The year 1847 was a very busy
year of one and only events for Dorothy Kunkel.
She must have been a strong,
stable and sensible thirty-four year old woman to come
through all of it.
After the sword fight and
uncertain getaway in Bavaria and the perilous voyage
across the Atlantic, the
Kunkel family met in New York as they had planned. They
traveled the Hudson River to
the Erie Canal and then went by Mule Barge on to Buffalo.
From there they crossed the
Niagara River at Black Rock, N.Y., to Fort Erie, Upper
Canada and finally made their
way to the Queen’s Bush and Waterloo County.
By the time the Kunkel family
arrived in Waterloo Township, it would have been
July 1847. They would have
been busy adjusting to life in Upper Canada. It was only a
matter of days after their
arrival that Dorothy’s mother Elizabeth passed away on the 8th
of August 1847. Elizabeth was
one of the first burials in the Maryhill Cemetery. It is too
bad she did not get a chance
to experience life in the New World. She was only 58 years
old. It was such a sad time
for Dorothy and her family. Just a few weeks later Jacob
Druar buried his young wife
Marie Anne (Anna Maria) in the same cemetery.
Dorothy may have found
employment helping out at the farm of Jacob Druar
before his wife Marie Anne
passed away in October of 1847. The farm families usually
had help at the time of
‘mother’s confinement’ and it looks as though Marie Anne was
going to have another baby.
People newly arrived from Europe lived with other families
who needed extra hands to
help. Most likely this is how Dorothy found her first job in
Canada, it turned out to be a
big job. The little log house would have been busy with five
young children running about.
When their mother died, Henry was only10 and a half
years old, Ann was 8, Eva
would be 7 after Christmas, Sara was 4 in May and Regina
was just two in August.
Dorothy had only been in Canada for about six months and
already was a bride and the
step-mother of five children. Sounds like the “Sound of
Music” to me.
1850 on April 1st their first son, John, is
born. He is baptized Joanes Lor Truar on 21
April in St Agatha Church and
his sponsors were Nicolaus Janz and Magdelena Kunkel,
“Aunt Lena”, was Dorothy’s
younger sister.
John would grow up and become
my grandmother’s father, my great-grandfather!
They did play “April Fools
Jokes” before John was even born. I’ll bet he learned to be on
the lookout on every birthday
he had! The year before safety pins were invented, was his
nappy pinned or tied in a
knot? That is the question!
So the family was growing as
were the communities of Strasburg and
Williamsburg. There was talk
of building their own church closer to home. Two Jesuits
had come to St Agatha in 1847
and religion had begun to be more organized, however it
was a time consuming trip to
travel to St. Agatha every Sunday. Materials were gathered
at Anthony Wilhelm’s farm near
Williamsburg and plans were made, but then the move
to “Saugeen” had already
begun, and that meant in the future there would be fewer
Catholic families in the area.
The diocese discouraged building another church.
The mention of Saugeen refers
to the exodus from this area as the next generation
headed north to undeveloped
land and the villages of Formosa, Mildmay, Neustadt,
Walkerton, Deemerton sprang to
life in Carrick Township and other areas in Bruce and
Grey Counties. Large families
meant more farms were required to support them, usually
one son took over the ‘home
farm’ and the others had to look elsewhere for their own
land. So with that exodus,
their own “community church” did not come to be. They had
to journey to St. Agatha.
1851 on August 21 another son
Laurentius was born and baptized on the same
day, his sponsors were Jacob
and Magdelena Unger (Dorothy’s sister). He is on the 1851
census shown as nine days or
weeks old, but not on a later census. He must have died as
an infant.
On the 1851 Census, Henry
Druar, at age 74, is shown living with daughter Anna
and John Schitt (Schuett) and
their five young ones. The oldest was Rosina age 8. They
lived in the Maryhill area.
According to Waterloo County
Court Records, Jacob and Dorothy, were charged
by Mary Moyer, on September 20,
1853 with assault and battery. The fine of 7 shillings,
6 pence for Jacob and 5
shillings for Dorothy was paid in November 1853 to Justice Wm.
Davidson. Mary Moyer was in
fact Mrs. Vincent Meyer who was Jacob’s sister. I wonder
what they were quarrelling
about? Sounds like it ended up in fisticuffs! But two against
one? They were next door
neighbours! I suppose it could be some little thing they could
not agree on. It could even
have been about who would be the next child to take in their
aging father Henry who was by
then 76.
Henry had been living with one
or the other of his children for the last few years
as recorded on the Census.
Maybe this is when Jacob took his grain and maybe his father
too, to Niagara to live with
Jacob’s brother John Druar. I am only guessing at this story
but it could well be so. Henry
died in Buffalo in 1859. His son John (b.1809) died soon
after. I should mention here
that there was train service, even one day excursions to
Niagara Falls in the 1850’s.
1854 on November 27th Maria was born, they called
her Mary. She was baptized
21 December 1854, sponsors
were Levy Wilhelm and Marianna Wilhelm.
These records are from St.
Jerome’s University early Church Records.
1854 30th December - Jacob arranged a
mortgage on west part of Lot 137 and 138
to purchase more land, the
adjoining Lot 139. I think Jacob was a hard worker. He would
have been near 47 years old
then and his oldest son Henry would be about 18, so he had
help now with the land. It
looks like he was looking for more work! He was probably
thinking about his sons
growing up and he wanted to help them get started the same way
his own father had helped him.
Jacob’s first son Henry moved first to “Saugeen” and then
after his wife died, he and
his children moved to Mount Carmel North Dakota. Mount
Carmel was an area much like
he left behind here in Waterloo Township. A strong
Catholic Community of
settlers. The only son of Jacob left in Waterloo County in 1870
was John who was born on April
Fool’s Day in 1850.
What would Jacob think, if he
could see his fields (pictured above in 2002) now
becoming covered with so many
homes on streets with names such as Bridalwreath,
Wildflower, Sweet William,
Periwinkle, Peach Blossom, Copper Leaf Court and Activa
Drive.
Can you imagine how peaceful
and quiet it was, one hundred and sixty years ago,
with only birds singing or the
wind rustling in the trees?
After Dorothy and Jacob were
married ten years he went ahead and arranged for a
two year mortgage to buy one
hundred acres of newly opened lots in Wellesley
Township, Lot 6 Concession 8,
not far from St Clements. This area was the last to be
divided into lots and sold.
Jacob Druar is listed as one of the founding families in the St
Clements area. Below is the
mortgage document copied from the ancient, fragile, leather
bound ledger at Waterloo
University . Photocopies from the huge old Leger were not
allowed so I copied it word
for word as it was written in 1859.
1859
November 8 the Mortgage of Lot 6 Concession 8 Wellesley Township 100 acres.
Folio 392
Memorial 340 - Rare Book Room University of Waterloo.
A memorial
to be Registered of an Indenture of a Bargain and sale by way of Mortgage
made this
eight day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
fifty nine
by and between Jacob Druar of the Township of Wellesley, County Waterloo in
Province of
Canada yeoman of the first part Dorothea Druar wife of the said party of the
first part
of the second part and Conrad K Gies of same place yeoman of the third part
whereby the
said party of the first for and in consideration of the sum of one thousand
four
hundred and fifty dollars of lawful money of the Province of Canada to him in
hand
part by the
said party of the third part the Receipt whereof is acknowledged. Did give
grant,
bargain sell alien assign, All and Singular that certain Parcel or Tract of
Land,
situate
lying and being in the Township of Wellesley aforesaid Being Composed of Lot
number six
in the eight Concession Eastern Section of the said Township of Wellesley
containing
by admeasurement One hundred acres more or less to have and to hold the
said above
granted premises, with all the privileges appurtenances thereof. To the said
party of
the third part, his heirs and assignus for his own use forever. And whereby the
said party
of the second part in consideration of five shillings to her in law paid by the
said party
of the third part did revise release and forever relinquish her Dower in the
said premises
unto him the said party of the third part his heirs, executors administrators
and
assigns, Subject nevertheless to a proviso therein contained shall be
absolutely void
on payment
of the sum of One thousand Four hundred and fifty dollars of Lawful money
of Canada
with interest thereon after. The rate of twelve percent per annum on the day
and time
and in manner following, that is to say The full principal sum of one thousand
four
hundred and fifty dollars in two years from the date hereof with interest at
the rate
of Twelve
percent per annum,. The interest to be paid annually on the whole principal
sum which
said indenture is witnessed by John Scully of Berlin in the County of Waterloo
Gentleman
And this memorial thereof is hereby required to be Registered by me John
Druar the
said grantor therein named Witness my hand and seal the Eight day of
November in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty nine
Signed and
sealed presence of
John Scully
signed Jacob Druar
A J
Peterson
Source: University
of Waterloo Library, Rare Book Room,
Book # 407,
Folio 392, Memorial 340
Figure
17 Looking at Jacob’s Lot 6 Con 8 from the bridge at Boomer Creek
He has purchased Lot # 6
Concession 8, Wellesley Township, farm of 100 acres
for $1,450.00 @ 12% per annum
and Conrad Gies (a neighbour) is holding the two year
mortgage. This photo was taken
from the bridge at Boomer Line, on the longer side of
the 100 acre rectangle of
land. On the opposite side of this road is where the mill was
located and the Blacksmith
shop was beside it.
Jacob Druar is shown on Lot 6
Concession 8 on the 1861 Tremaine Map. It is
easy to see who his neighbours
were on that map. I see that John Meyer was one
concession over on Lot 6 Con
9. John Meyer’s young daughter Veronica was living there
close by now! She was more
than likely in school with young John Druar. Was it the 9th
line School that my Mom went
to as well? I must check the census again. Were John and
Veronica making “sheep’s eyes”
or “googily eyes” at each other ? Were they “sparking”?
In other words were they
courting? They must have been happy together, when John was
only 19 they were married.
January 10 1860
U of W book 80 page 549
Indenture
of mortgage 30 December 1854
Feb.3 1860 Between
Jacob Druar Township of Waterloo and John Eby of Berlin that by
an
indenture of mortgage made 30 December 1854 betweem Samuel Sherk and his wife
Sarah Sherk
Township of south Easthope County of Perth the said Jacob Truar that in
consideration
of the sum of Two hundred and seventy five pounds lawful money of
Canada when
the said Samuel Sherk paid by the said Jacob Truer the said Samuel Sherk
did grant
bargain, sell, alien, release infeoff, convey and confirm unto the said Jacob
Truar his
heirs and assigns all said singular that contains or tracts of Land and
premises
situate
lying and being into the township of Waterloo said province of Canada
containing
83 acres of
land be the same more or less being composed of the west parts of lots
number 137
and 138 and 139 of the German Company Tract in the said Township of
Waterloo
due upon said mortgage principal the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds
together
with interest from the first day of January 1857. It is witness that in
consideration
of the sum of One hundred and fifty pounds of lawful money of Canada
paid by the
said party of the second part to the said party of the first part . Discharge
of
Mortgage,
Memorial 2919 in Book B
Jacob has now cleared the
mortgage of 1854 on Lot #’s 137, 138 and 139 on the
Blockline.( Lot 139 is on
Bleams road opposite Gehl Place where Bill and Marlene
Henhoeffer’s farm is today
2002) Jacob had a bit of an overlap as he bought the
Wellesley Township farm in
November. It looks like Jacob had used a mortgage on Lot
137 and 138 to buy Lot 139. He
now owned all three, it seems he was a good business
man.
Exactly one hundred years
later his great-great-grandson Bill Henhoeffer bought
30 acres of Lot 139 and added
it to his farm. Isn’t that strange? Bill did not know about
Jacob and was surprised when I
told him about owning his ancestor’s land. Bill sold that
30 acres and they are now
being developed into housing as are Lots 137, 138 and 139.
Jacob now has cleared up his
money matters and is farming 100 acres on Lot 6
Con 8, on the corner of Moser
Young Rd. and Boomer Line in Wellesley Township.
The enumerator on the August
14th 1861 census shown below was Frederick
Gottleib and here is what he
noted, “The improvements on the land are important and the
farmers are on the high road –
to wealth, independence and happiness.” Yes, I would
think they must have been
happy with all they had accomplished with their hard work.
Things are indeed looking
good. This must be the “New World” for certain.
1861 Census Con 8 Lot 6 Wellesley
Township 14th of August - Jacob 54 yrs,
was born in France and Dorothy
Druar 44 years born in Germany, Henry 24 yrs labourer,
Eva 21, was not at home, she
was likely working for another family. Salome (Sara) 18,
Regina 16, John 11, Mary 7,
their children, were all born in Waterloo County. They also
had a young houseguest on that
Census, Elizabeth Stroeder of Carrick Township, born in
Germany, it says, so she most
likely is a sister of Mathias, Ann’s husband. Ann was
married to Mathias Stroeder in
1857.
Group 1