Charles Isaac Groff

Other Events:

• Name: Charlies Groff
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3346.8

Other Events:

• Interesting: business, story
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3346
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1875, Harriston, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; merchant
• Residence: 1875, Harriston, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Merchant
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Merchant

Notes:

Samuel Groff, "was born near Galt, Ontario, September 14th, 1847. On October 27th, 1875, he was married to Martha M. Robertson. They reside in the town of Berlin where he, in partnership with Mr. O. Hymmen, carries on one of the largest dry goods businesses in the county. Their family consists of 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a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin: as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character.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.].

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Trim Services Ltd.

Trim Services Ltd., as it is currently known, was established in 1901 under the name of S. Groff & Son. It operated as a manufacturers agent, servicing the garment industry in Western Canada. In its early years, the company was the Western Canada representative for Canadian Buttons Ltd., one of the largest button producers in the British Empire. They also represented many other companies in the needle trade, selling zippers, cotton trimming, pant bindings, buckles and, of interest, ivory and wooden buttons. The company opened an office in Vancouver in 1948
.
Bob Groff, the current owner, noted in 2001 that as impressive as it might be to survive 100 years in business, his family has roots in the garment industry dating back to the late 1600s. Hans Groff, one of his first ancestors to come to North America, landed in Grofftown, Pennsylvania and ran a successful business as a middleman handling furs between the aboriginal and expatriate European populations.

When Samuel Groff stepped off the train at Winnipeg on a spring day in 1901, he brought with him two things from his home in Waterloo County: a sample grip of buttons, and a deep desire to start a successful business in the West. In an article written in the mid-1950s, the company was described as having progressed from one man's pioneering effort to the combined services of 20 employees. It has always been a family business with as many as four nephews involved at one time.

The present business of Trim Services Ltd. was started by Allan B. Groff in 1972 as an outgrowth of Groff Agencies, continuing to provide services in the trimming needs of the needle trade. The company was purchased by the current owner, Bob Groff, in 1980 from his father. Bob, following in the long tradition of his family, had started out as a 19-year-old button cleaner in 1978. He continues to run a family-based business, supplying buttons, zippers, fabric, thread, and hangers to the garment manufacturers. Their business was conducted in the Exchange District of downtown Winnipeg, once inhabited by more than 100 garment-industry firms.

The business moved out of its downtown location in 2001 and today, Bob and his wife Lisa continue to operate Trim Services out of their home as a team with no employees. They continue to service some of the heavyweights in Winnipeg's garment industry, including Nygaard International, Standard Knitting, and Western Glove, generating over one million dollars in sales annually for the companies that they represent.

Award presented to Bob Groff by Ken Zealand, January 2003.

The Manitoba Historical Society, centennial business award https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/business/trimservices.shtml

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SAMUEL GROFF. PRESIDENT NORTH WEST BUTTON CO.

Mr. Samuel Groff, though not a native born Berliner, still is a son of the fine old County of which Berlin is the chief town. He comes of Pennsylvania German stock. His grand father was Andrew Groff who learned the trade of Miller in his home state - Pennsylvania. In 1822 he came to Waterloo and after a few years spent there and at Galt, he acquired a large tract of land near Preston, where he carried on farming, saw-milling, a grist mill, store, hotel and distillery and became one of the wealthiest men in the county. His eldest son, Isaac, was the father of the subject of this sketch, who was born near Freeport in 1847. He early entered mercantile life in the late J. Hoffman's store and was one of the earlier merchants in Berlin. He was head of the firm Groff and Hymmen for many years, a house that was among the largest in the county. Several years ago, he went to Winnipeg and at present he is president of the North West Button Co.

Berlin Today 1806-1906 official souvenir

Samuel married Martha Marian Robertson 27 Oct 1875, Harriston, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada. Martha (daughter of Samuel Robertson and Margaret Henderson, daughter of Samuel Robertson) was born 28 Dec 1855, Hollen, Maryborough Township, Wellington Co., Ontario; died 2 Dec 1926, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Martha Marian Groff
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3346.1
• Residence: 1875, Harriston, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1875, Harriston, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist

Other Events:

• Name: Isaak Graff
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3342
• Residence: 1840, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Isaac Groff, "the second in family, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, March 2nd, 1818, and came to Canada, in November, 1822. On February 4th, 1840, he was married to Leah, youngest daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Eby) Bricker. She was born July 24th, 1822, and died March 11th, 1869. Some time after his marriage he and his brother Andrew went into partnership and purchased their father's extensive possessions near Galt where the continued in business until June 2nd, 1850, when Isaac, the senior member of the firm, died. To him and his wife was born a family of six 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.].

Isaac married Leah Bricker 4 Feb 1840, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Leah (daughter of Samuel Bricker and Rebecca Eby) was born 24 Jul 1822, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 11 Mar 1869; was buried , Hagey Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Lea Bruecker
• Name: Leah Groff
• Name: Nancy Bricker
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1347
• Residence: 1840, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1852, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: 1861, North Dumfries Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Notes:

Leah Bricker,"the eighth and youngest child of Samuel and Rebecca (Eby) Bricker, was born July 24th, 1822. On February 4th, 1840, she was married to Isaac Groff who was born March 2nd, 1818. Soon after their marriage they moved on his father's old homestead about halfway between Preston and Galt where he died June 2nd, 1850. She died March 11th, 1869. To them were born six 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: Waterloo-25248

Samuel — Margaret Henderson. Margaret was born Abt 1820, Of, Hollen, Peel Township, Wellington Co., Ontario; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Margaret Robertson
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-25249

Other Events:

• Name: Andreas Groff
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3340
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 007, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• Occupation: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Residence: Bef 1865, Lititz, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
• Occupation: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1871, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Andrew Groff, "son of John and Anna (Moyer) Graff, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, April 18th, 1793. His boyhood days were spent in acquiring a business education which proved of great benefit to him in later years. At the age of seventeen he made choice of the milling business as the most pleasing to his taste. His first years of apprenticeship were served in Earl Township where he remained until 1822 when he was induced by others to seek his fortune either in the West or in Canada. Being persuaded by one Joseph Mosser and others who were on the point of leaving for Canada, to join in with their company, he came to Waterloo in the fall of 1822 and found everything most satisfactory. As he was a miller by trade, old Abraham Erb wanted him to take charge of his grist mills which he intended to do after moving to Canada. After being here a short time and making arrangements to move to Canada he started again for Pennsylvania. Arriving at home in safety and spending a few weeks in visiting friends, he then set out for his new home. He left Pennsylvania with his wife and family of four children and made the trip to Canada in seventeen days. On his arrival at Waterloo in November, 1822, he was engaged by Abraham Erb to work on the saw mill where he remained three weeks, after which he entered the employ of Mr. Shade of Galt where he remained for nearly two years, and acquired a considerable amount of cash. He then purchased 200 acres of land half way between Preston and Galt and in a few years he was the proprietor of a store, tavern, grist mill, saw mill, and distillery, from all of which he soon realized quite a fortune, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the county. In 1848 he sold this property and purchased the farm of the late David Erb, north of the town of Waterloo, now in possession of his son Jacob. During the close of his life he lived on the place now possessed by Mr. F. Scheifle, a little to the north of the town of Waterloo. Here he died May 11th, 1877. He was married in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1815, to Annie, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Reist) Huber. She was born October 15th, 1795, and died in Waterloo County, Ontario, September 19th, 1865. They had a family of twelve 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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SAMUEL GROFF. PRESIDENT NORTH WEST BUTTON CO.

Mr. Samuel Groff, though not a native born Berliner, still is a son of the fine old County of which Berlin is the chief town. He comes of Pennsylvania German stock. His grand father was Andrew Groff who learned the trade of Miller in his home state-Pennsylvania. In 1822 he came to Waterloo and after a few years spent there and at Galt, he acquired a large tract of land near Preston, where he carried on farming, saw-milling, a grist mill, store, hotel and distillery and became one of the wealthiest men in the county. His eldest son, Isaac, was the father of the subject of this sketch, who was born near Freeport in 1847. He early entered mercantile life in the late J. Hoffman's store and was one of the earlier merchants in Berlin. He was head of the firm Groff and Hymmen for many years, a house that was among the largest in the county. Several years ago, he went to Winnipeg and at present he is president of the North West Button Co.2^a


Berlin Today 1806-1906 official souvenir
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From the Region of Waterloo Hall of Fame website.

The name of Groff in Waterloo in the nineteenth century was associated with the raising of Shorthorn cattle.

Andrew Groff of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, settled in 1822 on 170 acres at the location of the Galt Country Club. He later owned a grist mill, general store, tavern and a distillery. In the 1840s the family moved to Waterloo where his sons and grandsons, with outstanding success, bred and raised Shorthorn cattle.

A Knight of Warlaby, imported from Scotland, proved to be an outstanding sire. A son, A Baron of Waterloo," in 1882 was Grand Champion at the leading Canadian show at Kingston. In 1886 he was champion at Guelph. He was then sold to the Hon. George Brown. This bull sired what was probably the best show herd in Canada, winning awards on the American and Canadian show circuits. The Groffs were justifiably proud of their reputation as Shorthorn breeders.

Andrew married Annie Huber 1815, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. Annie (daughter of Samuel Huber and Elizabeth Reist) was born 15 Oct 1795, , Pennsylvania, USA; died 19 Sep 1865, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Martin Meeting House Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Annie Groff
• Eby ID Number: 00044-3340.1
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Honoured: Hero of the book "The Trail of the Conestoga"
• Residence: 555 Riverbank Dr. Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00016-1323
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 126, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 124S, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 054E, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentelman
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Directory: 1864, Waterloo Township - Beasley's Broken Front Lot 01, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Samuel Bricker,"the youngest son of Peter and Mary (Bear) Bricker, was born July 25th, 1776. He, in company with his brother John and family, Joseph Bechtel and family, and others, came to Canada in spring, 1802. They took up land in Waterloo County, Ontario, near Blair. In autumn, 1802, more than a dozen families had settled within the county. In March 1803, Mr Bricker was obliged to visit "Little York" (Toronto) to transact some private business. While there he received the sad intelligence that the whole of the township of Waterloo was mortgaged.† On his return to Waterloo he informed the settlers of the fact, and in order to prove the report of their friend, the settlers appointed Jacob Bechtel and Samuel Betzner to go to "Little York" and make a though investigation in regard to the mortgage. To their great surprise, they, in making inquiry at the Registry Office, found the report too true and that the amount of the mortgage was $40,000. covering 60,000 acres of land. Mr Samuel Bricker and Joseph Shirk were appointed by the settlers to return to their friends in Franklin, Cumberland, and Lancaster Counties, Pennsylvania, to make arrangements in raising sufficient money to lift the mortgage, upon which the company still known as the "German Company" was formed. The stockholders entrusted the required sum of money to extinguish the mortgage to Samuel Bricker and Daniel Erb who carried it all the way to Canada on a conveyance. At their return to Canada the money was paid over to the proper parties and thus the mortgage was cancelled. In 1801 Mr. Bricker was married to Rebecca, eldest daughter of John and Rebecca (Hershey) Eby. She was born April 14th, 1781, and died November 4th, 1861. They settled near Chicopee, a little north of Freeport, Ontario, on the east side of the Grand River. Their farm is now in possession of Richard Gehl who is married to a grand-child of old Samuel Bricker. Here they resided until their deaths. His death took place November 15th, 1868, aged 92 years, 3 months, and 29 days. Their family consists 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.].

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On the 15th of Nov., 1868, in Waterloo co., Ontario, Samuel Bricker, aged 92 years, 3 months and 29 days. He was buried at Eby's burying ground. Funeral sermons were preached by Abm. Weaver and John Bear, from 1 Thess. 5: 9, 10 and Rom. 6: 7. He was born in Pennsylvania.

Herald of Truth - Volume VI, Number 3 - March 1869 - page 47

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The earliest Crown grants in the area were issued, beginning in 1803. to Samuel Bricker (lot 34. concession 8), Philip Saltberger (lot 35, concession 8). and Benham Preston Pots 32- 35. concession 9). Along with seven other families of the Mennonite faith, these settlers took land grants in Whitchurch Township because they were having difficulty obtaining dear deeds for land they had hoped to buy in Waterloo County near Kitchener. Ontario. Bricker was able to borrow enough money from relatives in Pennsylvania to form joint stock company known as the German Company, and this enabled the families to buy the land in Waterloo County. Eight of these families merely cleared the land in Whitchurch, as required, and sold the acreage within a few years. Samuel Bricker, however, held the property until 1847, when he sold the east half to William Graham. In 1852 he sold the remaining west half of his land to John Grose, whose descendants are still there.

Whitchurch Township, Jean Barkey, Whitchurch History Book Committee.

Samuel married Rebecca Eby 1801. Rebecca (daughter of John Eby and Rebecca Hershey) was born 14 Apr 1781, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; died 4 Nov 1861, Chicopee (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Rebecca Bricker
• Residence: 555 Riverbank Dr. Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Eby ID Number: 00031-2500
• Residence: 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

Rebecca Eby, "the eldest daughter of John Eby, was born April 14th, 1781, and was married to Samuel Bricker who was born July 25th, 1776, and died November 15th, 1868. In 1802 they moved from Pennsylvania to near Freeport, Ontario, Canada, where they settled on the farm now in possession of Mr. Souder. Here she died November 4th, 1861, leaving 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.].