Stober / Stiver Family

Stöber / Stiver Family

In the fall of 1794, Johann Niclaus Stöber / John Stiver came to Markham Township, York County, Ontario with his wife Anna and their children. The Stöber family were part of a group, consisting of approximately 60 families who, under the leadership of William Berczy, left from the port of Altona, Germany in May and June 1792 to begin a new life in the Genesee area of New York State, USA. In 1794, the families left the United States to come to Canada. This web site is an introduction to the family and descendants of Johann and Anna Stöber / John and Anna Stiver.

Home John and Family The Group Descendants Resources

The year, 2014, marked the 220th anniversary of the arrival of the Stiver family with the other Germanic settlers travelling with William Berczy. The Stiver family held a reunion August 22, 23 and 24 in Unionville, Ontario.

On Friday, the 22nd at 7 p.m., there was an informal gathering in Unionville at Jakes Restaurant.
On Saturday, the 23rd from noon on, there was an opportunity to share family stories and information at Warden House, Markham.
Saturday Dinner will be at 5 p.m. at Jake's Restaurant.
Sunday morning we held a short worship service at the cemetery where many of the Stivers were buried.
Sunday, from noon until 2 p.m. everyone was welcomed to the Stiver Mill Cultural Centre in Unionville to share stories, see the restored mill and visit the farmer's market next door.
At 2 p.m., there was a plaque presentation at the Stiver Mill Cultural Centre, Unionville.

In addition, on Sunday afternoon, there was a meeting of the Markham Berczy Settlers Association on Sunday, August 24 at 4 p.m. in Unionville at the Stiver Mill Cultural Centre.

In September 2017, the City of Markham celebrated Canada 150. The statue of William Berczy was dedicated in Berczy Park Square. They held several days of celebrations. In the portion of the program on the Sunday afternoon, I represented the Markham Berczy Settlers and shared about them coming to Canada and of my pride in being one of those descendants.

I am the 4th great-granddaughter of Johann Niclaus Stöber and I am interested in making contact with other descendants of this early settler of Markham Township.

It was while I was attending the Ontario Genealogical Society Seminar, Toronto, ON in 1993, that I discovered my connection to the Stiver family. I had purchased a copy of Markham 1793-1900, and read about David Johnston who had married Hannah Hemingway. Hannah was the daughter of Josiah Hemingway and Annie Stiver. Annie was a daughter of John Nicholas Stiver.

A year later, I attended the 200th anniversary celebration of the coming of the settlers to Markham Township. At this event, I started to learn the story of the various families who had settled the area. Since that time, I have devoted much of my research time to this line. In 1996, I travelled with members of the Markham Berczy Settlers Association to the Genesee area of New York State. In 2001, I visited Germany with other descendants of the early settlers to Markham Township.

I continue to make discoveries about this family. There is much still to learn. I have many gaps to be filled. I would love to hear from you. If we share information, perhaps some of those gaps will be filled. See the descendants page to discover some of the family names related to the Stiver family. Could you possibly be one of my cousins? You should have at least two or three of the surnames to make a connection.

The Markham Berczy Settlers Association celebrated the 210th anniversary of the settlers coming to Canada. The Berczy Settlers Family Research Days were held July 5 to July 11, 2004 in Markham, Ontario. It was an exciting week with a chance to share information with others who have allied names. We heard the story of the migration from Germany to Markham. The Berczy art show at the Varley Art Gallery was worth visiting. It was on until October 31, 2004. I had the opportunity to do some research and share some of my research with others who attended. I also visited the Uxbridge Museum where I was able to learn more about David Johnston, mentioned above, and his parents and siblings and their descendants. The week ended with a church service with the Bethesda Lutheran Church at Bethesda Cemetery under the trees and near the graves of Stiver ancestors.

Explore these pages to learn more about the Stöber / Stiver family

To see some articles that I have written concerning the Stiver connection visit my blog at http://researchergal.blogspot.com From the tags on the right, choose Stiver or Berczy

Janet Iles

Top of Page

For further information contact jiles@bmts.com
www.bmts.com/~jiles Stöber / Stiver Family

Other sites managed by Janet Iles are Grey County Historical Society, Grey County Historical Society blog, Ontario Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Community Waterfront Heritage Centre and Georgian Shores United Church. Markham Berczy Settlers Association at www.markhamberczysettlers.ca