the passing years has been built up on a major scale, with the old name retained. Retail outlets are maintained and a wholesale business done in the city and surrounding counties. Some fifty people are employed, all production equipment is ultra-modern and the automotive distribution is equally up-to-date. In this connection it has been written of Mr. Dorsch and his firm that they hold “leadership in the Shenandoah Valley. From the great waving wheat fields of the American plains comes the superior grain that forms the basis of his products. Milled into flour, the purity and quality of which is constantly being scientifically tested to insure strict uniformity in the finished product. Then combined with milk solids, sugar, water, malt and yeast, it needs only baking in controlled ovens to finish it to that luscious brown characteristic of ‘Bamby’ which is his trade name of Spalding’s breads, cakes and pastries.” Mr. Dorsch is a member of the Beverly Club, and is fraternally affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He worships at St. Francis Catholic Church and figures prominently in the Knights of Columbus.
Peter M. Dorsch married Mary Agnes Brown of Washington, D. C. She is a graduate in music from Sinsinawa Academy, in Wisconsin, and is an outstanding organist. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsch are the parents of two daughters: 1. Mary Catherine, a graduate of Georgetown University; she married Eric William Tattersall, and is the mother of four children: Mary Catherine, Agnes, Peter Dorsch, and Patricia. 2. Agnes Regina (Jean), a graduate in art and music; she married Thomas Fitzgerald of Washington, D. C., and they have two sons: Thomas M., and Peter Michael.