Odo Eby Clemens

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00023-1859

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35281928
• Eby ID Number: 00023-1850
• 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: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lumber Man
• Residence: 1891, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Retired: 1901, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Joel Clemens, "was born December 18th, 1823. On July 2nd, 1846, he was married to Magdalena Shoemaker who was born June 6th, 1828. Soon after their marriage they moved on his father's old homestead where they resided for about forty years, thence they moved to Preston where they still reside. To them were born nine 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a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character.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.].

Joel married Magdalena Shoemaker 2 Jul 1846. Magdalena (daughter of Jacob S. Shoemaker and Elizabeth Schneider) was born 6 Jun 1828, Waterloo, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 13 Feb 1924; was buried , Hagey Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35282037
• Website: Photograph
• Name: Lena Schuhmacher
• Name: Lena Shoemaker
• Name: Magdalena Clemens
• Eby ID Number: 00112-7010
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1911, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Income
• Residence: 1911, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist

Notes:

Magdalena Shoemaker, "was born in the town of Waterloo June 6th, 1828. She is married to Joel Clemens and resides near Preston, Ontario. They have had quite a large family but a few of their children died."


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.].

Website:
Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection


Description: Black and white, studio portrait of Jacob S. Shoemaker's (1798-1875) sisters and daughters. They are identified as follows: back row from left to right: Aunt Barbara Huber (Mrs. Henry), Aunt Mary Ann McNally (Mrs. John), Aunt Lena (Magdalena) Clemens (Mrs. Joel); middle row from left to right: Aunt Mary Myers (Mrs. Michael), Aunt Magdalena (Mrs. Barnabas Devitt), Aunt Veronica Eby (Mrs. Isaac); and front row from left to right: Aunt Hannah Hett (Mrs. Caspar), Aunt Elizabeth Shoemaker (Miss).

The women in the front and back rows have been identified as the daughters of Jacob S. Shoemaker. The women in the middle row have been identified as sisters of Jacob S. Shoemaker and the daughters of John Shoemaker and Mary Shantz, according to Ezra Eby's book.

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19903938
• Eby ID Number: 00023-1830
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - Beasley's Broken Front Lot 21, Waterloo County, Ontario

Notes:

Abraham Clemens L., "the eldest son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lederach) Clemens, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, July 3rd, 1781, and when four years of age his parents moved to Chester County where he was raised. In 1807 he was married to Magdalena, daughter of John and Hester (Steiner ) Miller. She was born February 8th, 1786, and died February 1st, 1847. In 1809 they moved to Canada and settled in Waterloo County, Ontario, a little north of Preston on the farm owned until recently by their son Joel Here they both died. His death took place January 26th, 1845. In 1815 he was ordained deacon of the Mennonite Church for the Hagey field of labor. This position he held until his death. To him and his wife were born 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.].

__________________

Mennonite families suffered misfortunes, such as childbirth deaths of women, accidental work deaths of men, frequent deaths of infants and young children, and the scourges of cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis. Cholera epidemics of the 1830s especially in July-August 1834 - could be devastating. Funerals were usually arranged by neighbours and friends, but the community was so demoralized in 1834 that, as Deacon Abraham L. Clemens wrote to his brother in Chester County in 1836, "the neighbours did not go out to assist one another as in any other disease so that there was no funeral held."

BUILDING COMMUNITY ON THE FRONTIER: the Mennonite contribution to shaping the Waterloo settlement to 1861 by Elizabeth Bloomfield

Abraham married Magdalena "Molly" Miller 1807. Magdalena (daughter of John Miller and Hester Steiner) was born 8 Feb 1786, , Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania; died 1 Feb 1847, North Of Preston, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hagey Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19903751
• Name: Magdalena "Molly" Clemens
• Name: Molly Miller
• Eby ID Number: 00079-4778

Notes:

Magdalena Miller, "daughter of John and Hester (Steiner) Miller, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, February 8th, 1786. She was married, in 1807, to Deacon Abraham L. Clemens who was born in the same place, July 3rd, 1781. In 1809 they moved to Canada and settled a little north of Preston where they both died. He died January 26th, 1845, and she died February 1st, 1847. See No. 1830. (Could not ascertain whether Magdalena and Margaret Miller were any relation to I Jacob Miller)."


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/48101624
• Historic Building: 38 Bridge St. W., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Possesions: book of Christian doctrine
• Residence: 38 Mill Street, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00112-7006
• Historic Building: 1822, , Mill Street, Bridgeport, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 059, Waterloo County, Ontario

Notes:

Jacob S. Shoemaker, "the eldest of John Shoemaker's children, was born April 24th, 1798. He, after quitting school, entered his father's mill where he was engaged until 1820 when he became desirous to seek his fortune in the then much-spoken-of Canada. He came to Abraham Erb, Waterloo, some time during the spring of 1820. He, being a practical miller, and just the man required to manage the grist mill of this place, remained in Abraham Erb's service as miller for nearly two years when he and William Hunsberger returned to Pennsylvania to visit their parents and friends. After making a sojourn of a few months they returned the same spring. Mr. Shoemaker again assumed the management of the Waterloo Mills. On July 2nd, 1822, he was married to Elizabeth Schneider (See Schneider record for her family history) who was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, January 2nd, 1802, and died in Preston, November 26th, 1876. Some time after their marriage he and his wife went home to Pennsylvania on a visit. During this visit he ordered the large clock, now in possession of his daughter, Elizabeth. His father brought it with him when he paid a visit to Canada in 1826. Some time during the year 1827 or 1828 he purchased lot No. 59, German Company's Tract and afterwards became the founder of Bridgeport. In 1829 he constructed the large dam and erected the sawmills still standing. In 1830 he erected the large roller mills now in possession of Messrs Shirk and Snider. He resided in the town of Waterloo until 1830 when he moved to Bridgeport. Here he soon became proprietor, besides the extensive mills and sawmills, of a store, woollen mills and distillery. In 1840 he built the large house now possessed by Mrs. Veronica Horst. During the great financial depression all over the province in 1851, besides other difficulties never fully investigated, he is said to have failed. He then moved to Preston to his son-in-law, Joel Clemens, from there to Blenheim Township, Oxford County, where he erected a sawmill and did a successful business. His last days were spent with his daughter, Barbara (Mrs. H. Huber of Berlin), where he died March 20th, 1875. Both he and his wife are buried in the Mennonite burial ground at the east end of Berlin. They had 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.].

_____________

Died, In Berlin, on Saturday, 20th instant, Jacob S. Shoemaker, aged 76 years 10 months and 26 days. Funeral on Wednesday, 24th inst., at One o'clock P.M., from the residence of Mrs. Huber, Queen-st., to the Mennonite Burial Ground. Berlin, March 22nd, 1875

Funeral Card

___________________

As we know the Family Compact's misrule stirred up the Rebellion in 1837, and that William Lyon Mackenzie was the leader. After the clash of arms at Montgomery's tavern. near Toronto, he fled to Buffalo, N.Y., via Bridgeport. The late Allen Huber asserted.
A large reward was offered for his capture, alive or dead. and Dr. Scott of Berlin and J. U. Tyson of Bridgeport watched to seize Mackenzie. My grandfather, Jacob S. Shoemaker, a miller and Reformer at Bridgeport, And out scouts to warn Mackenzie. He was taken across the Grand River and guided to the Bush Inn near Doon. From there he reached Buffalo in safety. Jacob Shoemaker often rode over to Buffalo to consult with his leader. When local sympathizers wished to send Mackenzie a message, my grandfather placed the letter under his saddlecloth. Thus when searched at Hamilton or elsewhere nothing incriminating was found on his person

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

Historic Building:
Built in 1840 by Jacob S. Shoemaker across from the mill he constructed in 1830. In 1969 the house with stone foundation and handmade brick walls was listed in fair to poor condition. The roof was framed with mortise and tenon joining. The house was a combination of Georgian proportions and classical decorations. The large dormers were reminiscent of early buildings in Pennsylvania. In 1850 the house was sold to Elias Eby together with the mill complex. The house was been renovated a number of times. The porch was removed and the house converted into a tri-plex by 1969.<sup>1a

1a</sup>Bridgeport Mill, a non-dated (probably 1969) type written manuscript located at Doon Heritage Crossroads 2009

Historic Building:
Five stories high, stone and brick foundation with frame and clapboard siding (1969).<sup>1a

1a</sup>Bridgeport Mill, a non-dated (probably 1969) type written manuscript located at Doon Heritage Crossroads 2009

Jacob married Elizabeth Schneider 2 Jul 1822. Elizabeth (daughter of Joseph Schneider and Barbara Eby) was born 2 Jan 1802, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; died 26 Nov 1876, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48101675
• Name: Elizabeth Shoemaker
• Residence: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00106-6382

Notes:

Elizabeth Schneider, was born January 2nd, 1802. On July 2nd, 1822, she was married to Jacob S. Shoemaker who was born April 24th, 1798 and died March 20th, 1875. She died November 26th, 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.].

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00023-1829

Notes:

Jacob C. Clemens, "third son of Abraham and Catharine Clemens, was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1754. He was married to Elizabeth Lederach. In 1776 he received eighty-two acres of his father's old homestead which he possessed for nine years. On June 30th, 1785, he sold his land to his brother, Abraham, and moved to Chester County to which place his brother George had moved several years previously. They resided in the vicinity of West Pikeland P. O., Chester County, Pennsylvania, where they both died. His death took place in 1819. To him and his wife, Elizabeth, was born 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.].

Jacob — Elizabeth Lederach. Elizabeth was born Abt 1754, Of, Chester Co., Pennsylvania; died , West Pikeland, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Clemens
• Eby ID Number: 00023-1829.1

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00079-4778.2

John — Hester Steiner. Hester was born CA 1775, Of, Montgomery Co. Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Hester Miller
• Eby ID Number: 00079-4778.3

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53646508
• Name: John Schumacher
• Name: John Shoemaker
• Eby ID Number: 00112-7005

Notes:

John Shoemaker, "the eldest son, was born in Frederick Township,(All the children of old Jacob were born in this township) Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, May 12th, 1775. He spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and during the busy times he assisted his father in the mill. On May 2nd, 1797 he was married to Mary Shantz who was born March 13th, 1775, and died April 6th, 1866, aged 92 years and 23 days (See old Isaac Shantz's family record). They commenced farming on his father's old place where they resided until his death. They had a family of nine children, of whom two died young. During the year 1827 he met with an accident which ultimately brought on dropsy and other diseases causing his death which took place January 30th, 1828."


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.].

Johannes married Maria "Mary" Shantz 2 May 1797. Maria (daughter of Isaac Shantz and Barbara Rife) was born 13 Mar 1775, Near Pottstown, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania; died 6 Apr 1866, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/208640653
• Name: Maria "Mary" Schumacher
• Name: Mary Shantz
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6536

Notes:

Mary Shantz, "was born near Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, March 13th, 1775. On May 2nd, 1797, she was married to John Shoemaker. They resided on the Swamp Creek, in Frederick Township, at what is known as 'Shoemaker's Mills'. Here they had a family of nine children, of whom two died young. She came to Canada in 1829 with her three youngest children, and during the eve of her life she had her home with her daughter, Magdalena, where she died April 6th, 1866."

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 6th of April, in Waterloo Co., C. W., Widow Maria Schumacher, at the advanced age of 91 years and 24 days. Her disease was chiefly the infirmities of old age and finally also the palsy. She was a member of the Mennonite Church. ELIAS SCHNEIDER

Herald of Truth May 1866 - Vol. III, No. 5

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27232276
• Historic Building: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Interesting: religion, pioneer, story
• Eby ID Number: 00106-6346
• Historic Building: 1807, 393 Queen Street South, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Site of first log cabin
• Historic Business: 1816, 113 David Street, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Sawmill
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 017W, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 023W, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Historical Event: 29 Aug 1839, Evangelical Association Church, Waterloo, Ontario; church founding

Notes:

Joseph Schneider, "was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, May 24th, 1772. On February 21st, 1798, he was married to Barbara, daughter of Christian and Catharine (Bricker) Eby. She was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, April 29th, 1774, and died in Berlin, Ontario, March 13th, 1843. On May 8th, 1807, Mr. Schneider with wife and family and a large company of others (See Vol. 1 pages 39, 40 and 41 for particulars) moved to Canada and settled where now is the town of Berlin, Ontario. Here he was engaged in farming. His first buildings were erected where now his grandson, Samuel B. Schneider, lives, a little west of the Walper Block, Berlin. Here he died October 27th, 1843, leaving 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.].

__________________________

Zion United Church

A Sunday School was established in Berlin in 1837, meeting in Jacob Hailer's carpenter shop which was located at the southeast corner of what is now King and Scott Streets. A mission was begun by Rev. Christian Holl shortly after his arrival in Berlin on May 9, 1839, and a class (or congregation) was organized several months later on August 29, 1839 by Bishop John Seybert of the Evangelical Association during a camp meeting held at David Erb's farm near Lexington. John Hoffman was the Berlin class leader; his brother, Jacob, was class leader for the Waterloo-Lexington congregation. The Berlin congregation met in the old Town Hall until their first church was built in 1841 on Queen Street South across from Church Street on land purchased as of August 24, 1841 from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schneider. The church was dedicated on September 25th of that year, with Rev. Christian Hummel of Buffalo, New York, officiating. Rev. Joseph Harlacher was pastor from 1840-1842. In 1842 the Waterloo Mission became a Circuit of the East Pennsylvania Conference. Two years later it was part of the New York Conference.

The second church building was built of brick on the same site in 1866, and dedicated in 1867; Rev. C.A. Spies was pastor at the time. The old frame church was sold and moved to Elgin Street where it was used as a dwelling. In the same year Berlin became a station.

The present church building was built in 1893 on Weber Street; dedication services were held on June 15, 16 and 17, 1894. This building was heavily damaged by fires in 1942 and 1965 but was renovated and restored each time.

The union of the Evangelical Church and the United Brethren in Christ Church on November 16, 1946 created the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The name of the church was to change again, to Zion United Church when the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the United Church of Canada on January 1, 1968. Of interest: some maps of early Berlin show this church as a German Methodist church.


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

___________________________

SCHNEIDER, JOSEPH, settler and sawmill owner; b. 24 May 1772 in Lancaster County, Pa, son of Jacob B. Schneider and Maria Herschi; m. 21 Feb. 1798 Barbara Eby, sister of Benjamin Eby*, and they had seven children; d. 27 Oct. 1843 in Berlin (Kitchener), Upper Canada.

Joseph Schneider's father immigrated with his parents to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate (Federal Republic of Germany) in 1736. In 1806, three years after Jacob's death, two of his sons, Christian and Jacob, settled in block 2 (Waterloo Township), in the vicinity of present-day Kitchener. Joseph and a group of other Mennonites followed them, making the month-long journey in horse-drawn wagons. Schneider purchased and settled on lot 17 of the German Company Tract of block 2. It was the attraction of inexpensive land, as well as the desire to remain under British rule in the years after the American revolution, that brought many Mennonites to the area, among them Benjamin Eby and Samuel D. Betzner*. Geographical isolation allowed them to practise their religion and language freely, although at first it forced them to travel to such centres as Dundas for supplies and services.

Schneider was an active figure among the Mennonite settlers and, with Eby, is often regarded as a founder of Kitchener. He helped open the first local road, which ran from his farmstead to the Dundas road and was known as Schneider's road until the 1870s. In 1808-9 he and four other heads of families hired a teacher to open the first school in the area. He was involved four years later in the building of the first Mennonite meeting-house, headed by Eby; in 1834 Schneider participated in the construction of a new church. Perhaps as early as 1816 he had built a sawmill on what is still known as Schneider's Creek, and in the 1820s a blacksmith shop and tavern were erected by Phineas Varnum on land leased from Schneider. Together these enterprises formed the commercial nucleus of the developing village, known variously as Sand Hills, Ebytown, and, later, Berlin. In 1835 Schneider strongly supported the establishment of its first newspaper, Heinrich Wilhelm Peterson*'s Canada Museum, und Allgemeine Zeitung, of which he was a stockholder.

Schneider died on 27 Oct. 1843. Among the possessions he left to his family were traditional objects valued by Pennsylvania Germans, including a tall case clock, the works for which he had brought with him in 1807. The clock still stands in the house he built about 1820, Kitchener's oldest structure and now a museum. In other local collections are two family bibles: one, in the Mennonite Archives of Ontario, a rare edition published in Zurich in 1560 by Christoph Froschauer and brought to Upper Canada by Schneider; the other, in the possession of a descendant, printed in Lancaster County in 1805 and containing striking examples of fraktur (ornamental writing), executed by teacher-artist Jacob Schumacher in 1821.

Schneider's farming and milling operations were continued by his youngest son, Joseph E., who in 1849 had the family's history printed in Berlin in a small booklet, possibly the earliest published genealogy in Canada. In 1874 he was a charter member of the Reforming/Reformed Mennonites (later the Missionary Church) .
E. Reginald Good and Paul Tiessen

Toronto and York Land Registry Office (Toronto), "Old York County," deeds, 5, no.1839 (mfm. at AO). Waterloo South Land Registry Office (Kitchener, Ont.), Waterloo Township, abstract index to deeds, German Company Tract, lot 17 (mfm. at AO). 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), 136. John English and Kenneth McLaughlin, Kitchener: an illustrated history (Waterloo, Ont., 1983). Hannes Schneider and his wife Catharine Haus Schneider, their descendants and times, 1534-1939, ed. J. M. Snyder (Kitchener, [1940]). Herkommen und Geschlechts Register der Schneider Familie (Berlin [Kitchener], 1849). P. G. Klassen, "A history of Mennonite education in Canada, 1786-1960" (d.ed. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, 1970), 73-74. W. V. Uttley, A history of Kitchener, Ontario (Kitchener, 1937; repr. [Waterloo, 1975]), 17. M. [H.] Snyder Sokvitne, "The Joseph Schneider house, 1820," Waterloo Hist. Soc., [Annual report] (Kitchener), 1966: 20-27. W. V. Uttley, "Joseph Schneider: founder of the city," Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report (Waterloo), 1929: 111-19. G. K. Waite, "Joseph Schneider sawmill operations, 1848-1859," Waterloo Hist. Soc., [Annual report], 1985: 57-65.

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

____________________

JOSEPH SCHNEIDER
Founder of the City

The first stones in the city's foundation were laid in South Queen Street, in 1807, by Joseph Schneider. He was born in Lancaster County, Pa, in 1798, and married Barbara, sister of the Rev. Benjamin Eby.

On Lot No. 17, Pioneer Schneider built a log cabin. It stood on the east side of Queen Street, where John McKay's former home rests. Next he cut a roadway from the house to the Walper House corner and easterly to No. 57 East King Street, where he built a barn. South Queen Street was the first thoroughfare in the city and until the eighteen-eighties was called Schneider's Road.


A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937 pg 16

Historic Building:
Joseph Schneider's house is the oldest surviving in Kitchener dating from 1820 and has been made into the Joseph Schneider Haus Muesum.

Historic Building:
Now on this site is Barra Castle a 15 unit apartment building, due to be renovated for other purposes (2009).

Historic Business:
Joseph Schneider's Saw-Mill

The pioneers had then begun to replace their log-houses with frame homes. To meet a demand for lumber Joseph Schneider built a saw-mill in 1816 on Schneider's Creek. It rested on the easterly side of David Street, opposite Victoria Park. The mill dam was above the railway, and the mill-race crossed David Street between Schneider Avenue and Roland Street. The up-and-down or "muley" saw was run by an overshot waterwheel.1a

1aA History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937 pg 17

Historical Event:
A Sunday School was established in Berlin in 1837, meeting in Jacob Hailer's carpenter shop which was located at the southeast corner of what is now King and Scott Streets. A mission was begun by Rev. Christian Holl shortly after his arrival in Berlin on May 9, 1839, and a class (or congregation) was organized several months later on August 29, 1839 by Bishop John Seybert of the Evangelical Association during a camp meeting held at David Erb's farm near Lexington. John Hoffman was the Berlin class leader; his brother, Jacob , was class leader for the Waterloo-Lexington congregation. The Berlin congregation met in the old Town Hall until their first church was built in 1841 on Queen Street South across from Church Street on land purchased as of August 24, 1841 from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schneider.<sup>1a

1a</sup>Ambrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [used the kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose 2011]

Joseph married Barbara Eby 21 Feb 1798, , Pennsylvania, USA. Barbara (daughter of Christian Eby and Catharine Bricker) was born 29 Apr 1774, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; died 13 Mar 1843, 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/27232187
• Name: Barbara Schneider
• Residence: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00031-2422

Notes:

Barbara Eby, "the third daughter of Christian Eby and his wife, Catharine Bricker, was born April 29th, 1774. On February 21st, 1798, she was married to Joseph Schneider who was born May 24th, 1772, and died October 27th, 1843. She died March 13th, 1843. In 1807 they, in company with some of the Ebys and Erbs, moved to what is now Berlin, Waterloo County, Ontario. They settled on lot No. 17, U. B., of the Township of Waterloo, now forming part of the town of Berlin. The old homestead is now owned by a grandson, Samuel B. Schneider. Here they raised 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.].