Ellen Weber

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00127-7839.4

Notes:

Died

On the 14th inst., daughter of Mr. Andrew Weber, near Berlin, aged about 1 year.

Waterloo Chronicle 16 Jan 1868, p. 2

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00127-7839
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; labourer
• Occupation: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1861, , Pennsylvania, USA
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Andrew Weber," the third member of David Weber's family was born August 3rd 1838. The house in which he was born was situated on the exact spot where now is the Berlin depot of the Grand Trunk Railway. He is married to Veronica, second daughter of J. Y. Shantz of Berlin. Soon after their marriage they moved on his father's farm three miles east of Berlin where they remained until spring 1872, when he moved on a farm situated halfway between Berlin and Bridgeport. Here they resided until fall, 1892, when they moved to Berlin. On April 10th, 1894, they, in company with others, moved to Didsbury, Alberta, N. W. T., where he has taken up land again and is following farming. They have a family of eight children, namely: VII Malissa (dead), VII Ellen (dead), VII Sabina, VII Ephraim, VII Manasseh, VII Elsie, VII Edwin, and VII Ivan. Sabina is with her grandfather, J. Y. Shantz, in Berlin; Ephraim is attending Berlin High Schools; Elsie is at present in Calgary, Alberta; Manasseh is working at the carpenter trade at Didsbury, Alberta; Edwin is with his uncle, Ephraim Shantz, on a farm in the North-West, near Didsbury, Alberta; Ivan is home with his parents."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

_____________________________


Weber - Andrew Weber died Jan. 8, 1909, of apoplexy, in Didsbury, Alta.; aged 70 y. 5 m. 5 d. Bro. Weber was in his son's mill when he was stricken down. He was apparently well a few minutes before. He never spoke again, and after a few days passed away. Services conducted by Israel R. Schantz in English and Pre. Fongbein in German. Buried in Didsbury cemetery.


Gospel Herald - Vol. I, No. 46 - February 13, 1909, page 735

Andrew married Veronica B. Shantz 21 Feb 1865, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Veronica (daughter of Mayor Jacob Yost Shantz and Barbara Biehn) was born 15 Jun 1846, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 30 May 1928, Didsbury, Alberta, Canada; was buried , Didsbury Cemetery, Didsbury, Alberta, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Frannie Shantz
• Name: Veronica B. Weber
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6756
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Veronica B. Shantz, "was born June 15th, 1846. On February 21st, 1865, she was married to Andrew E. Weber."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00127-7836
• Residence: 1836, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• Occupation: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer

Notes:

David Weber," the second son of Benjamin and Veronica (Martin) Weber, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, June 22nd, 1811. When a mere lad he came to Canada with his parents, in 1817. He was raised a little to the north of the town of Waterloo where his father resided. The old home is now in possession of Joseph Weber, a grandson of old Benjamin Weber. He was married to Catherine Eby, February 3rd, 1833. She was a daughter of Bishop Benjamin Eby, and was born July 25th, 1815. and died March 30th, 1867. After their marriage they moved on the farm now forming a part of the town of Berlin. In 1849 they left this place and moved three miles east of Berlin, on the farm (east end of lot No. 120, German Company Tract) now possessed by his sons, Theodore and Henry. Here they resided until their deaths. He died September 17th,1877. His family consisted of eleven children"


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

________________________

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

Early Catholic settlers in Berlin travelled to St. Agatha for worship services. Father John Wiriath recorded only six Catholic families in Berlin as of 1837. Father Wiriath was followed by Fathers Peter Schneider and Simon Sanderl who served Berlin from their base at St. Agatha. The next missionaries in the area were the Jesuits, Fathers Lucas Caveng and Bernard Fritsch, who served from 1847. More Catholics settled in Berlin and when it was chosen as the county seat in 1852, with the expected arrival of additional settlers, plans were made to construct a church.

A site at Weber and Young Streets was purchased from Mr. David Weber, and the cornerstone for the church was laid in 1854. This brick church was completed and dedicated in 1856, but was used only on an average of perhaps once a month as the congregation had to share the time of the priests from St. Agatha. While Rev. George Laufhuber was priest from 1857-1859 a Separate School was organized. The congregation was primarily German at this time. Father Laufhuber was followed by Fathers P. Edward Glowacki (or Glowalski) and Francis Breitkopf, and then by Rev. Dr. Louis Funcken (1866-1890). Regular services began in 1866. Additions were made to this church with a new Sanctuary in 1871, and a larger Sacristy in 1881. A new school was built in 1874, and a new convent in 1885.

Land for the present church, adjacent to the old one, was purchased in 1899, sod was turned on Sunday, May 27, 1900 and the cornerstone of the new church building was laid on September 30, 1900. Dedication services were held in the new church on December 13, 1903. The full name of the church is Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows

Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

David married Catharine Eby 3 Feb 1833. Catharine (daughter of Bishop Benjamin Eby and Maria "Mary" Brubacher) was born 25 Jul 1814, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 30 Mar 1867, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catharine Weber
• Name: Katharina Eby
• Eby ID Number: 00031-2447
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Catharine Eby, "the fourth member and the second daughter of Benjamin Eby, was born July 25th, 1814. She was married, February 3rd, 1833, to David, son of Benjamin and Veronica (Martin) Weber. They moved on their farm now forming the North Ward of the town of Berlin. Their farm buildings were situated near where the Grand Trunk Railroad station is now situated. Some time before the Grand Trunk Railway was built they sold their farm to Rev. Abraham Weber and moved two and three-fourths miles east of Berlin, on the east end of lot No. 120, where they resided until their deaths. She died March 30th, 1867, and he died September 17th, 1877. To them were born eleven children"


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

_________________________________________


On the 30th of March, in Waterloo Township, Waterloo Co., C. W., of consumption, CATHERINE, wife of David WEBER, and daughter of Bish. Benjamin Eby, deceased, aged 52 years, 8 months, and some days. She calmly fell asleep in Jesus. She was buried at Christian Eby's burying-ground, on which occasion Enoch Detweiler and Daniel Wismer delivered appropriate addresses.


HERALD OF TRUTH - Volume IV, Number 5 - May 1867 - Page 78

Other Events:

• Interesting: building, business, politics, life story
• Interesting: story, politics, business, emmigration
• Name: J. Y. Shantz
• Name: Jacob Y. Shantz
• Name: Jakob Y. Schantz
• Residence: 105 Queen St. N., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6754
• Historic Building: 1855, 138 Church St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Historic Building: 1855, 142 Church Street, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; button manufacturer
• Occupation: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Manufacturer
• Residence: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Mennonite
• Elected Office: 1882, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mayor - Kitchener
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Possessions: 1893, 240 Duke St. W., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Business: 1897, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; J. Y. Shantz & Son's Co. Button Works
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Manufacturing

Notes:

Jacob Y. Shantz, "was born near Berlin, May 2nd, 1822. On May 2nd, 1843, he was married to Barbara Biehn who was born April 7th, 1819, and died May 16th, 1853. He was again married, December 6th, 1853, to Nancy Brubacher who was born September 19th, 1832, and died in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, while there on a visit, October 1st, 1870. On October 1st, 1871, he was married the third time to Sarah Shuh who was born June 9th, 1823, and died April 29th, 1893. After Mr. Shantz's first marriage he took possession of his father's farm, still known as 'Jacob Shantz's place', where he resided for upwards of some forty years, then he moved to Berlin where he is now residing. His family consists of twelve children, five of whom are of first wife and the remaining seven of second wife."

Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

____________________________


Shantz, Jacob Yost (1822-1909)

Jacob Yost Shantz (22 May 1822-28 October 1909), of Berlin (now Kitchener), ON, for many years a promoter of the Mennonite settlements in Manitoba, was the eighth child of Jacob and Maria Yost Schantz, of Montgomery County, PA, who had purchased a farm in what is now Kitchener. The son's interests soon extended beyond his vocation of farming. Fruit growing, maple sugar production, and the operation of a sawmill were added to his activities. Later he entered the building and contracting business. He promoted various industries in his city, the chief being the Dominion Button Works. Shantz was easily the wealthiest Mennonite entrepreneur in Ontario in the early 1880s, with more than 300 people on the payroll of his Dominion Button Works alone. Over expansion and possible mismanagement in a declining market led to virtual bankruptcy by 1886. Shantz spent the rest of his life paying his debts , and died a man of moderate means.

For 27 years Shantz served on the Berlin school board. In 1882 he was elected mayor of Berlin (Kitchener) in an uncontested election. Inexplicably he resigned four days after taking office, though the town council briefly considered not accepting the resignation. The fact that J. Y. Shantz's son, Moses, was also elected as a member of the council may have generated pressure for one of the family to resign. Shantz's letter of resignation has not survived.

Shantz's chief public contribution, however, lay in the promotion of Mennonite immigration to Manitoba. In 1872 as a representative of the Canadian government Shantz accompanied Bernhard Warkentin, who represented the prospective Mennonite immigrants from Russia, on a land inspection trip to Manitoba. The Canadian Department of Agriculture published Shantz's report under the title The narrative of a journey to Manitoba, which became a history-making pamphlet going through various editions with a total circulation of several hundred thousand. During the next 35 years, Shantz made many trips to Manitoba, the twenty-seventh and the last in his 85th year. His work consisted in assisting the Mennonite immigrants who wished to settle in Manitoba with transportation and supplies, as well as helping them settle on the land. By November 1874 it was reported that 1,400 Mennonites had been placed in Manitoba and five years later the number had grown to over 7,000. Shantz not only obtained most favorable travel rates for the immigrants but often used money from his $100,000 personal credit fund in a Berlin bank to assist his friends from Russia by helping pay their transportation costs, equipment, and farm machinery. Shantz was also placed in charge of the $100,000 Canadian government loan to the Russian Mennonites, guaranteed by the Ontario Mennonites. As treasurer of the "Aid Committee of Ontario" Shantz also dispensed the funds loaned to the immigrants by his fellow Mennonites. He lived to see the day when all of these loans were repaid, the final settlement having been made in his 85th year. In 1893 Shantz began promoting Alberta land and here again future developments proved his business judgment and vision.

Shantz became a member of the Mennonite Church (MC) at an early age. In 1875, desiring a more progressive church, Shantz became a member of the group later to be known as the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. For eighteen years he served on the Managing Committee of the Gospel banner and for at least 8 years on his denomination's Foreign and Heathen Missionary Society. He was always deeply interested in the temperance movement and a defender of Biblical nonresistance.

In 1898 Shantz joined the local Christian Science congregation, and remained a member in good standing until his death, although evidence is inconclusive on the question of whether he remained actively involved to the time of his death in 1909. He was still an active member, serving on the congregation's board of directors, at age 81 (1903). Four factors help to explain Shantz's interest in the then-new Christian Science movement. (1) Shantz had a life-long interest in the innovative, whether in business, land settlement, or religious thought, though he always believed himself to be orthodox. (2) The emphasis in Christian Science on a rigorous, healthful life-style was appealing. Shantz was active in the temperance movement, and was a vegetarian at least part of his life. (3) Jacob Y. Shantz was a "healer" with a reputation for curing cancer. Although his approach differed from that of Christian Science, enough common interest existed to prove attractive. (4) Shantz probably felt rejected by the Mennonite Brethren in Christ (United Missionary) denomination as he was phased out of all leadership roles by 1896.

Although Shantz was a quiet and unassuming man, his voice had a deep, organ-like tone that people did not forget. He was married three times, in 1843 to Barbara Biehn, in 1853 to Nancy Brubacher, and in 1871 to Sarah Shark. Two sons and three daughters were born of the first marriage, and three sons and four daughters to the second. Shantz was buried in the First Mennonite Cemetery in Kitchener.

Gingerich, Melvin and Steiner, Sam. "Shantz, Jacob Yost (1822-1909)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 1999. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 14 Nov 2005

_________________________


SHANTZ, JACOB YOST, farmer, businessman, office holder, author, and promoter of Mennonite settlement; b. 2 May 1822 in Ebytown (Kitchener), Upper Canada, eighth of the ten children of Jacob Shantz, a farmer and sawmill owner, and Mary Yost; m. first 2 May 1843 Barbara Biehn (d. 1853), and they had three daughters and two sons; m. secondly 6 Dec. 1853 Nancy Anna Brubacher (d. 1870), and they had seven children; m. thirdly 1 Oct. 1871 Sarah Shuh (d. 1893); d. 28 Oct. 1909 in Berlin (Kitchener).

Jacob Yost Shantz grew up in Ebytown, later known as Berlin, where his parents, Mennonites from Pennsylvania, had purchased land in 1810 [see Benjamin Eby*]. On his 21st birthday he married his cousin Barbara Biehn and not long afterwards they took over his parents' farm. Shantz then became manager of his father's sawmill, began to buy and sell real estate, and invested in other local business ventures. His interests extended to education and public service: he acted as a school trustee and held several minor local posts, such as fence inspector, road overseer, and village tax collector. He was also an early supporter of the temperance movement.

Shantz soon diversified his business interests. He found a variety of markets for the wood from his sawmill and the woodlots he acquired in the early 1850s, constructing wooden sidewalks in Berlin, providing fuel for the Grand Trunk Railway, and supplying building materials to German immigrants. He took a major step as an entrepreneur in 1861 when he bought a property on the corner of King and Foundry (Ontario) streets, Berlin, and constructed the Canadian Block, a three-storey commercial building. As a contractor, he became involved in numerous projects, one of the most important of which was the erection of the Berlin market-house in 1869. Early the following year he built a button factory for Emil Vogelsang and his partner, John Jacob Woelfle. Seven months later Woelfle sold his interests in the factory to Shantz, who quickly gained prominence as a manufacturer. In 1875 the partnership between Vogelsang and Shantz was terminated. The Dominion Button Works became Shantz's; his sons would assist him in managing the company, which by 1880 employed over 140 workers. Early in 1873 Shantz had also formed a partnership to manufacture felt. Shantz and Feick lasted only two years, but Shantz went on to form other partnerships for his felt business and continued in it until about 1880.

In 1872 Shantz had been asked by the Canadian government to travel to western Canada with a Mennonite from southern Russia, Bernhard Warkentin, who was considering immigration to North America. The government mistakenly thought that Warkentin was a member of an official delegation; it is not entirely clear why Shantz was selected to accompany him. After visiting Manitoba with him Shantz sent a report of his journey to the government. Favourably impressed, immigration officials asked that he prepare a more detailed account for publication. Narrative of a journey to Manitoba was translated into a number of languages and became an important item in the promotion of European immigration to the west. Meanwhile, the federal government had assigned Wilhelm Hespeler* to visit Mennonite colonies in Russia to see if further contacts might encourage prospective immigrants to choose Canada rather than the United States. In the spring of 1873 six Mennonite colonies sent two delegates each to investigate opportunities in North America. Shantz was invited to accompany Hespeler and the group to Manitoba, and he took them through the regions southeast and west of Winnipeg.

When many Mennonites decided to immigrate [see Gerhard Wiebe*], Shantz was asked to serve as Canadian director of the movement, to assist with transportation and other arrangements, and to see that the immigrants arrived safely at their destination. He needed to raise a considerable amount of money to help defray the expenses of the approximately 7,000 settlers who were to arrive in Manitoba during the next six years. Many were unable to sell their property in Russia or lacked the means to pay for their transportation and purchase necessary supplies. Shantz served as secretary-treasurer of a committee organized in 1874 to receive and administer funds lent by Mennonites living in Ontario. The following year the committee successfully requested from the federal government a loan of $100,000 and a subsidy of $70,000 for transportation. Shantz and other Ontario Mennonites acted as guarantors for these and additional loans. Over the years Shantz would travel frequently between Ontario and Manitoba, to provide assistance to the immigrants, arrange repayment of the loans, and, when needed, obtain more funds. In return for his services he received a number of land grants in the "reserves" which had been set aside for the Mennonites to the east and west of the Red River. Two communities, Schanzenfeld and Schanzenberg, were named in his honour.

While Shantz was engaged in immigration activities, the Dominion Button Works had continued to expand. In 1884 it employed 300 workers at Berlin and by 1886 it opened a branch plant in Buffalo, N.Y. Shantz nevertheless experienced severe financial difficulties in the mid 1880s and was forced to sell numerous properties in order to clear his debts and those of Jacob Y. Shantz and Sons, which operated the works. In June 1891 the company was reorganized and Shantz retired from the business.

Shantz saw another opportunity, however, again in western Canada. In July 1892 he announced his intention to start a colony there. He located suitable land at a site called Didsbury (Alta), about 50 miles north of Calgary. The following summer he canvassed Mennonites in Ontario and the United States and succeeded in persuading 44 families to take up homesteads in the northwest. A major exodus from the region of Berlin took place in the spring of 1894. Among the group which left were two of Shantz's children and their families. Shantz would journey west to visit his children in the Didsbury area until he was 85. He is said to have made a total of 27 trips from Ontario to the west in connection with his interests there.

Shantz had long been a active member of the Mennonite church in Berlin. In 1875 he joined a reform group called the United Mennonites, later known as the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. Shantz moved again in 1898, this time to the Church of Christ, Scientist. He remained active in the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Berlin for several years until poor health restricted his movements.

Jacob Yost Shantz died in 1909, preceded by three of his twelve children, his three wives, and all his brothers and sisters. He is remembered for his considerable business expertise and the enormous energies he invested in the various enterprises he had fostered, above all in the immigration of thousands of Mennonites to western Canada. In addition to a modest estate, he left a spiritual heritage, that of a religious man, wanting first and foremost to serve God and his fellow man. In the estimation of many who knew him, he had done both well.
Lawrence Klippenstein

[Jacob Yost Shantz is the author of Narrative of a journey to Manitoba, together with an abstract of the Dominion Lands Act; and an extract from the government pamphlet on Manitoba (Ottawa, 1873), translated into French as Relation d'un voyage à Manitoba, accompagnée d'une analyse de l'Acte concernant les terres de la Puissance et d'un extrait du pamphlet publié par le gouvernement a[u] sujet de Manitoba (Ottawa, 1873).
The first partial life story of Shantz appeared in Melvin Gingerich, "Jacob Y. Shantz, 1822-1909, promoter of the Mennonite settlements in Manitoba," Mennonite Quarterly Rev. (Goshen, Ind.), 24: 230-47. His role in the immigration of Mennonites to Manitoba has been thoroughly documented in two articles by Ernst Correll in the Mennonite Quarterly Rev., "Mennonite immigration into Manitoba: sources and documents, 1872, 1873" and "Mennonite loan in the Canadian parliament," 11 (1937): 196-227, 267-83 and 20 (1946): 255-75, respectively, as well as in three collections of documents which he edited for the same journal: "Canadian agricultural records on Mennonite settlements, 1875-77," 21 (1947): 34-46; "Mennonite immigration into Manitoba: documents and sources, 1873-1874," 22 (1948): 43-57; and "Sources on the Mennonite immigration from Russia in the 1870's," intro. H. S. Bender, 24 (1950): 329-52. The definitive biography is now S. J. Steiner, Vicarious pioneer: the life of Jacob Y. Shantz (Winnipeg, 1988). l.k.]

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval

___________________________

Mr. John Frederick Augustus Sykes Fayette, a well educated mulatto, built a schoolhouse on his own account in rear of where the Royal Exchange hotel now stands, in 1840. He called it the "Wellington Institute," and opened it in December, charging the usual rates, but being poorly patronized he ran into debt and left a year or two afterwards quite suddenly, greatly to the chagrin of his creditors. His was the first school in Berlin in which any attempt had been made to teach grammar and also the first in which the pupils saw a geographical map. Jacob Y. Shantz, then 18 years of age, and the late Israel D. Bowman, a lad of 11, attended this school.

Second Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, Berlin, Ontario 1914

_____________________

J. Y. Shantz & Co's Factory

This enterprising firm have started operation in their new factory. It can well be said that for a fine factory, it may be classed with the finest in Canada. All the modern improvements which are necessary to save time and money have been procured. The factory has its own electric light plant, and steam heating: fine wash basins and closets and everything convenient for both employer and employee. The firm might also be complimented on the manner in which they are fixing up the grounds, and also the street in front of the factory. The grounds have been neatly laid out with drives and nice green lawn. A few nice flower beds may be looked for next spring. The deep gutters have also been filled up, and sewer pipes now carry off the water, instead of standing in the gutter until it has time to dry up. If Berlin had more of these kind of people that would take an interest in their property how much more beautiful our town would be.

The Daily Record 30 Sep 1893

________________________

The Button Industry

A young German named Emil Vogelsang came to Berlin in 1867 and chummed with Allan Huber, son of H. S. Huber. One day the merchant questioned the youth,

"What can you do, Emil?"
"I'm a button turner."
"Then show us how you make buttons."
"Before I could do that," said Emil, "I'd need a lathe and a batch of ivory-nuts."

Mr. Huber had a lathe made in Waterloo and imported a shipment of nuts for Mr. Vogelsang. The latter leased a room and power from the Simpson Furniture Company and soon was manufacturing first-class buttons. He called his venture, "The Pioneer Button Works." The buttons found a ready sale in Eastern Canada and the United States. His was the first button factory in Canada, if not in America..

Before long Mr. Vogelsang needed a factory of his own. He interested J. J. Woelfle in the enterprise and they awarded Jacob Y. Shantz a contract to erect a $20,000 building on the northeast corner of King and College Streets. Before it was up Mr. Woelfle withdrew. Mr. Shantz then purchased an interest in the button works for a sum equal to the price of the building and entered into a 7-year agreement with Mr. Vogelsang. When that term expired Mr. Vogelsang retired and built another button factory in South Queen Street, which he later sold to the W. G. & R. Shirt Company. (Now occupied by the Fehrenbach Mattress Co.)

Mr. Shantz had not had any practical experience in the manufacture of buttons, yet did not wish to see the employees deprived of their livelihood. He therefore continued manufacturing and after costly experimenting, during which he was assisted by his son, M. B. Shantz, the factory was placed on a sound footing. Mr. Shantz's sons Dilman and John likewise joined him. Jacob Y. Shantz & Sons became the largest employers of labor in Berlin. For a time there were four button factories in the town and it was widely known as "Buttonville." Jacob Y. Shantz entered into partnership also with a Mr. Feick and made felt goods in the button-factory basement.

A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937 pg 169-171

____________________


The saw mill was first operated by Mr. Shantz's father. It formed a natural introduction to Mr. Shantz's activity as a builder and contractor. He was the builder and owner of the Canadian Block at the corner at King and Ontario (Foundry) streets. Mr. Shantz built also the four room addition to the Suddaby School, which is the only part of the old school now remaining. He was one of the earliest of the extensive builders of private residences in the town. He entered the industrial field through the solicitation of those needing money to float infant industries. His first venture in this way was the wind-mill for grinding flour, chopping grain, etc., that stood formerly on Mecklenburg Hill. Its exact site was a little south of Church street and about midway between Cedar and Albert streets. This historic and quaint feature in the landscape of the South ward was a losing business venture to the extent of several thousand dollars. For years after operation ceased the deserted mill with its great wings appeared above the surrounding trees on the hillside. It was removed somewhere about 1870 or a little later.

Jacob Y. Shantz"
Pioneer of Russian Mennonite Immigration to Manitoba
H. M. Bowman, Ph. D.

Waterloo Historical Annual Volume 1924

___________________________

THE WINDMILL

A feature of many years of the southerly end of the village was a windmill, on what was known as Mecklenburg Hill, near the westerly corner of Church and Albert streets. This was the project of a company composed of Jacob Y. Shantz, Henry Boehmer and others. It was built in 1860 by Frederick Rickerman who was the originator of the idea. Rickerman was familiar with windmills and had operated one in Germany. The structure was about sixty feet high, hexagonal in plan, with each of the four wings or sails about 45 feet long by 6 feet wide. A vertical centre beam meshing with the topcross shaft extended down to the main floor of the mill and there operated three sets of stones. The revolving top carried the cross-shaft, on which the wings were mounted, and could be set for the Wind by means of a Windlass. An outer platform was at the height of' the wing length from the top shaft. From this the wings or arms could be worked on, and their canvas covering put in place. Particular excellence was claimed for the flour from this mill. The author remembers eating bread baked from the first flour it produced.

Pg. 278

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER)
By Jacob Stroh
Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder
Part II. - Churches, Roads, Miscellaneous

Waterloo Historical Society Annual Vol. 1931

________________________

King Street, Kitchener

Cameron Street eastward.-A fine large holding extending along King Street to almost opposite the Mennonite Church, was Sheriff Davidson's place, Forest Hill, with square Colonial brick house, still standing, although materially changed, on a commanding hill.

Benjamin Eby's farm, occupied and owned later by his son, Elias Eby. J. Y. Shantz's farm, originally the Eby farm, with a large dam and saw mill. The pond was westerly of the present Doon Twines factory, was of good size, was fed by two creeks and gave water power for Shantz's saw mill for many years. There was no steam power. The ice supply for Berlin was largely taken from this pond in the earlier years.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

___________________

King Street , North Side

From Francis to Water Street.

he ground was used by H. F. J. Jackson for stabling, etc., on his contract for building the Grand Trunk Railway through a large part of Waterloo County. Later he built his residence on this plot.

The plot east of Water Street was used as a drill ground by the Berlin Volunteer Company of the Waterloo Battalion, 1864-67. They mostly drilled in the evenings and had some quite young volunteers, Jacob Stroh, 16 years, one of them. The trustees of the New Jerusalem Church bought the corner in 1869 and in 1870 erected the present Church. This had the first pipe organ in Berlin, built by Claus Maas of Preston.

Haller's hat and felt-working shop. He made the first felt boots and shoes, worn largely by the farmers, in winter, in this vicinity.

Open space up to Henry Brickner's house.

A frame building one and one-half story high and located a little back of the street. Later a brick building was erected on the open space. At the westerly corner of Young Street Mr. Bricker built a cooperage in 1860.

At the easterly corner of Young and King Streets was Wendell Brunner's blacksmith shop, a rough frame building. Behind it, on Young Street, was another frame building used as a waggon shop by Christian Huinbrecht.

Vacant place and next a three story brick building, lengthwise with King Street, divided into two parts, used as stores for a short time. Later it was a paint shop and still later a warehouse for the Simpson factory across the road. The third floor of this building was the first habitat of the Berlin Militia, organized in 1864 at the time of the American Civil War. Colonel Pickering was the first drill master. He was sent from England to drill the Canadian Militia. The local company had at first no rifles and had to use Wooden substitutes for their drills.

A three story brick building erected by C. Schneucker and used as a hotel. The third floor was a large hall used for a number of years, for balls and concerts. Paul Schmidt moved into the building in 1860. It was then called the Schneucker and Schmidt Hotel. A later landlord was Mr. Zinger and the name was changed to The North American Hotel. Toward the rear and just east of the Hotel was a barn and horse shed, with wide approach from King Street.

A one and one-half story frame house 15 or 20 feet back from the street line with gable and veranda facing King Street, occupied by Paul Schmidt and later by his widow.

A very early building one and one-half story, rough cast; the dwelling of Sam Trout, a blacksmith. A later occupant was James Godbold, son of Godbold who lived on the corner of Wellington and King Streets. Jacob, son of James, brakeman on the Grand Trunk, was killed while on top of a freight car in St. Mary's, the train passing under a low bridge which Godbold did not see as he was looking at a circus beside the track.

A tailor shop was also in this building which stood originally at the corner of Foundry and King Streets.

A two story brick building with gable toward King Street and occupied by Henry Gauntley. On the second floor there was a paint shop and at the rear a wagon shop.

A brick building, the blacksmith shop, for many years, of Sam Trout.

A vacant lot.

At the Foundry St. corner a frame building, Reinhold Lang's tannery with his house, alongside, one and one-half story with frame porch. Later Mr. Lang moved his business to Charles Street, the site of the present Lang Tanning Co. plant. Jacob Y. Shantz erected the Canadian Block, three story brick, corner of King and Foundry Streets, in 1856. The front was set back from the street line and had a verandah extending to the edge of the sidewalk. There were three stores, the corner, Cole and Graf, druggists; then Wm. Young, groceries and liquors; and next H. S. Huber, general store. The old blacksmith shop was used as a warehouse by Huber.

The Canadian Block while still fairly new, burned down about 1862 in the Spring. The fire started in the corner drug store, during the night. The walls remained standing after the fire was out but were considered dangerous and were pulled down by the firemen. One wall, in this operation, fell on H. S. Huber's warehouse, which had not been burned and in which he had large quantities of supplies. The firemen were blamed for not having notified Huber so that he could have removed his goods before the wall was thrown over.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

____________

King Street Kitchener South Side

Water to Gaukel Street.-At the Water Street corner stood, before 1867, a large frame building used mainly during the winter months as a drill shed for the local militia. The building was at one time used as a skating rink. Later it was moved to Woodside Park on Queen Street South and used for Township Fairs, and other purposes. Next easterly were two houses, one-story high, with gables toward King Street, owned by Rev. F. W. Tuerk and built about 1860. Next an unpainted frame building, used as a shop, stood on the westerly corner of Gaukel Street. At the rear of tills shop there was another frame building, moved there from Factory Street, used as a felt factory by Feick & Co„ the partners being Mr. Haller, Manager, and Mr. Feick. Later, when J. Y. Shantz took over the felt business the building was converted into dwellings and used for some time, when it was torn down. The site is now occupied by the Salvation Army Barracks.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

___________________

Death of Aged Pioneer
J. Y. Shantz Passes Away

Berlin mourns today the death of Jacob Yost Shantz, its oldest native born citizen and a real Nature's nobleman an honest, God-fearing successful man. The end came peacefully at three o'clock this morning at his home, 105 Queen St. north.

He was as well as usual to within an hour of death. About two o'clock he arose, and dressed himself, thinking it was near daybreak. Soon after retiring again, he called his son, Jacob and complained of internal pain. It grew more severe and his son D. B. Shantz was summoned from his home on Margaret Avenue. Before he reached his father's bedside, the aged gentleman had fallen asleep - in the sleep that knows no earthly awakening. He was conscious to within a few moments of the end. He was - barring partial blindness - in good health for a man so advanced in years - almost 88.

He was frequently seen down town, being driven out by his friends.

His mental faculties were bright, and he would spend hours conversing with his sons and friends, recalling with wonderful accuracy and detail, occurrences of long bygone years. During the past few days he has evinced a keen interest in the progress of the new button factory here. He was the pioneer of the button industry in Canada and it is worthy of note that of the five sons, four are engaged in the button trade as well as four nephews.

The funeral of the late Mr. Shantz will be held on Saturday at 1.30 from the family residence, 105 Queen St. north, to the Lancaster St. Mennonite Church and East End Cemetery.

The late Jacob Yost Shantz was a native of Berlin, having been born on May 2nd, 1822, on the Shantz farm just south of the East End Mennonite Church. His parents were pioneer residents and aided in reclaiming a hitherto wild and undeveloped region for the purposes of civilization. His father operated the first sawmill in this section and was in many ways connected with the material growth and upbuilding of this portion of the province. Being United Empire Loyalists they followed in British flag into Canada.

The maternal grandfather of Mr. Shantz took a very active and helpful part in laying out the early roads of the county and in otherwise advancing those interests which indicated that the seeds of civilization had been planted and that his was to become some day a populous and prosperous district.

Mr. Shantz was reared in Berlin, where he acquired a common school education. His early life was devoted to lumber interests. He engaged in the operation of a sawmill, conducted a lumberyard and became an extensive contractor and builder. He was prominently identified with manufacturing interests in later years, operating a factory for the manufacture of boots and shoes. In 1870 he established the button factory, becoming associated with a German button manufacturer and a few years later he bought out the interests of his partner, continuing to carry on the business in his own name, when he retired to enjoy a well-earned and richly merited rest. He was almost 88 years of age. His life has been one of intense and well-directed activity, in which he made good use of his opportunities, and he belonged too, to that class of representative men who while promoting individual success also advanced the general welfare. His family numbered twelve children, five sons and seven daughters. He has always been deeply interested in the welfare of Berlin, but has been content to do his public service as a private citizen, never seeking or desiring office. He acted, however, as mayor of Berlin a short time when the citizens offered him the position unanimously. He accepted it as an honor and then resigned. Another important labor which Mr. Shantz performed has been in connection with the development and upbuilding of Manitoba and the Northwest. He began operating there in 1874 and on behalf of the Mennonites devoted a large portion of his time in making a general prospector setting forth the advantages of the country, its natural resources and its climate in the districts mentioned in order to accomplish these objectives and gave liberally of his own private fortune, and through his endeavors, secured large sums from other friends of the Mennonite Society for the purpose of forming the colony, and for the development of that country which constitutes the first white settlement in Manitoba and the Northwest. When he first went to Fort Garry - now Winnipeg - in 1874, he saw only three white men in many weeks. In 30 years he went from here west 27 times, the last time when he was 85 years old. He has thus been instrumental in having thousands of the people of this sect becoming colonists in that district and thus settling up the country, aiding in its reclamation from a wild and unimproved district and converting it to the uses of civilization.

In Berlin, he did a great work in assisting the early German settlers when they reached here. He built scores of houses for them, and gave them all the time they desired, to repay it. He was the soul of honor and integrity, and his life was a noble example of the true Christian. He was a faithful member of the Mennonite church and a liberal supporter.

He was twice married. There are five surviving sons and four daughters, Moses B. of Rochester; Dilman B., of Berlin; John , of Buffalo; Ephraim B., of Didsbury; and Jacob, of Berlin; Mrs. Ezra Snider, Berlin; Mrs. N. B. Detweiler, Berlin; Mrs. Andrew Weber, Didsbury; and Miss Ida Shantz, Berlin.

Berlin News Record, October 28, 1909

Historic Building:
Originally built as a rented residence it is constructed of brick and is one story. In 1978 it is listed in as very good condition.

Historic Building:
Built in 1855-1860 of brick it is a one story house. Originally built as J. Y. Shantz's residence. In 1978 it is listed as in very good condition

Elected Office:
Years Served: 1882 (Warden)

Jacob married Barbara Biehn 2 May 1843, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Barbara (daughter of Abraham Biehn and Veronica Shantz) was born 7 Apr 1819, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 16 May 1853, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Barbara Shantz
• Eby ID Number: 00008-1042
• Residence: 1851, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Barbara Biehn, "was born April 7th, 1819. She was married to Jacob Y. Shantz, May 2nd, 1843. They resided on the farm now in possession of Jacob B. Shantz about a mile south-east of Berlin where she died May 16th, 1853. She had a family of five children".

Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20684523
• Eby ID Number: 00127-7833
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 008, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 113, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; yeoman
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Benjamin Weber," the eldest son of Henry and Veronica (Hershey) Weber, was born near Blue Ball, Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, February 2nd, 1786. He was married to Veronica Martin, April 28th, 1806. She was born May 24th, 1784, and died 11th, 1859. In 1817, in company with others, they, with their family, left Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and moved to the wilds of Canada, and located on lot No. 8, German Company Tract, Waterloo County, Ontario, where they resided until their deaths. He died January 21st, 1863. To them was born a family of seven children"

Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Benjamin married Veronica Martin 28 Apr 1806. Veronica was born 24 May 1784, , Pennsylvania, USA; died 11 Apr 1859, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Martin Meeting House Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20684963
• Name: Fronica Martin
• Name: Veronica Weber
• Eby ID Number: 00127-7833.1

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19044067
• Interesting: pioneer, story, religion
• Eby ID Number: 00031-2423
• Immigration: 1807, , Canada
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 002, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1851, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite minister
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; minister
• Probate: 22 Oct 1853, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Benjamin Eby, "the sixth son and eleventh member of the family of Christian Eby and his wife, Catharine Bricker, was born on the old homestead on Hammer Creek, Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, May 2nd, 1785. Benjamin spent his boyhood days on the farm and in his father's cooper-shop making barrels for the mills. He received a fair common school education, and during the winter evenings he continued his studies. He had free access to his father's books, as well as to his brother John's library. He was not very strong and it used to be the common saying among the neighbors: "Aus'em Bennie gebts ka Bauer, er muss Schulmaster werre!" -- "Bennie will never make a farmer, he must become a school-teacher." On May 21st, 1804, he was baptized in the Conestogo Mennonite Meeting House by Bishop Christian Burkholder, and on the same day he was admitted as a member of that body. In 1806 he came to Canada for the first time. On May 24th of the same year he came to what is now Berlin. Here he remained with his cousin, George Eby, who then resided on the place now known as the Jacob Y. Shantz farm. He purchased his land (the farm now possessed by Mr. Moses Betzner), had a small clearing of about two acres made during August, then made preparations for the erection of a log-house which was put up and completed during the following winter. On November 4th he, in company with others, set out for home. The mode of travelling in those days was on horse-back. On February 25th, 1807, he was married to Mary, daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Erb) Brubacher. She was born August 6th, 1789, and died of cholera August 18th, 1834.

On June 21st, 1807, the following party arrived at George Eby's, Berlin, viz: Benjamin Eby and wife, Joseph Schneider and wife, David Eby, Daniel Eby, John Eckert, Frederick Vogt, Peter Erb and wife, Daniel Erb, Samuel Eby and a few others. On the 30th day of the same month he took possession of his farm. On November 27th, 1809, he was ordained as a minister in the Mennonite Church, and on October 11th, 1812, he was ordained bishop in that body. No sooner was Benjamin Eby ordained as minister than he advocated strongly the building of meeting-houses. His idea was to have houses of worship built in which to hold regular services. Private houses, he said, answered the purpose very well as long as the membership was small, but since we have had such a large increase in membership it has become necessary for us to have churches. He found strong opposition at first, but the Erbs, Schneiders, Brubachers, Ebys, and a few others, agreed with him on this point, and the result was that a log church was erected in 1813. (See cut.) In this church Bishop Eby taught school during the winter months. The first regularly organized school in this section was held in a little log house situated near "Indian" Sam Eby's residence, now known as "Jacob Fry's old place", on the south side of the road leading from the "Two Bridges" to Mill Creek, near the former residence of Jacob Y. Shantz. This building, containing but one room, was erected for a private house, but the party ordering its erection failed to make his appearance, hence it was turned into a school house and utilized as such until the church was built in 1813. The school was first opened some time in October, 1809, by Mr. John Beatty, a native of Ireland, who came to the Eby settlement, as Berlin was then called, some time during the summer of the same year. After being convinced that Mr. Beatty had a fair English education, the following parties, viz: Benjamin Eby, Joseph Schneider, George Eby, Samuel Eby ("Indian Sam"), Jacob Erb and others, engaged him as their teacher for the winter months. School was generally closed the week before Easter. Among the first pupils who attended this, the first school opened in Ebytown, we find David Erb, George Eby, Catharine E. Schneider, Jacob E. Schneider, Elizabeth E. Schneider, Nancy Eby, John Eby, Peter Eby and others. Mr Beatty was re-engaged as their teacher in the fall of 1810, and according to the statements given me by some of the old pupils, he must have taught there three or four years in succession. After the erection of the Mennonite church in 1813 the school was moved to that place, where Bishop Eby taught for many winters in succession. In 1833 it was thought advisable to erect a new church, owing to the fact that the log church was too small to accommodate the large congregations that assembled here to worship. In 1834 the large church still standing was erected. (See cut.) This church is still known as Eby's Meeting House, or "'s Eby's versammlungshaus".

After the decease of Bishop Benjamin Eby's first wife he was married to Magdalena Erb, widow of old Abraham Erb, the founder of Waterloo. Bishop Eby died June 28th, 1853. To him and his first wife was born a family of eleven children"


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

_________________________

Eby, Benjamin (1785-1853)

Benjamin Eby (2 May 1785-28 June 1853) was a pioneer Mennonite bishop of the Mennonite Church (MC) serving in Ontario. The eleventh child of Christian Eby and his wife Catharine Bricker, Benjamin was born in the old homestead on Hammer Creek, Warwick Twp., Lancaster Co., PA, May 2, 1785. On Feb. 25, 1807 he married Mary Brubacher. That spring he and his wife immigrated to Waterloo Co., ON, arriving at what was later Berlin (now Kitchener) on June 21. He was ordained as minister (MC) on 27 November 1809 and as bishop on 11 October 1812. In 1813 his dream of having a meetinghouse was realized with the erection of a log structure of modest dimensions, the first building erected solely for religious worship in Waterloo County. The congregation had not fewer than 150 members. Possibly as early as 1815 Benjamin Eby built a frame annex to the log church, with a movable partition between it and the main building. This annex served as a schoolhouse of which he was for many years the teacher. At the same time he carried on his farming. His farm was lot 2 of the Beasley Tract, comprising a large part of the East Ward of the modern city of Kitchener. To Benjamin and Mary Eby were born eleven children. In August 1834, Mary died of cholera. Some time after her death Benjamin married the widow of Abraham Erb, the founder of Waterloo. On 28 June 1853, Eby died.

To sketch the life of Benjamin Eby is to consider the man, his work, his interests, and his influence. As a farmer he seems to have been successful. He was at least generous with his money, as the few remaining records of his financial transactions indicate. In 1816, when the church purchased an acre of land to add to its holdings, he donated an additional three quarters of an acre. All this is now part of the property of First Mennonite Church of Kitchener. Between 1825 and 1830 two men, John Hoffman and Samuel Bowers, wanted to establish a furniture factory. Appealing in vain to various sources for land, they came finally to Bishop Eby, who readily made land available to them. This too was a gift. The third transaction was in connection with the founding, in 1835, of the first newspaper in inner Canada, the Canada Museum, by Henry W. Peterson. Benjamin Eby not only encouraged this enterprise by word but purchased two shares of stock at $40.00 each, a larger risk than anyone else, apart from Mr. Peterson, was willing or able to take. Again, in 1836, he donated $16.00 toward the building of a cemetery wall, the next highest gift being $4.00. Relatively small as those sums are today they were important in those pioneer days. Judged in relation to his times and his contemporaries all these transactions establish Benjamin Eby as a substantial farmer in his community. Of his occupation as a preacher only a few recorded comments survive. H.W. Peterson, publisher and Lutheran lay preacher, says in his diary: "Stayed all night at Benjamin Eby's, went with him and his family to the meeting or church. He prayed and preached well. He is a good man." An anonymous writer in the Berlin Daily Telegraph for May 19, 1906, says: "His sermons were full of good sense, very intelligible, lying parallel with the understanding of attentive hearers." A tradition has it that there were invariably tears in his eyes when he entered the pulpit on a Sabbath morning. For many years, from 1818-19 to the early 1840's, he was also the community schoolmaster. In this period he wrote two spelling or reading books, Neues Buchstabir- und Lesebuch (1839) and Fibel (1843). He also wrote a work on Mennonite faith and history entitled Kurzgefasste Kirchen-geschichte und Glaubenslehre der Taufgesinnten Christen oder Mennoniten (1841). He was most likely the compiler of the Gemeinschaftliche Liedersammlung (Berlin, 1836), which was long used in Ontario. Thus he was farmer, teacher, preacher, and author. As might be expected, his interests went beyond his own community. He corresponded with European Mennonites and published some of the letters received in Briefe an die Mennonisten Gemeine in Ober Canada (1840) and Zweyter Brief aus Dänemark (1841).

The physical man must be noted briefly. There was a tradition that he was frail. Aus 'em Bennie gebts ka Bauer, er muss Schulmester werre. (Bennie will never make a farmer, he must become a schoolteacher.) Yet he made two journeys to Canada on horseback through the wilderness, hewed for himself a home, prospered substantially, and was unusually active in church and community affairs. One of his coats, seen by the present writer, would indicate that he was about five feet, six inches tall, weighing possibly 150 lbs.

Up to 1833 the Waterloo County settlement was known as "Ben Eby's" or "Ebytown," thus establishing Eby as the leading citizen of his community. With the arrival of increasing numbers of German non-Mennonites, the name of the settlement was changed in 1833 to Berlin. The record of his influence and activities bears eloquent testimony that he had both a keen sense of civic and denominational responsibility. In his account of Benjamin Eby's funeral, written for the July 7, 1855 issue of the Guelph Advertiser, H.S. Peterson calls him "an Israelite in whom there was no guile, and that he was sincerely pious, humble, exemplary, practical, and non-sectarian, and eminently successful in his day and generation." The anonymous friend in the Daily Telegraph (Berlin, ON, 19 May 1906) says: "He was a person of unblemished character. Naturally of a sweet and gentle disposition, friendly and obliging, always ready to serve his friends in any way that he could by his interest and authority. This he did freely and generously, not proud or haughty, but serious in giving good counsel, and greatly esteemed for his integrity by all ranks and denominations. All very much desired his company and wholesome conversations."

Cressman, J. Boyd. "Eby, Benjamin." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 Nov 2005

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Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church

Services were begun in Breslau in 1815. In 1834, Benjamin Eby's log meeting house, which had been built in Berlin in 1813, was moved to Breslau to the Cressman farm. Preaching services which were held every four weeks began in the reconstructed meeting house in 1837. A new brick church was built in 1856, at which time the old log meeting house was moved to Frederick Schaefer's brickyard. The old building may have been used for storage or an office until approximately 1880 when it was clad with white "Breslau Brick" from the brickyard, and used as a home by Frederick Schaefer and his family. The address of the house is reported to have been 18 Woolwich Street; it was still standing in 1985, according to Alder 1985, with the original log walls possibly preserved within the brick ones.

A summer Sunday School was begun in June of 1872. It was held in the Breslau schoolhouse until 1877 when it was moved to the church. Sunday School continued on in the summers only until 1889 when Sunday School classes began to be held all year.

The 1856 white brick church was taken down in March 1908, and was replaced with a new white brick church. In 1968 the name of the church was changed from Cressman Mennonite Church to Breslau Mennonite Church. Major renovations were made to the church in the same year. It is of interest to know that land amounting to approximately three acres was deeded to the congregation by Christian C. Snyder in three parcels, in 1837, 1859, and 1870.

Joseph Hagey, the first minister at Cressman's, was ordained on February 10, 1839. He was ordained bishop in 1851. Ministers who followed him in serving the church at Breslau were Jacob Woolner Sr., Elias Weber, Isaac A. Wambold, Jacob S. Woolner, and Oscar Burkholder. Services were held every four weeks from 1837-1867, and bi-weekly from 1867-1894 when weekly services were begun..

Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

___________________________

Wanner Mennonite Church
Begun: 1829

A small wooden meeting house was built in 1829 on a corner of the farm belonging to Samuel Bechtel which was located in the vicinity of the present-day regional headquarters of the Ministry of Natural Resources near the intersection of Highways 24 and 401. The site for this community meeting house, as well as a school and a burial ground, had been chosen on August 8, 1829. The land was donated by Samuel Bechtel and his wife Barbara (Baumann) on March 15, 1830. A new meeting house, of white brick, was built in 1837 on the east side of Henry Wanner's farm, somewhat north of the first meeting house. Meetings at first were held every eight weeks. The deed of land for the meeting house known as Wanner's was dated October 15, 1837. Early preachers were David Sherk, who had been ordained by Benjamin Eby in July 1837, Jacob Bretz, Jr., and Joseph Hagey.

Joseph Hagey was ordained bishop in 1851. During his time divisions occurred in the church by a surge of enthusiasm for a Methodist form of revivalism. Solomon Eby of Port Elgin, who announced his own conversion in December 1869, was leader of a group which believed that members could be converted through participation in revival meetings. John Baer of Wanner's became associated with Solomon Eby, and was compelled to leave the church in the spring of 1874, as were Eby and his other followers. The new church movement resulted in organization conferences which culminated in the conference on March 23, 1875 at Bloomingdale where New Mennonites and Reforming (or Reformed) Mennonites joined together as United Mennonites. The United Mennonites favored revival meetings, Sunday Schools and prayer meetings, and were opposed to the use of alcohol and tobacco.

The date of construction of the meeting house which replaced the one built in 1837 is somewhat in doubt. It is possible that a new building was erected in the early 1870s; it is also possible that the 1837 building only underwent extensive renovations at that time. There is no doubt, however, that a new brown brick church was built in 1938. An education wing was added in 1969.

The earliest Mennonite Sunday School in North America was begun in 1842 and was held jointly by the Wanner and Hagey Meeting Houses. It was discontinued after a short time because of a division of opinion within the congregations. An attempt was made later, in the mid-1860s, to begin another Sunday School, but this, too, did not last long. Many years later, on June 10, 1896, a meeting was held to organize a Sunday School. Anson Groh was appointed superintendent..

Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

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First Mennonite Church

The first church built in Waterloo County was erected in Berlin in 1813, and was known as Benjamin Eby's Meeting House.
Benjamin Eby had come to Canada in 1807 and in 1809 was ordained preacher. Three years later, in 1812, he was ordained bishop. His "parish included sections of Waterloo, Wilmot and Woolwich" (Uttley 1937: 27). In 1818 a frame addition, which was to be used as a winter school, was built on to the church. The log meeting house was replaced in 1834 by a larger frame church, and the old building was taken to Breslau to become the first meeting house in that community. (The Breslau church was known as Cressman Meeting House, a name which was changed in 1968 to Breslau Mennonite Church.) A Sunday School was opened in the church in 1841.

Benjamin Eby died in 1853. He was followed by Abraham C. Weber who served the congregation until his death in 1874. In that same year, a division in the church brought about the departure of a group who organized a congregation of Reforming (or Reformed) Mennonites, to become United Mennonites in 1875 and then Mennonite Brethren in Christ in 1883. Their church is the present-day Bethany Missionary Church on Lancaster Street East. Christian Eby was the next minister of the Berlin Mennonite Church, until 1879. The church was known over the years as Benjamin Eby's Church, Christian Eby's Church (from 1854-1904), and the Berlin Church (from 1904 until 1917.) The name of the church became First Mennonite Church in 1917.

A new brick church was built in 1902. A Bible Study School was begun in 1907, and in 1928 a separate brick Bible Study School building was erected. Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church was formed by some members in 1924 as a result of a division in the church.

Of interest: when the new church was built in 1902, the 1834 frame church was bought by D.B. Betzner who moved it to Cedar Street where it became a woodenware business and then a furniture factory. It was destroyed by fire in 1937.

Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

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EBY, BENJAMIN, farmer, Mennonite minister, bishop, educator, and author; b. 2 May 1785 at a homestead on Hammer Creek, Lancaster County, Pa, son of Christian Eby and Catharine Bricker; m. first 25 Feb. 1807 Mary Brubacher (d. 1834), and they had eight sons and three daughters; m. secondly Magdalena Erb, widow of Abraham Erb*; they had no children; d. 28 June 1853 in Berlin (Kitchener), Upper Canada.
Benjamin Eby, the sixth son and eleventh child of German-speaking Mennonites, "received a fair common school education" while working on the farm and in his father's cooperage. He was among the minority of Mennonites in Pennsylvania who were unhappy at the prospect of remaining under American rule in the aftermath of the revolutionary war, and in 1806 visited Upper Canada to inspect the land in Waterloo Township that fellow Mennonites Daniel Erb and Samuel Bricker had purchased from Richard Beasley* on behalf of the German Company. After claiming lot 2 of the Beasley Tract he went back to Pennsylvania to marry and then, in the company of other settlers, returned to Upper Canada, reaching his homestead on 21 June 1807. The role he played as a founder and leading citizen of the community was reflected in its being named Ebytown, or Ben Eby's, in his honour.

Although farming was always to be the chief source of Eby's livelihood, soon after his return to the province he became involved in the affairs of the pioneer settlement. After being ordained first as minister (27 Nov. 1809) and then as bishop (11 Oct. 1812) at ceremonies presided over by his brother Peter, a bishop from Pennsylvania, he was instrumental in erecting in 1813 the village's first meeting-house for religious worship, and two years later a frame annex to serve as a schoolhouse. Ben Eby's Church, as it was known during the bishop's lifetime, began with a membership of some 150. As the years went by he donated some of his own land to expand the church's holdings, including its first cemetery. As bishop he left his mark not only on the town but on the whole county, where all Mennonite congregations were under his supervision. He was a leader of the church conferences which emerged in the province during his lifetime. When the Niagara and Markham districts were without bishops he presided over the election of new ones and officiated at their ordinations. A family tradition that Benjamin's parents had decided he should become a teacher seems to have been fulfilled in the winter of 1818-19 when he began a teaching career that, with some interruptions, was to last until the early 1840s.

Eby made a major contribution to the Mennonite church and to the preservation of German-language education in the province through a number of published works. In 1836, in an effort to enrich the church's worship and congregational life in general while respecting the various traditions of its adherents, he compiled a hymn-book called Die Gemeinschaftliche Liedersammlung. Reprinted several times in both Canada and the United States, it was in use until the end of the century. His first original work was a primer, Neues Buchstabir- und Lesebuch, published in 1839. Other works of a religious and educational nature followed, including his most important book, Kurzgefasste Kirchen Geschichte (1841), a study of the Mennonite church's history and doctrine.

Apart from his roles as family man and farmer, and as preacher and teacher, Eby was a promoter of the general good. He was frequently called on to offer his counsel and he occasionally adjudicated community disputes. Business involvements included the donation of some of his own land to two men in need of a property on which to establish a furniture factory, generous support of the printer Heinrich Wilhelm Peterson, and the sale of land in 1833 to Friedrich Gaukel for an inn. That sale was among the first on record to refer to the town as Berlin, a change of name traditionally attributed to the bishop.

Eby also found time to look beyond his community by corresponding with church leaders in Europe, as well as in America, and thereby establishing and cultivating international connections. His biggest contribution, however, was in his own community where he raised a large family (his son Christian succeeded him as minister), promoted a diversified economy, established a broadly based religious worship, introduced elementary school education, and inaugurated a literary tradition which served many generations.
Frank H. Epp

[Benjamin Eby's work as educator and clergyman is reflected in his publications. He wrote Neues Buchstabir- und Lesebuch . . . (1st ed., Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.], 1839); a speller entitled Fibel zu den ersten Lese-Uebungen (Berlin, [1839?]), a second edition of which was published there in 1843; Kurzgefasste Kirchen Geschichte und Glaubenslehre der Taufgesinnten-Christen oder Mennonisten (Berlin, 1841); and a second primer, ABC- Buchstabir- und Lesebuch, zum Gebrauch fuer Deutsche Schulen in Canada (2nd ed., Berlin, 1842). In addition to compiling Die Gemeinschaftliche Liedersammlung . . . (1st ed., Berlin, 1836), he published an edition of a popular German Mennonite catechism, [Gerhard Roosen], Christliches Gemüths Gespräch . . . (Berlin, 1839). He subsequently arranged for the first English edition of this work, which was published under the title Christian spiritual conversation on saving faith . . . (Lancaster, Pa., 1857), and may even have been the translator. His correspondence with churchmen abroad resulted in the publication of some of their letters to him in Briefe an die Mennonisten Gemeine, in Ober Canada, mit einer Zugabe (Berlin, 1840) and Zweyter Brief aus Dänemark an die Mennonisten Gemeine in Canada (Berlin, 1841). f.h.e.]

AO, RG 22, ser.211, Benjamin Eby. Guelph Advertiser (Guelph, [Ont.]), 7 July 1853. E. E. Eby and J. B. Snyder, A biographical history of early settlers and their descendants in Waterloo Township, with Supplement, ed. E. D. Weber (Kitchener, 1971). The Mennonite encyclopedia: a comprehensive reference work on the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement (4v., Hillsboro, Kans., 1955-59). F. H. Epp, Mennonites in Canada, 1786-1920: the history of a separate people (Toronto, 1974). J. B. Cressman, "Bishop Benjamin Eby," Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report, 1941: 152-58; "History of the First Mennonite Church of Kitchener, Ontario," Mennonite Quarterly Rev. (Goshen, Ind.), 13 (1939): 159-86. Daily Telegraph (Berlin), 19 May 1906: 1-2. M. [L]. Gingerich, "Mennonite leaders of North America: Benjamin Eby (1785-1853)," Gospel Herald (Scottsdale, Pa.), 58 (1965): 178. I. D. Landis, "Bishop Peter Eby of Pequea, 1765-1843," Mennonite Quarterly Rev., 14 (1940): 41-51.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 2000 University of Toronto/Université Laval

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As has been seen, Benjamin Eby bought Cot 2, G.C.T., and came to Upper Canada in 1807. Before leaving Pennsylvania, he and Marie Brubacher were united in marriage. A good word is due the wives of the pioneers. Stanch as maples, they left comfortable homes in Pennsylvania, faced the difficile trail. and in a wooded wilderness bore the hardships of life without a murmur.

Benjamin Eby was of the leader type. Although just of age. he took thought of the settlers spiritual welfare. The pioneers at first worshipped God in their home. He had them gather together at a particular clearing, one Sunday here and the next there, until all had been visited. He was appointed preacher in 1809. Besides promoting the building of a church, he interested himself in prim-ary education.(1)

His log house stood west of the Mennonite Church. In 1814 he sold Samuel Eschelman 56 acres adjoining the church lands. So far as known he was the first settler to sell incoming townsmen plots of land. He sold his son-in-law, David Weber, 219 acres at the upper part of his big lot. His son Elias became the owner of the remaining part on the north side of King Street. The son sold his holding to John Brubacher and Menno Erb who in turn sold his land to William Moyer and Moses Betzner. As the history un-folds other activities of Ben Eby will come to light.

In 1834 a circus employee carried the Asiatic cholera to Galt. Nearly one-fifth of the inhabitants died of the scourge. Many persons from Waterloo Township attended the performance and numerous individuals, catching the disease from one another, died also, including Mrs. Ben Eby.

The Rev. Eby carried on his spiritual labors until his own death in 1853. He had then been the servant of the Mennonite Society for forty-four years.

A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937

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Kinagaghig Creek (1806) [Canagagigue]
How the creek in Woolwich Township got its name...

This creek was so named by George and Benjamin Eby after Conococheague creek, a little creek which drains Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and flows through Washington county, Maryland, to the Potomac [the area where from many Pennsylvania-Germans travelled by foot and Conestoga wagons.] One historian says the name Conococheague is from the Delaware Indian language and signifies "long indeed, very long indeed," while another says the original word also refers to the winding course of the stream. Eby spelled the name as Kinacachic; another as Canagaguige and others as Kanakijige, Cinacaghic. On an early map of Woolwich Township in Belden's Atlas, it appears as Kinacaghig. There are many more early spellings, as one can imagine!

The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society 1927 ,pg 375.

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A-1-17 Benjamin Eby: The Last Will and Testament of Benjamin Eby, of the Township of Waterloo, Minister

…I Benjamin Eby, of the Township of Waterloo, Minister, do make and constitute these presents, dated the second day of April 1853, my Last Will and Testament….
(1) I hereby desire and empower my hereinafter name Executors, to collect, ask, demand, draw and receive all and singular my outstanding debts, dues, accounts, notes, bonds, obligations and charges whatever of right belonging to me, in due time or times, and this also to pay and discharge my own debts and charges, lawfully brought against me and my estate, and I specially desire, order and direct them to pay and discharge to my beloved widow Magdalena, a born Erb, and afterward widow of the late Abraham Erb, deceased, that sum, of money which I do owe her, in accordance with my Bond to her, dated the thirtieth of March 1855, viz: two hundred pounds

(2) This my said beloved widow Magdalena is further to have for and in place and stead of her widow third and dowry, as long as she shall and may live, all and singular the articles, goods, chattels, rights, privileges and benefits, which are mentioned and She also is to have all and singular the articles, goods, chattels, rights, privileges and benefits, which are mentioned and secured to her, in and by a certain articles of agreements between myself and my son Christian Eby, who holds our place, bearing date the third day of February A.D. 1848 and I hereby desire and enjoin my Executors, and each and either of them, to see and care that such articles be duly fulfilled. As her own property for ever, and left to her own final disposal, she is to have and use all and singuler the goods and chattels mentioned and put on the last page of my common housebook or account book. She is further to have for her own proper use and benefit during her her[?] life time all the notes, bonds and obligations, drawn in favor and name of herself, but after her demise, all that is left of such notes, bonds and obligations, in principal and interest is to fall back upon my own Estate, to be dealt with by my Executors as my own property left by myself in accordance hereinafter [rocided.[?]

(3) My son, Christian Eby is to have the farm, on which both of us do now live and dwell, it being lot number two of the German Company Tract of Waterloo Township, at the price and charge of seven hundred and fifty pounds… he is to pay to my executors - fifty pounds to be paid to the Executors one year after the day of demise of the last surviving part of myself and my wife, and thence the remainder in annual installments of fifty pounds each, until the whole be paid…

(4) All my own personal property and estates, except that belonging to my widow as herein before, provided, shall be sold by my Executors, amongst my children to the highest bidders, and the proceeds thereof be added to the general stock, consisting of the proceeds of my outstanding debts, notes, obligations and other dues. When debts, notes, obligations and other dues and such stock of proceeds of notes and other dues shall, as they shall and will be and become available from year to year, and be collected, and thus from year to year be divided and portioned and paid over by my Executors in equal shares and portions to my sons Isaac Eby, Elias Eby, Benjamin E. Eby, Henry Eby, Christian Eby, Abraham Eby, Jacob Eby and Peter Eby and my son-in-law David Weber, and their respective representatives. My son-in-law and my daughter William and Maria Bamberger shall share in the same dividends, but they, or the surviving part of them shall in the whole receive not more than fifty pounds.

(5) Concerning my son Abraham Eby, I do however direct and ordain and give it entirely over into the power and decision of my hereinafter mentioned Executors, as they shall and may deem it proper and will for him, either to pay over to him any, or either, or all such dividends, or put them, or any, or either of them, out in good and sure use for said Abraham Eby's children, to be paid to them as hereinafter mentioned. Concerning the landed property now in his possession, (but the right and title being in my own hands) the same consisting of four acres of a party of lot number fifty nine if the German Company Tract in the Township of Waterloo, aforesaid, situated in Lancaster, and as more particularly described in the Deed of Conveyance thereof from Elias Eby and wife to myself, he, my said son, Abraham and his wife and family are to have, retain and enjoy full and free possession, use and benefit there of during the whole lifetimes of both himself and his wife, but after the demise of both of them, and as soon thereafter as it conveniently can and may be, the same shall be sold, by my Executors, and the proceeds thereof, and also the aforesaid dividends, coming to Abraham Eby, or his children, be divided in equal shares amongst them - when the sons reach twenty-one year and the daughters, eighteen years. Should Abraham Eby die before his wife, and she marries again, then she is to draw her regular widow third, computed according to circumstances, and the property be sold and divided amongst his children.

(6) Concerning my daughter Maria Eby, now married to William Bamberger, I do ordain, that they shall continue to have and enjoy free, full and undisturbed possession, use and benefit of the property they now occupy, during the whole lifetime of both and either of them, but after the demise of both of them, and as soon thereafter as it conveniently can and may be, it shall be sold by my Executors, and the proceeds to be divided in equal shares between all my other children or their representatives, my son Abraham's share, however, as just before directed, such property consisting of a part of lot number nine of the German Company Tract of Waterloo, on the Waterloo and Arthur Road, and containing twenty four acres, two rods and eight perches. In case my said daughter Maria doth outlive her said husband, I hereby direct and enjoin my Executors, and also empower them to rent away such property for her benefit and use, and otherwise take proper interest and care in her well being; In case she then intermarry again, and have still no children, then after her demise the said property is still to revert upon my estate again and be divided as above directed….But if she then, or yet from her present husband, shall have issue out of her own body, then such her child or children shall have, drawn and receive the proceeds of said property, to be equally divided amongst them.

(7) I hereby nominate and appoint my beloved son Christian Eby and my trusty friend Joseph E. Schneider, both of the Township of Waterloo, Yeomen, my Executors.

Witnessed: Thomas Sparrow and Christian Schantz
Will dated: 2 April 1853
Received and insinuated 22 Oct 1853
Inventory £2,087/2/3
Died 28 June 1853

Wills of Waterloo County Register A 1853-1871, transcribed by Frances Hoffman

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King Street, Kitchener

Cameron Street eastward.-A fine large holding extending along King Street to almost opposite the Mennonite Church, was Sheriff Davidson's place, Forest Hill, with square Colonial brick house, still standing, although materially changed, on a commanding hill.

Benjamin Eby's farm, occupied and owned later by his son, Elias Eby. J. Y. Shantz's farm, originally the Eby farm, with a large dam and saw mill. The pond was westerly of the present Doon Twines factory, was of good size, was fed by two creeks and gave water power for Shantz's saw mill for many years. There was no steam power. The ice supply for Berlin was largely taken from this pond in the earlier years.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

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King Street , North Side

Pandora Street

Pandora Street and next to it the site of Bishop Benjamin Eby's buildings and farm. A fine lawn surrounded a large frame house with spacious veranda between the house and King Street. There was a large barn and east of it a cider mill operated by Ely Eby, son of the Bishop. In later years the place was occupied by Rev. Moses Erb and his son Menno Erb, the cider mill long continuing. There was a large orchard between the farm buildings and the Mennonite Meeting House and cemetery. The Mennonites had at first no shed adjoining their church. Posts joined by a chain led along the King Street front, for tying horses. The sheds came later. In 1834 a frame building was erected for this Church. It was moved to Cedar Street in 1902 when the present brick Church was erected and is still used as a woodenware factory.

Eby school house was located at the easterly corner of the cemetery. A frame building, painted red, before 1830. In the rear and to the east of the cemetery was William Moyer's farm with his brick house still standing at the top of the slope from King Street.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

Benjamin married Maria "Mary" Brubacher 7 Feb 1807. Maria (daughter of Jacob Brubacher and Susannah Erb) was born 6 Aug 1789, Elizabeth Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; died 18 Aug 1834, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19043926
• Name: Maria "Mary" Eby
• Name: Mary Brubacher
• Eby ID Number: 00018-1387
• Epidemic: 1834, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Cholera

Notes:

Maria Brubacher, "was born August 6th, 1789. On February 25th, 1807, she was married to Bishop Benjamin Eby who was born May 2nd, 1785, and died June 28th, 1853. In 1807 they moved to Canada, and settled at Berlin, Waterloo County, Ontario, where she died August 18th, 1834. To them was born a family of eleven children"

Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26915942
• Name: Jacob Schantz
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6690
• Grave Photograph - Find A Grave: Gravestone of Jacob Shantz
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 001, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 008N, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Jacob Shantz, "the third son of Isaac and Barbara (Reiff) Shantz, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, October 11th, 1781. In 1805 he was married to Mary Yost who was born in the same county, March 12th, 1784, and died near Berlin, Ontario, October 22, 1869. In 1810 they left their native home and moved to Canada. They settled a little south-east of Berlin, on the farm now owned by their grandson, Jacob B. Shantz. This place old Mr. Shantz purchased from old George (Yarrick) Eby who had settled thereon in 1804. Here Mr. and Mrs. Shantz resided until their deaths. He died July 1st, 1867, leaving a family of ten children"


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

____________________________________


On the first of July, 1867, in Waterloo Township, C. W., Br. JACOB SHANTZ, aged 85 years, 8 months, and 20 days. He was a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and removed to Canada with his family in the year 1810. He lived in wedlock sixty-two years, and leaves eight children, eighty-four grand-children, and fifty-six great-grand-children. He took an active part in converting the wilderness of Waterloo Township into fruitful country. He was energetic and courageous in what he did, and is his works were according to the will of God, he is now at rest. DAVID SHERK.


HERALD OF TRUTH - Volume IV, Number 8 - August 1867 pages 115, 116

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A LARGE FAMILY

The family of the late Jacob Shantz, father of our well-known Mr. Jacob Y. Shantz, was most remarkable for its size and long life. There were eight brothers in this family, named Isaac, John, Joseph, Joshua, David, Jacob, Samuel and Amos - all good scriptural names. They all write Y. as a middle name, after their mother's maiden name, which was Yost. These brothers all lived up to about two weeks ago when Isaac, the eldest, died at the advance age of about 70, the youngest being about 50. They all raised large families, some of them even beyond the orthodox dozen, and we believe all with perhaps one exception rejoice in the possession of numerous grand-children. The family have also been remarkably successful in their business matters, each having not only a comfortable home of his own but a sufficient surplus to start his children on the road to prosperity. These worthy brothers had one sister, wife of the late Abraham D. Clemens, Williamsburg, who is also still living though considerably over sixty years old. It is a very rare thing to find so large a family attaining the ages of these excellent brothers who are most of them yet in the prime of manhood.

BERLIN DAILY NEWS OCTOBER 17th, 1878

Jacob married Mary Yost 1805. Mary was born 12 Mar 1784, , Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania; died 22 Oct 1869, near, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26916095
• Name: Mary Shantz
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6690.1
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

On the 22nd of November, in Waterloo county, Ontario, Mary, widow of Jacob Shantz (who died some two years ago), aged 85 years, 7 months, and 11 days. She leaves a posterity of 159 souls.


Herald of Truth - Volume VI, Number 11 - November 1869 - page 175

Other Events:

• Land: Waterloo Township - Biehn's Tract Lot 06, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Eby ID Number: 00008-1028
• Residence: 1830, Waterloo Township - Biehn's Tract Lot 01, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - Biehn's Tract Lot 01, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Death: 18 Dec 1858, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Abraham Biehn, "was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, February 7th, 1781. He was married to Veronica, daughter of Isaac and Barbara (Reiff) Shantz. She was born November 14th, 1789, and died July 27th, 1876. They resided on lot No. 1, Biehn's Tract, about one mile west of Doon, on the farm where his father had located in 1800. Here old Abraham Biehn and his wife resided until their death. He died November 3rd, 1858. their family consisted of five children."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

__________________________________

A-2-5 Abraham Biehn Be it known that on the 18^th December 1858, the Last Will and Testament of Abraham Biehn late of the Township of Waterloo, Yeoman, who died on or about the 3^rd day of December 1858 at the Township of Waterloo and who at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode at the Township of Waterloo, was proved and registered in the said surrogate Court…a true copy of which said Last Will and testament is hereunder written and that the administration...was granted to Aaron Biehn of the Township of Waterloo, Yeoman, David Shantz of the Township of Blenheim in the County of Oxford, Yeoman and Jacob Yost Shantz of the town of Berlin, Yeoman, the Executors named in said Will…

I, Abraham Biehm of the Township of Waterloo…do make and publish this my Last Will and Testament…first that all my just debts shall be paid by my hereinafter named Executors; Second I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Varonica, two beds and bed sheaeds[sic] [sheets?] my twenty-four hour clock and case, my corner cupboard and all what is in it, my case of drawers and all what is in it, my stove and pipe, and all my books, one cow, one horse, and my lease wagon, and one set of harness all the household furniture that my beloved wife may want. Further it is my will and desire that my son Aaron shall keep my wife's cow with his own cows during the whole year. Also I give one hundred and fifty pounds of pork to my wife in each and every year during her lifetime and ten buchels of apels[sic] in each and every year. I also order and devise that my loving wife shall have my house, I now live in free of rent, and as much fire wood delivered in the wood house as she may want for her own use. Further I order and desire and it is my will that my son Aaron shall have my farm I now live on, Lot no.1 in the Biehn's Tract at four thousand dollars with all the implements thereon, in the manner following, that is to say; twelve hundred dollars shall remain in my farm during the lifetime of my beloved wife Varonica at six per cent interest yearly for the same to her in hand paid each and every year, and one thousand dollars my son Aaron or his heirs shall have out of the then remaining two thousand eight hundred dollars for to equalize him with the rest of my children, according to my family's book and the then remaining eighteen hundred dollars my son Aaron shall pay five hundred dollars each and every year to my hereinafter named Executors, besides the interest on the twelve hundred dollars until the eighteen hundred are fully paid. Further it is my desire that all moneys arising from and out of my property personal or freehold, shall always be equally divided each and every year share and share alike amongst all my children or there heirs (my formerly son in law Jacob Y. Shantz shall always be considered as if my daughter Barbara was yet living) Except four hundred dollars of my daughter Mary her share (now intermarried to Benjamin Martin) shall be received for her two children, namely Moses , Martin and Mary Ann Martin, each of them shall have two hundred dollars, of the last payments or distributions of my daught. Mary's share and be put on interest till they become the age of twenty one years. Further it my will and desire that one year after the death of my wife my son Aaron or his successors shall pay no more interest but shall pay five hundred dollars yearly till the whole amount of twelve hundred dollars are fully paid, then my hereinafter named Executors shall give him a sufficient title or Deed.
Further, my son Aaron shall have the five acre Cedar Swamp joining lands of Daniel Staufer being part of Lot No 6, Biehn's Tract, Waterloo, south east corner of said Lot which is to go with my farm. Further I order and it is my will that within one year after my decease, my hereinafter mentioned Executors shall appraise all my goods, chattels and household furniture of whatsoever kind or nature, and sell the same by Public sale to the best for my heirs, and do as above decided and I do hereby nominate constitute and appoint my son Aaron Biehn and my son in law David Shantz and my friend Jacob Y. Shantz Executors of this my Last Will and Testament…

Witnessed by Johannes Steckler and C C. Martin
Will dated 23^rd September 1857
Proved 18^th December 1858
Died 3^rd December 1858
[Written in margin - very faint - two sums of money $800 and $1000]

Surrogate Court Records Copybook Register A 1853-1871 transcript to 1863. Frances Hoffman transcriber.

Abraham married Veronica Shantz 1808. Veronica (daughter of Isaac Shantz and Barbara Rife) was born 14 Nov 1789, Pottstown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA; died 27 Jul 1876, Near Doon, Waterloo Township, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Fanny Shantz
• Name: Veronica Biehn
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6847

Notes:

Veronica Shantz, "was born November 14th, 1789. In 1808 she was married to Abraham Biehn, a farmer. They resided near Doon where she died July 27th, 1876."


Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].