Phineas Varnum^[1]

1802 - 1887  (84 years)

• Name	Phineas Varnum
  Born	31 Mar 1802	Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States   [2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Historic Building	1820	near Walper Hotel, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Blacksmith and Tavern [catagory: hotel keeper, inn keeper, tavern keeper]
  	The exact location is unknown but is said to be in the neighbourhood of 15 King St. East, Kitchener, Ontario near the Walper Hotel.
  Interesting	pioneer, story
  Residence	1840	Lyons, Ionia, Michigan, United States   [5]
  Residence	1842	Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA
  	Petit Jurors: Benjamin Harter, Royal Howell, Stephen F. Page, M. V. Olmstead, John Berry, Levi Ferguson, Oliver Dean, Franklin Chubb, Abner Rosecranz, Samuel E. Stoughton, Handel Beals, Phineas Varnum, William W. Edminster. "History of Ionia & Montcalm Counties, Michigan . . ." by John S. Schenck, Philadelphia, Pa., D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881; transcribed by Genealogy Trails Transcription Team
  Occupation	1850	Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA   [2]
  	farmer
  Occupation	1860	Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA   [4]
  	farmer
  Occupation	1880	Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA   [6]
  	farmer
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-70806
  Died	1887	, Michigan, USA
  Person ID	I70806	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Colonel Prescott Varnum,   b. 16 Mar 1769, Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States ,   d. 23 Oct 1843, Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States  (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth "Betsy" MacAllister,   b. 20 May 1770, Londonderry, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States ,   d. 4 Jul 1810, Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States  (Age 40 years)
  Family ID	F56477	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Cynthia Bunnell,   b. 1801, , Connecticut, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	16 Oct 1837	, Ionia Co., Michigan   [7]
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F56478	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Clarissa,   b. 1814, , New York State, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F56480	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  A Blacksmith Shop and Tavern Shortly after the Schneiders had moved into their new home a stranger, Phineas Varnum, pulled their latchstring. He wanted to buy a parcel of land on which to run up a blacksmith shop and roadhouse. On amount of the toil spent in clearing his land, Pioneer Schneider was averse to selling any part of it. Yet after pondering the value of a smithy to the settlement, he leased Varnum a site in West King Street, near. the Walper House corner. Varnum, built his shop and tavern between 1820 and 1824 and, as the story goes, plied his callings them until the early eighteen-thirties. The saw-mill and the smithy were the first stirrings of urban life in the city. A History of Kitchener, W. V. (Ben) Uttley, Kitchener, Ontario 1937 pg 18 _________________________________ ....Schneider was an active figure among the Mennonite settlers and, with Eby, is often regarded as a founder of Kitchener. He helped open the first local road, which ran from his farmstead to the Dundas road and was known as Schneider's road until the 1870s. In 1808-9 he and four other heads of families hired a teacher to open the first school in the area. He was involved four years later in the building of the first Mennonite meeting-house, headed by Eby; in 1834 Schneider participated in the construction of a new church. Perhaps as early as 1816 he had built a sawmill on what is still known as Schneider's Creek, and in the 1820s a blacksmith shop and tavern were erected by Phineas Varnum on land leased from Schneider. Together these enterprises formed the commercial nucleus of the developing village, known variously as Sand Hills, Ebytown, and, later, Berlin. In 1835 Schneider strongly supported the establishment of its first newspaper, Heinrich Wilhelm Peterson*'s Canada Museum, und Allgemeine Zeitung, of which he was a stockholder..... Biography * SCHNEIDER, JOSEPH '96 Volume VII (1836-1850) - Dictionary of Canadian Biography. (2018). Biographi.ca. Retrieved 29 November 2018, from https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/schneider_joseph_7E.html ______________ In 1830 the village centre was established by Phineas Varnum who, by permission of Joseph Schneider, started a blacksmith shop on the site of the present Walper House. A moderately sized house, 35' by 25', about 40' southwest of the blacksmith shop, was used as a tavern. Reminiscences of Berlin (Now Kitchener) by Jacob Stroh contributed by Joseph M. Snyder Waterloo Historical Society ___________________ Queen Street South, West Side. A frame [log] 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 ___________________ Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and BuildingsThe first settlers in Waterloo Township had large farms, four hundred acres and over, the lot sub-divisions of the German Company Tract. Joseph Schneider settled on Queen Street South, Bishop Benjamin Eby at the south-east side , Abram Weber on the corner of King and Wilmot Streets and David Weber in the neighborhood of the later Grand Trunk Railway station. After the railway was built David Weber moved to Weber Street, named after him, to a location opposite the present Zion Church. Samuel Schneider and Elias Schneider settled in Waterloo. John Brubacher arrived from Pennsylvania in 1816 and took up his lot of the German Company Tract which was in the district of the County House of Refuge. Throughout the county here and there little settlements consisting of a few houses, a blacksmith shop, perhaps a tavern and probably a cooper shop and weaver shop, began to appear. Only those settlements which had possible water-powers had any hope of growing to villages or towns. Preston, Galt, Bridgeport and Waterloo were in this class. For a long time the vicinity of Berlin was known as the the sand-hills. In the locality where the hospital and Collegiate Institute now stand were hills over which loaded wagons could hardly be drawn. On a windy day the sand would form ridges. There was a troublesome sand-hill from Queen Street eastward on Church and another one at the corner of King and Frederick Streets. This latter was cut down about eight or nine feet to the level of the cellar floors, some time after the first buildings had been erected. The easterly part of the settlement was known as Ben Eby's. Queen Street South was the Schneider road. 1830 the village centre was established by Phineas Varnum who, by permission of Joseph Schneider, started a blacksmith shop on the site of the present Walper House. A moderately sized house, 35' by 25', about 40' southwest of the blacksmith shop, was used as a tavern. In the same year the first store in the settlement was opened by William, David and Frederick Miller on the site of the present Post Office, There were few houses in the hamlet until a number of immigrants arrived directly from Germany, after 1820. John Eby, druggist and chemist, who had his shop a little west of the present Eby Street, related that when immigrants arrived it was the custom, such was the scarcity of buildings, to form a "bee" including farmers and villagers, to erect log houses for the new-comers. A number of these primitive dwellings were in the locality of the present Post Office. It is related that after one of these bees, the company being assembled in Varnum's blacksmith shop or tavern, the proposal was made that the hamlet should be given a name and someone suggested Berlin in honor of the German immigrants. The suggestion was joyously received. Jacob Stroh's mother, adopted in 1827 by Abram Weber when she was three years old, often told Mr. Stroh of her remembrance of the day when Mr. Weber, who had assisted at the bee, came home and told how the little hamlet had that day received the name of Berlin. This occurred probably in 1833. Mr. Stroh has a document dated 1833 in which Berlin first appears as the name of the hamlet. H. W. Peterson, publisher of the "Canada Museum", the first newspaper in the county, from 1835-1840, is authority that in 1835 there were only 25 dwellings in the place. King Street, Queen Street and Frederick Street, being the main entrances from the surrounding country, were from the beginning the principal streets of the village. These streets are not normal with points of the compass. King Street changes direction several times. At the C.N.R. crossing its direction is about northwest, at an angle with the railway of about 45 degrees. It keeps on turning and finally in the main part of Waterloo it runs due north and south. Queen Street and Frederick Street are approximately at right angles to King Street. Conventionally King Street is called east and west from Queen Street, and Queen Street north and south from King Street. Particulars of the buildings and occupants for these streets follow: 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

  
  

• Sources

  [S552] Book - A History of Kitchener, Ontario, pg 17. [S2456] Census - U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1850 7th Census, Census Place: Ionia, Ionia, Michigan; Roll: M432_352; Page: 167B; Image: 95. Phineas Varnum 48, b. Massachsetts - farmer Cynthias 48 b. Conn. Prescott 12 b. Michigan George 10 Phias 6 [S2409] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988. Phinehas Varnum Birth Date31 Mar 1802 Birth PlaceDracut, Massachusetts Father Name Prescot Varnum Mother Name Elisabeth [S1635] Census - U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1860 8th Census, Census Place: Ionia, Ionia, Michigan; Roll: M653_546; Page: 618; Family History Library Film: 803546. Phinieas Varnum 58 b. Massachusetts - farmer Cynthia 58 b. Connecticut Phineas 16 Michigan [S2729] Census - U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1840 6th Census, Census - U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1840 6th Census. Phineas Varnum male children under 5 - 2 male under 40 - 1 female under 49 - 1 [S1639] Census - U.S. Census Population Schedule, 1880 10th Census, Census Place: Ionia, Ionia, Michigan; Roll: 583; Page: 117A; Enumeration District: 094. Phineas Varnum 77, b. Mass farmer Clarissa 65 b. New York [S1945] Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCRH-Q5R : 10 February 2018), Phineas Varnum and Cynthia Bunnell, 16 Oct 1837; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 960,508. Phineas Varnum to Cynthia Bunner Ionia County, Received for record This is to certify that on the sixteenth day of Oct. 1837 Phineas Varnum and Cynthia Bunnell both of the Town of Maple were lawfully married by me. Franklin Chubb Justice of the Peace

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 31 Mar 1802 - Dracut, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States Historic Building - Blacksmith and Tavern [catagory: hotel keeper, inn keeper, tavern keeper] - 1820 - near Walper Hotel, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 16 Oct 1837 - , Ionia Co., Michigan Residence - 1840 - Lyons, Ionia, Michigan, United States Residence - 1842 - Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA Occupation - farmer - 1850 - Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA Occupation - farmer - 1860 - Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA Occupation - farmer - 1880 - Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, USA Died - 1887 - , Michigan, USA  = Link to Google Earth