Frederick A. Gaukel

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-48715
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Laborer
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Occupation: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Labourer

Frederick married Alma E. Misener 5 Mar 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Alma (daughter of Amos Misener and Aseneth Smith) was born 4 Sep 1843, Ancaster Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario; died 9 Feb 1911, Ancaster Twp., Wentworth Co., Ontario. [Group Sheet]

1. Amos Gaukel was born 1861, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown.
2. Lillian Gaukel was born 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown.
3. Walter Gaukel was born 1862, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown.
4. Mary Gaukel was born 1869, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown.

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177296983
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-48711
• Occupation: 1852, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Occupation: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Saw Miller
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Residence: 1887, Amabel Township, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Thomas Smith, a son of Capt. Smith, made a clearing on a farm west of the river road and opposite to the one that has long been known as the Millard farm. He sold his clearing to his brother-in-law, Emanuel Gaukel, and with his family, went to live in the township of Beverly.

Emanuel Gaukel was his right name but he was oftener called Mongowgkil. He was a son of Frederick Gaukel, who came from Wurtemburg, Germany, to Berlin, and for some years he had a hotel, where now the Walper House stands. Emanuel Gaukel married Mary Smith and came to live on the farm upon which his wife's brother, Thomas Smith, had made a clearing. Mongowgkil was a large man, an auctioneer and a constable. At one time he had a saw mill near West Montrose. When the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway was opened through to Southampton he went there. He had a saw mill and kept the post office at an Indian village called Chippewa Hill, about two miles from Southampton. Here Emanuel Gaukel died about October, 1893, and Mary, his wife, on March 18th, 1887, of their family: Frederick married Alma Meisener and lived between Lynden and Jerseyville; Washington married Jessie Glennie, he was drowned at Port Elgin on October 25th, 1874 at the age of twenty two; Elizabeth was married to Hiram McKay and now lives near Port Elgin; Zuby (Azubah) married Ira Kilborn, a Methodist Minister, and went to Iowa; Polly (Mary) was married to William Douglas and is now in Chicago.

The Early History of Elora, Ontario, and Vicinity by John R. Connon

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WEST MONTROSE

OBITUARY. The remains of Mr. Meno [Emanuel] Gaukel from Port Elgin formerly a resident here, were interred in the Winterbourne cemetry last Thursday afternoon the 17th amidst the presnce of a large gathering of friends and relatives. The deceased was one of the earliest pioneers in this vicinity. He was the oldest son of Mr. J. [F.] Gaukel who owned the first hotel in Berlin. At the age of eighteen, he with a few others located in this vicinity in 1828 A.D. after some time he settled down on the farm where W. Bushart lives at present. In 1870 he sold the farm and bought a sawmill in this village; in 1874 he moved the machinery to Mohawk Hill Bruce Co, after his bodily strength decreased he spent the latter days with his son-in-law Mr. Hiram McKay of Port Elgin at which place he sank to rest at the age of 85 years.

Waterloo County Chronicle, 24 Oct 1895, p. 8

Emanuel — Mary Smith. Mary (daughter of Captain Thomas Smith and Mary Weaver) was born 21 Jan 1817, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 18 Mar 1887, Amabel Township, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Winterbourne Pioneer Methodist Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177297096
• Name: Mary Gaukel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-48712
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Methodist
• Residence: 1887, Amabel Township, Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32541876
• Interesting: business, hotel, story, pioneer
• Name: Frederick Gaukel
• Residence: Lutheran
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-34480
• Birth: CALC 7 Jun 1785
• Land: Bef 1831, Waterloo Township - German Company Tract Lot 005S, Waterloo County, Ontario
• Occupation: 1836, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; innkeeper
• Occupation: 1840, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1851, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; innkeeper
• Occupation: 1852, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; innkeeper
• Probate: 1853, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

GAUKEL, FRIEDRICH (Frederick), farmer and businessman; b. 7 June 1785 in Württemberg (Federal Republic of Germany); m. first c. 1813 Polly Kaufman (d. 1827), and they had four sons and three daughters; m. secondly Maria Roschang (d. 1834 of cholera); m. thirdly Dorothea Weikmillar; d. 8 Nov. 1853 in Berlin (Kitchener), Upper Canada.

Friedrich Gaukel's name appears among those of the German immigrants who arrived at Philadelphia from Holland aboard the Rebecca on 27 Aug. 1804. Along with other Württemberg natives, he may have been attracted to America by the publicity attending the exodus to Pennsylvania at this time of members of the charismatic sect led by the German lay preacher and weaver John George Rapp. According to a short biography published by Gaukel's grandson Jacob Stroh, he served for his passage money as a redemptioner on a farm near Philadelphia. He continued farming after his release from the indenture and by 1815 lived near Johnstown, Pa.

About 1820 Gaukel, a Lutheran, heard of the Mennonite migration from Pennsylvania to Upper Canada and decided to move there. After a trip of four weeks he arrived with his family in Waterloo Township, where he worked in a distillery until he bought a small farm near Bridgeport (Kitchener) and began operating a distillery of his own. After 1826 increasing numbers of Germans arrived in the region directly from Europe and settled largely in four townships: Wilmot, Waterloo, Woolwich, and Wellesley. Thus when the settlement of Ebytown began to expand, Germans, as well as Mennonites, were prominent in its development as a commercial centre. On 2 Nov. 1833 Gaukel purchased property there from Joseph Schneider* and from Benjamin Eby and moved into the settlement. The deeds for these transactions are the first on record referring to the community as Berlin.

Gaukel operated a tavern while awaiting the completion of a larger building which would meet the demands of the growing village. A public-spirited member of the community, he subscribed to the establishment of Heinrich Wilhelm Peterson's newspaper Canada Museum, und Allgemeine Zeitung in 1835, the year in which Gaukel's Inn (later known as the Commercial Hotel) opened to the public. For many years Gaukel and his third wife, also a native of Württemberg, hosted, in addition to the inn's daily commercial activities, various civic and political meetings, markets, and other public gatherings in this predominantly German-speaking community. The wide veranda of the inn was a favourite tribune for political candidates who addressed the citizenry assembled in the street.

In 1841 and 1846 Gaukel acquired additional property and as one of Berlin's leading landowners he took an active interest in its municipal development. He donated the land on which Waterloo Township Hall was built in 1848-49. Together with his friend Joseph Schneider and other early citizens, he had campaigned for the organization of Waterloo County, which took place in 1850, and he was much involved in promoting Berlin's selection as county seat in 1852. He provided land that year for the construction of a county court-house. In recognition of Gaukel's contributions, a grateful community named two of its early streets after him.

Klaus Wust

AO, RG 22, ser.214, Friedrich Gaukel. Kitchener Public Library (Kitchener, Ont.), "Gaukel family notes" (typescript). PAC, RG 31, A1, 1851, Waterloo Township, pt.4: 178. Waterloo North Land Registry Office (Kitchener), Abstract index to deeds, Berlin (mfm. at AO, GS 2958); Waterloo Township (mfm. at AO, GS 3023, GS 3027). Der Deutsche Canadier (Berlin [Kitchener]), 10 Nov. 1853. R. B. Strassburger, Pennsylvania German pioneers: a publication of the original lists of arrivals in the port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, ed. W. J. Hinke (3v., Norristown, Pa., 1934), 3: 147. Gottlieb Leibbrandt, Little paradise: the saga of the German Canadians of Waterloo County, Ontario, 1800'96 1975 (Kitchener, 1980), 36, 38'96 51. Bill Moyer, Kitchener: yesterday revisited; an illustrated history (Burlington, Ont., 1979), 19'96 21, 27. W. V. Uttley, A history of Kitchener, Ontario (Kitchener, 1937; repr. [Waterloo, Ont., 1975]), 35, 37'96 38, 40'96 41, 71, 80, 83, 85, 88. Jacob Stroh, "Frederick Gaukel," Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report, 1928: 86'96 87; "Reminiscences of Berlin (now Kitchener)," Waterloo Hist. Soc., Annual report, 1930: 175'96 207; 1931: 274'96 84.


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

__________________

In 1800 Frederick Gaukel of Wurtemberg, Germany, arrived at Amsterdam too late to join a whaling expedition to the Arctic. Finding a sailing vessel going to Philadelphia, he allowed himself to be sold under the hammer to the highest bidder for a service period of three years, to pay for the voyage across the ocean. Eventually he was sold to a farmer.

Gaukel immigrated to Canada, arriving at Preston where he worked in a distillery. Later he moved to a small farm near Bridgeport and erected a log cabin and barn and a small distillery. In 1819 he moved to Berlin and in 1833 started Gaukel's Tavern, later the site of the Walper House.

Gaukel was a civic-minded citizen and donated the property bounded by Queen, Weber and Frederick Streets on which the 1852 County Building was erected. This building was demolished when the present County Building was erected in 1965. Two of Kitchener's streets, Frederick and Gaukel, bear his name.

Waterloo Region Hall of Fame

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A-1-20 Frederick Gaukel: Last Will and Testament of Frederick Gaukel, of Berlin, Translated from the Original written in German.

…I, Frederick Gaukel, Tavern Keeper in Berlin, being, thanks be to God, in full possession of my powers of mind, do hereby appoint my last Will and Testament, in manner following. …My beloved wife Dorothee, a born Weismiller, shall of the loose goods and chattels left by me receive one cow according to her choice, two made up beds with bedsteads, one bureau, one house clock and necessary kitchen utensils. My Executors, shall directly after my demise, build for my beloved wife Dorothee, on the North side at the righthand of King Street, at Abraham Weber's Fence, a one story frame house with room, chamber, kitchen and cellar, twenty by twenty four feet wide, with a proper stable thereto, with one half an acre of land thereto, whereof she is to have quiet and peaceable possession as long as she lives. After her heath it shall be sold and the half part of the proceeds shall fall to the Relations and friends of my said widow, and the other half shall be divided amongst all my children in equal proportions. All my remaining momoveable and immovable, real and loose property, goods and chattels, shall by my hereinafter named Executors, after previous three times repeated public advertisement, be sold by Public Auction to the highest bidder…My son George shall receive two hundred dollars more, which are to be taken out of the portion of my daughter Elizabeth, a married Ahrens. For Executors of this my last Will and Testament I chose nominate and appoint hereby, my son Levi, butcher in Berlin, Waterloo Township, and my son-in-law Henry Stroh of Berlin, Waterloo Township, Shoemaker…

Witnesses George Seip and Paul Schmitt
Will date 10 January 1849
Proved and Insinuated 15 November 1853
No inventory amount
Died 8 November 1853
Translated by Christian. Enslin, N.P.

Wills of Waterloo County Register A 1853-1871, transcribed by Frances Hoffman

____________________________

Shortly after the arrival of Mr. Hailer, Frederick Gaukel bought the Varnum tavern site. He was native in Wuertemberg, and first had owned a distillery and farm at Bridgeport. On November 2, 1833, he bought lots that lay from near the Walper House corner up to Ontario Street from Joseph Schneider. Mr. Gaukel bought also a block of land on the north side of King Street, between Queen and Ontario Streets, from Bishop Eby, and a small triangle on the corner of King and. Ontario Streets, to complete the Block, from Joseph Schneider.

Bishop Eby, accompanied by Joseph Schneider, named the Dorf, Berlin. The date is uncertain, but Mr. Hailer's deed of May. 1833, describes Six acre as being in Waterloo Township; whilst Mr. Gaukel's deed of November 2, 1833, says his purchase lay in Berlin The assumption is that the place was named Berlin in the summer of 1833.

Mr. Gaukel built a large frame hotel near the Walser House corner in 1835. It had stables in the rear and a driving-shed on the Bank of Montreal corner. At Gaukel's, a meal was Sold far fifteen cents and a glass of beer for three cents. There the householders of Berlin and the Township paid their taxes, and there they nominated candidates for the Wellington District Council.
Afterward Mr. Gaukel bought additional lands in West King Street, up to Gaukel Street, which was named for him. He bought also a strip in Schneider's Road, bordering the Walper corner, from Joseph E. Schneider; and lands in East Weber Street, including the courthouse site.

A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937, pg 35-6

____________________

King Street Kitchener

"Gaukel to Foundry Street (now Ontario Street).-After a vacant lot on the corner there was a one and one-half storey frame building with gable facing King Street, occupied by the late Frederick Gaukel in 1852 and 53, when he died there. The building was later moved to the corner and used by Mr. Woelfle as a plough shop. After Mr. Gaukel's death his executors built a one and one-half storey brick house for his widow next to the house just mentioned. This brick house was taken down by Messrs. Brown & Erb who built their glove factory on the site."

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) BY JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

_________________________

King Street, Kitchener

Next, well back and at the bottom of a slope from King Street, was the back of Gaukel's Hotel, extending back to Hall's Lane.

Gaukel's was the first considerable Hotel in Berlin. Frederick Gaukel, who had come from Pennsylvania in 1820, purchased a tract of lots in 1833 from Joseph Schneider on the westerly corner of Queen and King Streets, the site formerly occupied by Phineas Vemum's blacksmith shop, and thereon erected a two story frame building with a wide Colonial style veranda. Candidates at election spoke from this veranda to the crowd on the street, and it had other like uses. The little house standing in the rear, which Phineas Varnum had used for a tavern, was used as a kitchen. The hotel woodshed came next. It was a frame building.

When judges came to Berlin for County Court they stayed at this hotel and Henry Stroh would be asked to forage for speckled trout and partridge, Mr. Gaukel wishing to place something special before his distinguished guests. In 1851 Gaukel had a bear tied by a chain to a post in the barnyard on King Street. There was a cross board on top of the post to which the bear could climb and become a public exhibition. In the early years Indians, wrapped in their government blankets, were in the habit of calling at the house for something to eat. The woods along the Conestoga River abounded in butternuts and these, gathered in the fall, served to entertain the guests on Sunday afternoons. Henry Bachman was an early bartender at the hotel.

Frederick Gaukel died in 1853. His son George thereafter had the hotel for one year, paying $140.00 rent to the Estate. James Potter, who came from Bridgeport, then bought the place and changed its name to The Great Western Hotel. He took down the heavy colonial veranda and replaced it with a new one of iron posts and iron railings. The veranda continued to be a rostrum for political orators. Hon. Michael Hamilton Foley, Post Master General, and Mr. I. E. Bowman, for many years Member of Parliament for North Waterloo, spoke from it. Potter had a large swinging sign on a post at the corner facing King Street. On a windy day 'the squeak of the swinging sign could be heard throughout the village. On the sign were the proprietor's name, the name of the hotel and a picture of The Great Eastern Steamship, by far the largest ship of its time.

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

___________________

Queen Street North, West Side

Gaukel's well at the corner of the hotel shed, the corner being later built up as the Bowman Block, now the Bank of Montreal.

A brick warehouse belonging to the corner store of the Bowman Block. First occupants of this store were Bowman and Heins, later H. S, Huber and then by Huber and Roy.

Opposite the Breithaupt leather store stood a one-story brick building, Dr. Pipe's surgery and later Dr. Wright's.

A two-storey brick house lengthwise with Queen Street and with veranda on two sides, the veranda a few steps above the ground, occupied by Henry Schaefer. In 1871 Dr. Pipe lived in this house. Among other things Dr. Pipe kept bees, although he was quite afraid of them. Dr. Pipe and Henry Stroh succeeded in bringing the first Italian queen bee to this part of the country.

A lane.

A handsome brick house, gable roof, lengthwise with the street, the corners faced with limestone from Guelph, erected by Joseph Hobson, the surveyer, in 1860. Hobson eventually was Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway and when that was merged with the Grand Trunk he became Chief Engineer of the latter Company and was among other things Chief Engineer of the Sarnia tunnel. Alexander MacPherson, editor and publisher of the Berlin Telegraph, later lived in the house. The site is now occupied by the head office of the Economical Fire Insurance Company.

A two-story red frame building well back from the street built probably before 1850 by Peter Eby, identified with the "Deutsche Canadier" and with the early days of the "Telegraph". Dr. Eggert, homeopath, lived in the house 1859-1860 and later John Klippert, high constable and county bailiff.

One and a half story brick building at the corner of Duke and Queen Streets occupied by a Mr. Von Ebenau and wife and later for a number of years by Michael Jaehle, a blacksmith. The site is now occupied by the Daily Record building.

Duke Street.

A large handsome building trimmed with cut stone built in 1860 by David S. Shoemaker of Bridgeport who was county registrar, The building was intended for a bank and agent's residence and so used first by the Commercial Bank which failed and later by the Merchants Bank of which R. N, Rogers was agent for a number of years. Some time later Dr. H. S. Lackner acquired the property and used it as residence and surgery. After Dr. Lackner's death the property was sold to the present occupants, the Langleys of Toronto.

building, colonial style, with large posts at the front carrying the projecting roof, erected in 1848-49, the Waterloo Township Hall, the land for which was donated by Frederick Gaukel. General public meetings were held in this hall, among others meetings purposing to have Berlin named as county town. After consummation of this a banquet was held in the hall, which was occasionally used for such purpose. The occasion of this particular banquet was the laying of the corner stone of the new county buildings in 1852. 100 guests were present and there were a number of patriotic toasts. Later the building was used as a printing office, the "Deutsche Canadier" and the "Telegraph" being printed there for a time. Eventually the building was remodelled and enlarged and became the Methodist Church. In 1904 the St. Matthews Lutheran congregation purchased the property and later the First English Lutheran Church, which still continues in the building.

Behind the present Kitchener Public Library, occupying the site of his ornamental garden, and still standing is Dr. Scott's residence, built in 1855. Henry Rothaermel was the contractor. Dr. Scott was the first warden of the county and first reeve of Berlin. After his death the house was occupied by M. C. Schofield who married Dr. Scott's widow. Later Israel Bowman, for many years county clerk and town clerk of Berlin, acquired the property and lived there.

Weber Street.

On the corner the Presbyterian Church first built 1860-61 at a size of 36 ft. by 50 ft., cost $4,500 and seating 175 persons. Rev. John McMeekin was an early minister.

A two-story red brick building lengthwise with Queen Street, built 1855-56, the house of H. S. Huber.

Simon Roy's house, also red brick, one and one-half story high, both of these houses were set back from the street. Mr. Roy was nurseryman and florist.

A one-story double house lengthwise with Queen Street.

Before Ahrens Street was continued westerly across Queen Street there was on the site a two-story unpainted weather-boarded building, the house of John Dopp.
frame building, similar to Dopp's, the house of Christina Bloch, a widow who lived there for many years.

A frame building, similar to Dopp's, but with gable facing Queen Street, the house of August Vetter, painter and paper-hanger.

A vacant lot later owned by Louis Breithaupt who built, on the corner of Margaret Avenue, a residence for Judge Lacourse.

Margaret Avenue.

On Margaret Avenue a short distance westerly from Queen Street was the Moxley farm with house and barn. The barn was later moved to Lexington by Henry Stroh who bought it to replace one that had been struck by lightning. On the corner of Ellen Street a brick house occupied in the early days by Rev. Mr. Savage, Methodist minister, and later by John Hoffman, Jr., a druggist.

Ellen Street.

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

_________________

Queen Street North, West Side

Gaukel's well at the corner of the hotel shed, the corner being later built up as the Bowman Block, now the Bank of Montreal.

A brick warehouse belonging to the corner store of the Bowman Block. First occupants of this store were Bowman and Heins, later H. S, Huber and then by Huber and Roy.

Opposite the Breithaupt leather store stood a one-story brick building, Dr. Pipe's surgery and later Dr. Wright's.

A two-storey brick house lengthwise with Queen Street and with veranda on two sides, the veranda a few steps above the ground, occupied by Henry Schaefer. In 1871 Dr. Pipe lived in this house. Among other things Dr. Pipe kept bees, although he was quite afraid of them. Dr. Pipe and Henry Stroh succeeded in bringing the first Italian queen bee to this part of the country.

A lane.

A handsome brick house, gable roof, lengthwise with the street, the corners faced with limestone from Guelph, erected by Joseph Hobson, the surveyer, in 1860. Hobson eventually was Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway and when that was merged with the Grand Trunk he became Chief Engineer of the latter Company and was among other things Chief Engineer of the Sarnia tunnel. Alexander MacPherson, editor and publisher of the Berlin Telegraph, later lived in the house. The site is now occupied by the head office of the Economical Fire Insurance Company.

A two-story red frame building well back from the street built probably before 1850 by Peter Eby, identified with the "Deutsche Canadier" and with the early days of the "Telegraph". Dr. Eggert, homeopath, lived in the house 1859-1860 and later John Klippert, high constable and county bailiff.

One and a half story brick building at the corner of Duke and Queen Streets occupied by a Mr. Von Ebenau and wife and later for a number of years by Michael Jaehle, a blacksmith. The site is now occupied by the Daily Record building.

Duke Street.

A large handsome building trimmed with cut stone built in 1860 by David S. Shoemaker of Bridgeport who was county registrar, The building was intended for a bank and agent's residence and so used first by the Commercial Bank which failed and later by the Merchants Bank of which R. N, Rogers was agent for a number of years. Some time later Dr. H. S. Lackner acquired the property and used it as residence and surgery. After Dr. Lackner's death the property was sold to the present occupants, the Langleys of Toronto.

building, colonial style, with large posts at the front carrying the projecting roof, erected in 1848-49, the Waterloo Township Hall, the land for which was donated by Frederick Gaukel. General public meetings were held in this hall, among others meetings purposing to have Berlin named as county town. After consummation of this a banquet was held in the hall, which was occasionally used for such purpose. The occasion of this particular banquet was the laying of the corner stone of the new county buildings in 1852. 100 guests were present and there were a number of patriotic toasts. Later the building was used as a printing office, the "Deutsche Canadier" and the "Telegraph" being printed there for a time. Eventually the building was remodelled and enlarged and became the Methodist Church. In 1904 the St. Matthews Lutheran congregation purchased the property and later the First English Lutheran Church, which still continues in the building.

Behind the present Kitchener Public Library, occupying the site of his ornamental garden, and still standing is Dr. Scott's residence, built in 1855. Henry Rothaermel was the contractor. Dr. Scott was the first warden of the county and first reeve of Berlin. After his death the house was occupied by M. C. Schofield who married Dr. Scott's widow. Later Israel Bowman, for many years county clerk and town clerk of Berlin, acquired the property and lived there.

Weber Street.

On the corner the Presbyterian Church first built 1860-61 at a size of 36 ft. by 50 ft., cost $4,500 and seating 175 persons. Rev. John McMeekin was an early minister.

A two-story red brick building lengthwise with Queen Street, built 1855-56, the house of H. S. Huber.

Simon Roy's house, also red brick, one and one-half story high, both of these houses were set back from the street. Mr. Roy was nurseryman and florist.

A one-story double house lengthwise with Queen Street.

Before Ahrens Street was continued westerly across Queen Street there was on the site a two-story unpainted weather-boarded building, the house of John Dopp.
frame building, similar to Dopp's, the house of Christina Bloch, a widow who lived there for many years.

A frame building, similar to Dopp's, but with gable facing Queen Street, the house of August Vetter, painter and paper-hanger.

A vacant lot later owned by Louis Breithaupt who built, on the corner of Margaret Avenue, a residence for Judge Lacourse.

Margaret Avenue.

On Margaret Avenue a short distance westerly from Queen Street was the Moxley farm with house and barn. The barn was later moved to Lexington by Henry Stroh who bought it to replace one that had been struck by lightning. On the corner of Ellen Street a brick house occupied in the early days by Rev. Mr. Savage, Methodist minister, and later by John Hoffman, Jr., a druggist.

Ellen Street.

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

____________________________

Queen Street South, West Side.

A frame building used as a tavern by Phineas Varnum and later the kitchen of the Gaukel Hotel.

A frame building erected by Frederick Gaukel about 1833 as shelter for the considerable number of immigrants coming to Berlin at that time. In 1837 it was made into a dwelling for John Stroh, uncle of Jacob Stroh. Two children were born in this building, Katie, in 1838, (she married Jacob Oswald, still living, now 93 years of age), and Henry Stroh, born in 1840.

Hall's Lane.

A brick building erected about 1850. John Klein, father of John Klein of Buffalo, was the first occupant. Later the building was used as a printing office, first by the "Berlin Chronicle", William Jaffray editor and proprietor, and later by the "Berliner Journal", Rittinger & Motz. The site is now occupied by the Lockhart garage.

The Franklin Hotel, a handsome, good-sized frame building, erected by Philip Roth about 1856. Successive hotel-keepers were John Klein, Levi Gaukel, Frederick Riegelman, who later moved to Buffalo, and Jacob Weber. Weber was occupant in 1874 when the hotel was burned down. The fire started in the barn at the rear of the hotel. The hotel shed, next south, extended, at right angles, from Queen Street to the barn.

A garden.

A one and one-half story frame building lengthwise with the street occupied by Christopher K. Nahrgang whose parents came from Hessen, Germany, about 1835. He was married to a Miss Zinkann of New Hamburg.

A stone building used as a tailor shop by Mr. Nahrgang who was deaf and dumb. His wife helped him in the business. She lived to be 87. It was in this building that John Motz of the "Journal" and eventually County Sheriff, learned the tailoring trade.

A one and one-half story dwelling, erected about 1857, occupied by George Fischer, barber, who had his shop on King Street. A later occupant was George Lutz, a cabinet maker in Hoffman's factory and after him Henry Schaefer's mother.

A frame building lengthwise with the street, the church of the Evangelical denomination, erected in 1841. In 1866 it was replaced by the brick building still standing, now used as stores and upstairs dwellings.

A one and one-half story frame building with kitchen at the rear erected by William Becking, wagonmaker, about 1848. Becking was noted as a hunter. White hare and passenger pigeons, practically extinct long ago, were abundant at that time.

Becking's wagon-shop and lumber yard at the corner of John Street with the customary incline and stair to the second story of the shop. Up this incline the wagons were drawn to the paint shop. Valentine Gildner, at the corner of King and Benton Streets, did the blacksmith work for Becking's wagons.

John Street.

A one and one-half story house occupied by H. Baedecker in 1860 and later by Adam Doering.

Rev. F. W. Tuerk's residence erected about 1860 by Henry Rothaermel, a carpenter. The matching and planing was all done by hand, slow but thorough work. Window sashes, panel doors and all other requirements were made in the same manner. A skilled workman at that time was expected to he able to do painting as well as carpenter work. A single room in the shape of a square turret on the ridge of the building was Rev. Tuerk's study. The house was up-hill about twenty feet above the street level so that the study on top gave a good outlook. The site is now occupied by the York Apartments.

A frame building one and one-half story high.

Nothing but a building used as an ashery between that and Joseph E. Schneider's house and farm buildings.


REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

Friedrich — Polly Kaufman. Polly was born Abt 1790, Of, Pennsylvania; died Abt 1827, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Maria Kaufman
• Name: Polly Gaukel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-44891

Other Events:

• Historic Building: 1596 Sawmill Rd., Woolwich Township, Ontario; squared timber log house, built by Captain Thomas Smith
• Interesting: life story, war, post, pioneer
• Military: War of 1812 -
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-48769

Notes:

Captain Thomas SMITH (Thomas, Jonathan) was born 14 Nov 1765/1767 in Surrey, Vermont. He died 15 Apr 1850 in Woolwich Township, Waterloo Co., Ontario and was buried in Old Methodist Cemetery, Woolwich Township, Waterloo co., Ontario.

Thomas was one of the pioneers of Woolwich Township, arriving there about 1806 or 1807, with his wife and children. he is described as well built, stout, five feet ten inches tall, an interesting character who had had many wonderful experiences, and who like to tell stories. He was the first squatter on the Crooks estates. He had entered Ontario in 1798 and settled in Jerseyville.

The Smith family log house was located on the east side of the Grand River opposite the mouth of the Conestogo which here flows into the Grand from the west. The house was a half mile east of the town of Conestogo, and it stood less than a hundred feet from the present (1995) Stroh brick farm home. The pioneers hand-hewn log house (with fireplace) was built 28 feet long, 26 feet wide, and two stories high. The ceilings were 6 to 7 feet high, the kitchen was 12 by 24 feet with a large fireplace; a winding stairway led to the four rooms above. During the long winter evenings the warm cheery fireplace was the centre of family social life and comfort....

It was here near Conestogo that the Smith's fourth child - Priscilla - was born on 3 January 1808. She is reported as having the distinction of being the first white child to be born in Woolwich Township however, the records are in disagreement for it is also reported that a son - Cushman - was born at Conestogo on 11 November 1806.

Thomas Smith fought in the War of 1812. His horse shot out from underneath him, he also shot and afterwards mustered out as a Captain. Thomas Smith's injury as Lundy's Lane brought him an annual disability pension of 22 pounds 2 shillings, 8 pence and 1 farthing about $65 per year.

The Smiths turned their home open to travellers staying in the area. The family lost their title to the land and house due to irregularities in the land records and after thirty years, took up a new homestead 1/2 mile north of Winterbourne and was named "The Holmwood Farm". In 1835 Thomas Smith inaugurated a stage coach service from Winterbourne through Kitchener to Cambridge (Preston) which he operated until his death in 1850

"Captain Thomas Smith (born 1767, died 1850) and descendants " by Raymond W. Kalbfleisch, Petoskey, Michigan, 1995. 174 pgs, illustrated, with index. Located at the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Library, 929.2 Smith-K 1995

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THE STAGE COACH

In grandsire's day trade flowed southward to Preston and Dundas. Over muddy corduroy roads or through pitch-holes he rode to the poll or to court. For such errands there was not a public conveyance available until 1835. A Vermonter, Captain Thomas Smith of Winterbourne, then began a service to Preston, via Waterloo and Berlin. Other men followed his lead. The arrival of the stage-coach hastened the construction of a better highway. In 1837 the Dundas road was macadamized up to Preston, or possibly to Berlin. It was said of the coachman, "his only point of interest on the road is to save time and see whether the coach keeps the hour."

DAILY COACH

In 1848 the Deutsches Canadier carried Mr. Smith's advertisement, which reads,

Will go down every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and will return the day after: viz., every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Leaves home, Woolwich Post-Office (Winterbourne) always at 12 o'clock noon, the village of Waterloo at 2, and Berlin at 21/2 o'clock; and again, on the return, leaves Preston at 7 o'clock in the morning, Berlin at 9, and Waterloo at 91/2. The prices for carrying passengers, down or up, from Waterloo to Preston, 2 shillings and sixpence, and from Berlin 2 shillings York, and vice versa. He will arrive in Preston in time for the night coach to Hamilton, where travellers will find ample accommodation early in the morning for all parts of the world, and likewise find a coach ready to convey them farther westward. Thomas Smith


In 1845, as the appended notice shows, Captain Smith had met with opposition,

Mail Coach. A daily mail coach leaves the hotel of the under-signed (Preston) at 3 o'clock, p.m., for Berlin and Waterloo. Travellers are taken up and left off at suitable places. At five o'clock in the morning it leaves the hotel of W. Rebscher, Waterloo, calls at the hotels along the route and reaches Preston in time for the south-going mails. The coach is covered and rests on springs for the comfort of the passengers. George Roos, proprietor.

^{At cockcrow Waterloo passengers seated themselves in the coach, while the whip stored the mail-pouch and carpet bags in the boot. With a blare of his horn he was then off for Berlin, where he picked up additional mail and passengers. His next stop was at Jost Stengel's tavern, between Centreville and Freeport. The stage crossed over the Grand River at Freeport on a toll-bridge. The coach was taxed sixpence and every passenger a half-penny. Then it wheeled directly to Preston.}

A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937, pg 74-77

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Captain Thomas Smith was born in the state of Vermont in the year 1767. He was among those who came to Canada a few years before the close of the eighteenth century. Capt. Smith married Mary Weaver, whose parents had come, along with many others, from the State of New Jersey, and lived in a small place called Jerseyville, near Ancaster. They first lived in the township of Beverly ; moved to the township of Waterloo, and as early as 1807, were in the township of Woolwich. The site of Capt. Smith's house was on the east side of the Grand River and opposite the mouth of the Conestogo, which here flows into the Grand from the west. Mr. George Stroh has lived on this farm fur many years, and Capt. Smith's old house stood within a hundred feet of Mr Stroh's residence. The old house was well built of hewn logs, 26x28 feet, and was two stories high. The ceilings were 6 feet 7 inches high. The kitchen was 12x24, with a large fire place and just inside of the front door, in the corner between it and the fire-place, was a winding stair which led to the four rooms above. It was here, on January the third, 1808, that their daughter Priscilla was born. She was their fourth child, but the eldest daughter, and the first white child born in the township of Woolwich.

Capt. Smith was a Lieutenant in the Canadian Forces during the war of 1812. At the battle of Lundy's Lane a musket ball struck his knee and the same shot killed the horse upon which he rode. In an old newspaper published at St. David's in the year 1816, there is a list of those who were entitled to receive pensions because of injuries received during the war of 1812-14. In this list is the name of Lieut Thomas Smith, late of the 2nd York. He was wounded at Lundy's Lane on the 25th July, 1814, and was entitled to receive a pension from and after the 23rd November, 1813. The pension amounted to twenty two pounds, two shillings, eight pence, one farthing yearly.

Many of the settlers up the river were much indebted to Capt. Smith and his family for many kind services. His home was always open to them whenever they were led that way, and for years this was the only outlet. It was here that Roswell Matthews stopped on his way up the Grand River in the fall of 1817. Here he left his wife and younger children for three months, during the winter, while he and the older sons went on up the river to cut the first tree and build the first house in Elora.

High up on the hill, on the east side of the road and north of Cox's Creek at Winterbourne, there is a log house on the same site as a former one. It was here, at the home of Alpheus Smith, that the prayer meeting was being held, on a Sunday evening, during which Alpheus Smith's father, the old captain fell to the floor unconscious and remained in that state until the following Sunday when he died. Alpheus Smith married Ann Weaver, from Ancaster, and it was their daughter Mary, or Polly, a life long resident of Winterbourne, who told me the story of Captain Smith, which she alone could tell, and that but three weeks before her death


With that large hearted kindness so characteristic of Captain and Mrs. Smith, they, in 1832, adopted Catherine Kennedy, who, like Mary Asia Wilbee, had been left motherless when a child. Catherine Kennedy grew up with the younger ones in the family until she married the late William Stork and is at present living in Winterbourne.

Like many other pioneers, Capt. Smith had neglected to secure a proper title to his property and was ejected by the Hon. James Crooks' estate. He then took up another farm half a mile north of Winterbourne; made another move and tried hotel keeping on the roadside south of Winterbourne and, giving that up, he returned to the Holmwood farm. For many years he carried the mail from Preston. Capt. Smith was described as "stout, well built, about 5 ft. 10 in., limped from the wound in his knee, and was a great one to tell stories." Mrs. Smith died on November 5th, 1845, at the age of 67 years. In later years the Captain lived with his younger son. During a religious meeting which was being held in the house he fell from his chair, stricken with paralysis, and died a few days later, on the 15th of April, 1850, at the age of 82 years and 5 months. Both are interred in the Methodist Cemetery at Winterbourne. The sons were: Alpheus, who married Ann Weaver. Alexander, who married Louisa Moss. They lived at West Montrose and died in Michigan. Cushman, who married Mary Asia Wilbee. Thomas married Sarah Heartwell. Stephen married Betsy Smith. William and Peter died young. Samuel married Jane Hanna. Their first home was a little north of Winterbourne, now known as the Holmwood farm. Here the old Captain died. Later they moved to the vicinity of Mt. Forest. The daughters were: Priscilla, married to Williams Sexton. Azubah, married to Willard Clemons ; they lived at St. George. Mary, married to Emanuel Gaukel. Roxy, married to Milton Woodward, and Elisheba, unmarried.

Mary Smith, who died at Winterbourne in March, 1901, at the age of seventy-one years and six months, was a daughter of Alpheus Smith, and to her we are especially indebted for much of the family history here given.

When coming up the road, on the east side of the Grand river, past the village of Bloomingdale, we soon reach the townline between the townships of Waterloo and Woolwich. Here the road forks like the letter "Y." The left fork is the road past the old home of Captain Smith to the bridge which crosses the Grand river and thence on to the village of Conestogo. The right fork turns to the north, passing through the village of Winterbourne and on through the townships of Woolwich and Pilkington to Elora and Fergus. This is commonly called the "river road" because it follows the general course of the river.

At this corner, where the road divides, several of the earliest settlers made: their homes..

The Early History of Elora, Ontario, and Vicinity by John R. Connon

Historic Building:
The Smith family log house was located on the east side of the Grand River opposite the mouth of the Conestogo which here flows into the Grand from the west. The house was a half mile east of the town of Conestogo, and it stood less than a hundred feet from the present (1995) Stroh brick farm home. The pioneers hand-hewn log house (with fireplace) was built 28 feet long, 26 feet wide, and two stories high. The ceilings were 6 to 7 feet high, the kitchen was 12 by 24 feet with a large fireplace; a winding stairway led to the four rooms above. During the long winter evenings the warm cheery fireplace was the centre of family social life and comfort....

The Smiths turned their home open to travellers staying in the area. The family lost their title to the land and house due to irregularities in the land records and after thirty years, took up a new homestead 1/2 mile north of Winterbourne and was named "The Holmwood Farm".<sup>1a

1a</sup>"Captain Thomas Smith (born 1767, died 1850) and descendants " by Raymond W. Kalbfleisch, Petoskey, Michigan, 1995. 174 pgs, illustrated, with index. Located at the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Library, 929.2 Smith-K 1995

Military:
Served in the Flank company of the 2nd York Militia Regiment under Captain Applegarth. Militia rolls names on him and petitions for compensation after the war listing their homes as being in Block 2 or Waterloo

Thomas — Mary Weaver. Mary was born 20 Aug 1778, of, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 5 Nov 1845, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Winterbourne Pioneer Methodist Cemetery, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Smith
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-48770