Category: Immigration

Follow-Up to 52W Mark III – Week 26: Family Gathering

Two years ago I advised to save  July 25, 2026 for the Steeves Family Reunion in Steveston, British Columbia. It seems like that time flew by!

If your surname is Steeves, it is pretty much guaranteed that you’re a descendant of Johann Stief and Rachel Stahleker. Originally from Münsingen, Baden-Württemberg, the emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1749. In 1766, the relocated to what is now New Brunswick in 1766. Johann and Rachel had ten children, but their descendants are primarily through seven sons they had who were born in North America.

My wife’s great x 3 grandmother was a Steeves, through Johann and Rachel’s sons Christian and Frederick. (Hello pedigree collapse!) By the sheer twists and turns of life, we’ve ended up living in Steveston, a former fishing village that is now a suburb of Richmond, British Columbia. The village was founded by Manoah Steves, who dropped one of the Es from his surname when he moved west from the Maritimes.

Some notable Steeves Descendants
(Top Row): Manoah and Martha Steves; William Steeves, Father of Confederation; Jack Layton, former Leader of the Opposition in Canada; Alex Steeves, Boston Bruins forward.
(Bottom Row): Harold Steves, former Member of the Legislative Assembly in BC and former Richmond city councillor; Laurence Peter, educator and author; Janette Oke, author; John Steeves, former BC Supreme Court justice.

We attended the reunion, which took place at Garry Point Park in Steveston, only a few klicks from our house. We had been experiencing a heat wave the week of the reunion, but thankfully it abated for the day of the event. There was an impressive turnout, with a surprising number of attendees from out of town, including Ste(e)ves from other provinces and a few from the States. A lot of people seemed genuinely surprised to see we actually lived in Steveston, despite a good number of Ste(e)ves descendants who live in Richmond.

The event was pretty low-key. There were a few speeches, but for the most part people were left to socialize, check out a small selection of Steeves-related genealogy books, and partake in a fantastic cookout and potluck lunch. It was fun hearing people talk about how they were connected and which of the Stief sons from which they are descended. Of course, there was the obligatory group photo, but we are still awaiting our copy of the picture. As well, there was a celebratory cake!

For more information about the Steeves family history, check out the Steeves House Museum’s website, www.steeveshousemuseum.ca.

52W Mark V – Week 6: Thomas Hadlond

Thomas Hadlond (1814-1892)

My Great x4 Grandfather, Thomas Hadlond, was most likely born in July 1814, in Churchill, Oxfordshire, England, on the fringe of the Cotswolds. Thomas was born only a couple of months after Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to Elba.

If July is the month in which Thomas was born, there was an seemingly long time before he was baptized, which occurred on September 4, 1814. The English records, including Thomas’s baptism registration, show that the family name was primarily spelled “Hadland”.

It was not until Thomas came to the new world that the spelling was recorded as “Hadlond”. Other variations in England included “Haddlond” and “Headland”. An example of the differences can even be seen in records of the same event, such as the registration of the marriage of Thomas’s parents, John Hadland and Ann Tidmarsh. In one record, it’s “Hadland”; in another it’s “Headland”.

John “Hadland” and Ann Tidmarsh, married August 9, 1802
John “Headland” and Ann Tidmarsh, married August 9, 1802

Thomas was the youngest of four children. It appears that during his adulthood, up until he married, Thomas lived in Finstock, Oxfordshire, where he worked as a labourer. On December 11, 1837, Thomas married Rachel Franklin in nearby Charlbury. After the marriage the couple likely settled in Finstock, as their first child, Charlotte, was born there.

Thomas and Rachel’s marriage registration. What I find interesting about this is that it appears that Thomas could not write, as he signed with his mark (“X”), while Rachel signed her full name. Speaking of Rachel, I’d love to decipher what was entered for her “Condition”, which to me looks like “gloump”.

By August 1838, the family had moved west to Cheltenham, Gloucester, on the other side of the Cotswolds. There Thomas worked as a domestic servant. Thomas and Rachel had six children in Cheltenham, starting with my Great x3 Grandmother, Maria Hadlond.

In 1846, Rachel joined the Mormon church, but it appears that Thomas never did. This is evidenced by the fact Thomas was not baptized into the Mormon church until June 13, 1893, a year after he passed away.

Sometime after 1851, Thomas and family left England for North America. They were still in Cheltenham when their daughter, Alice, was born on September 1, 1850. As well, the 1851 census shows that the family was still living in Cheltenham, at No. 38 Rose & Crown Passage.

Rose and Crown Passage in Cheltenham as shown on Google Maps as of March 2026.

The family left England sometime before June 1853, because Rachel gave birth to a son, Franklin, somewhere in Canada. While the family ultimately settled in the United States, this indicates that they most likely landed somewhere in British North America (the former British colonies that came together to form Canada).

By 1856, Thomas and his family were living in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time of the 1860 census, Thomas was working in St. Louis as a hostler (a person who took care of horses, usually at an inn). During this time, the US Civil War erupted and the United States initiated a military draft in 1863. All men ages 20 to 45 were required to register. Thomas was 44 at the time. Thomas registered as Class II, which applied to married men ages 36 to 44.

Thomas’s registration for the draft during the US Civil War.

As of 1870, the family had moved across the Mississippi River to East St. Louis, Illinois, where Thomas was employed as a labourer. In East St. Louis, Thomas and Rachel had two more children, twins named Ella and Alphius, born on August 21, 1858.

Rachel passed away in March 1879. Shortly afterward, Thomas moved in with his daughter, Eunice, and her husband, Richard Cottam, at 2317 Exchange St. in St. Louis. They moved several times within the city. In 1885, they were at 3962 Cook Ave.; in 1889 they were at 4364 Vista Ave. in St. Louis.

Sometime shortly afterwards, Thomas moved to Nebraska City, Nebraska, to live with his daughter, Mary Louisa and her husband John Wischmeyer. He was not there for long, as Thomas passed away there on November 2, 1892. Thomas is interred at Wyuka Cemetery in Nebraska City.

52W Mark V – Week 5: Rachel Franklin

Rachel Franklin (1817-1879)

Unless I go back to the 1600s on my maternal grandfather’s paternal line, I do not have much English ancestry. My most recent ancestors who emigrated from England are my Great x4 Grandparents, Rachel Franklin and Thomas Hadlond. They had seven children at the time they came over sometime around 1852, give or take a year, including my Great x3 Grandmother, Maria Hadlond.

Rachel was the fourth of ten (possibly eleven) children born to James Franklin, a shoemaker, and Mary Luker Eaton. I have found several iterations of Mary’s surname. She was baptized “Mary, Daugr of Eliz Luker”. The register entry does not name a father or husband, implying that Mary was illegitimate. A few pages later there is an entry for the 1792 marriage of Thomas and Elizabeth shows: “May 20, Thos Eaton to Eliz Looker by license.” Earlier on the same page of the register for the marriage is an entry for the baptism of “Charlotte, daur of Thos and Eliz Eaton.” It would be reasonable to believe that it is the same Elizabeth Luker/Looker in both entries, but not without some doubt.

Rachel was born on December 14, 1817, in Clanfield, Oxfordshire, which is located in the Cotswolds. All of Rachel’s siblings were born in Clanfield or the nearby village of Hailey.

Rachel’s baptism registration.

Rachel married Thomas Hadlond three days shy of her 20th birthday, on December 11, 1837, in Charlbury, another village in the Cotswolds, just north of Hailey. Shortly after marrying, Rachel and Thomas were living in Finstock, a stone’s throw from Blenheim castle, the home of the Spencer-Churchill family. There they had their first child, Charlotte. The family was not in Finstock long, as my Gx3 Grandmother Maria was born in Cheltenham, Gloucester, in August 1838. Rachel bore five more children in Cheltenham. Rachel’s last child born there was Alice, in September 1850.

On November 23, 1846, Rachel was baptized into the Mormon church. I know little about the circumstances of her joining the church, but I’ve not yet found any evidence her husband Thomas did. This is evidenced by the fact that Thomas was not baptized into the church until a year after his death.

According to the 1851 English census, Rachel and her family were still resident in Cheltenham. However, sometime before 1853, the family moved to North America. It appears they entered by way of Canada, because Rachel gave birth to a son there in June 1853. By 1856, Rachel and her family were living in St. Louis, Missouri. In August 1858, Rachel gave birth to twins, Ella and Alphius, in East St. Louis, which is a suburb on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

Rachel died in St. Louis on March 29, 1879. She is interred at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. She is buried only a few hundred meters from Dred Scott. She’s also not far from Adolphus Busch, although I think it’s lame that my ancestor is buried near the guy who made crappy Budweiser, while my wife’s ancestors are interred near Alexander Keith, who made excellent beer. Lame for me, anyway. Sadly, Rachel is also not far from Rush Limbaugh. Well, there went the neighbourhood.

Rachel’s burial location.
Rachel and her neighbours. Dred Scott is north east, while Adolphus Busch is to the east.

52W Mark IV – Week 45: Card L6 Franciscus Lerner

Franciscus “Franz” Lerner (betw. 1835~1840 – 1876~1877)

I’m now entering the set of cards in this suit of my Gx3 Grandparents on my mother’s maternal line, of whom I know the least. We are in some pretty hazy territory, so I expect the next eight posts to be much shorter than the rest. My Gx3 Grandfather, Franciscus “Franz” Lerner is a prime example of this. I don’t even have a solid idea of when he was born and died.

As far as I know, with not a lot of evidence, is that Franz was born sometime between 1835 and 1840 in the German colony of Rastadt in the Beresan District of Ukraine, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time. What I know with a bit more certainty is that Franz’s paternal line hailed from the Karlsruhe area of Baden in what is now Germany. At least four generations of his direct male line likely may have lived in Baden.

The hiccup in this lineage is the identity of Franz’s father. While I know nothing of Franz’s mother, not even her name, I have two possible candidates who might be his father. Franz may be the son of one of two brothers, Michael Lerner or Bernard Lerner. They are the sons of Franz Ignaz Lerner (1759-aft. 1816) and Maria Eva Geiger (1756-aft. 1816), both from Malsch, Karlsruhe, Baden. They left Baden for the Beresan in 1809 and settled in Rastadt.

  • Michael Lerner was born on July 11, 1793 in Malsch, Karlsruhe, Baden. He was married to Maria Eva Eberle, born June 3, 1793 in Pleisweiler, Bergzabern, Pfalz, although the evidence of this marriage is not verified.
  • Bernard Lerner born February 27, 1798 in Malsch, Karlsruhe, Baden. Bernard was married to Barbara Heil, who was born about 1799 in Niederlustadt, Germersheim, Pfalz.

Franz married Anastasia Wormsbecker (there are many spelling variations) in Rastadt, Beresan sometime around 1860. They had five children. The youngest four all emigrated to North America. Two went directly to Saskatchewan, Canada. Two sons went to Texas, one of whom was my Great Great Grandfather, Michael (“Mike”) Lerner. Mike ultimately moved to Saskatchewan with his family; his brother, Jerome, remained in Texas. Only their eldest child, Elisabeth, remained in the Beresan.

As I was looking at the list of Franz’s children, my mind began to speculate. A custom in the Netherlands for naming children was that the first son was named after the child’s paternal grandfather. The second son was named after the maternal grandfather. The first-born daughter was named after her maternal grandmother; the second daughter was named after her paternal grandmother.

If there was anything similar in German culture, particularly those parts of Germany closer to the Netherlands, that carried into the Beresan, it might provide a clue as to whether Michael or Bernard is Franz’s father. Mike was Franz and Anastasia’s first-born son. The name would be in keeping with a paternal grandfather with the same name. Mike and Anastasia did not name any of their other two sons Bernard. Of course, I can’t place much, if any, weight on this, but it does make some walking around sense.

For me, Franz’s life ended as mysteriously as it began. At most, all I know is that the possibility is that Franz died in 1876 or 1877 in the Beresan.

You can find more specific information about the dates and places of Franz’s birth, marriage, and death on various online trees, but they are largely unsourced or provide unverifiable and vague citations. Without something more, they deserve to be given no weight.