Finding Veronica

My husband's 3rd great-grandmother was Veronica Schiebel. Veronica was born in 1835 in Germany but came to Ontario Canada sometime before 1851. She settled with her family in the Waterloo area and married John Kirsch in 1854.

All that we knew before today about Veronica was what we had found in the Canadian census records for 1851, 1861 and so on. But I have not found her parents in these records as she was a 17 year old servant in 1851 and not living with any family.

But today I found her arrival in New York on board the ship Louis Phillippe from Le Havre France on 16 April 1844. She was 9 years old and traveled with her parents (Johann George Schiebel and Anna) and 7 siblings.

The family group is listed as George 52, Anna 28, Philippe 22, Plasius 15, Martin 14, Anna 11, Rosina 10, Veronika [sic] 9, Carolina 5 and Maria 1/2 (meaning 6 months)

The youngest child was only 6 months old! How brave was Veronica's mother Anna! Imagine that journey with eight children. The passenger lists states they intend to settle in the USA and that intrigues me. Did they lie? Or did they settle in New York before venturing on to Canada?

I think my next step will be to hunt for a land record for Veronica's father and find out (if one exists) exactly when he settled in the Waterloo area. He may not have owned land which will make that research avenue non-viable but it's worth a try. My first step will be to check the CLRI (Computerized Land Record Index) for Ontario.  If I don't find him there I will hunt for Assessement and/or Tax Records.

Of course there is always the possibility that he did not make it to Ontario. He may have died in New York or shortly after arrival in Ontario. Since Ontario death records were not required to be registered until 1869 it may be difficult to find anything on him. 

But I do plan to revisit the earlier census records for Ontario to try once more to find Veronica's family. I know her mother was alive until 1876 (she died that year in Bruce Co. Ontario) so I should be able to find her in 1851, 1861 and 1871

Wish me luck! And if anyone knows of this family please do leave a comment or contact me.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m. May 6th: Just found Veronica's mother Anna Schiebel living in Carrick Township Bruce Co. Ontario in 1861 census. She is listed as a widow so now I know Johann George Schiebel died between 1844 and 1861, location unknown.

Ontario Land Record Index - New Guide

Do you have an ancestor who settled in Ontario (previously Upper Canada and Canada West)? If so, you have hopefully obtained his or her land records. If not, you will need to venture into the often confusing maze of Ontario land records.

To start, OliveTreeGenealogy.com offers a lookup servive in the microfiche index of the CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) You must consult the CLRI in order to obtain the Archival Reference (and other details). Then you must convert the Archival Reference to a microfilm number in order to view the original record.

The Archives of Ontario has recently put online a guide to the complete process of researching Ontario Land Records using the microfiche index. It is called How to Use the Ontario Land Records Index ca. 1780 - ca.1920 and is an online guide to how to find the microfilm

To understand the archival reference code in CLRI entries and to identify the microfilm reel that contains the original entry, consult the Ontario
Land Records Index: How to Find the Reel of Microfilm You Need available in the microfiche binders in the Main Reading Room

In case you have not visited the AO website in the last while The Archives of Ontario wants your feedback. They have a customer service survey they would like you to fill in. Give them your feedback and you have the chance of winning $200.