Elizabeth McQueeny Biography: Age, Husband & Family
Elizabeth McQueeny, born 1856 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Learn about her parents, husband Jeremiah Obetz, children, and life story.
Elizabeth McQueeny was a 19th-century American woman born in the small town of Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Though not a public figure in the modern sense, her life tells the story of countless women of her era — shaped by family, faith, rural community, and quiet resilience. Her genealogical records have preserved her story across generations, making her one of the more traceable private figures of post-Civil War Pennsylvania.
Her name gained a degree of wider recognition when the popular 1959 television Western Wagon Train aired an episode titled “The Elizabeth McQueeny Story,” featuring legendary actress Bette Davis in the lead role. However, that fictional character shares only a name with the real Elizabeth McQueeny, whose life was lived far from showgirls and wagon trails.
Quick Facts About Elizabeth McQueeny
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Elizabeth McQueeny |
| Date of Birth | February 24, 1856 |
| Birthplace | Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Nationality | American |
| Father | Henry “Henrich” McQueney (age 29 at her birth) |
| Mother | Mary Fisher |
| Husband | Jeremiah Hipple Obetz |
| Children | Samuel McQueney Obetz, Henry Dewey Obetz, Paul M. Obetz |
| Date of Death | November 23, 1927 |
| Place of Death | Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Age at Death | 71 years old |
Early Life and Family Background
Elizabeth McQueeny was born on February 24, 1856, in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Henry “Henrich” McQueney, who was 29 years old at the time of her birth, and Mary Fisher, her mother. The McQueney family were part of the German-American and Irish-heritage communities that were deeply rooted in Lancaster County, one of Pennsylvania’s oldest and most historically rich regions.
Growing up in Manheim during the mid-1800s meant coming of age in a tight-knit agricultural community. Lancaster County was known for its fertile farmland, strong religious traditions, and close family networks. Elizabeth’s upbringing would have been shaped by the values of hard work, community participation, and domestic life that defined rural Pennsylvania in that era.
Her father’s given name “Henrich” points to German heritage — a common background in Lancaster County, where many families of German descent had settled generations earlier. The surname McQueney, however, carries Irish roots, reflecting the mixed European ancestry that was typical among Pennsylvania families of the 19th century.
Growing Up in Lancaster County
Lancaster County in the 1850s and 1860s was a place of relative stability and agricultural prosperity. Elizabeth grew up during the turbulent years of the American Civil War (1861–1865), though Pennsylvania’s rural communities, while touched by the war, largely maintained their day-to-day rhythms of farming and faith.
As a young woman of her time, Elizabeth’s education and daily life would have revolved around the home, the church, and the local community. Formal schooling for girls in rural Pennsylvania during this period was basic but present, with a focus on reading, writing, and domestic skills. Little documentation exists about her childhood years beyond genealogical records, which is typical for private women of her era and social standing.
Marriage to Jeremiah Hipple Obetz
Elizabeth McQueeny married Jeremiah Hipple Obetz, and together they built a family life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Obetz surname has strong Pennsylvania Dutch and German-American roots, again consistent with the heritage of the broader Lancaster County community.
Their marriage produced three sons: Samuel McQueney Obetz, Henry Dewey Obetz, and Paul M. Obetz. The naming of her first son Samuel McQueney Obetz — using her maiden name as a middle name — was a common 19th-century practice that honoured the mother’s family lineage and ensured the McQueney name carried forward through the next generation.
Worth & Son Ravie" loading="lazy" width="180" height="120">Details of her married life remain sparse in surviving records, as was typical for women of her time and social standing. What the records do confirm is that she raised her family in Lancaster County and remained in the region throughout her life.
Personal Life and Character
Elizabeth lived through some of the most transformative decades in American history — the Civil War, Reconstruction, the industrial revolution, and the dawn of the 20th century. Women of her generation rarely appeared in newspaper headlines or public records unless connected to notable events, yet their contributions to family and community life were foundational.
She was noted in records as a religious person, which aligns with the deeply devout character of Lancaster County communities, where church life was central to social identity. Whether Protestant or Catholic, faith was a defining feature of daily existence for women like Elizabeth in 19th-century rural Pennsylvania.
Her life was one of quiet purpose — raising three sons, supporting her husband, and participating in the community rhythms of one of America’s oldest settled counties.
Death and Legacy
Elizabeth McQueeny passed away on November 23, 1927, in Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania — the same county where she had been born 71 years earlier. She lived her entire life within the bounds of Lancaster County, a testament to the deeply rooted, community-anchored lives common to that region and era.
Her death in 1927 came just before the Great Depression would transform American society. She witnessed the rise of the automobile, two world wars brewing on the horizon, and the rapid modernisation of the nation — all while remaining grounded in the rural Pennsylvania world she had always known.
Though Elizabeth McQueeny was not a public figure, her story endures through genealogical records, family trees, and the quiet preservation of history that platforms like Ancestry and FamilySearch make possible. Her three sons carried the family name forward, and her descendants continue her story in ways she could never have imagined.
Real Name & Net Worth" loading="lazy" width="180" height="120">The Wagon Train Connection
It is worth noting that the 1959 television series Wagon Train aired a celebrated episode titled “The Elizabeth McQueeny Story,” featuring Bette Davis as a fictional Madame Elizabeth McQueeny — a showgirl leading a troupe of dancing girls westward. The episode was purely fictional and bore no connection to the real Elizabeth McQueeny of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The shared name has caused occasional confusion in genealogical research, but historians and genealogists have consistently confirmed the two are entirely unrelated.
Final Thoughts
Elizabeth McQueeny’s life represents the quiet backbone of 19th-century American society. Born into a Lancaster County family with German and Irish roots, she married, raised three sons, and lived her entire 71 years in the county of her birth. Her story is not one of fame or historical spectacle, but of something equally important — the steady, dignified life of an ordinary American woman who left a family and a legacy behind.
Her records, carefully preserved across generations, remind us that every life has a story worth telling. Elizabeth McQueeny’s story is one of roots, resilience, and the enduring bonds of family in one of Pennsylvania’s most historically rich communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Who was Elizabeth McQueeny?
Elizabeth McQueeny was an American woman born on February 24, 1856, in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Henry “Henrich” McQueeny and Mary Fisher, and later married Jeremiah Hipple Obetz. She passed away on November 23, 1927, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, at the age of 71.
Q2: Who were Elizabeth McQueeny’s parents?
Her father was Henry “Henrich” McQueney, who was 29 years old when she was born in 1856. Her mother was Mary Fisher. The family had German and Irish heritage, which was common in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania during that era.
Q3: Who did Elizabeth McQueeny marry?
Elizabeth McQueeny married Jeremiah Hipple Obetz. Together they had three children: Samuel McQueeny Obetz, Henry Dewey Obetz, and Paul M. Obetz. The family lived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania throughout their lives.
Q4: How many children did Elizabeth McQueeny have?
Elizabeth McQueeny had three children with her husband Jeremiah Hipple Obetz. Their names were Samuel McQueeny Obetz, Henry Dewey Obetz, and Paul M. Obetz. Her first son’s middle name honoured her maiden family name.
Q5: When and where did Elizabeth McQueeny die?
Elizabeth McQueeny died on November 23, 1927, in Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She was 71 years old at the time of her death, having spent her entire life in Lancaster County, the same county where she was born.
Q6: Was Elizabeth McQueeny the same person as in the Wagon Train TV show?
No. The 1959 Wagon Train episode “The Elizabeth McQueeny Story,” starring Bette Davis, featured a completely fictional character who happened to share the same name. The real Elizabeth McQueeny of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was a private citizen with no connection to the television story whatsoever.
Q7: Where was Elizabeth McQueeny born?
Elizabeth McQueeny was born in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, on February 24, 1856. Manheim is a small borough in Lancaster County, known for its German-heritage communities and agricultural traditions dating back to the colonial era.
