Markham Berczy Settlers Association

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Home Berczy  Families News Newsletter Index Introduction Research Resources	The Berczy Settlers The sixty four settler families from Germany by way of New York State arrived in York (Toronto) in August of 1794 and camped on the Don Flats. Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe promised these settlers free land in a new Township to be called Markham after William Markham, Archbishop of York, England. Unfortunately the Township had not been surveyed so they had to wait until almost Christmas before they got their land. While they waited some of the men helped the Queen's York Rangers open Yonge Street northward to Bond Lake. The settlers took up land east of the newly opened Yonge Street on concessions 2 to 6 in the centre of the township. They were the first settlers. Life was very difficult in the wilderness north of York. They arrived in the winter. They had difficulty getting their land cleared and crops planted during the first several years. The summers were bad and the crops did not grow. Some went to the Niagara Peninsula for one or two winters. They cleared their land, built mills, established communities and created the foundations for what is now the prosperous Town of Markham. Many became very successful farmers and their families live on today. Names like Eckardt, Elson, Summerfeldt, Schmidt, Stiver, Hagerman, Lunau, Quantz, remained prominent well into the last century. German Mills on the Don River became the first industrial centre of Markham with mills, a foundry and possibly a brewery. Communities like Dollar, Headford, Buttonville, Hagerman, Quantztown and Unionville had their roots in this German settlement. The settlers started two Lutheran congregations: St Philips, north of Unionville and St. John's at Buttonville. Some families left the community within the first ten years to ply their skills elsewhere. Some families died out without descendants. In 1994 descendants of 22 families came together in a celebration of 200 years in Markham. This celebration became the Bicentennial Celebration of the Town of Markham. Another celebration was held in 2004. The Markham Berczy Settlers gathered for a research week. For a brief history of the Town of Markham check the town's website. Berczy Settlers - Family Heads with Birth Year and Family Names *  Family Head Birth Year    Family Names  Henry Bauer 1751   Bauer Jacob Boetger   Boetger  John Boye  1744   Boye  Peter Buckendahl 1756   Buckendahl, Buckendale, Buckendail John Henry Buhrmester 1764   Buhrmester, Buhrmeister Frederic Busch     Busch John Dietzmann 1769   Dietzman   John Dubray     Dubray Philipp Eckardt 1764   Eckardt Peter Ernst 1768   Ernst   John Geister  1768   Geister John Gretmann 1770   Gretman  John Haacke 1775   Haacke  Johann Hinrich Hagermann 1751   Hagerman Nicholas Hagermann 1780   Hagerman  Johann Engelhard Helmke 1746   Helmke, Helmka, Helmkay John Frederick Hedrich 1757   Hedrich Christian Henricks     Hendricks, Henrick, Hendricksen, Hendrick Niels Holme 1775   Holm  Peter Holst 1749   Holst, Holtz Nicholas Henry Hubner  1771    Hubner Fredrich Koepke 1782   Koepke  John Kraemer 1750   Kramer, Cramer John Langenhorst 1759   Langhorst  Johann Peter Lindemann 1744   Lindeman Georg Sigmund Liebich 1752   Liebich  Joachim Lunau 1770   Lunau, Luno Balthasar Mundshauer     Munshaw  Jacob Meissner     Misener  Henry Christian Philippsen 1744   Philips, Phillips, Phillipsen  Jochim Pingel 1740   Pingel, Pingle Peter Pining 1764   Pining, Piney Melchior Quantz 1747   Quantz Christian Ritter     Ritter  Marcus Rumohr 1772   Rumohr  John Henry Schmeltzer 1789   Schmeltzer Francis Andrew Schmidt 1764   Smith Christian Schroeder 1744   Schroeder John Schutze 1768    Schutze, Schultz  Daniel Seiffer     Seiffer John Henry Sommerfeldt 1760   Summerfeldt John Christian Spanaus  1763   Spanhouse  Frederick Stamm  1762   Stamm John Steffans 1786   Stephens, Steffens John Nicholas Stoeber  1753   Stiver Henry Tiede 1772   Tiede, Teal, Tiell John Ulsen 1764   Ulsen, Elson Charles Vogel 1773   Vogel, Fogel John Vonnetten  1748   Vannetten Conrad Wagner 1759   Wagner  Frederick Westphalen 1774   Westphal John Gotlieb Wichur 1766    Wichur John George Wunsch 1746   Wunsch, Wonch * Note: Spellings of names will vary on various documents. Many of the names were Anglicised resulting in various spellings by descendants.

Map of Original Location of Settlers

For Berczy Settler Family web sites, check our Research Resources page.

This page last updated July 30, 2007 Copyright Markham Berczy Settlers Association 2001-7

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