01 August 2017

Mennonites In Welland County


From The Early History of the Mennonites in Welland County, Ontario:

"That Mennonites were early settlers in Canada is shown by the "Memorial of the Inhabitants at Sugar Loaf" which states that near 100 families are now settled in that quarter (round the point called Sugar Loaf above Fort Erie) on lands not yet surveyed subject from this circumstance to the many inconveniences attending their situation, particularly to disputes about Limits and Encroachments the one on the other."

Was our Mary (MNU) Howard one of them?  Mary, who was born in Canada circa 1791, was of German ethnicity according to the 1871 census.  

When and where did Mary meet her husband, William Howard?  William's mother is tentatively identified as Martha Howard.  If that relationship is correct, Martha Howard, who had property near Fort Erie, may have known Mary's family (if that was where Mary once lived).  In a 1792 petition it was stated that "six years ago she was in possession of Lot No. 7, Fort Erie Township...".  Martha was living near Detroit when the petition was submitted; were there ethnic Germans in the Detroit area?

William and Mary Howard were residents of Grimsby, Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada, for most of their lives.





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