Koch was born as the first of ten children to Henry Koch and Susanna Bock Koch on December 24, 1816. He was born at the mill that his ancestors built, called Kunkle's Mill. Susanna was the daughter of Balthaser Bock, an emigrant from
Prussia. Koch was also ethnically
Germanic; his ancestor Adam Koch arrived from
Germany on May 30, 1741. Adam settled in
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. Daniel Koch's siblings were: Hugh, Henry, William and Charles (twins), Mary (who married Eli Miller), Catherine (who married William Shuman), Sarah (who married Charles T. Bowen of
Pottsville), and Amanda (who married Jacob H. Pyle). On October 24, 1839, Daniel married Miss Mary Ann Beck who was "from an old and prominent family in Pennsylvania." She was born on January 24, 1818, and died August 26, 1888. Together, Koch and Mary had eleven children, being: Harriet (who married B. F. Jacobs), Francis Daniel, Allen, Jeremiah, Albert B., Sarah Maria (who married Dr. Lentz of Fleetwood),
Richard Henry, Emanuel, Arenius Glen, Catherine "Kate" Mary (who married Oscar B. Mellott), and Ambrose Ellsworth. All but Albert B. lived to maturity, who died at the age of six.
Business After his marriage to Mary, the family moved to
Middleport, Pennsylvania, where Koch joined in the mercantile business. In 1857, they moved again, and this time he began farming. Daniel's father Henry had been a successful farmer, merchant and miller. In 1866, the family moved again, this time to Monocacy in
Berks County. There, Koch purchased and managed a flour mill. He purchased a second mill in the town of
Fleetwood, which he operated until his retirement in 1882. ==Politics==