German Immigration to the Ottawa, Canada, area in the 1800's
November 29, 2004:
I wish to offer another genealogical topic of interest. Germans to Ottawa.
Many of us with German ancestry have deep roots in Ottawa and the Ottawa area.
The formation of many of the Lutheran churches in the region are a testimony to the strong religious, work and family ethics
that our early relations brought to this area.
My earliest ancestors to this region were Ernst Schinzel and his wife Johanna (geb. Krautwurst).
Ernst and Johanna came to Ottawa about 1868 from the town of Geiersthal, district Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, state of Thuringia.
Ernst's occupation was that of a porcelain painter. Their was a large porcelain industry in this district of Thuringia.
In Ottawa he (like many hard working Germans), became a General Labourer who built many of the roads in the
newly formed Capital of Canada. Ernst's name is mentioned in the early town hall minutes as a 'builder of roads'.
Ernst and Johanna arrived in Canada with their four children. Emma (my Great-Grandmother),Ludwig,Edward and Otto.
My next ancestors to arrive were the Kalff family from the state of Stolp, Pommern, Prussia.
Frederick Kalff arrived in Ottawa via the U.S. (they arrived in New York on 24 April 1872 and eventually settled in
Ottawa around 1874).
Joining Frederick includes his mother Wilhelmina Kalff, his sister Charlotte Scheik (geb.Kalff) and her husband Carl
Scheik. The exact date of when they arrived in Ottawa is not known, but both Carl Scheik and Frederick Kalff are listed as
attending an organizational meeting to constitute St. Paul's Lutheran church (located corner of Wilbrod and King Edward)
on 14 November 1874. This meeting was held at the home of Heinrich Haul on Cumberland Street in Ottawa.
The last of my relations to arrive from Germany came almost 20 years later when the Pollex family came to Ottawa from the town of
Wobesde, district of Stolp, state of Pommern, Prussia.
August Pollex and his wife Auguste (geb. Eick) came to Canada aboard the ship "Kaiser". Their departure date was 10 April 1891.
Auguste was pregnant with my Grandmother Alma Pollex at the time of their voyage. (she was born 23 July 1891)
They made their journey with five children: Otto, Franz, Emma, August and Bertha.
The Kalff's,Pollex's and Schinzel's were also involved in the establishment of two other Lutheran churches.
St. John's Lutheran church and St.Luke's (earlier known as St.Lucas) Lutheran church, both located in their neighbourhood
of New Edinburgh where many German families settled in the 19th Century.
I encourage everyone with German heritage to contribute their family history to this web-site.
The following records are taken from the 1881 Census of Carleton County
St George's Ward, Ottawa, Carleton, Ontario, Canada (and other wards in Ottawa)
Source: FHL Film 1375866 NAC C-13230 (www.familysearch.org)
City of Ottawa, 1881 -- Persons born in Germany
Note: By 1881 there were many German families in the neighbouring
townships of Nepean, Gloucester and Osgoode
also, by the 1850's, many German families settled in Renfrew County in Ontario and
east of Buckingham, Quebec
ARNOLD, Hugo 1856 M German Bir: Germany
BEAMER, Mary 1864 F German Bir: Germany
BEOXE, Cathrine 1805 F German Bir: Germany
BLANKEVILLE, Ann 1861 F German Bir: Germany
CANOPE, Handree 1849 M German Bir: Germany
CANOPE, Augusta 1850 F German Bir: Germany
DENLSEH, Charles 1858 M German Bir: Germany
FEHR, Karl 1837 M German Bir: Germany
PHILION, Delima 1851 F German Bir: Germany
March 2, 2011:
FINK, Jacob 1821 M German Bir: Germany (Austria) - See the Jacob Fink page for more info and pictures
FRAMPKI, Matilda 1861 F German Bir: Germany
FRAUCKE, Amanda 1863 F German Bir: Germany
FREDERICK, Theo. 1834 M German Bir: Germany
FREUDENBERG, Egbert 1837 M German Bir: Germany
GABELL, Edward 1848 M German Bir: Germany
GABELL, Charlotte 1856 F German Bir: Germany
GAULIN, Anna Louise 1834 F German Bir: Germany
GELHANSAN, Peter 1837 M German Bir: Germany
HAUSER, A. 1831 M German Bir: Germany
HEINRICHS, Peter F. 1842 M German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Caroline 1812 F German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Wm. 1812 M German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Fredericka 1831 F German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Frederick 1833 M German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Augusta 1860 F German Bir: Germany
HOPP, Henri 1861 M German Bir: Germany
HOWL, Henry 1832 M German Bir: Germany
HOWL, Sophia 1841 F German Bir: Germany
HOWELL, August 1859 M German Bir: Germany
HOWELL, Henry P. 1862 M German Bir: Germ
HOWELL, Sophia 1865 F German Bir: Germany
JORES, Madehaen 1832 F German Bir: Germany
JORES, Catherine 1868 F German Bir: Germany
MCKENNA, Catherine 1826 F German Bir: Germany
KIRK, Johanna 1863 F German Bir: Germany
KNAUP, Henry 1847 M German Bir: Germany
KNAUP, Henreatta 1852 F German Bir: Germany
KUTSHKE, William 1839 M German Bir: Germany
KUTSHKE, Henrietta 1842 F German Bir: Germany
KUTSHKE, Henry 1859 M German Bir: Germany
LAPPE, Ferdinand 1841 M German Bir: Germany
MARKS, Nathen 1835 M German Bir: Germany
MAY, Augusta 1834 F German Bir: Germany
MAY, Henry 1834 M German Bir: Germany
MAY, Charles 1861 M German Bir: Germany
MAY, Martha 1865 F German Bir: Germany
MAY, Eda 1867 F German Bir: Germany
MAASS, Charles 1853 M German Bir: Germany
MAASS, Emma 1853 F German Bir: Germany
MOSS, Alvina 1836 F German Bir: Germany
MOSS, Hermane 1839 M German Bir: Germany
MOSS, Adolph 1863 M German Bir: Germany
NESS, Theodore 1835> M German Bir: Germ
NESS, Augusta 1836 F German Bir: Germ
NESS, J.Henry 1863 M German Bir: Germ
NESS, Herman 1866 M German Bir: Germ
NESS, Theodore 1868 M German Bir: Germ
NESS, Rudolphini 1872 F German Bir: Germ
POTTER, H. 1817 M German Bir: Germ
POWERS, George 1827 M German Bir: Germ
PRANOCKE, Haenre 1809 F German Bir: Germ
PRANOCKE, Charles 1839 M German Bir: Germ
PUSLINGL, Dominieque 1843 M German Bir: Germ
RHODE, Minnie 1831 F German Bir: Germ
RHODE, William 1836 M German Bir: Germ
RHODE, Alman 1866 M German Bir: Germ
RHODE, Minnie 1873 F German Bir: Germ
ROASKA, August 1849 M German Bir: Germ
ROASKA, Henrietta 1851 F German Bir: Germ
ROSANTHAL, Aaron 1834 M German Bir: Germ
ROSANTHAL, Bertha 1852 F German Bir: Germ
ROUS, Catherine 1836 F German Bir: Germ
ROUS, John 1836 M German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, J.H. 1831 M German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, Mary 1833 F German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, Frank 1859 M German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, Emily 1860 F German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, Henry 1862 M German Bir: Germ
RUMPF, Godlipe 1866 M German Bir: Germ
RYER, Emily 1847 F English Bir: Germ
STEGURT, Albert 1840 M German Bir: Germ
STEGURT, Ann 1858 F German Bir: Germ
STREAMER, Rudolph 1830 M German Bir: Germ
STREAMER, Fredreeka 1837 F German Bir: Germ
STREAMER, Albert 1860 M German Bir: Germ
STREAMER, August 1867 M German Bir: Germ
STUART, Bertha 1845 F German Bir: Germ
TESKERS, Stephen 1842 M German Bir: Germ
THIMM, Celestine 1868 F German Bir: Germ
THORBAHN, Hermon 1840 M German Bir: Germ
TAEGAR, Christian 1826 M German Bir: Germ
TAEGAR, Anne 1839 F German Bir: Germ
VILLEY, Antilina 1850 F German Bir: Germ
VILLEY, Chiniea 1855 M German Bir: Germ
VILLEY, Charles 1875 M German Bir: Germ
VILLEY, Anne 1876 F German Bir: Germ
VILLEY, Owen 1879 M German Bir: Germ
WENDT, John 1860 M German Bir: Germ
WENT, William 1867 M German Bir: Germ
WISSMAN, Henri 1841 M German Bir: Germ
WOLFE, Anstenre 1828 F German Bir: Germ
WOLFE, Charles 1835 M German Bir: Germ
YALARNEAIS, Baptiste 1829 M German Bir: Germ
December 29, 2004:
Thanks to Lynn for the following:
There were quite a number of German families in the Mulgrave & Derry area, (east of Buckingham, Quebec) I believe from
the 1850s or so. A very good reference book is "Olden Days: A History of German Settlement in the Township of Mulgrave-Derry,
Quebec, 1850-1890" by Alice Biehler Burich, 1990.
It's primarily a history of the area, but she does include family groups. Apparently when my gg-grandmother, Philomene
Laplante, died about 1902, the local German ladies looked after the household and children for a time.
I have a copy of the book, if ever you might need info on the German families in Mulgrave & Derry.
April 11, 2005:
Johann Samuel Schwerdtfeger, UEL, Lutheran Minister
Hello Jeanette. Because I am only quite distantly related to the Fitzpatrick family, and also because other people like Ken Armstrong
have so much more info. on them I haven't chimed in this conversation so far....
But your recent note DID get my interest up. I am also quite distantly related to the Swerdfager family, from around the Morrisburg and
Cardinal areas. A distant cousin in Texas tells me that his mother was a Swerdfager, proudly descended from a gent who he calls one of
the first Lutheran ministers in Canada. That minister's headstone survives in the old cemetery at Upper Canada Village. I saw the stone
a few years ago, though I have no details on his exact name.
Is your friend a descendant of that line? Thanks.
We have a copy of the "Memoirs of Reverend J. Samuel Schwerdtfeger", written by his GreatGranddaughter in 1961.
He was born in Bavaria in 1734, travelled to Baltimore, Maryland, USA and later to Pennsylvania.
He was a United Empire Loyalist (UEL), set up the first Protestant Church in Upper Canada in 1789 and was known as
"The Saint of the St. Lawrence".
I'll add the details of the book (publisher, etc.) so researchers will know of its existence.
Thanks for this.
August 17, 2007:
Marlene O'Neil is researching her ROMHILD ancestors in Ottawa and Renfrew County. She has sent in a photograph
of the 1910 Rideau League Baseball Champs.
December 28, 2007:
Yes, you may add my e-mail to your web site for other researchers. I am presently searching for more information on German immigrants
with the surnames Noffke, Maihack, Tubbe, Neumann, & Bluhm (or Bloom).
February 5, 2009:
Tips for Finding Your German Immigrant Ancestor's Hometown in Germany
Table Source: Destination: Ottawa Valley, page 85
February 4, 2011:
I have just discovered 2 terrific books regarding Immigration from Germany to the Ottawa Valley starting about 1850:
1. Destination: Ottawa Valley, by Peter Hessel, Runge Press Limited, Ottawa, 1984.
2. Olden Days: A History of the German Settlement in the Township of Mulgrave - Derry, Quebec, 1850-1890,
by Alice Biehler Burich, Chesley House Publications, 1990, IBSN 0-9693580-2-4 (mentioned above)
Here's a third book, available at the OGS Library:
3. German Immigration and Assimilation in Ontario, 1783-1918, by Werner Bausenhart, ISBN 0-921252-10-2.
4. See posting on this page, dated April 25, 2013 for Thomas Carkner's new book Ottawa Germania - Founding Families
The Township of Mulgrave and Derry was pretty much controlled by the Lumber Baron, W.C. Edwards. The German settlers who
mainly arrived in the 1880's asked him to donate some land for a new Lutheran Church. Mr. Edwards refused on the grounds
that there was already a Protestant Church and a Catholic Church in the neighbourhood. Accordingly, the German families
erected their own church, St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran on land donated by John Adam Biehler. The records for this
church are available from the Archives of the Government of Quebec in Hull (now Gatineau), Quebec.
St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mulgrave - Derry, Quebec
Photo Source: Olden Days (above), page 33
A sample of German Immigrants to Mulgrave and Derry Township, Quebec, Canada, in the 1800's
Source: Olden Days (above), pages 140 and 141
February 7, 2011:
Albert Clemenhagen, c. 1940
Photo Source: Source: Olden Days (above), page 67
February 25, 2011:
John MIDDLESTEDT / MIDDLESTATE and Appolonia Von ARNDT came from Germany to the Mayo, Quebec, area, in the 1860's.
March 19, 2012:
Karen is researching her Mielke family in Mulgrave and Derry Township.
April 25, 2013:
I know some of you have a copy of my book "Ottawa Germania" published
about 2002. I have recently released a second edition of the book with
an additional four chapters - approximately 60 additional pages of
In addition I have also recently completed a second book called " Ottawa
Germania - Founding Families" which is a collection of genealogical
information that has accumulated during my research on the history of
the Ottawa German community. A new web page is now available containing
much of the basic information in this book and can be accessed by going
to the following URL:
Thomas W. Carkner
Note: Bytown or Bust has a copy of both CDs in our Library. The Library of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society also have copies.
October 23, 2013:
Here is an excerpt from the interesting book 80 Years in the Life of an Algoma Farmer by Russell Beilhartz.
This book can be found in the Library of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
Keywords: Hamburg, Germany, Michael Beilhartz, John Ploski, stone mason, Janeville, Eastview, Thurso, Quebec.
May 18, 2016:
Some Lutheran Church Cemetery Transcriptions in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada
At the Library of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society
First Lutheran Cemetery, Palmer Rapids, Concession 17, Lot 23, Raglan Township, Renfrew County.
The most common surnames in this cemetery are LENTZ, BIMM, BOEHME, PILGRIM, WASMUND, KLATT, LIDKIE / LIDTKIE / LIEDTKIE.
Search their library catalogue.
E-mail Steven Pusiak, Brenda Turner, Mildred, Marlene O'Neil, Thomas Carkner and Allan Lewis
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