Caroline Endres Diescher


Caroline Endres Diescher was the daughter of the Prussian-born engineer John Endres. She was one of the first female engineers in the United States, and with her father, designed two inclines in the Pittsburgh area: the Monongahela Incline and the Mount Oliver Incline.

Life

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in February 1846, Caroline Endres was a daughter of Prussian-born engineer John Endres. Shown on United States Census records as "Carrie," she followed in her father's footsteps, training as an engineer and assisting him with his design of the Pittsburgh area's first passenger incline, the Monongahela Incline, which launched in 1870. The next year, she then helped him design the Mount Oliver Incline.
That same year, Caroline Endres also began her own family, marrying Samuel Diescher, a fellow engineer who went on to design the Duquesne Incline six years later. Their wedding was held at the St. Paul German Evangelical Church in Cincinnati. They had three sons, Samuel E., August P. and Alfred J. Diesher, all of whom were engineers, and three daughters, Irene E., Carrie L., and Irma J. Diesher.

Death and interment

Diescher died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 84, and was interred at the Allegheny Cemetery.