Schierholz
Introduction
The Schierholz Family described in this genealogy can be traced back to Johann Karl Schierholtz and his son Johann George Schierholtz in Schweinsburg, Germany prior to 1702.
History
From the 1700′s through to the 1800′s, the family lived in a small area within Hesse-Darmstadt.
Our branch
The Peter Schierholtz family lived in Nieder Ofleiden in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. Nieder Ofleiden was located approximately 77 km north of Frankfurt and just a few km from Schweinsburg. The family consisted of the father Peter Schierholtz, his wife Anna Elizabeth Krug and their four children: Johann Heinrich, Heinrich (Henry), Margaretha and Elizabeth. Four additional children were stillborn and two others died in infancy. Peter died in Germany on December 9,1829.
The second son Henry, a weaver by trade, was born on December 7,1812 and was the first member of this Schierholtz family to emigrate from Germany to North America. Embarking from the port of Bremen on the ship St. Lawrence (Thomas G. Bunker, Captain), he arrived at the port of New York on August 20,1837. Proceeding north, Henry entered Canada about September 11,1837 and settling in the town of New Hamburg, Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, Ontario. After the mandatory seven year residency requirement he was registered as a naturalized citizen of Upper Canada on February 13,1845.
The eldest daughter Margaretha who was born April 21,1820 was the second member of the family to emigrate arriving in New York on July 6,1841 aboard the vessel Johann Georg. Margaretha was married to George Kuhn in 1844 by Rev. Frederick W. Bindemann, minister of the German Evangelical Protestant Lutheran Church at Greenbusch, Waterloo Township. Witnesses were George Hachborn, carpenter, of Waterloo and Henry Schierholtz, weaver, of Wilmot. They had nine children: seven girls and two boys. Margaretha who died in 1908 and her husband who died in 1873 are buried in Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Woolwich Township, Waterloo County.
In February of 1842 the remaining members of the family received permission to emigrate. Peter’s widow Anna Elizabeth, her youngest daughter Elizabeth, eldest son Johann Heinrich and his wife Christina and their three children Heinrich, Louise and Elizabeth sailed from Bremen on the ship Mozart (John Wachter, Captain) arriving at the port of New York on July 1,1842. Little is known about the mother Anna Elizabeth after her arrival in Canada. The only record of her that has been discovered after her arrival is the 1851 census for Wilmot Township where she is recorded as a 67 year old widow living with her son Henry and his family.
The eldest son Johann Heinrich was born January 11,1809 and on July 20,1930 married Christina Merch. They had six children: two boys and four girls. Johann Heinrich and Christina first settled in Waterloo Township and then moved to East Zorra Township in Oxford County. The 1881 census shows them residing in North Easthope Township, Perth County. Johann Heinrich died in 1899 and Christina died in 1897. They are buried in the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery, Sebastopol, South Easthope Township, Perth County.
The youngest daughter Elizabeth was born on August 7,1823 and on July 6,1845 was married to Johann Z. Mueller (Miller) by Rev. Jacob Huttner, Lutheran Minister at Preston. They had eight children: four girls and four boys. Elizabeth who died in 1916 and her husband who died in 1864 are both buried in the Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Woolwich Township, Waterloo County.
Records
(to come)
Sources:
The Family of Jurgen Goos and Louise Schierholtz, George Goos, 2004 (unpublished)