Wilfred Jacob Habel^[1]

1914 - 1999  (85 years)

• Name	Wilfred Jacob Habel
  Born	1914	Tavistock, East Zorra Twp., Oxford County, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1921	33 Chapel St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Residence	1921	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Lutheran
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-322305
  Died	5 Dec 1999
  Buried	New Dundee Union Cemetery, New Dundee, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Person ID	I322305	Generations
  Last Modified	28 Jan 2025

  
  

  Father	John Habel,   b. 1884, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 22 Feb 1966  (Age 82 years)
  Mother	Luella,   b. 1887, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Nov 1976  (Age 89 years)
  Family ID	F243810	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Reta Luella Wagner,   b. 28 Aug 2016, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 11 Nov 1993, RR2, New Hamburg, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Married	22 Dec 1934	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Children	1. John Habel   2. Jeanne Habel   3. Connie Habel   4. Winnefred Habel   5. Gerald Habel,   b. 24 Apr 1944,   d. 11 Aug 2016  (Age 72 years)
  Last Modified	29 Jan 2025
  Family ID	F51683	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Tragedies Among Pioneers Are Told in Old Headstones By Record Staff Writer HAYSVILLE-The story of this district's early settlers is inscribed in weather-beaten marble near here. But there are few readers. The stone tablets are the gravestones in an old, abandoned cemetery in a corner of Wilfred J. Habel's farm. Most of the stones have tumbled or are tilted. On many the carefully chiselled lettering is barely legible. The ground is honey-combed with groundhog holes and knee deep in weeds. The stones tell tales of long for gotten tragedies whole families of small children that died within a short time of each other mothers who died very young. One stone proclaims proudly that the deceased was born in Scotland. Nearby is another that wants all viewers to realize that beneath it lies an Irishman. A third stone declares in still larger letters that this man was born right here in Canada. The names are a directory of this district's pioneers. There are Somervilles, Gilmours, Hayes, Livergoods. Other names include Guthrie, Melrose, Johnston, Laird Battler, Anderson, Woods. Mr. Habel's 200-acre farm was purchased from the Canada Company by Samuel Johnston in 1840 for 10 Guineas ($29.40). The present owner bought it from Fred Walker in 1954. First mention of the cemetery is in a mortgage made out in 1874. It specifies that a half-acre of the farm is dedicated for use as a burial ground, for use of people of any denomination except Catholics. Samuel Johnston's brother, owner of the adjoing farm, gave a similar half-acre, so the cemetery comprises an acre in all. It was a cemetery long before 1874, the stones indicate. A James Nixon, born 1799, was buried there in 1848. Samuel himself, and others of his family, are buried there. No one is quite sure who owns the cemetery now, Mr. Habel said. And except for some township spraying with chemicals to kill the brush, no one looks after it. He would like to see descendents of these pioneers, or people with similar names, organize a drive to renovate the old burial place. It could be a beauty spot. Those long-forgotten settlers deserve to have their memory preserved and their last resting place protected, he believes. Kitchener-Waterloo Record Thu, Jul 30, 1959 Page 3

  
  

• Sources

  [S2556] News - ON, Waterloo, Ayr - Ayr News (1897- ), Obituary of Reta Wagner - Habel - 17 Nov 1933, pg 14. [S2264] Census - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - 1921, Sub Dist. 30 Page 13. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Wilfred Jacob Habel Gender:Male Age:20 Birth Year:abt 1914 Birth Place:Tavistock, Ontario Residence:33 Chapel St., Kitchener Marriage Date:22 Dec 1934 Marriage Place:Kitchener, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father:John Habel Mother:Luella Habel Spouse:Reta Luella Wagner 18 b. Waterloo, Ontario d/o Charles Wagner & Laura Prong

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1914 - Tavistock, East Zorra Twp., Oxford County, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1921 - 33 Chapel St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Lutheran - 1921 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 22 Dec 1934 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - New Dundee Union Cemetery, New Dundee, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth