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From New York to Canada: Why Did Joseph Becker Immigrate?

Port Dalhousie.1


I've been researching further back on my Becker/Baker line, focusing on Joseph Becker—born Peter Joseph Becker—in Sheldon, Wyoming, New York. Joseph is one of my 2nd great-grandfathers, whose son Edward Baker I recently profiled. Like Edward, Joseph himself immigrated from one country to another. Sometime before he was 12, Joseph's family immigrated from Sheldon to Port Dalhousie, Ontario, Canada.2

I had two questions I wanted to answer:

  • First, "When did the Becker family immigrate?"
  • Second, "Why did they immigrate to Port Dalhousie?"

To answer either question, it was necessary to hop back one generation to investigate, because Joseph would not have made that move on his own. It would have been his parents' decision to uproot and take the family away from their New York home. In particular, I focused on Joseph's father, also named Joseph Becker. It could be that he decided the family would move to take advantage of some employment opportunity, or perhaps the family suffered some loss which made it necessary to move.

 

Move Timeline

The family lived in Sheldon, Wyoming, New York in 1860, where Joseph was born on 1858. By 1871, the family were in Port Dalhousie. Tracking the family's whereabouts between 1860-1871 was my focus.3

Immediately, a wrinkle emerged: There were two men by the named Joseph Becker in Sheldon and each had a son named Joseph! It was important to distinguish between the two patriarchs in order to track the correct family. I identified each father using federal and New York state censuses, a Wyoming County gazetteer/directory, land records, and a few important family events, allowing me to tease apart their sons's identities. 

While it's too lengthy to include in this post, click here to view a PDF version of the timeline delineating between the two Joseph Beckers born in 1858 in Sheldon, New York.  Some important details emerged through charting each Joseph's timeline: 

After 1860, my ancestor Joseph Becker's family was located in Sheldon when these events occurred:

  • In 1863, the family lost three children: twin sons Jacob and Johannes, and a toddler daughter Elizabeth. All are buried at St. Cecilia Cemetery in Sheldon. The twins were the family's last children to be baptized in Sheldon.4
  • In 1866, Joseph's parents mortgaged several properties to family or close associates in Sheldon, perhaps in preparation for a move.5

Beginning in 1870, important family events occurred in Port Dalhousie:

  • John Nicholas, the youngest Becker child, was born in Port Dalhousie in August 1870.6
  • Matriarch Barbara Schiltz Becker's father Peter Schiltz died in St. Catharines on 1 June 1870, likely while visiting his daughter's family. At the time Peter was living with his son Theodore Schiltz in Sheldon; his body was returned to Sheldon for burial. (Read about Peter Schiltz's death location in this blog post.)7

Port Dalhousie on the shores of Lake Ontario.8

By contrast, the family of Joseph Becker, son of Joseph Becker and Margaret Buchenmeyer, remained in Sheldon for years to come. The senior Joseph Becker of this family is listed in an 1870 Wyoming County directory as a farmer living on lot 37 of range 3, the same property he was granted in 1867 and later leased in 1887. There is no second man living in Sheldon by the name of Joseph Becker in the directory who could be my ancestor, suggesting he had already moved by that time.9

Based on the land transactions, my thought is that my Becker family likely moved to Canada in the latter half of 1866 or early 1867. 

 

Why Did the Family Move?

Why the family moved is a tougher question to answer. By all accounts, immigration between the two countries in the latter 19th century was primarily from Canada to the United States, not the other way around. 

Newspapers of the time reported on the need for schemes to bring immigrants to settle in Canada, and not just stop there on the way to their ultimate U.S. destination.  

"Canada does not seem to be the country to emigrate to. Of the 783 passengers who arrived in Quebec in the steamer Moravian, 528 came to the United States, while only 255 remained in Canada," reported one paper in 1865. In 1868, Canadian agricultural and industrial interests met in Ottawa "for the consideration of the emigration question and adoption of some emigration scheme." In 1870, of nearly 55,000 European immigrants to Canada, over 36,000 moved to the United States. In addition, 80,000 native Canadians moved to the U.S. that year.10

An early 20th century postcard image of Port Dalhousie.11

Port Dalhousie was described in an 1865 gazetteer: "It is the northern terminus of the Welland Railway; and besides its freight depot, the company has a large elevator, with storage capabilities for a hundred thousand bushels of grain." And, "The [Welland] canal affords excellent facilities for manufacturing, and there are several mills in successful operation." While it is unlikely that the senior Joseph worked on the Welland Canal—the second canal began to be built in 1878, well after the family moved—it could be that he was drawn to the area by the availability of work on or around the canal and the Welland Railway.12

The elder Joseph Becker made his living as a grocer in Sheldon prior to the move, and he seems to have taken that same occupation up in Port Dalhousie, at least initially. This could have been a transitional job for him, something he had the skills to do immediately. In the following years he was employed as a laborer, a bridge turner, and a grocer once more in his late life.13

Both Joseph and two sons, Joseph and Nicholas, worked for the Welland Railway. In 1881, the elder was a car oiler, while the sons worked as brakemen.  By 1898, Joseph was a machinist, while his sons Joseph and Nicholas were brakemen for the Grand Trunk Railway.14

While I can't say for certain at this point why the family moved, it appears it could have been to take advantage of the growing industry around the Welland Canal. Perhaps some as-yet-unidentified friend or family member moved to the area first and suggested the move. I'll be on the lookout for that evidence, and report back here if and when it emerges.

Until next time...

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© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2024. All rights reserved.


Main Image: "Steamer 'Lakeside' Leaving Port Dahousie, Ont.," unknown photographer, 1906; image, eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/383749110170 : accessed 22 March 2024).

NOTES

1 Dennis Gannon, "Yesterday and Today: The Heart of Port Dalhousie," The Standard (online), 9 March 2018 (https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/life/yesterday-and-today-the-heart-of-port-dalhousie/article_3ff8e576-8867-504c-ba95-9757b1bdfd81.html : accessed 22 March 2024).

2 1871 Census of Canada, Province of Ontario, District 21 Lincoln, Nominal return of the living, Sub-District: Village of Port Dalhousie, p. 52, line 20, dwelling 193, family 200, Joseph Beckey, 12, in the Joseph Beckey household; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4396294_00479 : accessed 17 November 2023); citing Library and Archives Canada, RG31-C-1, Ottawa, Ontario.

3 For 1860 residence:  1860 United States Census, Wyoming, New York, p. 57, Sheldon, line 14, dwelling 417, house, 142, Joseph Baker, age 2, in Joseph Baker household; database and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSC-WL9 : accessed 14 November 2023); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm publication M653, Washington, D.C. For birth: St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Sheldon, New York, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1848, Volume B1, no page noted, "Temporis missionis per Rev. P. Tschonkens, CSSR," baptism of Petrum Josephus Beker, 14 July 1858; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4R-59K9-2 : accessed 25 January 2022); citing FHL microfilm 007900127, image 166. For 1871 residence: 1871 Census of Canada, Province of Ontario, District 21 Lincoln, Nominal return of the living, Sub-District: Village of Port Dalhousie, p. 52, line 20, dwelling 193, family 200, Joseph Beckey, 12, in the Joseph Beckey household.

4 St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, record of interments, 1857-June 1876, np, Infant Bäcker, 27 August 1863; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4R-59GC-Q : accessed 12 December 2023); citing parish records, Sheldon.  Also:  St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, record of interments, 1857-June 1876, np, Joannes Bäcker, 28 August 1863; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4R-59GC-Q : accessed 12 December 2023); citing parish records, Sheldon. Also: St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, record of interments, 1857-June 1876, np, Elisabeth Backer, d. 6 December 1863, buried 7 December 1863; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4R-59GC-Q : accessed 12 December 2023); citing parish records, Sheldon.

5 Wyoming, New York, mortgages, book 28, p. 40, Joseph and Barbara Baker to William Laraque, 2 May 1866, and book 30, p. 392; citing County Clerk, Warsaw. Also: Wyoming, New York, mortgages, book 28, p. 42, Joseph and Barbara Baker to Frank Stempler, 3 May 1866; citing County Clerk, Warsaw.

6 1871 Census of Canada, Province of Ontario, District 21 Lincoln, Nominal return of the living, Sub-District: Village of Port Dalhousie, p. 53, line 5, dwelling 193, family 200, John N. Beckey, age 8/12, in the Joseph Beckey household; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1578/images/4396294_00479 : accessed 17 November 2023); citing Library and Archives Canada, RG31-C-1, Ottawa, Ontario. John N. is recorded as being born in August the prior year and with an Ontario birthplace.

7  St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Sheldon, Wyoming, New York, record of interments, 1857-June 1876, np, Petrus Schieltz, 1 June 1870, in St. Catharines, Canada; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4R-59LT-B?i=296 : accessed 12 December 2023); citing parish records, Sheldon.

8 Geo Swan, Map of Port Dalhousie, Port Weller, Port Colborne and Port Maitland, past and present entrances to the Welland Canal, 19 May 2007; image Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ports_Colbourne,_Weller,_Maitland.PNG : accessed 23 March 2024).

9 Wyoming, New York, deeds, book 62, p. 77, Wolcott J. Humphrey to Joseph Becker, lot 37, township 9, range 3, 25 April 1867; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WX-Y87G : accessed 23 March 2024); citing County Clerk, Warsaw. Also: Sheldon, Wyoming County, New York, article of agreement, Joseph Becker, W.H. Jennings and Michael Schuller, agreement, 16 June 1887; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WX-Y61P : accessed 23 March 2024); citing County Courthouse, Warsaw.

10 "Canada does not seem...," Buffalo Weekly Express, 13 June 1865, p. 1, col. 4; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/494790172/ : accessed 22 March 2022). Also: "The Canadian Emigration Conference," Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, 6 November 1868; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/264434500 : accessed 22 March 2024). Also: "Foreign Items," Buffalo Express, 5 February 1870, p. 2, col. 3, emigration to Canada; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/buffalo-courier-express-emigration-fails/142751922/ : accessed 17 March 2024). 

11 Dennis Gannon, "Yesterday and Today: The Heart of Port Dalhousie," The Standard (online), 9 March 2018.

12 The Province of Ontario gazetteer and directory, (Toronto: Robertson and Cook, 1869), p. 392, Port Dalhousie; digital image, Canadiana (https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.09412/489 : accessed 16 March 2024). Also: General Directory for the Town of St. Catharines and Gazetteer of the counties of Lincoln and Welland for 1865 (Toronto, Mitchell & Co., 1865); p. 112-13, Port Dalhousie; images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3024318:3789 : accessed 17 March 2024).

13 1871 Census of Canada, Province of Ontario, District 21 Lincoln, Nominal return of the living, Sub-District: Village of Port Dalhousie, p. 52, line 20, dwelling 193, family 200, Joseph Beckey. Also: 1881 Census of Canada, Province of Ontario, District 145 Lincoln, Sub-District: G, Port Dalhousie Village, p. 42, Nominal return of the living, line 22, dwelling 214, family 217, Joseph Baker household; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3385596:1577 : 23 March 2024); citing Record Group 31-C-1, roll C_13255, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Also: 1891 Canadian Census, Ontario, Canada, District 88, Lincoln and Niagara, p. 34, line 19, Port Dalhousie, Joseph Baker, age 63; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1274/images/30953_148153-00160 : 5 October 2023); citing RG31-C-1, microfilm roll T-6351, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Also: 1901 Canadian Census, Ontario, Canada, District 85, Lincoln and Niagara, p. 22, line 2, Port Dalhousie, Joseph Baker, age 72; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8826/images/z000079429 : 24 March 2024); citing RG31-C-1, microfilm reels T-6428 to T-6556, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.

14  St. Catharines City Directory for 1881-82 (Toronto: Hill & Weir, 1881) ; p. 143, Joseph Becker, car oiler, W.R.R.; Joseph Baker, brakeman, h. W.R.R.; Nicholas Becker, brakeman, bds. W.R.R.; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/712126:3789 : accessed 17 March 2024). Also: Directory of St. Catharines, Thorold, Merriton and Port Dalhousie, 1898, (St. Catharines: C.B. Reece, 1898), p. 143, Joseph Baker, mach., John; Jos. Baker, jr., brakeman, G.T. R., John; Nicholas Baker, brakeman, G.T.R., John; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2630039:3789 : accessed 17 March 2024). 

 


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Comments

  1. Karen Packard RhodesApril 3, 2024 at 12:48 PM

    Your disambiguation of the two Josephs involved a lot of work! Well done! As a historian and genealogist, I spent 12 years studying the family structure of St. Augustine, Florida, and ran into at least eight men named Joseph or José Hernandez. In many documents, there was information that helped in this disambiguation, such as the individual's full name, parents' names, spouse's name, occupation, birthplace, etc. In other documents, the individual was just identified as Joseph or José Hernandez, with no other information. Those were the most frustrating ones. So I understand how much work went into your disambiguation of the two Joseph Beckers. Is there something in that all these guys were named Joseph? (grin) Excellent post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nancy Gilbride CaseyApril 3, 2024 at 1:49 PM

    Thank you for the kind words. It was the land descriptions which ultimately told the tale. Originally, I thought the man in the gazetteer was my ancestor, but once I looked at the various land transactions with their descriptions, I was able to see that the 1870 listing was for the other man. Hurrah!!

    I have a lot of Josephs in my family, on both sides of my Dad's family!

    Thank you for reading!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marian B. WoodApril 5, 2024 at 9:06 AM

    Really appreciated how you explained your step-by-step methodology and reasoning also taking into account historical context, which can be very important in trying to determine "why" and "who." TY for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseyApril 5, 2024 at 10:35 AM

      Thanks, Marian. My eyes were opened to the importance of historical context a few years ago, and it's a game-changer. I'm always on the hunt for old maps, gazetteers, directories, etc., to help in that regard. TY for reading!

      Delete
  4. Jenny April 8, 2024 at 6:29 AM

    The "whys" are always the most challenging question to answer because sometimes it can be for more than one reason, and sometimes we just have to speculate based on what the world was like at the time. Great details on how you thought things through.

    ReplyDelete

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