John S. Geisel^{[1, 2]}

1867 - 1962  (95 years)

• Name	John S. Geisel
  Born	20 Sep 1867	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  Gender	Male
  Church Membership	St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Elmira, Waterloo Region Ontario   [7]
  Elected Office	Reeve of Woolwich
  Residence	1871	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  	Lutheran
  Occupation	1901	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Farmer
  Occupation	1911	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Farmer
  Residence	1911	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Lutheran
  Occupation	1921	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Farmer
  Residence	1921	Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [8]
  	Lutheran
  Residence	1955	5 Centre St., Elmira, Ontario
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-55553
  Died	13 Dec 1962	Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 7]
  Buried	Elmira Union Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7]
  Person ID	I55553	Generations
  Last Modified	12 May 2024

  
  

  Father	Johannes "John" Geisel,   b. 6 Sep 1840, Reimenrod, , Hessen, Germany ,   d. 17 Dec 1917, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Elisabeth F. Schweitzer,   b. 14 Sep 1843, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 17 Sep 1932, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 89 years)
  Married	11 Aug 1863	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [9, 10]
  Family ID	F14387	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Maryann Koch,   b. 1867, Howick Twp., Huron Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. 22 May 1966, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 99 years)
  Married	Jan 1895  [7]
  Children	1. Nettie Elizabeth Geisel,   b. 25 Oct 1895, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1986  (Age 90 years)   2. Lillie M. Geisel,   b. 6 Apr 1898, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1964, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 65 years)   3. Edward John Geisel,   b. 14 Jan 1901, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Dec 1977, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 76 years)   4. Walter Henry Geisel,   b. Aug 1903, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Oscar George Geisel,   b. Jun 1910, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1988  (Age ~ 77 years)
  Last Modified	13 May 2024
  Family ID	F265057	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John S. Geisel - by Record Staff Writer ELMIRA - John S. Geisel, 95, of Elmira died Thursday at his home after a short illness. Born in Woolwich Township Sept. 20 1867, he was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Geisel Sr. He was a lifelong resident of this district. He farmed near Elmira until he retired in 1945 and moved to Elmira. Mr. Geisel was a lifelong member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Elmira and served on the church council over 20 years. Surviving are his wife, the former Maryann Koch, whom he married in January 1895, three sons, Edward and Oscar of Elmira; Walter of Winterbourne, two daughters, Mrs. Herbert (Nettie) Norris of Waterloo, Mrs. Lillie Ritter of St. Jacobs; one brother, Henry of Elmira; three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Reist of Winterbourne, Mrs. Lavina Schmermund of Elmira, Mrs. Catherine Witter of St. Jacobs; 12 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. One brother and three sisters predeceased him. The body will be at the Dreisinger Funeral Parlor until Sunday at 1 pm when removal will be made to St. Paul's Lutheran Church for memorial service at 2: 30 pm. Rev. Frank Malinsky will officiate. Burial will be in Elmira Cemetery. Kitchener-Waterloo Record 14 Dec 1962 _____________________ John S. Geisel Reminisces On Early Elmira District History The Signet this week is paying tribute to one of the oldest couples still living, and in good health, of Elmira and district. With this issue, we present John S. Geisel, who was born on a farm close to Elmira, and who as a boy of 13 helped to make the logs and foundation blocks which went into the foundation of the West Montrose covered bridge which was started in 1880. Illness of the contractor led to a postponement, but the boy returned in 1882 to see the structure to its completion. It is one of the few covered bridges left in Ontario. His son, Walter, now reeve in Woolwich Township, supervised the repairs to the old bridge earlier this year, and both Mr. and Mrs. Geisel were taken to the site to watch repairs. John S. Geisel was born on a farm owned by his parents in 1867 in Woolwich Township, and here he grew to a youth of 17 before starting out to earn his own living. For more than 51 years he can boast an unbroken record of having farmed in the district. And he retired a successful farmer, in the general sense of the term. Mr. Geisel is a modest man, with an excellent memory. His only boast was that on the evening of marriage the bride and groom danced at a private home, and later, he smoked a last cigar, and decided to quit smoking. He left the burnt end on a window sill in order to make his resolution even more determined. For five days, he related, he restlessly passed that portion of cigar. But he was through with smoking. He then asked this reporter what he would assume a man could save by not spending 10 cents per day every day from the year 1895 when he was married to the present year, 1955. The reporter hazarded a wild guess - and he was solemnly assured, with his wife nodding confirmation, that with accumulated interest the amount saved ran to no less than $5000. It was while doing day labor on a farm that he met his future wife in Elmira, where she was visiting a relative. The year was 1895. Mrs. Geisel is the former Mary Ann Koch of Clifford. The young couple immediately planned to farm on the share-crop tenant basis of the old days. With his bride, who helped clean the house, which was quite old, they moved in. Their landlord by agreement provided cow pasture, wood, and $100 cash annually. They managed fairly well the first year, and in the second Mr. Geisel cleared some seven more acres, using horses to pull out the stumps. When he embarked, in 1906, into his own stock and equipment, the prices he recalls, today, are a true reminder of what farming without the aid of self-propelled machinery could mean. For a good milch cow, he reminisced, "I paid $17, and I think I got a bargain in two heifers, due to freshen in a few weeks, at $10 apiece. I also bought three horses for $100." He also added he bought one bob sleigh, at a sale for $7. In the lie of farm implements, he bought, from his careful savings, a new Harris six-section harrow for $6.00. He considered this a bargain. A binder, also picked up through careful inquiries, was obtained for $3. Mr. Geisel early learned the necessity of public service, and prior to his retirement from farming he had been a school trustee, as well as reeve. When he finally retired, and bought a dwelling in Elmira, he was also close to a church he had served for many years, the last 12 as an elder - St. Paul's Lutheran Church which he helped to build. He could remember that, before his marriage, he would often accept a job cutting wood at 50 cents a day. Sometimes he would enter a wood-cutting contract. He remembers once having a very good partner, and cutting wood at 75 cents for 4 feet cord; and 50 cents for two-foot length cords. With the partners working daily, the average daily cut of the two men averaged four cords. Elmira Signet

  
  

• Sources

  [S2403] News - Unidentified Newspaper Obituary, Obituary of Lillie Geisel - Ritter. [S2403] News - Unidentified Newspaper Obituary, Obituary of Maryann Koch - Geisel. [S148] Census - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - 1901, Woolwich F-4 Page 7. [S130] Census - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - 1881, Div. 2 Page 72. [S348] Census - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - 1911, Div. 15 page 13. [S144] Census - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - 1871, Div. 3, Pg. 72. [S74] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Kitchener-Waterloo Record (1948-1994), Obituary of John S. Geisel - 14 Dec 1962. [S2121] Census - ON, Waterloo, Woolwich - 1921, Sub Dist. 15 Page 1. [S5] Vit - - ON, Waterloo - 1858-1869 Marriage Register. John Geisel Birth Place: Germany RESIDENCE: Woolwich Township Age: 22 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1841 Father Name: John Spouse Name: Elizabeth Schweitzer Spouse's Age: 19 Spouse Estimated Birth Year: abt 1844 Spouse Birth Place: Woolwich Township Spouse Residence: Woolwich Township Spouse Father Name: Philip Spouse Mother Name: Magdalene Frey Marriage Date: 11 Aug 1863 Marriage County: Waterloo [S77] News - ON, Waterloo, Elmira - Elmira Signet (1893-1982), Obituary of John Geisel - 20 Dec 1917.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 20 Sep 1867 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Church Membership - - St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Elmira, Waterloo Region Ontario Residence - Lutheran - 1871 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1901 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1911 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Lutheran - 1911 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Farmer - 1921 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Lutheran - 1921 - Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1955 - 5 Centre St., Elmira, Ontario Died - 13 Dec 1962 - Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Elmira Union Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth