Jeptha Gilbert Dekay

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-59626

Notes:

Death date and burial location have never been determined. In his Bible, which has been passed down to descendants, he prefaced his signature with the title "Commodore". This vocation has never been proven. Why he moved from NY state into Ontario has also left his descendants with a question. Unfortunately those who would have known the answers passed on before these questions became a matter of interest.

Jeptha located in Waterloo County to the community of Waterloo-Berlin (now Kitchener) and was a teacher there. He also farmed in the area. About 1827 he married Mary Moxley, native of VA, whose mother, Delilah, and step-father, Daniel Eby, moved from near McClellandtown, PA to Waterloo in 1818.

Jeptha Gilbert DeKay (1802 - ) - Find A Grave Memorial. (2017). Findagrave.com. Retrieved 8 June 2017, from https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=166019805

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THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE

An interesting meeting took place the Saturday before last in the old log cabin in Waterloo Park.

This house was, of course, the first schoolhouse in this area and stood originally on the school-house square at the corner of King and Church Streets in Waterloo. It was built in 1820 and served its purpose until 1842, when it was torn down and a 1-storey stone house was constructed on the site. The dismantled log house was erected again in Greenbush and served as a residence for a long time for the coloured man, Mr. Carroll and his family. In the course of this year, the Waterloo Park Commissioners purchased the house, moved it to their park and furnished it again as it was when it was a school-house.

At this gathering, in addition to many other ladies and gentlemen, the following (male and female) former pupils attended, took their places on the benches, and were called to order by the 82-year-old teacher, Benjamin Burkholder, who held the scepter, or rather, the switch, from 1831 to 1842 in the old log-house: Joel Guth, 80 years old; Abraham Scherk, Blair, 79; Jakob Bricker, Waterloo, 77; Sarah Burkholder, nee Erb, Bridgeport, 75; Amos Weber, Berlin, 73; John C, Bricker, Hawksville, 71; Maria Erb, nee Quickfall, Norwich 69; David B. Eby, Waterloo, 69; Wendel Baumann, Woolwich, 68; Henry Stauffer, Erbsville, 67; Simon Beatty, Elmira, 67; Jakob Ratz, New Hamburg, 67; Israel Baumann, Berlin, 65; George Elbert, Moorefield, 63; George H. Baumann, Elmira, 63; John Devitt, Waterloo, 62; Richard Quickfall, Bridgeport, 62; Isaak Hoffmann, Waterloo, 61; Robert Barkwell, Peel, 60; Diana McMahon, nee Dekay, Berlin, 60; Thomas Quickfall, Floradale, 60; Benjamin Devitt, Waterloo, 60; Isaak Devitt, Floradale, 58; John Longmann, Peel, 57. In addition, to these, the teacher read the names of 25 pupils from the roll; they were, however, absent.

Mr. Burkholder gave an interesting talk about the history of the old school-house, and after him, Rev. J.A. MacLachlan, Rev. J. McNair, Mr. J.E. Baumann, M.P., and Mr. Jakob Ratz spoke about the old days which brought many things out of the past to mind again. School was, as a rule, only in session in winter and the costs were borne by the parents of the children. There were few subjects taught, namely: Reading, Writing and Sums. The children heard little about language, and geography; no child had more than 2 or 3 books. The predominant language was German. The pupils learned to read and write English, but didn't understand a word of it. Among the teachers in the old school-house from 1820-1842, with the exception of Mr. Burkholder, were the following whose names are still recognized: Jephtha DeKay, Joseph Guth, John Herringer, Peter Otto, John Dobbin, Elias Eby, Robert Barber, & Joseph Eby.

After those present, on hearing the various speeches felt themselves transported back to the past, the school was closed at four o'clock and the pupils were gathered together in front of the school and photographed as a group. On their return into the school, they found it had been transformed into a dining room with heavily-laden tables, which the old-timers thoroughly enjoyed. After everyone had chatted cordially for a while longer, the gathering broke up. The company will not meet again in complete numbers, nor in such a way.

Berliner Journal September 26, 1895 Page 4 Column 4

Jeptha — Mary Moxley. Mary (daughter of Moxley and Delilah) was born 29 Aug 1806, , Virginia, USA; died 29 Dec 1892, Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

1. Minerva Cordelia Dekay was born 9 Feb 1829, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 23 Apr 1848, Stratford, Perth Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
2. William Dekay was born 26 Jan 1830, , Ontario, Canada; died 13 Jun 1904, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
3. Sarah Dekay was born 26 Nov 1834, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 5 Jun 1846, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
4. Diana Dekay was born 1 May 1836, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 4 Nov 1899, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
5. Delilah Dekay was born 25 Apr 1838, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 2 Jul 1846, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
6. Mary Elizabeth Dekay was born 21 Apr 1846, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 26 Jul 1923, Guelph City, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.