Uphill Both Ways ~ The Shaver Family Moves To Canada

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 5 (SO FAR AWAY)



My husband's X4 great grandmother was Anna Shaver. 

She was born on April 5th 1791 at Oxford, Warren, New Jersey, United States, and died December 13th 1875 at Saltfleet Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. 

Her parents were  John and Margaret (nee Hone) Shaver. 

John William Shaver
BIRTH 4 AUG 1739 • Reinland, Preussen, Black Forest, High, Germany
DEATH 4 AUG 1795 • Ancaster Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
&
Mary Magdalen (Margaret) Hone
BIRTH Abt. 1761 • High Germany
DEATH 27 MAR 1836 • Ancaster Township, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

Margaret's birth name was Mary Magdalene, but she was known as Margaret. She was John's second wife, and they had 9 children. 

John's first marriage was to Katrinka (maiden name unknown), and they had 4 children.
Charity Katrinka (Karinka)
BIRTH Abt. 1739 • Germany
DEATH Abt. 1780 • New Jersey, United States

The Shaver name can be found spelled in many different ways: Schaeffer, Shaeffer, Shaffer, Shafer. 


Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches on Page 578 written by W. H. Lee, Junr. explains the long journey Anna and her family traveled from New Jersey, USA to Ontario, Canada. 

"Anna Shaver Lee, daughter of John and Margaret Shaver, was born in the State of New Jersey, April 5, 1791. When three years old her parents removed to Canada as refugees, walking the entire distance, her father carrying an axe and a bundle of bedclothes, and her mother carried a child six months old, while the oldest child rode on horseback and held Anna before her. They settled in the Township of Ancaster, Wentworth County, and at the time their only neighbors were the Indians and the wild denizens of the forest. They erected a rude hut, and life commenced in earnest. Under such surroundings Anna matured, but after a long, useful and faithful life in the walk of the church she, on December 13, 1875, fell asleep in death, and her remains rest in Stoney Creek Cemetery."  1


Google maps tells us that the walk is 121 hours of straight walking. The Shaver family would have needed to take breaks traveling with small children. They traveled such a long way to their new home in Canada. 

Source: Google Maps

In 1808 at the age of 17 Anna married Samuel Lee. 


William Samuel (Samuel) Lee
BIRTH 25 AUG 1786 • Frederick, Maryland, USA
DEATH 22 AUGUST 1848 • Saltfleet, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

Between the age of 19 and 45 for Anna & 23 and 49 for Samuel they had 16 children. I have found records indicating 15 of their children grew to adulthood. I am unable to find any information for one of their daughters. 


My husband's X3 great grandfather was their 5th born child
William Henry Lee Sr
BIRTH 11 AUG 1814 • Stoney Creek, Wentworth Co., Upper Canada (Ontario)
DEATH 22 OCT 1887 • Northfield, Burford Township, Brant, Ontario, Canada
married to
Phoebe Swayze
BIRTH 26 OCT 1818 • Saltfleet, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 21 JAN 1890 • Burford, Brant, Ontario, Canada






Following ancestors on their long walks to a new home!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Footnotes:

1 Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches, Page 578 W. H. Lee, Junr. 




Sources:

Ancestry.ca, variety of records and trees

Brant County, Ontario, Canada Biographical Sketches, H. Lee, Junr. 

Find-A-Grave, Anna Shaver Lee, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44614706/anna-lee

Geni.com, John William Shaver, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.geni.com/people/John-Shaver/6000000007664116561

Google Maps, Retrieved January 23th 2020 from
https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Oxford+Township,+New+Jersey+07863,+USA/Ancaster,+Hamilton,+ON/@41.5780294,-79.1567871,7.31z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c478670eecb887:0xba1347c2febc4d1c!2m2!1d-74.999813!2d40.8132568!1m5!1m1!1s0x882c889872f6aa3d:0x3accdb9f1bf8d9dc!2m2!1d-79.9872835!2d43.2177791!3e2?hl=en&authuser=0

RootsWeb, Brant County, Ontario Biographical Sketches, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~onbrant/biosbran1.htm

Shavers of Ancaster, Schaeffer, Wilhelm, Retrieved January 24th 2020 from
https://www.shaversofancaster.com/?q=node/150



Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Close Enough To Visit Even After Death ~ Elizabeth Young (nee Slicer) Thomson

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 4 (CLOSE TO HOME)



I grew up with divorced parents. After the divorce my mom moved us far away.  I rarely saw my dad's side of the family. I began asking questions once I was an adult realizing that I didn't know anything about half of my family tree.


Flash forward many years, and my husband and I moved to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. One year when my dad visited from Manitoba he asked if I wanted to visit his granny's grave. I had no idea that I lived so close to where my great grandmother was buried. 


We set off with my two sons, a spray bottle of water, some rags, scissors, and flowers. Dad hadn't been to visit since he was a young teen, but still remembered the area of the cemetery she was buried in. We could have asked for directions from the office, but instead we walked row upon row until we found Elizabeth Y Thomson's marker. It was emotional for me to realize I had heard stories about this grandmother, but this was the first time I had actually visited with her. I had not known that she was close enough for me to visit.

**Elizabeth Young Slicer**

BIRTH 4 AUG 1882 • North Berwick, Haddingtonshire, Scotland

DEATH 24 JUN 1958 • Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

My dad called her Granny. 
She was known as Aunt Lizzie to her nieces and nephews.

My sons and I bringing flowers
visiting my great grandmother's grave site
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

This grave marker rubbing was done in crayon. My grandmother was blind. She had lost her center vision to macular degeneration. Crayon was an ideal medium to use for this rubbing because my grandmother could feel the outlined edges of the headstone. She was able to read her mother's headstone with her fingertips. Had we used any other medium she wouldn't have been able to 'see' her mother's final resting place after so many years living away from British Columbia. My grandmother loved being able to visit her mother's graveside from her home in Manitoba.

Grave Marker rubbing done in crayon

The crayon has held up well. After my grandmother died 15 years ago it was returned to me. Today it appears to be in the same condition it was when I mailed it to her 18 years ago.








Visiting with family even after death!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Sources:

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 3789 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G3M1




Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

The Long Line ~ Van Etten becomes Vannatter

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 3 (LONG LINE)

When I first met my husband he explained that his love of red wine & pasta was genetic since he was Italian through his dad's maternal line.  His great grandfather was Alonzo Vannatter.  I think my husband decided that the Vannatter family was Italian because he thought the name Alonzo was Italian. 

"The name Alonzo is a boy's name of Spanish, Italian origin meaning "noble, ready". You may be surprised to know that Alonzo has been on the Most Popular list since 1880, when such records began to be kept,..." 1

Born Asa Alonzo, but known as Alonzo. On page 88 of the book FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS it's suggested that he was named after Asa Bearss who was one of the original evangelists who shaped the church community that Alonzo would one day lead.  When Alonzo was born in 1901 his parents may have simply chosen the name because they liked it. Alonzo was known as Lonnie to his family.


When I first began researching the Vannatter side of his family tree there was nothing to suggest  they weren't Italian. Using my brand new Ancestry access I tracked back generation by generation using the documents I found. When I arrived to my husband's 5th great grandfather I discovered the name he had been born with was Van Etten, but his children were Vannatter. As I chased this line further up with the newly found name I arrived in Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland).


You should have seen my husband's face when I told him he needed to let go of the red wine, and embrace licorice. Although funny, I do regret telling him since now I have to share my dutch licorice treats. Several years later when he received his DNA results it was confirmed. There was no Italian in his family tree. He still likes red wine & pasta, but now doesn't claim it's due to his heritage.


The Vannatter line was the first family line I was able to research back to the 1600s.  The only reason I haven't gone further back is that I have put this branch of the tree aside to focus on other lines.


 Further down the tree in this long line of Vannatters is my husband's great grandparents: Alonzo & Vera Vannatter.

source: FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS

Asa Alonzo (Lonnie) Vannatter
BIRTH 23 NOV 1901 • Frogmore, Houghton Tp., Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 8 APR 1976 • London, Ontario, Canada

Vera Catharine Williams
BIRTH 27 SEP 1902 • Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
DEATH 25 MAR 1981 • Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada

Alonzo's church:

The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario

When my husband was small he spent quite a bit of time with his great grandparents.

My husband and his great grandfather, 1969
source: FRUIT FROM WOODS AND SANDS

38 years between the two photos.

With his great grandfather's photo, in the lobby of
The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, 2007

Alonzo & Vera's X3 great grandsons in the photo below

X3 great grandsons in front of Alonzo's curch
The Brethren in Christ Church in Frogmore, Ontario, 2007

Tracking the long family lines through a name or spelling change!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
Reverend Alonzo Vannatter ~ Brethren In Christ Church, Frogmore, Ontario
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2019 Week 17 (At Worship)
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/04/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-week-17-at.html




Footnotes:

1 Alonzo, Nameberry,  Retrieved January 15th 2020 from
https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alonzo




Sources:

Brethren In Christ Beginnings, Mennogesprach, Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, September 1989, Vol. 7, No. 2, Retrieved January 15th 2020 from
https://mhso.org/sites/default/files/publications/Mennogesprach7-2.pdf

Fruit from Woods and Sands, The Story of Houghton Missin, Sider, E. Morris and Alonzo Vannatter, Evangel Press, Nappanee, Indiana, Messiah College, Pennsylvania, 1978




Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

All That Was Lost ~ All That Was Gained

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 2 (FAVOURITE PHOTO)


Trying to choose a favourite photo was difficult. 


Choosing what part of my tree the photo came from was not the hard part. I already made my 2020 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks plan. 


This year's blogs will be shared equally on all 4 sides of the tree: my husband's paternal, then my paternal, his maternal, then my maternal. 


Last week was Jacob Buchner, my husband's paternal line. 
This week is my paternal line. 


I was planning to go higher up the tree when I found this gem. 

My brother and I with our dad

This photo was taken not too long before my parents divorced. When I look at this photo I can remember when my family of origin was intact, and all was right in my world.


I clearly remember the combined living room and dining room this photo was taken in. I can feel the green carpet under my feet. I can see the gold floor-to-ceiling curtains on the one wall. I can remember watching Saturday morning cartoons while laying on my tummy on that carpet. This was a time when nothing had changed. Everything was right in my world. My parents were happy. My best friends lived next door. My school was down the street. My dog played in my yard. My cat slept with me every night. My brother's cat slept with him. My brother was a pain following me everywhere. The white picket fence lined the backyard where my toys waited for me.


It wasn't too long after that everything changed. My brother and I moved, with our mom, to the neighbouring province. We lost our dog, our cats, our toys, our friends, our school, our home, and our dad. We saw our dad for a month in the summer, and 2 weeks in the Spring. When I look at this picture I am sad for all that was lost. 


Flash forward a few years from this photo, and my mom married an amazing man who took my brother and I as his own. We now had two dad who loved us, and a baby brother. I was 10 when he was born, and he became my personal baby doll. I wouldn't change anything that happened in the past because then the current would be different. When you change the past you change the future.




Finding my place in my own family story!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***






Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________

Jacob Buchner ~ A FRESH START in Canada

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 1 (FRESH START)

This is my second 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. When I first began the 2019 challenge I wasn't exactly sure what I would do for the whole year. As I begin the 2020 challenge I have more understanding.


My FRESH START begins with a focus on the other side of this Bramble Bush. 


When I first started researching I wanted to make sure that my children grew up knowing where they came from. For this to happen I needed to include both their maternal and paternal side. This is how MY BRAMBLE BUSH FAMILY TREE first got it's roots.


Last year's challenge I included a few weeks focused on my husband's side of the tree. This year I plan to have a more shared focus on both sides. It seems only fair since his side of the tree is more extensively researched. In the early days of research my side of the tree was full of brick walls. It's what happens when you come from a long line of black sheep. Whenever I was frustrated researching my line I would switch to my husband's and feel so successful.


I would like to introduce you to :
Jacob Buchner
Born: May 31st 1763 at Hardwick Township, New Jersey, USA
Died: August 11th 1841 at Woodhouse, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada 

Jacob is my husband's 4th great grandfather via his father's paternal line, AND his 5th great grandfather via his father's maternal line.


This was the first time in my research that I had two ancestral lines intersect. When I was adding my father-in-law's maternal line, and found a name that I was pretty sure I already had in my tree I was startled. In the years since I am no longer surprised when this happens. The moment I think a last name sounds familiar I immediately search my tree to see if I already have this newly found family member in the tree. It's only a matter of time until I find a common relative between my husband and I since we both have solid roots in Ontario.


I don't think you could find a better example of a FRESH START than Jacob Buchner and his wife Catherine Shelar ***
*** sometimes spelled Schular/Shular/Schelar - My chosen spelling is because that is how they spelled their second son's name.
I have not yet found a solid source for Catherine's family. The only facts I have for Catherine are on birth and death documents after marriage. 

 

Jacob's father, John,  left Germany for a FRESH START in the United States. He arrived in New Jersey in 1753. 
Johannes Theis (known as John) Buchner
BIRTH 18 SEP 1729 • Unnau, Westerwald, Hessen, Germany
DEATH 11 SEP 1791 • Hardwick Twp, Sussex, New Jersey, USA

source:  Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement

source: Annals of the Forty, No. 9, Loyalist and Pioneer Families of West Lincoln,

Jacob and his father supported the British in the American Revolution. 

Bold, underlining and italics added below for clarity by the writer. 

"It appears that the oldest brother John Buchner, father of the teenaged “younger group” although advanced in years and continuously resident in New Jersey was also active in the Loyalist cause. His son Jacob referred to him as “John Boughner, Sr., U.E. Loyalist,” in his land petition." 1

"Jacob joined the New Jersey Volunteers in 1780 and served for the rest of the war as a sergeant and guide with the army. He “piloted” several persons from the enemy line to New York, where his regiment was stationed." 1

"Among the sons of the oldest brother John Buchner, the “younger group” Jacob (1762) arrived in 1787 and settled near his cousin Henry on a crown grant of Lot 13, Concession 7, Willoughby Twp., Welland Co. He also had grants of Lots 1 and 2, Concession 2 in neighbouring Crowland Twp. His brother Henry (1758) arrived with Jacob and settled on Lot 1, Concession 4, Crowland Twp., Welland County." 1


Jacob and his brother Henry took the British offer of a FRESH START, and headed to Upper Canada obtaining land grants in what would eventually be Southern Ontario where many Buchner/Boughner families still reside.


Their father chose to stay in the United States, but didn't lose his land. Although he and at least two of his sons were loyalists his son Franklin was a Patriot officer which may have been why John didn't lose his land. The American Revolution divided the Buchner family when some supported the loyalist, others the Patriots, and again when some left for free land in Canada. 

Jacob and his family were very involved with the Methodist Church in Ontario. I have not determined if they were involved with the Methodist Church before their arrival in Ontario.  


In 2018 I attended a Genealogy Conference, and discovered this treasure on a freebie table. There were many similar books on the table, but this one had Jacob Buchner in it.

1804, Jacob serves as a Jurer

Looking through this book I discovered that Jacob had served as a Jurer. 
Further research found that this was one of 14 times Jacob served between 1800 and 1818.


This is my 2020 FRESH START --- it's the the first of 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks.




A FRESH START - how parts of the Bramble Bush rooted in Canada!


This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!










***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1 Buchner-Boughner Family Origins, Mutrie, R Robert, 
https://sites.google.com/site/niagarasettlers/pioneer-lives-2/buchner-Boughner-Familty-Origins

 


Sources:




The United Empire Loyalist Settlement at Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario Historical Society
Papers and Records, VOL. II, Tasker, LH, William Briggs, Toronto, Ontario, 1900
Full text retrieved January 2nd 2020 from
https://ia600301.us.archive.org/0/items/taskunitedempireloya00rich/taskunitedempireloya00rich.pdf

The Woolverton Genealogy Site, The History of the Woolverton family in North America, Retrieved January 3rd 2020 from http://www.woolverton.ca/

Annals of the Forty, No. 9, Loyalist and Pioneer Families of West Lincoln, 1783 to 1833, Sources, Powell, R Janet, Grimsby Historical Society, 1958,
Retrieved January 3rd 2020 from
http://www.woolverton.ca/Sources/1713231.pdf

Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement OR Norfolk's Foundation Builders and their family genealogies, Owen, Egbert Americus, William Briggs, Toronto, Ontario, 1898
Full text retrieved January 2nd 2020 from
https://archive.org/stream/pioneersketcheso00owen/pioneersketcheso00owen_djvu.txt





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

___________________________________________________________