John George Mueller

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-63078
• Occupation: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farm Laborer

Other Events:

• Name: H. E. Mueller
• Name: Henry Miller
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-219399
• Immigration: 1852
• Occupation: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Other Methodist
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer Foundry

Notes:

How They Farmed Sixty Years Ago.

H. E. Mueller of Dickie Settlement has sent us an interesting tale of pioneer days, which gives a splendid insight into the neighborliness that made hard work a pleasure and paved the way for the luxury and ease of operation in all things that we now enjoy.

A neighbor out here sends me papers sometimes to read. Amongst them I found a letter written by Christian Heinrich Frederick Kraemer. I know old Fronz well. We were neighbors for years, and a nice neighbor he was. I appreciated reading his letter of his pioneer days which was very interesting to me.

I will try and give you a brief history of my pioneer days.

On the 24th of January, 1928, I celebrated my 80th birthday and as luck has it I have been confined to my room since the 15th of October, 1925, and since I am sick my eyesight has failed me as well, but on a bright day I can still see to read and write a little, both English and German as well.

On the 24th of January, 1848, I was born in Germany, Hessen, Darmstadt, and in 1852 we sailed from Liverpool to New York where my father had a brother and my mother a sister. Father and his brother had married sisters. We resided there in Brooklyn, N.Y., until February, 1855, when we moved to the promised land of milk and honey in Canada, now Ontario. We came by rail as far as Galt. That was as far as we could go at that time. A team took us a mile and a half west of St. Agatha. There we resided thirty years and there is where I spent my boyhood.

Married in 1872.

On the 27th of October, 1872, I married Miss Mary Steftel of New Dundee. The nuptials were solemnized by Rev. Herman Sagehorn pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Berlin (Kitchener). We had a family of twelve, and of these there are 4 surviving, namely, Jacob of Ayr, John of Black Horse, Margareth of Dickie Settlement, and Henry of Blair. There are 19 grand-children and 5 great grandchildren.

My Pioneer Days.

When I was 12 years old I was hired out to Jacob Litwiller, a young progressive farmer close to St. Agatha. I received two dollars per month, twelve dollars for the six months. That is where I learned to plough and how to tie a sheaf. But they were good to me. In those days we had no ten hour system. My time called from half past four in the morning till 8 or 9 at night. I went to school again during the winter. Next summer I worked for a farmer across the road and received twenty-four dollars for six months. Back to school again and the following summer I worked for the same boss and received thirty-six dollars for six months. After this I often helped to clear and break up new land. In those days there was no demand for wood until the Grand Trunk started to buy wood. Then you could buy the best of wood from $2.25 to $2.50 per cord delivered.

Cutting Down Bush

When you would have ten or twelve acres of bush to cut down you would take maybe five or six trees standing in line with each other and cut a chip out of each tree. Then you would cut a heavy tree on top of them and you would have what they called a winrow. In ten or twelve acres, if you watched yourself, you could make quite a lot, which would save you a considerable lot of chopping, and would give you a clear strip of land as well. When your bush was cut down and in logs you would have a logging bee. Those were the good old days when a friend in need was a friend indeed. If you asked your neighbor for help he would not scratch his head and think three times before he would speak, like the doctor's coachman, who was told he was always to think three times before he spoke. The old doctor was wearing a fifty dollar wig to disguise his age. One night he was reading to his tallow candles and fell sound asleep. "His wig caught fire and his coachman called "Boss, I think once" stopped a little; "Boss, I think twice." and yelled, "Boss, I think three times your wig is on fire." In those days the man would ask you when you would be ready. You mentioned the day and he would say he will be over with bells on. And furthermore they would say. we have friends living quite a distance. from here, with good oxen. If you send them word they will come too.

When the day arrived your near neighbors would be there quite early in the morning. Around nine o'clock It was no surprise to see John and Joe come along from a distance, each with a nice yoke of oxen and bundle of clover hay on the wagon for their dinner. In those days they thought just as much of their oxen as they do now of their horses and they would not come empty-handed. They always brought four or five able-bodied men with hand spikes to help skid the logs. They would come whistling and singing as happy as a meadow lark in spring. As soon as they arrive they would put a logging chain on their oxen, go amongst the logs, each trying to bring in the most logs.

There would always be lots of work for us boys. We would have to pick up chips and brush and carry it to the log piles. By night the field would be ready to start the fire. Often there would be an acre or more of a small pinery. These would be cut as close to the ground as possible and when the logs were burned the fire would burn them all up. After everything is burned you would sow your wheat and clover. Then you would have to harrow it. We could not take a 12 or 16 foot harrow. We had a harrow made specially where we could crawl between the stumps. The pinery sometimes we could not harrow at all. That would not worry the farmer. He would put his old pipe into commission, take his axe and go to the bush and cut a tree with a nice top, cut of the top, fasten the oxen to the top and draw it over the pinery. When the wheat came up you could not tell the difference between that which was harrowed and that which was done with the tree top.

He would pasture this field for four or five year and then he would summer fallow it. By that time the stumps would nearly all have disappeared and he would have a nice field. He would then sow wheat once more and it was not much of a trick to realize from 35 to 40 bushels per acre.

Saw First Grain Cutting Machine.

I can well recall the day when the first machine came our way to be tried to cut wheat. It was a heavy, clumsy machine, built by John Watson of Ayr. It took two men to work it. The grain would fall on a platform at the end. There was a place built for a man to stand on and whenever he thought it was a sheaf he would draw it off. We had no telephone, but you believe. me that field was lined with spectators to see that wonderful machine work. The field was a corner field. the road south led to Baden, north to Berlet's Corner, west to Philipsburg and east to St. Agatha. The farm was owned by David Y. Shantz, an uncle of Peter Shantz, residing in Preston. He had five brothers. namely, Jacob of Berlin (Kitchener) who had a saw mill east of Kitchener: He built his own sidewalk from his house to the city limits. Then there was Joe Jop and Amos living close, to Haysville, and Samuel, father of Peter, at Pine Hill. A year later Samuel Merner of New Hamburg built a machine called the Excelsior dropper which was a very easy running machine. When the grain stood nice and the man would watch the dropper it made nice work. Many a day I had the pleasure of binding after that machine.

In those days our oats were cradled and bound by hand. If you had 10 or 12 acres you would get 2 or 3 good men with their cradles. Our pioneers always wanted the oats to get a little rain before it was bound and put in the barn. Sometimes it would get too much rain and on a hot day you could not bind it The farmer would then have a bee, and on a moonlight night he would invite his neighbors and it was nothing unusual to see twenty or more willing hands help bind that field. As soon as the dew was on we would hike for that field and by 12 o'clock the field was tied in sheaves ready to go to the barn.

The next thing on the program was a real old country lunch. Lard was plentiful those days and our pioneer women knew how to put up a lunch with always lots of doughnuts. sandwiches with ham and cheese, and for a drink we had tea, coffee and beer as well, but our beer those days was no 2 1/ or 4.4 stuff like they have now.

I can well remember when Noah Bechtel, uncle of John B. Bricker, our genial corn borer inspector for Waterloo county, shot a large black grizzly bear in October, 1863. They had seen the bear eight miles north where there was a large bush and swamp, called Queen's Bush, where the farmers had their pigs to get acorns and beechnuts, which were plentiful. Mr. Bear came out sometimes to help them to butcher. We had no selects, a pig was a pig. One day a squad went after him but did not get him. Later in October he came trotting along through Wilmot township. Moses Bechtel and Christian Hallman were ploughing beside Noah Bechtel's cedar swamp when he came walking right up to them. They went in and Bechtel brought his rifle with him. They followed the bear's tracks for a mile from the swamp, through John Forler's swamp, then across the road into another 400 acre bush. John Forler hitched his carriage team into the democrat, drove to Petersburg, and brought a man up with a hound, and John Ernst Jr. came along with his bulldog. Wm. Miller put his hound on the trail and in a short time found Mr. Bruin sound asleep. Miller fred a shot and the bear came trotting through the swamp with the dogs after him. When he saw that he was surrounded it did not take him long to climb a tree. Noah Bechtel, with a well aimed shot, brought the bear down.

I could relate many other incidents, but there is only one more and that is about our footwear. Now we have to pay from 8 to 9 dollars for a pair of shoes. Sixty years ago when we were 18 or 20 years of age you would not see us with shoes on Sunday. Oh no, we would have a pair of French calf or other calf skin boots, the top all decorated with red, white and blue, either with an anchor or stars. The sole had to match the top. The cobbler would put on a half sole with wooden pegs, etc., and we would pay only five dollars for a pair. If you wanted your shoes half-soled the coat was 50 cents as compared to $1.00 to $1.25

Thanking you very much for your valuable space.

Yours truly, H. C. M.

Waterloo Chronicle, 5 Jul 1928, p. 9

Henry married Mary Seftel 27 Oct 1872, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Mary (daughter of Philip Seftel and Hanna Mary Tietsen) was born 3 Dec 1849, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Aft 1929. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Mueller
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-35885
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Servant
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; With Jacob Stoltz
• Residence: 1901, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• Name: John Miller
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-120031
• Occupation: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1881, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Day Laborer

Johannes married Margretha Klaum 31 Oct 1841, Hueffler - Wahnwegen, , Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Margretha was born 1824, Hesse, Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Margretha Mueller
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-219398
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Other Methodist
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-35877
• Occupation: 1852, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Day Labourer
• House of Industry and Refuge: 1871, House of Industry and Refuge, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1871, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Inmate of Poor House
• Residence: 1871, House of Industry and Refuge, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Pauper
• Residence: 1881, House of Industry and Refuge, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Roman Catholic

Philip — Hanna Mary Tietsen. Hanna was born 1813, , Hessen, Germany; died Bef 1871. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Hanna Mary Seftel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-35878