David W. Gingrich^[1]

1829 - 1913  (84 years)

• Name	David W. Gingrich
  Born	1829	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Name	D. W. Gingrich
  Occupation	1861	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Arch. & Carpet
  Occupation	1871	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Architect
  Residence	1871	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	United Brethren
  Occupation	1877	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Architect & Draughtsman
  		Gingrich,D.W.-Architect-1877.jpg The County of Waterloo Gazetteer and Directory for 1877-78. Published by Armstrong & Co., Toronto, Ontario 1878
  Occupation	1881	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Architect
  Residence	1881	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Evangelical
  Eby ID Number	00039-3092
  Died	15 Feb 1913	, Wisconsin, USA   [5]
  Buried	Adam County Farm Cemetery, Big Spring, Adams, Wisconsin, United States   [5]
  Person ID	I5667	Generations
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	Michael Groh Gingrich,   b. 13 Mar 1802, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 May 1866, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 64 years)
  Mother	Mary M. Wanner,   b. 2 Nov 1806, , Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 21 Feb 1886, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F1744	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Catherine Hoffman,   b. Dec 1829, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 16 Oct 1911, Easton, Adams, Wisconsin, United States  (Age ~ 81 years)
  Children	1. Allan Gingrich,   b. 1857, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   2. Richard Gingrich,   b. 13 Nov 1866, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 30 Jan 1944, Decatur, DeKalb, Georgia, United States  (Age 77 years)   3. Phoebe Gingrich,   b. Feb 1868, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 23 Dec 1900, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States  (Age ~ 32 years)   4. David Albert Gingrich,   b. 29 May 1870, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	4 Mar 2025
  Family ID	F1747	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  David Gingerich, "an architect and builder, is married to Catharine Hoffmann. Formerly he resided in Waterloo but at present he resides in Dayton, Ohio. Their family consists of four 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.]. _________________________ WHO BUILT THE GOVERNOR'S HOUSE By Patricia Wagner After the creation of Waterloo County on May 3, 1852, the province required construction of a court house and gaol (jail) to administer justice. Dr John Scott, the new county warden, advertised for submissions for the project. On June 4, county bylaw no. 2 awarded the jail contract to Mellish and Russell, architects in Brantford; the cost was not to exceed 4,875. The building reached completion by December 21, 1852. Apparently the firm designed no other localbuildings. By the early 1860s, the wooden walls around the jail yard had given way to a stone wall 14 feet high. The stone came from farmers' fields. Crowded quarters and the need for repairs led the county property committee to advertise in January 1878 for tenders for alterations to the jail. By June, the county accepted a tender from Henry Braun, a local builder, for $5,225 and named David W. Gingerich to supervise the work in return for five percent of the fee. Alterations were complete by December. This addition was the jailer's residence, or Governor's House. David Gingerich was the great-grandson of Abraham Gingerich and Barbara Hunsicker (or Huntsicker), who came from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1801 and settled on Beasley's Lower Block 5W, Waterloo Township. David married Catherine Hoffman, and they had four children: Allan, Richard, Phoebe, and Albert. He had an office in Waterloo. There has been no research on his life, but his architectural legacy is impressive. David Gingerich signed a petition in 1888 to erect a new Waterloo Township Hall. He designed the old Waterloo City Hall; the former Dominion Life building on Erb Street, Waterloo; the New Hamburg Public School (1874--1958); and Castle Kilbride in Baden in 1877--78. In Elmira, the building committee of Gale Presbyterian Church in 1885 accepted Hiram Walker's tender to construct the place of worship. Gingerich appeared before the committee at the last moment and presented new plans and specifications, which represented minor changes, and the committee adopted them. The structure opened on October 18, 1868. Gingerich had a close relationship with the tanner Louis Breithaupt in neighbouring Berlin (Kitchener). When fire destroyed the Breithaupt Tannery on Adam Street in December 1870, the two men sat down at Breithaupt's kitchen table to make plans for its replacement. Gingerich designed two houses in Berlin where Louis and his eldest child lived: Louis Breithaupt and Catharine Hailer's Waldeck (c. 1870 - now demolished), at 166 Adam Street, and Louis Jacob Breithaupt and Emma Devitt's Sonneck (1874), at 108 Queen Street North. The County Court House was demolished in 1964, and the jail (the oldest county building still standing in the Region of Waterloo) and Governor's House closed formally in 1978. In May 1981, Kitchener designated the buildings' exteriors under the Ontario Heritage Act. The structures stood empty until the Region of Waterloo in 1999 approved redevelopment of them as a millennium project. More historical research might uncover Gingerich's contributions to the region's built heritage. The author and her colleagues in the Friends of the Governor's House and Gaol would be happy to receive additional information about Gingerich, especially about the buildings that he designed and built. The Friends' major project has been the Waterloo County Gaol Garden (a millennium project), which landscape architect Wendy Shearer designed. Visitors are welcome. The Governor's House and Gaol has been a feature of Doors Open since that annual event began. Be sure to visit it on September 15. Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, North Waterloo Region Branch, Newsletter, May 2007 Friends of the Governor's House and Gaol ________________________ Gingrich, D. W., architect and draughtsman. Plans and specifications prepared for bridges, churches, &c. Was born in the county, 1829. Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo, H. Parsel & Co., Toronto - 1881 (Waterloo entries)

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Book - Vol I 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..., 681. [S302] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo City - 1881, Waterloo Village 1881 Div. 1 Page 17. [S1885] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo City - 1861, Waterloo 1861 Dist. 2 Page 14. [S2658] aaaaWaterloo Village 1871, Sect. 2 Page 22. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27352239/david-w-gingrich.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1829 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Arch. & Carpet - 1861 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Architect - 1871 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - United Brethren - 1871 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Architect & Draughtsman - 1877 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Architect - 1881 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Evangelical - 1881 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 15 Feb 1913 - , Wisconsin, USA Buried - - Adam County Farm Cemetery, Big Spring, Adams, Wisconsin, United States  = Link to Google Earth