Albert M. Snyder

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00106-6392
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Clerk
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Shipping Clerk
• Business: CA 1908, 62 Queen St. S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Snider Brothers grocery store
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Shipping Clerk, Button Factory
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Albert M. Snyder, "was born August 3rd, 1869. He is with the J. Y. Shantz & Son Button Co. of Berlin where he is engaged as foreman in one of the departments. On May 14th, 1895, he was married to Catharine Cressman. The reside in Berlin."


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a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character.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

Albert married Catharine Anna Cressman 14 May 1895. Catharine (daughter of Isaac Cressman and Magdalena "Lena" Miller) was born 25 Sep 1868, Maryborough Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; died 21 Jan 1954; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

1. Sarah Viola Snyder was born 26 Apr 1899, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 15 May 1991; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
2. Paul Albert Snyder was born 23 Jan 1901, , Ontario, Canada; died 1978; was buried , Memory Gardens Cemetery, Breslau, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.
3. Ruth Magdalena Snyder was born 30 Jun 1907, , Ontario, Canada; died 4 Aug 1911; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada.

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00106-6388
• Occupation: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1862, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1868, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1881, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Retired: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Income
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

David B. Schneider, "was born March 1st. 1840. On July 13th, 1862, he was married to Elizabeth Bricker (No. 1283). She was born April 24th, 1841, and died February 5th, 1866. On November 15th, 1868, he was again married to Sarah Meyer, widow of the late Zimmerman Martin. She was born February 17th, 1843. They reside on a small farm a little west to the west of Berlin.."

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.].

_______________________________

What Berlin was like fifty years go [1855].
Mr. David B. Schneider tells of ye olden days

Very, very few of our citizens can speak with actual knowledge of the condition of things in Berlin 50 and 60 years ago. Nearly all of the pioneers of those bye-gone days have crossed the river on the long journey into the beyond. Among the few that remember incidents of the far past days is Mr. David B. Schneider, of Schneider Avenue, who is 65 years old today. He was born on the old Schneider lot, on which he is now residing, on March 1st, 1840, and has lived in or near Berlin all his lifetime. For quite a number of years he carried on farming just outside the corporation, but he was in the village - later a town, every day.

On June 23, 1807, the late Joseph Schneider - Grandfather Schneider, he is called - settled in the woods where the present Schneider house is. The block comprised 448 acres and lay on the south side of King Street from the present Merchants Bank corner to the postoffice corner. This block, it will be seen, took in the very heart of the town. Just in passing, it may be said that it is the intention to hold a centennial celebration on the Schneider homestead on June 23rd, 1907, to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival here of the pioneer of the family.

The writer enjoyed a most enjoyable chat with Mr. David B. Schneider today. He says he can remember 60 years back. "Then, we had no cement walks or high schools," he said with a smile.

"The only school that we had in the village was a little frame schoolhouse where the town hall now stands. There was only one room and one teacher - a Mr. Adam Ruby was one who taught me."

Mr. John S. Hoffman was one of the boys Mr. Schneider went to school with. There was also a small schoolhouse where the Old Mennonite church stands.

Mr. Schneider says he remembers well when the jail was built. He and other small boys used to watch the men and declared they would take good care and never get inside.

Fifty and fifty-five years ago the land a near the centre of the village, at the corner of Benton and Mary Streets, was in woods, and he helped to plow land where the German Baptist church now stands.

Among the churches here in the early days were the English and German Methodist; the Catholic, St. Paul's Lutheran and the New Jerusalem, the latter on the corner of Benton and Church, later used as a High School.

There was a saw mill up on Schneider's creek, where Mr. Jacob Shoemaker's house now stands, and the creek afforded a fine water power. It also abounded in good fish.

Mr. Schneider remembers two furniture factories - one at the East End, and the other, owned by Mr. J. S. Hoffman, on the present Merchants Bank site.

News Record March 1 1905

_________________

David B. Schneider, the oldest native born resident of Kitchener, passed away Wednesday afternoon at Pontiac, Michigan according to word received by relatives here. He was in his 89th year.

The late Mr. Schneider had been staying with his son Albert of this city during the summer and a week ago left for Pontiac, Mich., where he had intended spending the winter with his son Oliver. On the way, he contracted a chill which developed into pneumonia.

Surviving are three sons, Rev. O.B. Snyder, Pontiac, Mich., Albert and Joseph of Kitchener and two daughters, Mrs. David Thaler of this city and Mrs. J. C. Meyer of New York. There are also surviving 19 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. The remains were brought to Kitchener this afternoon and the funeral will be held Sunday afternoon at two o'clock from the home of his son Albert M. Snyder, 88 Schneider avenue. Services will be held in Bethany Mennonite church after which internment will be made in East End cemetery. Friends will please omit flowers.

David married Elizabeth Bricker 18 Jul 1862, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Elizabeth (daughter of John Bricker, III and Susannah Bergey) was born 24 Apr 1841, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 5 Feb 1866, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elisa Bricker
• Name: Elizabeth Schneider
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1283
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1862, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Elizabeth Bricker, was married to David B. Snyder. They resided on the farm now possessed by Wendel Shantz, near Berlin, where she died February 5th, 1866. To them were born three 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:

• Historic Building: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Possesions: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Betty Lamp
• Eby ID Number: 00106-6385
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• 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

Notes:

Joseph E. Schneider, "was born at Berlin, Ontario, November 23rd, 1810. On January 28th, 1834, he was married to Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Esther (Bechtel) Shantz. She was born January 21st, 1816, and died October 18th, 1881. Soon after their marriage they moved on his father's old homestead, now in possession of Samuel B. Schneider. When Mr. Schneider was a young man he joined the church of his choice, the Mennonite, of which body he was ordained deacon, a position he held for many years. His old days were much beclouded with troubles in the church, and owing to the different views held by the two parties in regard to the teaching of the Bible a division was made and the one party organized themselves into a distinct body, now known as the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. Mr. Schneider joined himself with the new body. He died happy in the Lord, February 16th, 1880"

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.].

_______________________


Feb. 16th, in Berlin, Ont., of dropsy, JOSEPH E. SCHNEIDER. For several months he was obliged to sit in a chair. He bore his sufferings with christian fortitude

Herald of Truth - Volume XVII, Number 4 - April, 1880, page 76, 77, 78

_____________________

Church of the Good Shepherd

The congregation began meeting in various locations as early as 1833, with Christian Enslin as leader. A small frame church was built on Frederick Street in 1842, and was called The Free Church; the congregations of four denominations held services in it. The seating space in the Free Church became insufficient for the growing Swedenborgian congregation with the result that land on the northwest corner of Church and Benton Streets was purchased in 1847 from Joseph E. Schneider. A frame church with a seating capacity of 150 was built in the same year; the church was called the New Church (Uttley 1937: 64). Several decades later a larger church was again needed. Land was purchased on the northeast corner of King and Water Streets where a new stone church was built and completed in 1870. The old church was sold to the congregation of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Serious differences resulted in a formal split in the Berlin Swedenborgian congregation on September 18, 1891. One group, the predecessor of this congregation, whose pastor was Rev. F.W. Tuerk (June 1857-July 3, 1901), continued to worship in the stone church. The other group, eventually to be known as the Carmel Church of the New Jerusalem, built their church in 1892 at 820 King Street West; their pastor was Rev. F.E. Waelchli. In 1935 the congregation purchased land on the corner of Queen Street North and Margaret Avenue as the site for a new church. The Church of the Good Shepherd is a Convention Church of the New Jerusalem.

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

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

Joseph married Sarah "Sallie" Shantz 28 Jan 1834. Sarah (daughter of Isaac Shantz and Esther Bechtel) was born 21 Jan 1816, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 18 Oct 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 20 Oct 1881, First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Sally Shantz
• Name: Sarah "Sallie" Schneider
• Residence: 466 Queen st., S., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6829
• Residence: 1861, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1871, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Sarah Shantz (Sallie), "was born January 21st, 1816, and died October 18, 1881. On January 28th, 1834, she was married to Joseph E. Schneider."


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.].

____________________________________


SCHNEIDER. - Oct. 17th in Berlin, Ont., widow of Joseph E Schneider, of a tumor in the body, aged 65 years, 8 months and 6 days. Buried at Christian Ebys burying-ground.


Herald of Truth - Volume XIX, Number 2 - January 15, 1882 - page 29,30

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94678433
• Name: Johann Bruecker
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1260
• Residence: 1835, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Land: 1861, North Dumfries Concession 11 Lot 33, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

John Bricker," the fifth son of John and Annie Bricker, was born February 15th, 1805. He was first married to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Polly (Detweiler) Rosenberger. She was born April 7th, 1806. After their marriage they moved on a farm a little east of Roseville, Ontario, where she died of cholera, August 2nd, 1834. After her decease Mr. Bricker was married to Susannah, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Wagner) Bergey. She was born December 14th, 1814 and died February 7th, 1888. He died May 20th, 1871. His family consisted of eighteen children, five of which were born unto his first wife and thirteen to the 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.].

______________________________


On the 20th of May, in Dumfries township, Waterloo county, Ont., John Bricker, aged 66 years, 2 months and 5 days. He was buried on the 23rd at Carlisle. Funeral discourses by Enoch Detweiler and John McNelly. His death occurred suddenly. His Son came home late at night with a team, and he was holding the horses by the head until his son would get a lamp, but before the Son had reached the house, the horses ran away, an he was found lying on the ground near the place where the horses started, and soon expired.

Herald of Truth - Volume VIII, Number 7 - July, 1871 - pp 110,111

John married Susannah Bergey 25 Aug 1835, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Susannah (daughter of Joseph Bergey and Elizabeth Wagner) was born 14 Dec 1814, , Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania; died 7 Feb 1884, Roseville, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/200923080
• Name: Susannah Bricker
• Name: Susannah Schwartz
• Eby ID Number: 00004-839
• Residence: 1835, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1871, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Susannah Bergey, "was born December 14th, 1814, and died February 7th, 1884. " Susannah Bergey," was born December 14th, 1814. She was married to John Bricker. They resided near Roseville, Ontario, where she died February 7th, 1888. To them was born a family of fourteen 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/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.].

Other Events:

• Name: Isaak Schantz
• Eby ID Number: 00110-6790
• Residence: 1829, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 001, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 052W, Waterloo County, Ontario

Notes:

Isaac Shantz, "was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, April 23rd, 1783. On October 15th, 1808, he was married to Esther, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Morris) Bechtel. She was born February 2nd, 1786, and died near Berlin, Ontario, July 24th, 1867. In 1808 Mr. Shantz, in company with his mother, his brother, Joseph, and his sister Veronica, moved to Canada and settled on the farm now in possession of Abraham H. Wamboldt. (This farm is a little to the south-east of Berlin). Here he resided until his death which took place December 12th, 1854. 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.].

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A-1-55 Isaac Shantz: Last Will and Testament of Isaac Shantz of the Township of Waterloo.

…I, Isaac Shantzs of the Township of Waterloo, being of good health and of sound and perfect mind and memory, blessed be Almighty God for the same, do make and publish this my Last Will and Testament…That is to say first, that all my just debts shall be paid, Second I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Esther, all my Books, four beds and bedsteads, my stove and pipe, my 24-hour clock and case, my case of Drawers, my bureau and cubboard[sic] and all that is in them both, one spinning wheel and real one table and kitchen furniture to the amount of ten dollars; also two cows and six sheep and two hundred dollars in cash out of the first moneys arising out of my Estate, and sixty dollars as Dowry, or the interest at six percent on one thousand dollars, each and every year during her natural life, further I order and devise and it is my will, that my son Isaac B. Shantz shall have my farm at Three thousand dollars in manner and form following, that is to say, the said Isaac is to pay two thousand dollars in ten annual yearly equal installments of two hundred dollars each, and also sixty dollars as the interest on one thousand dollars, each and every year during widowhood of my beloved wife. Should my loving wife depart this natural life, before the two thousand dollars are fully paid, then my son Isaac, or his successors, shall pay two hundred and fifty dollars each and every year, till the full amount of three thousand dollars are fully paid….I give and bequeath to all my sons and daughters, or their heirs and successors share and share alike, except my daughter Mary Herner, she is to have the interest at six per cent on her share each and every year, so long as she is and remains the wife of Samuel Herner, after his death, the said Samuel Herner, she or her heirs shall have her full share and portion as my other children, and I do hereby nominate my son Samuel Shantz and my son-in-law Abraham Mayer, as Executors in full power, as my own person of this my Last Will and Testament.

Witnessed by Jacob S. Shoemaker and William Thoman
Dated 18 September 1850
Will proven 16 January 1855
Inventory £88/0/9
Died 12 December 1854

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

Isaac married Esther Bechtel 15 Oct 1808. Esther (daughter of George Bechtel and Elizabeth Mary) was born 2 Feb 1786, , Pennsylvania, USA; died 14 Jul 1867, near, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , First Mennonite Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Esther Shantz
• Eby ID Number: 00007-0816
• Birth: CALC 24 Feb 1786
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Death: 24 Jul 1867

Notes:

Esther Bechtel "the third daughter in the family, was born February 2nd, 1786. She was fifteen years of age when she came to Canada. On October 15th, 1808, she was married to Isaac, son of Isaac and Barbara (Reiff) Shantz. He was born April 23rd, 1783, and died December 12th, 1854. They resided near Berlin where she died July 14th, 1867. 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.].

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00016-1221
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - Beasley's Old Survey Lot 11, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 011, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 036, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

John Bricker," the eldest son of Peter Bricker, was born December 28th, and died February 19th, 1854. He was married to Anna, daughter of Christian and Mary (Scherch) Erb. She was born December 11th, 1774, and died October 13th, 1866. In 1802 they, with others, moved to Canada and settled in Waterloo County, near the village of Blair where he died. After his death the mother had her home with her son David who resided near Roseville where she died. They had a family of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy and are buried at Blair. There were three Johns, the first died, aged nearly nine years; the second was born a few weeks after the decease of the first; and after second's decease they named a third one John."


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.].

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A-1-29 John Bricker Snr.: Last Will and Testament of John Bricker, Sen. of North Dumfries, deceased.

…I, John Bricker, senr., of the Township of Dumfries…make and publish this my Last Will and Testament. (First) I will that my funeral expenses and all my other debts, if there shall be any, be paid out of my estate as soon as can be after my decease. I will that my beloved wife Nancy shall have to live in the house which we now occupy during her natural life, and my son David Bricker shall keep a cow for my wife Nancy during her life, which cow he shall in every respect keep in the same manner as he keeps his own cows. I also give and bequeath unto my wife during her life, all my household furniture which I may be possessed of at my decease and that my beloved wife Nancy Bricker, shall yearly and every year as long as she lives, have Twenty five pounds, and if my wife Nancy shall through sickness or otherwise happen to need more than twenty five pounds, then my Executors shall give her so much more as will suffice to keep her comfortable. I will that all the above-mentioned bequests to my said wife shall be instead of her lawful Dower. And it is my will that the real and person property together with the five hundred dollars, together with all I have heretofore given and paid to my eldest son Peter Bricker, shall be taken, and the same really is, the whole share of my said son Peter Bricker's heirship by me bequeathed to him out of my real and personal estate. And it shall be considered, and it is so truly, that my said son Peter Bricker is, by his having receiv'd from me as before said, amply remunerated for which time he has worked for me, after he was twenty-one years of age. And I consider that my son David Bricker and my daughters Nancy and Susanna have their full share of heirship out of my real estate, in the land and their property which they have already received from me, for which reason I exclude them from any further share out of the same. I will that after the decease of myself and my wife, all the household furniture then belonging to my estate shall be equally divided between my three daughters, Mary, Magdalena and Lydia, except my Clock, which I have already given to my son David Bricker. I will that they residue of my real property of whatever kind or nature it may be, shall after the demise of myself and my wife be equally divided between my sons John and Abraham, and my daughters Mary, Magdalena and Lydia, share and share alike. Nevertheless I give, devise and bequeath all that legacy left to me by my brother Peter Bricker of Cumberland County, State of Pennsylvania, deceased, to be equally divided between my children now living likewise including my son Peter, and likewise the share that would have come to my daughter Nancy, if living shall be equally divided amongst all her children, share and share alike. I will that for the above legacy of my brother Peter Bricker, as said before, I have executed a power of Attorney to Wendell Bowman, Esq., and my son John Bricker to settle that part of my estate. And lastly I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my son John Bricker and Samuel B, Bowman to be the lawful executors.

Witnessed by Benjamin D. Rosenberger and Jacob W. Detweiler.
Will dated: 10 January 1852
Proved and insinuated 1 March 1854
Inventory £550/-

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

John — Anna "Nancy" Erb. Anna (daughter of Christian Erb and Maria Scherch) was born 11 Dec 1774, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania; died 13 Oct 1866, Roseville, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried 16 Oct 1866, Blair Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Anna "Nancy" Bricker
• Name: Annie Erb
• Name: Nancy Erb
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1221.1
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

In Wilmot, Waterloo Co., C. W, at the residence of Abraham Bricker, son of the deceased, on the 14th October, Nancy, wife of the late John Bricker, at the advanced age of 91 years, 10 months, and 2 days. She came from Cumberland Co., Pa., to Canada in the Spring of 1802, and lived here, respected by all, to the day of her death. She was a sister of Daniel and Jacob Erb, to whom the German Company Tract of Waterloo Township was deeded in 1865, also of Abraham Erb, the founder of Waterloo Village. She was buried on the 16th in the old burying-ground in the village of Blair. This is the oldest piece of ground selected for burying purposes in Waterloo, and she was the one who made the selection. Sixty-two years ago, while her husband was away to the States, one of her sons died, and as there was no place to bury the dead she went up to the hill, a little distance from where they were then living, and found an open little little(sic) place where she decided to bury her dead. She planted a tree at the foot of the little grave which tree is now about ten inches in diameter. She herself gave ground for a public cemetery, and for that reason wished to be buried there. Moses Bowman and Daniel Wismer officiated on the occasion. Only one or two are still living who came to Canada so early as the deceased.- Waterloo Chronicle

Herald of Truth November 1866 - Vol. III, No. 11 Page 92

Other Events:

• Name: Joseph Berge
• Eby ID Number: 00004-836
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonist
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Retired
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Joseph Bergey, "was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about the year 1792. He was married to Elizabeth Wagner. They had a family 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.].

Joseph — Elizabeth Wagner. Elizabeth was born 1787, Of, Montgomery Co. Pennsylvania; died 18 Apr 1824; was buried , Hagey Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Bergey
• Eby ID Number: 00107-6443.3