Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Dr. Franz Joseph Wilhelm "William Meissburger[1]

Male 1833 - 1889  (56 years)


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  • Name Franz Joseph Wilhelm "William Meissburger 
    Prefix Dr. 
    Born 4 Sep 1833  Dompfarrei, Freiberg, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3, 4
    Christened 4 Sep 1833  Dompfarrei, Freiberg, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Gender Male 
    Name William Meissburger 
    Residence 1863  Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 5
    Residence 1870  , New York State, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Residence 1880  Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-24795 
    Died 29 Nov 1889  Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Person ID I24795  Generations
    Last Modified 26 Feb 2024 

    Father Joseph Anton Meissburger,   b. CA 1815, of, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Mother Maria Anna Francisca "Anna" Beck,   b. CA 1815, of, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F6271  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Louisa Bindemann,   b. 18 Oct 1842, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 14 Jul 1903  (Age 60 years) 
    Married 4 Jan 1863  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 5
    Last Modified 2 Mar 2024 
    Family ID F6270  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • MEISSBURGER, WILHELM

      Wilhelm Meissburger was an unconventional character who bestowed the benefit of his presence on this community for a short time in the 1860's.

      He was born in 1833 in Freiburg, Baden, Germany and attended &he University in that city. His introduction to the local scene was through the Berliner Journal of January 30, 1862:

      We draw the attention of our readers, especially those in Hamburg, Wilmot, North and South £asthope, &c. , that Dr. Meissburger from Freiburg, Baden has established himself in Hamburg. He has presented 25 authentic documents regarding his medical studies at both the University of Freiburg and Tubingen, beginning with his studies at the high school through to his creditable graduation as a physician. From this evidence it is obvious that Dr. Meissburger is qualified and proficient in all branches of medical and and surgical theory and practice, and from the irrefutable official evidence regarding his qualifications as an educated physician and accoucheur. In addition he is in possession of the sought for necessary legal licence to enable him to practice in Canada. That he is qualified is the decision of the public to make in confidence, and we wish him all the luck in his new field.

      The adulations of this article was certainly a magnificient introduction to his practice at New Hamburg, but. On February 20th his card announced that he was living at the residence of Mr. Michael Morley, in Baden.

      On September 18th. he moved to Waterloo.

      On January 8, 1863 he had moved to the former residence of Dr. Legler, and had married Louisa Bindeman of Berlin.

      The next reference was from Buffalo, reported in the March 30, 1865 issue of the Berliner Journal, and as he had spent some time in Lancaster, his stay in Berlin must have been brief.

      In Buffalo he had a large practice among the Germans of that city, and he was prominent in the Turn Verein, the Orpheus Society and the Saengerbund.

      He put out a medical journal. the Nordamerikanische Deutsch-medicinische Zeitschrift fur Praktisch Heilkunde, and he was an assistant of the publication of Medicinisch-Chirurgisches Correspondenz-Clatt fur Deutsch-Amerikanische Aerzte, which was published in Buffalo.

      The Dumfries Reformer on April 8, 1886 quoted a report from a Buffalo paper that his wife had been granted, a divorce - something practically unheard of at that time.

      He died of a paralytic stroke on November 30, 1889. He was survived by two sons.

      He was however not finished - his will was a sensation widely quoted, and the cause of much derogatory comment in the newspapers of the day:

      My body shall be cremated, as the enclosed receipt of 12 August 1886 states. To this end shall my body be dressed in the clothing which is in the wardrobe in my bedroom marked with the words "my last attire." The funeral shall be as simple and sensible as possible. No cleric (pfaffe), priest, pastor, reverend, rabbi, or however these idlers may be called shall take part or be present. The Buffalo Turnverein shall have the first claim to my ashes. After cremating my body, or rather as soon as my body is laid in the oven, my friends are invited to a lunch to the value of $20 in the Turnhall or another suitable location. On this occasion anyone in the house, or in the crematorium or at the lunch who desires to sing, I beg you, sing only merry songs.


      Doctors in Waterloo County 1852-1925 by Alexander D. Campbell

  • Sources 
    1. [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 08 Jan 1863.
      04 Jan 1863 By Rev. Bindemann, Dr. Wilhelm Meissburger of Waterloo was married to Louisa Bindemann of Berlin.

    2. [S6] Church Records - ON, Waterloo - Bindeman, F. W. - Card Index Kitchener Public Library.
      William Meissurger, aged 29 res Waterloo Vill, born Germany son of Anson Meissburger and Anna Beck married 4 Jan 1863 to Louisa Bindemann aged 20, res Berlin born Berlin daughter of F. W. Bindemann and Caroline Huber.

    3. [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 5 Dec 1889.
      Nov. 29, 1889 Dr. Wm. Meissburger died in Buffalo at age of 56 years; he was a former resident of Berlin & other places in this area.

    4. [S2317] Deutschland Geburten and Taufen - 1558-1898, Franz Joseph Wilhelm Meissburger, 04 Sep 1833; citing ; FHL microfilm 865,530.
      Franz Joseph Wilhelm Meissburger Event Date1833 Gender Male Birth Date 04 Sep 1833 Birth Year 1833 Christening Date 04 Sep 1833 Christening Place DOMPFARREI-KATHOLISCH, FREIBURG, FREIBURG, BADEN Father's Name Joseph Anton Meissburger Mother's Name Maria Anna Bek

    5. [S5] Vit - - ON, Waterloo - 1858-1869 Marriage Register.
      William Meissburger, 29, res. Waterloo village, b. Germany, son of Anton and Ana (Beck), married 4 Jan 1863 Louisa Bindeman, 20, res. Berlin, b/ Berlin, daughter of F W and Caroline (Rube)

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 4 Sep 1833 - Dompfarrei, Freiberg, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsChristened - 4 Sep 1833 - Dompfarrei, Freiberg, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1863 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 4 Jan 1863 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1870 - , New York State, USA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1880 - Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 29 Nov 1889 - Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth