Catharine Break

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00014-1175

Notes:

Catharine Break, "was born January 23rd, 1846 and died August 5th, 1846."


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a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character.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:

• Name: David Brech
• Eby ID Number: 00014-1174
• 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
• Residence: 1871, 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; Gentleman
• Residence: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

David Break, "was born August 10th, 1820. On February 6th, 1844, he was married to Mary Break who was born June 7th, 1825, and died October 31st, 1881. After their marriage they moved home on his father's farm which he purchased in later years. Here they resided until their death. He died January 18th, 1892. Their family consisted of eight 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a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character.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.].

David married Mary Break 6 Feb 1844, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario. Mary (daughter of Adam S. Break and Wideman) was born 7 Jun 1825, , Ontario, Canada; died 31 Aug 1881; was buried , Breslau Mennonite Cemetery, Breslau, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Maria Break
• Name: Mary Break
• Eby ID Number: 00014-1174.1
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00014-1170
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 109, Waterloo County, Ontario

Notes:

John Break, "son of John and Catharine (Schõrg, now spelled Shirk and Sherk) Break, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, January 27th, 1792. In 1806 he came to Canada with his mother and settled in Waterloo County where he was married, May 7, 1815 to Catharine, daughter of Samuel D. and Elizabeth (Brech) Betzner. She was born January 26th 1798, and died June 7th, 1873. Soon after their marriage they moved on the farm now possessed by their grand-son, Gideon Break, a little south of Breslau, where he died August 14th, 1842. Their 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.].

John married Catharine Betzner 7 May 1815, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Catharine (daughter of Samuel D. Betzner and Elizabeth Brech) was born 26 Jan 1798, , Pennsylvania, USA; died 7 Jun 1873, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catharine Break
• Eby ID Number: 00006-0914
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Catharine Betzner "was born January 26th, 1798. On May 7th, 1815, she was married to John Brech who was born January 27th, 1792. After their marriage they moved on the farm now possessed by their gran-son, Gideon Break, about on mile south-east of Breslau, where they resided until their deaths. He died August 14th, 1842, and she died June 7th, 1873. To them was born a family of eleven children, namely: IV Elizabeth, IV Samuel, IV Adam, IV David, IV John, IV Catharine, IV Magdalena, IV Gideon, IV Joseph, IV Mary and IV Abraham. "


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: 00014-1167

Notes:

Adam Break, "was married to a Miss Wideman and settled in Markham Township, York County, Ontario, where he was engaged in farming. He had a large family, namely: IV Peter, IV David, IV Daniel, IV Joseph, IV Elizabeth, IV Mary, IV Anna, and others."


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.].

Adam — Wideman. was born Abt 1787, Of, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Break
• Eby ID Number: 00014-1167.1

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00014-1166

Notes:

John Brech, "was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, about the year 1759, and was married to Catharine Schõrg. They resided in Dauphine County, Pennsylvania, where he followed farming until his death which took place about the year 1802.(Mrs. Samuel Eby related to the writer that she was about 13 years of age when her father died.) In 1806 the widow with her family of four children moved, with others, to Canada and settled in Waterloo County, Ontario, at the present village of Blair, where she resided for some time. Later the family settled on the farm now owned by Gideon Break, a mile south of Breslau. To John and Catharine (Schõrg) Brech were born four children, namely:"


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.].

John — Magdalene Schörg. Magdalene was born Abt 1760, Of, Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania; died , Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catharine Sherk (Schõrg)
• Name: Magdalene Brech
• Eby ID Number: 00014-1166.1
• Land: Bef 1831, Blair (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Ezra Eby reported that her name was Catherine Schörg, others report Magdalena Schörg.

Other Events:

• Interesting: pioneer, story
• Eby ID Number: 00006-0912
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - Beasley's Old Survey Lot 05, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - Beasley's Old Survey Lot 11, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 106W, Waterloo County, Ontario

Notes:

Samuel D. Betzner, "the second son, was born probably in 1770, and was married to Elizabeth Brech* . In 1799 he and his family in company with Joseph Schörg* and family, moved to Canada, and in spring of 1800 he settled on the farm now known as the "B. B. Bowman Farm" on the west bank of the Grand River and adjoining the village of Blair. He afterwards sold his farm to Rev. Joseph Baumann and moved to Flamboro West Wentworth County, where he died, leaving a family of several children, viz:* ".

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.].

* now spelled Break
* now spelled Shirk and Sherk. See notes pages 20, 21
* we have the names of only two, maybe there never were more

_________________________


"The Late Samuel Betzner"

A few biographical remarks in the reference to the well known Samuel Betzner of Flamborough West, who died on the 10th day of August, 1856, will, we are well assured, be highly acceptable to the majority of our readers. Samuel Betzner emigrated from the State of Pennsylvania to this province at the early period of 1799, in the month of October, and stopped in the township of Ancaster for the winter. He brought only a small capital with him, and we regret to say that small capital was reduced to almost nothing by the misfortune of having his house, with all its contents, not excepting his money, consumed by fire. But Mr. Betzner was one of those men not easily discouraged by trifles. The following spring he pressed his way through a total wilderness to the Township of Waterloo, and he may fairly be numbered among the first settlers of that important place. Without anything in truth that could be called a road-without a saw or grist mill nearer than Flamboro' West

Berlin Chronicle 27 Aug 1856

_________________________

BETZNER, SAMUEL D., settler and district constable; b. 1 March 1771 in Lancaster County, Pa, a son of Samuel Betzner (Bezner) and Maria Detweiler; m. before 1798 Elizabeth Brech, and they had a son and a daughter; d. 10 Aug. 1856 near Flamborough (West Flamborough), Upper Canada.

A native of Württemberg (Federal Republic of Germany), Samuel D. Betzner's father immigrated to North America in 1755 and settled in Franklin County, Pa. In the fall of 1799 Samuel D. and his brother-in-law Joseph Schörg left that county for the Jordan area of the Niagara district of Upper Canada, where a number of other Mennonites from Pennsylvania had already settled. Betzner spent the winter in Ancaster and that spring set out with Schörg to explore the valley of the Grand River, which had been recommended to them as being attractive for settlement by Jacob Bechtel, an earlier visitor. Proceeding by way of Brant's Ford (Brantford) they came to block 2 (Waterloo Township), which had been purchased in 1796 from the Six Nations Indians by Richard Beasley*, James Wilson, and John Baptist Rousseaux* St John.

In August 1800 Betzner bought from them land adjacent to the site of the village of Blair. A disastrous fire at Ancaster had destroyed most of his possessions but despite this misfortune he took steps to establish a farm on his chosen lot by clearing land and erecting buildings. Joseph Schörg settled near by, on the east bank of the Grand, and these two men are credited with being the first to establish homes in the area which became Waterloo County in 1850. They were followed by other Pennsylvania Mennonites who sought not only reasonably priced land for farms for their sons but also the continuation of the exemption from military service they had received under British rule before the American Revolutionary War. Most purchased their land from Richard Beasley, who had bought out the interests of Wilson and Rousseaux.

Early in 1803 it was reported that the land these later settlers had bought had been mortgaged by Beasley, Wilson, and Rousseaux to trustees for the Six Nations in 1798 and therefore the settlers would not be able to secure clear title. Betzner and Jacob Bechtel were engaged to go to Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) where they learned to their consternation that the report was true. The matter was resolved when Beasley agreed in 1803 to sell to the Mennonites a parcel of 60,000 acres of land in block 2 for the sum of £10,000 to pay off the mortgage. The settlers sent representatives back to Pennsylvania, where they eventually persuaded a group of affluent co-religionists and other investors to form a joint-stock company, the German Company, to raise the purchase money. A number of the early settlers, including Betzner, who did not have the mortgage problem remained on their original lots and had no financial interest in the German Company.

A leading member of the Mennonite community, he was made a constable for the Home District in 1800 and was a charter member of the church formed by Benjamin Eby in 1813. In 1817, however, Betzner sold his farm in Waterloo Township and settled on lot 3, concession 1, in West Flamborough Township, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1828-29 he transferred title on this farm to his son, David.

Perhaps Betzner's only claim to recognition is as one of the earliest settlers in Waterloo County, where heavily forested lands were reached by trails that could scarcely be called roads. He is, nevertheless, representative of those pioneers who, through perseverance and industry, overcame disasters and hardships in order to establish productive farms for succeeding generations of their families.
Grace Schmidt

PAC, RG 1, L3, 33: B6/45; RG 31, A1, 1851, Flamborough (West) Township: 45 (mfm. at AO). Waterloo North Land Registry Office (Kitchener, Ont.), Abstract index to deeds, Waterloo Township, Beasley's old survey, concession 1, lot 5 (mfm. at AO, GS 3023); West Flamborough Township, concession 1, lot 3 (mfm. at AO, GS 1472). "Minutes of the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the Home District, 13th March, 1800, to 28th December, 1811," AO Report, 1932: 44. Berlin Chronicle and Provincial Reformers' Gazette (Berlin [Kitchener]), 27 Aug. 1856. Laura Betzner Edworthy, The Betzner family in Canada: genealogical and historical records, 1799-1970 (n.p., n.d.; copies at AO and Kitchener Public Library). E. E. Eby, A biographical history of Waterloo Township . . . (2v., Berlin, 1895-96); repub. as 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), 1. A. B. Sherk, "The Pennsylvania Germans of Waterloo County, Ontario," OH, 7 (1906): 98-109.

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

Samuel — Elizabeth Brech. Elizabeth was born 1 May 1768; died 17 Mar 1848, West Flamborough Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Betzner Family Cemetery, Christies Corner, Flamborough, Wentworth, Ontario. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Betzner
• Eby ID Number: 00006-0912.1