20 Markham

Dickson's Hill – Markham Township
Jacob van Heuven / Hoben (1721-1806), son of
Hermann and Anneken (op de Graef) van Heuven of
Skippak, Montgomery County, PA, married Eleanor
Davis (ca 1725- ) from Sommerset, New Jersey,
and later Margaret Bucher (1721-1826) of New
Hanover, Montgomery County, PA. Jacob and
Margaret came to Canada with their married daughter
Catherine. Five generations from Menno Hoover, they
await the Lord's Resurrection at Dickson's Hill, north
of Markham (pictured below).
Minister Heinrich Weidmann (1751-1810), son of
Matthias Sebastion and Elisabeth (Mumma)
Weidmann of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, married
Catherine van Hoben (1759-1834), daughter of
Jacob and Eleanore (Davis ) van Heuven / Hoben.
Both of them awaiting the Lord at Dickson's Hill. The
Weidmann / Wideman Meetinghouse was built, a
short distance south of the Heinrich Weidmann
farmstead at Dickson's Hill, on the other (west) side of
the road.
Heinrich and Catherine (van Heuven / Hoben)
Weidmann on the right, at Dickson's Hill. Four
generations from Menno Hoover. Minister
Samuel R. Hoover (1843-1916), Widemans,
married Mary Barkey. Preached in both German
and English.
Heise Hill – Markham Township
Heise Hill Tunker Meetinghouse (below right)
lies east of Richmand Hill. Tunker and
Mennonite families used the same cemetery for
many years, even after the Mennonite built the
own meeting-house, at Almira, one mile east.
Twelve of our ancestors await the Lord's
resurrection at this place.
Deacon Christian Heise (1757-1830), son of Hans Heinrich and
Barbara (Jordi) Heise of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, married
Veronica Meyer (ca 1760-1814), daughter of Jacob and Anna
Meyer, also of Lebanon County (below). Their daughter Barbara
married John Hoover – four generations from Menno Hoover.
John Hoover Jr. (1789-1879), son of Hans and Anna Elizabeth
(Kieffer) Hoover married Barbara Heise (1789-1853), daughter of
Christian and Veronica (Meyer) Heise, of Heise Hill. They were the
parents of Elizabeth who married John Wideman. Three generations
from Menno Hoover
John Hoover (1756-1843), son of Ludwig and Margarethe (Graf) Huber,
married Anna Elisabeth Kieffer (1760-1812). John was from the
Groffdale congregation, Lancaster County. His father was a Lutheran, his
mother, Mennonite. The Kieffer family, Swiss Reformed, lived in Berks
County, PA, after coming from St Wendel, Zweibrücken, in the early
1700s. John and Anna Elizabeth were the parents of John Hoover Jr.
Marker on the left – four generations from Menno Hoover.
Casper Sherk (1766-1840), son of Joseph and Barbara (Kaufmann)
Schörg of Lebanon County, PA, married Esther Reiff (1764-1844),
daughter of Joseph and Elisabeth (Detweiller) Reiff, born in Venango, PA.
Parents of Elizabeth who married Adam Wideman. Four generations from
Menno Hoover. Markers below, left.
Almira Mennonite Meetinghouse (right),
built in 1860. Used by the Old Order congregation until the mid-1900s, this building was still standing in the 1970s but now long
gone. Working as a school-teacher near Bancroft, Hastings County, during the 1970s, I often stopped at Markham. Ministers John
Grove, Aaron Grove and Jacob Wideman were still living then and became friends. John Grove shared my historical interests.
Minister Adam Wideman (1797-1861), son of Heinrich and
Catherina (van Hoben) Weidemann, married Elizabeth Sherk
(1798-1871), daughter of Casper and Esther (Reiff) Sherk of
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. There son John Wideman was
the grandfather of Menno Hoover. (Below left.)
John Wideman (1820-1899) son of Adam and Elizabeth
(Sherk) Wideman, married Elizabeth Hoover (18181870), daughter of John and Barbara (Heise) Hoover.
Their daughter, Maria, was the mother of Menno Hoover.
Heise Hill Brethren in Christ (Tunker) Cemetery below.
Almira Meetinghouse (left) – recorded by David Hunsburger.
Blair – Waterloo Township
The first Mennonite settlers in the Grand River area (the German
Tract, later Waterloo Township) built a log meetinghouse at what is
now Blair, west of the river. The first burial here, was the young son of
John Bricker, buried while his father was in Pennsylvania. The burial
ground, high above the river, is still kept in good shape but the log
meetinghouse, at George Bechtel's place, has long disappeared.
Georg Bechtel III (1746-1828), son of Minister Hans Georg and
Maria Bechtel of the Bally congregation, Berks County, PA, married
Elizabeth Morris (1752-1836) of a Quaker family from Montgomery
County. Their daughter Esther married, Isaac Schantz. Five generations from Leah Martin Hoover. Markers at Blair, below.
George and Elizabeth had seven daughters and no sons, so the farm was passed on to their daughter Anna (Nancy) who married
Samuel Eschelman and in the next generation to Moses and Susanna (Stauffer) Eschelman. The house (in 2015) is still standing.