To my father, Harold, upon the occasion of his 66th
birthday.
He may not tell
stories, but does offer invaluable clues.
In Canada, German block settlements are
more commonly associated with Manitoba and Saskatchewan, yet there are some
well known areas of Ontario like the Kitchener-Waterloo region that boast a large
German-Canadian population. In addition to these, there is the area along the
boundary of Bruce and Grey counties that was settled Germans, evident today by
the names of towns there.
It was to a rural area of Southwestern
Ontario that my German, or rather Pfalzlander, ancestors first moved when they
immigrated to Canada. Originally arriving in Waterloo County, they moved to
Carrick Township, Bruce County, near a town called Beaford, which later (in
1877) became Deemerton. Deemerton derives its name from Anthony and Thomas
Diemert, the group leaders of sorts who organized the Pfalzlander’s and led
them to Canada. Deemerton is an English corruption of that German last name
with the suffix –ton which denotes a
town, added to it. Etymologically it mean’s Diemert’s Town, with the two t’s
blended, and the ‘i’ changed to an ‘e’ to reflect the German pronunciation when
read is English, the de facto language of Ontario. Presumably, had this change
not been made, Anglophones would have thought the town name too grave, as they
would have pronounced it as ‘dye-mer-ton’ (the sounds of e and i are
interchanged in German as they are in English).
The first Lingenfelder (or Lingenfelter) to
be born in Canada (1 August 1860) was Sebastian Lingenfelder, my
great-great-grandfather. His father, Franz Xavier, and mother Philipina (nee
Lambertus) came to Canada along with other Pfalzlanders and yet more Germans in
the first half of the 1850’s. But what made them come to Canada? I’ve always
been in search of this answer, always wondering what circumstances, events, or
reasons caused them to uproot from where their families had lived for
presumably centuries and set out for what must have been an unknown and
mysterious land across a vast ocean with only a humble population and the minimum
of comforts that they had been accustomed to.
Lets first follow a trail of clues, and then
by stitching them together we will mutually go on this journey to not only find
the origins of our ancestors, but the drivers that persuaded them to come to
Canada. Place Names of Ontario by
Alan Rayburn is a fascinating and informative lexicon of how and why and after
who or what towns are named in Ontario. Reading Place Names is like delving into the minds of our collective
ancestors, almost like sharing or being part of their hopes, dreams, and most
importantly, memories. Alan Rayburn worked tirelessly gathering information
from sources from all across Ontario, be that information found in museums, or
from the elder’s in the villages and towns.
In the first part of our journey we will
focus on the German settlement of East Bruce-West Grey (EB-WG). Here we find
the town names of Alsfeldt, Biemans Corners, Carlsruhe, Deemerton, Habermehl,
Hanover, Holstein, Lauderbach, Moltke, and Neustadt, all in the former
townships of Bentinck, Brant, Carrick, Egremont, and Normanby . This cluster is
centered on the Hanover-Neustadt area which straddles the boundary between
Bruce and Grey counties (Holstein is the outlier, but none-the-less of crucial
importance).
When my father first told me that Sebastian
was born in Deemerton and my love for maps later took off, I looked for that
town on the Ontario Road Map and noticed the German settlement and the names of
that area, but I could not put together what these place names had in common.
Half are family names (Biemans, Diemert, Habermehl, Moltke) which at first
suggested that they were nothing more than having been derived from early
pioneer families. The others were a collection of German place names varying
from small towns (Alsfeldt) to large cities (Hanover). Common was the practice
to name a settlement after the place where one had come from, and considering
that none of the places named after other towns and cities were found in a
relative close proximity to each other in Germany, I originally thought a
connection did not exist.
Some years past and then one day in 2014 I
thought to map these place names, to see their proximity to one another. I
should have done this years ago! Instantly a pattern formed, rather a somewhat
straight line down the heart of modern Germany.
But to understand what these places have in common other than seemingly
being in a geographical line, we must understand some history.
Germany as a unified nation did not take
form until 1871 when the dominant Kingdom of Prussia through a series of wars
and coercion brought together what until that time had been a plethora of
independent dukedoms, earldoms, principalities, city-states, and any and all
other sort of noble and royal holdings, known by historians at ‘the German
states.’ Following the Napoleonic Wars (from their end in 1815 onwards) the
Kingdom of Prussia gained large swaths of land in Saxony, Westphalia, and the
Rhineland, the latter two being separated from Prussia proper by a corridor of
independent states. Amazingly, and possibly the most pivotal clue, is that this
corridor between the two areas of Prussia just so happens to be where all of
the place names from the EB-WG German settlement originate. This discovery
shows what those place names have in common: that they were all located in
areas that were not aligned or part of Prussia. From that perspective it does
not seem enough to bring different areas and regions that do not have much in
common other than speaking varying dialects of German together. However, what
they did have in common was either freedom from or opposition to the growing
dominance of Prussia within German speaking Central Europe.
Let’s take a look at where each one of
these places fell within that area of separation from north to south, and the
ongoing struggle for civil liberties during the timeframe that our ancestors
emigrated:
-
Hanover: capital of the Kingdom of
Hannover (1814-1866), not aligned to Prussia, and only 13-18 years since the
123 year personal union with the United Kingdom had ended that the Germans
immigrated to Canada. Relatively untouched by the Revolutions of 1848, however
when protests did erupt, the king threatened handing the kingdom over to the
Prussians, which quickly ended any opposition to his rule.
-
Alsfeld and Lauterbach: small towns in the Electorate of Hesse (1814-1866), in
1831 the electorate adopted a constitution, more reforms came in 1848, all of
which were reversed in 1852, caused by the political turmoil that preceded.
This is about the time our Germans ancestors immigrated to Canada.
-
Carlsruhe[Karlsruhe]: capital of the Grand
Duchy of Baden (1806-1918), during the Revolutions of 1848, Baden was
a center of revolutionist activities. In 1849 it was the only German state that
became a republic. The revolution in Baden was suppressed mainly by Prussian
troops.
1848 is known as the Year of Revolutions
where all across Europe democrats and those seeking civil liberties and freedoms
rose up against the established absolutism and autocratic monarchies that had
reigned for centuries. While some revolutions were moderately successful
(achieving reforms, having constitutions instituted, and other desired changes)
many of the revolutions were squashed by the forces loyal to the rulers who
held domain where insurrections had taken place (or stronger, uncompromised
foreign forces brought in to quell the insurrections). Additionally at this
time began a period of what is known as the German wars of unification that
lasted until 1871, culminating in the German Empire under the control of the
Prussian kings.
It would be foolish to assume that all of
the German immigrants that came to Canada played a part or were caught up in
the Revolution of 1848; however, many may have been affected by the events that
occurred during that tumultuous time. Perhaps some did play their part and
ended up on the losing side, and therefore sought a new life in a seemingly
peaceful land, far from the continuous and ongoing struggles that steered the
course of European history. After all, the United Kingdom and her colonies
(Canada included) were rather devoid of any uprisings during that period, the
United Kingdom having enjoyed their Bill of Rights since the Glorious
Revolution of 1688-1689.
What leads me to believe that the
Revolutions of 1848 and any other political reasons had anything to do with the
German immigration to the EB-WG area at that time is the names of two other
towns: Holstein and Moltke.
Holstein is part of the modern German
state (länder) of Schleswig-Holstein, the area of Germany that borders
Denmark. From 1848-1851 the First Schleswig War was fought between Denmark and
the German Confederation (Prussia, Schleswig, and Holstein) on the premise of
the Schleswig-Holstein Question, which sought to answer who held domain over
those lands, Danes or Germans, and the rising associated nationalism associated
with it. While Schleswig was predominately populated by Danes and Holstein by
Germans, Denmark at the time had control over the two in addition to
Saxe-Lauenburg. The Danes were victorious in the war, and continued their
control over the area. Holstein, Ontario was named in 1864
by teacher-turned-storekeeper and postmaster N.D. McKenzie. The name was given
at a time when Prussia had challenged Denmark for control of Holstein and
Schleswig [Second Schleswig War], a contest that the weaker Denmark lost. Given
that Holstein, Ontario was named by an educated and informed Scotch-Canadian on
the presumptive premise of showing support for a beleaguered nation, it
possibly holds no ties to the EB-WG core area, and after all it does lie
outside the traditional cluster of German named towns. Or, perhaps there were
many inhabitants in the area from Holstein, and McKenzie feeling some sort of
affinity towards his neighbours, named the town in their support.
However, what brings Holstein back into the
formula is the presence of the town of Moltke. The Moltke name is a
prominent one in both Denmark and Germany. Helmuth von Moltke the Elder,
possibly the most famous of that name, was a career military officer that
became the Chief of the Prussian, and later German, General Staff. However,
given the origin of names of the other German towns in EB-WG, naming one after
a Prussian general seems highly unlikely. So given the existence of both
Holstein and Moltke, it is my theory that as the Danish were not oppressive
towards the German population of Holstein, as was seen by the policies of the
then Danish king, Frederick VII, who in 1848 granted a constitution to the
Kingdom of Denmark, that the town of Moltke,
Ontario was named after the first prime minister of Denmark, Adam Wilhelm
Moltke (prime minister from 1848 to 1852). Given that a king often took advice
from his prime minister, it is not unfathomable to think that Frederick VII was
influenced by Moltke, in this case his sympathetic view towards the Germans of
Holstein and including them in the Kingdom of Denmark. With this in mind, it
almost seems as if the towns were named after those who held similar political
beliefs and ideals, or were anti-Prussian at the simplest explanation.
Now let’s look at the town of Neustadt, Ontario and its origins: This
village in Grey County, 8 km south of Hanover, was founded by David Winkler in
1855, who persuaded several German immigrants to settle here. Its post office
was called Newstead in 1856, but the name was changed the following year to
Neustadt, which is German for ‘new town.’ Included here is the mention of David
Winkler. Did Winkler simply persuade Germans in the Waterloo region to move
further north, or did he travel to Germany on his own accord or as an agent of
the British colonies seeking people to populate Ontario? It is my belief that
he did indeed travel to the German areas that at the time were free of Prussian
control, taking a straight line route through these states and canvassed towns
and villages and persuaded Germans there to move to Canada.
As described above, Europe and the German
states in particular, had recently endured a time of turmoil and
unpredictability, the continent had been ravaged in the early half of the 19th
century by the Napoleonic Wars, and had just gone through a time of revolt,
none of which was free from bloodshed. Fearing the potential loss of newly
gained freedoms and reforms from the loaming pressure of the expansionistic
Kingdom of Prussia, I belief that Germans from Holstein to Baden fled the
war-ridden and somewhat oppressive lands for the promise of freedom and
economic possibilities that existed in Ontario at that time. If one were to
look at a map of 19th century Germany before it formally existed as
a country, the corridor to which these people came from appears quite evidently,
somewhat surrounded by Prussian lands.
How does the Pfalz (Palatinate), where the
Lingenfelder’s originate, fall into this? Starting in 1808 the Pfalz had been
the non-contiguous part of Bavaria, and in 1848 a separatist revolution failed,
having been put down by a bloody Prussian military intervention. Additionally
the Pfalz is on the left bank of the Rhine where as Karlsruhe, in Baden, is on
the right bank. The uprisings in the Pfalz and in Baden, which both worked in
concert (at times almost as if they were one and the same) were the last of
their kind in the German states and a major shift in power took place at their
culmination. No longer was Austria the dominant German state, but now Prussia
was correctly seen as holding that position. That oppression at the hands of
the Prussians gives the Pfalzanders common ground with all of the other groups
that emigrated from the German states. As well, the Pfalz does not stray from
the corridor between the two parts of Prussia either, but rather forms its end
point in the German states at the time (the lands to its south, Alsace-Lorraine
which were a mix of French and Germans, would be united with the other German
states following the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 and the creation of the German
Empire. The presence of the town of Alsace and the Alsace Road in Gurd, would
indicate that the Germans in the Alsace were part of those recruited to come to
Canada at the same time as the others, possibly freeing them from French rule).
Whatever the reason for their departure of
the German states, whether it be their lack of satisfaction with the current
state of affairs in their homelands, calling for more reforms, either having
faced or facing Prussian dominance, economic opportunities, over-population and
a lack of land in the German states, the Germans that would make up the EB-WG area
collectively uprooted and moved themselves to Canada. Persuaded or not, they
had all the reason to leave bloody Europe, to come to a new land, and enjoy the
full meaning of the cliché ‘the grass is
always greener on the other side.’ Thus, our ancestors, and in turn
ourselves, have enjoyed the peace, freedoms, and calm of Canada, basking in its
many opportunities, enjoying its abundance of safety.
The concrete answers are out there, and I
will forever be in search of them. I hope that you enjoyed reading my take and
guess on our ancestors flight from Europe, just as much as I have enjoyed
researching it.
A list of the towns in the East
Bruce-West Grey area that are of German origin
Carlsruhe - Located in Bruce County, 4 km south of Hanover,
this place was settled by German immigrants about 1855. It was named by Karl
Gehl in 1864 after the city of Karlsruhe in Baden (now Baden-Wurttemberg),
Germany, 65 km west of Stuttgart.
Hanover - Located in Grey County, this town (1904) on the Saugeen River was
first settled in 1849 by Abraham Buck, and the place became known as Buck’s
Crossing. In 1856 it was laid out in village lots and named Adamstown after
Henry P. Adams, who had built a dam here the previous year. Most residents
disliked the name, and first postmaster Abraham Gottwals proposed Hanover,
since many of the settlers came from the area of Germany now known as Hannover.
Holstein - Located in Grey County, 8 km north of Mount Forest, this place
was named in 1864 by teacher-turned-storekeeper and postmaster N.D. McKenzie.
The name was given at a time when Prussia had challenged Denmark for control of
Holstein and Schleswig, a contest that the weaker Denmark lost.
Neustadt - This village in Grey County, 8 km south of
Hanover, was founded by David Winkler in 1855, who persuaded several German
immigrants to settle here. Its post office was called Newstead in 1856, but the
name was changed the following year to Neustadt, which is German for ‘new
town.’
Other
Towns (without a description in Place Names of Ontario)
Alsfeldt - town in Hesse
Biemans
Corners - last name
Deemerton
- renamed after the Diemert family who organized
German immigrants to settle in the area
Habermehl - last name
Lauderbach - corruption of Lauterbach, a town in Hesse, Germany, 17.7 km from
Alsfeld, Hesse.
Moltke - named after Adam Wilhelm Moltke, Prime Minister of Denmark from
1848 to 1852, who served as Prime Minister during the reign of Frederick VII,
who was sympathetic to the German population of Holstein.
