Daniel Sourbeck (1812-1883)
Class of 2026 – Business
Daniel E. Sourbeck was born in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1812, and he spent most of his life doing hotel work. He was the son of John and Lydia Sourbeck. He married Louiza (Eliza) Jack in 1836 in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. They had two children: James Power (1848-1887) and Sophia (1865-1890).
Sourbeck received training in carpentry and various trades in his youth, and he worked at bridge building and on the Erie Canal for a time. In 1837 he established a Sourbeck House in New Brighton, which he personally ran until 1852.
In May 1852 Daniel Sourbeck came to Alliance, Ohio at the request of the railroad company. He took over operation of the hotel in the original station erected by the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad, later known as the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad. The hotel soon became noted far and wide for its superior meals. Even though he accepted the position in Alliance, he continued in ownership of the hotel in New Brighton. It is said that the name recognition of Alliance across the country had much to do with the excellent reputation of the Sourbeck House. In the fall of 1852, the railroad erected a neat frame depot on the north side of the track and this move only added to the appeal of Sourbeck’s establishment.
In 1855 Sourbeck survived a deadly train crash traveling from Philadelphia. Reports indicate that dozens were killed as a result of the crash and derailment, and Sourbeck was badly injured but was lucky to be alive.
A tragic train accident at the Alliance depot on December 8, 1856 resulted in substantial damage to the station, but no harm to its proprietor. Eight people were killed and others injured. One of the passenger cars was thrown into the rotunda of the depot, and another into the sitting room of the Sourbeck Hotel. This building burned down in 1864, forcing Sourbeck to briefly do business again in his original building until the magnificent new and expanded brick structure on the south side of the track was completed in 1866.
On February 15, 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary stopped in Alliance on their way to Washington, D.C. for his inauguration. Because of the Sourbeck House’s reputation for fine dining, Lincoln’s party stopped to eat there, and Lincoln delivered a very brief address to a gathered crowd.
Daniel Sourbeck was connected with the Ohio militia, having been a lieutenant in the Alliance Light Guard, and while in Pennsylvania he was captain of a cavalry company known as Beaver Co. Light Horse. He is often referred to as Colonel Sourbeck, although this title could be honorary. He was affiliated with both the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Sourbeck died Nov. 19, 1883 in New Brighton, Pennsylvania after retiring from the hotel business. He and his wife, who died in 1884, are buried in Grove Cemetery in New Brighton.
(Sources: Perrin 1881, 745; Sourbeck Children online; Ancestry; 1868 McKee;)