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/

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