The Buchners and Boughners are branches of one family tree. They are a numerous family, and widely scattered throughout Canada and the neighboring States. They are of German descent. The form “Buchner” is more in conformity with the original style of spelling the name, and the one retained by the larger portion of the family.[1]
The Buchner family settled in the colony of New Jersey before the spirit of independence had divided the colonists into opposing factions, the one loyal and the other disloyal to the British Crown. The Buchners were loyal from beginning to end. They were loyal when it was the popular thing to be loyal, and when the advocates of independence had succeeded in winning over an overwhelming majority to their side, and the Loyalist element had dwindled into a hated minority, the Buchners still remained loyal. Their home was in Sussex County, and when the colonies threw off their allegiance they joined the British forces and fought for British supremacy on the American continent. In 1789, about six years after peace had been restored, four brothers of this family—Henry, John, Matthias and Martin—came to Upper Canada and settled at Lyon’s Creek, and in the closing year of the century,[2] Matthias Buchner or Boughner (as the name is spelled by this branch of the family), third brother of the quartette, came up to Long Point settlement, and settled on the west side of the Culver settlement, in the township of Windham.[3] The family of Matthias Boughner drew some eight hundred acres of land in the 13th and 14th concessions, and the pioneer log cabin was erected on Lot 6, 13th concession, where the present residence of Elias Boughner stands. In moving up from Niagara the usual trail along the lake shore was followed.[4]
The sons and daughters of Matthias Boughner were all pretty much grown up when the settlement was made in Windham. He and his sons were expert hunters, and did their share in exterminating the wild beasts that haunted the great Windham swamp. They were exceedingly fond of gunning, and many interesting stories are told of their experiences in the Windham forests in those early pioneer times, when “Rattlesnake Harbor” was a veritable den of rattlesnakes and the wolves and bears held high carnival in the brush-entangled cedar thickets. In these days deer were more plentiful than rabbits are now, and venison steak was an every day table delicacy.
Mrs. Catherine Boughner, who resides at the old homestead, has in her possession an Indian tomahawk with a pipe-bowl head, with which Martin Boughner (son of Matthias) killed a bear. Mr. Boughner shot the bear, but being only slightly wounded, it turned and grappled with him. Throwing his empty rifle aside he seized his tomahawk and, managing to keep his right arm free from bruin’s embrace, he succeeded in beating in the brains of the beast with the pipe-bowl head of the scalper.
The great swampy heart of Windham remained a safe breeding ground for bears long after they had been driven out of the forests and lesser swamps of the older townships; and the adjacent settlers, therefore, were subjected to rather more than their share of the nocturnal depredations of these lubberly pests. It was almost impossible for these settlers to keep pigs and sheep. Bruin was particularly fond of fresh pork; and the agonizing squeal of some unfortunate porker, as he was being hugged in the embrace of death by his lubberly enemy, was a sound that frequently broke the “stilly watches of the night.” On one occasion Mr. Boughner and his son Peter saw a bear seize a hog and start off with it. They went in pursuit of the pig-stealer, armed with an axe, and caught up with him just as he was about to jump over a log with his prey; and, as he did so, Peter buried the axe in the bear’s back. The axe caught fast in bruin’s vertebral column and Peter lost his hold on the handle and fell backwards to the ground. The bear immediately turned upon him, and had it not been for the ugly wound given him, that Boughner’s name would have been “Dennis” instead of Peter. Martin Boughner was a better shot than his brother Peter, and killed more bears probably than any other member of the family. It is not known how many he killed, but he never shot more than two in any one week. The trusty old rifle used by him is being preserved by his daughter, Miss Catherine Boughner. She has, also, the old deed given by Matthias to her father, bearing date, January 7th, 1812. It is very lengthy, all written out, and cost ten shillings and fourpence-threefarthings to register it.
Matthias Boughner’s day was passed when the war of 1812 came on; but, as he had fought in the defence of the Old Flag in the war of the Revolution, so did his sons in the war of 1812. His son Martin was taken prisoner at the engagement at Malcolm’s Mills.
The old pioneer had six sons—Peter, John, Matthias, Alexander, Martin and Joseph; and four daughters—Mary, Elsie, Christine and Anna.[5]
Peter Boughner, eldest son of Matthias, married Sarah Robbins, and settled on Lot 8, 13th concession, Windham. He had five sons—Matthias, Daniel, Peter, John and Wesley; and five daughters—Sarah, Mercy, Mary, Elsie Ann and Elizabeth.
John Boughner, second son of Matthias, married Rachel Smith, and settled finally in the township of Southwold. He had five sons—Abraham, Sydney, John, Wesley and Isaac; and two daughters—Mary Ann and Lavinia.[6]
Matthias Boughner, third son of Matthias, married Sarah Misner, and settled on Lot 1, 9th concession, Townsend. He had six sons—John, George, Stephen, Nathan J., Robert and Zebulun Landon; and three daughters—Lavinia, Hulda and Emily. He died in 1855, in his 78th year.[7]
Alexander Boughner, fourth son of the old pioneer, married Gertrude Glover, and settled near Aylmer. He had four sons—Frank, Torrey, Robert and John; and five daughters—Deborah, Eliza, Christine, Arsula, and another who married into the Westover family.[8]
Martin Boughner, fifth son of the old pioneer, succeeded to the old homestead. He was twice married. By his first wife, Elizabeth Wade, he had seven sons—Hiram, Alanson, Martin, Nelson, David, William and Nathan W.; and six daughters—Drusilla, Sirena, Cynthia, Mary and Ann (twins) and Jane. By his second wife, Mrs. Adams, nee Catherine Rose, he had one daughter, Catherine. In 1806 he was appointed Constable for Windham by the old court of Quarter Sessions. He died in 1861, in his 77th year.
Joseph Boughner, youngest son of the old pioneer, married Nancy Merritt, and settled in the township of Dereham. He had one son, Jacob; and four daughters—Sarah, Christine, Elsina and Jane.
Mary Boughner, eldest daughter of the old pioneer, married Deacon Jacob Beam, of Beamsville. She had no family.
Elsie Boughner, second daughter of the old pioneer, married Noah Millard, and settled in Oxford County.
Anna Boughner, the third daughter, died single; and Christine, the youngest daughter of the old pioneer, married Nathaniel White, and settled in Woodhouse.[9]
The name of Buchner, or Boughner, is one of the most familiar names in the county. As will be seen by the genealogy of this branch, they are inclined to large families. This has multiplied them rapidly and increased the name to an extent not exceeded probably by any other name found in the list of Norfolk’s foundation builders. The Buchners are not a family of office-seekers. Their church affiliations are mostly with the Methodists. They are socially inclined, unobtrusive in manners, upright and straightforward in the everyday affairs of life; and, taken in all, are fairly representative of Norfolk’s best citizenship.
Were we to carry the genealogy of this branch of the Buchner family a generation farther, we would be introduced to Mr. Elias Boughner, one of Windham’s most popular and best known citizens of the present time. Mr. Boughner occupies the old ancestral homestead; that is, the portion whereon was erected the original home. He is prominent in his church, in his political party, and in social circles. He possesses a sunny nature, and his “latch-string” always hangs on the outside. He has served in the council chambers of his township and county, and no man ever served better. On two occasions he has been the standard-bearer of his party in the parliamentary elections of the North Riding of Norfolk—the first, in opposition to the late John B. Freeman; and the second, in opposition to the present member, Mr. E. C. Carpenter. The political fates were against him; but he made a good fight, and had the satisfaction of polling the largest vote ever cast by his party for a parliamentary candidate in the riding.
As before stated, Henry Buchner was the eldest of the original quartette of brothers. When they left New Jersey, in 1789, one of Henry’s daughters, who was married, remained there. All of his children were born in New Jersey, and when they came to Niagara the two youngest—Annie and Henry—were balanced in baskets, hung over the back of one of the pack horses, and it is said that while passing along the side of a mountain, little Annie, who was on the lower side, was nearly frightened to death by the swinging out of her basket. It made such an impression on her childish mind that she never forgot it, and when she sat in the old arm-chair in her declining years, known by every old settler in the south-western portion of Windham as “old aunt Anna Howey,” she never tired in relating the incident to her many grandchildren.[10]
The original Henry Buchner had a son Christopher, at whose home he died, having reached a good old age. After the father’s death, Christopher moved up to Norfolk County, and settled in Middleton, on Lot 33, on Talbot street south. One Harmonias Van Alstine had previously taken up this lot, and he and Mr. Buchner exchanged locations. This was in about the year 1828.[11] Christopher had three brothers—John, Martin and Henry; and three sisters—Elsie, Elizabeth and Anna. Of this family, Christopher was the only son who settled in Norfolk, but two of the daughters of the original Henry—Elizabeth and Anna—married, respectively, Capt. Abner Owen, of Woodhouse, and Daniel Howey, of Windham, and became pioneer mothers of two of our old Norfolk families.[12]
When Christopher Buchner settled in Middleton, bears and wolves were very numerous, and game of all kinds was plentiful. The cranberry and huckleberry swamps of Middleton were vast pest holes, where rattlesnakes multiplied ad libitum and she bears found a safe retreat for the rearing of their cubs. In those days the settlers were frequently compelled to turn out of their beds in the night time and drive away the bears and wolves from their pig and sheep pens. The pens were built of logs, and if not bear-proof and wolf-proof, it was impossible to provide the family with pork, mutton and wool. The late William R. Buchner, was a son of Christopher, and succeeded to the Middleton homestead. He died January 26th, of the present year (1897), and his son, A. O. Buchner, is the present occupant of the old homestead.
Jacob Buchner, the old Woodhouse pioneer, whose family genealogy is given in connection with the family of James Matthews, was a cousin of the four original Buchner brothers, treated of in this sketch. He came to Long Point direct from New Jersey.[13]
[1] On September 29, 1753, the family ancestor Johannes Martin Buchner arrived at the port of Philadelphia from Rotterdam on the ship Rowand. The passenger list also included his believed sons Johann Heinrich and Matthias. The family settled at Oxford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. Source: A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to 1776, by Daniel Rupp, 1876, p. 316-317.
[2] Johann Heinrich, known as Henry Buchner, born c. 1733 and his brother Matthias, born c. 1740 were active in the loyalist New Jersey Volunteers during the American Revolution. Jacob Beam wrote of them, “the bearer Jacob Beam, Henry Buchner and Matthias Boughner were Imprisoned Indicted and highly fined in the County of Sussex in New Jersey… there was Large Sums of [Cost] against them… the Charges against them was that they supported Capt. James Moody when out in that County in the Late War with provisions and conducted him through there Neghbourhood..” (Upper Canada Land Petition “B” Bundle 3, Doc. No. 93). While Henry normally signed his name “Buchner”, Matthias adopted the spelling “Boughner”.
[3] Matthias Boughner came to Upper Canada in 1786 and settled along Lyon’s Creek in Crowland Twp., Welland County, mentioned in his land petitions “B” Bundle 3, Doc. No. 41, and 75. His brother Henry joined him in 1789.
[4] On March 19, 1798, Matthias Boughner was given a patent for Lot 24, Concessions 2, 3 and 4, Woodhouse Township, Norfolk County. On January 15, 1801, he purchased Lots 6 and 7, Concession 13, and Lot 6, Concession 14, Windham Township. He built his home on Lot 6, Concession 14 along present Highway 3 between Simcoe and Delhi. (Abstracts of Deeds Registers of Woodhouse and Windham Townships).
[5] Matthias Boughner Jr. appears to have been older than John. Matthias’ gravestone in Old Windham Methodist Church Cemetery north of Simcoe states that he died on June 15, 1855 aged 77 years, 7 months and 2 days which calculates to a 1777 birth year. John’s stone in Talbotville Royal Cemetery, Southwold Township, Elgin County states that he died on March 17, 1855 aged 75 years 2 months and 9 days which makes him just over two years younger with a birth date in 1780.
[6] John Boughner might have had an oldest daughter Hannah, born about 1807 who married Isaac Bowlby and died after the birth of her third child about 1833. The Families of the Five Stakes, by Morely Thomas,. p. 51
[7] A transcript of the register pages from the Boughner Family Bible at the Norfolk Historical Society Archives states that Matthias Boughner married Sarah Williams (not Misner) on October 13, 1803. The couple lived for some time on Lot 14, Concession 6, Windham Township, land which Matthias purchased from his father in 1812. On July 6, 1827, Matthias purchased Lot 1, Concession 9, Townsend Township from Benjamin Collver and moved there at that time. (Abstracts of Deeds Register of Windham and Townsend Townships).
[8] Alexander Boughner’s daughter Elizabeth, to whom Owen refers as “Eliza” married Harmon Westover on February 7, 1838, recorded in the London District Marriage Register.
[9] While no vital dates have been found for Christine (Boughner) White, she was likely one of the older children of Matthias Boughner Sr. Her husband Nathaniel White was born about 1766 according to the 1812 Census of Woodhouse Township. Christine’s oldest child was born c. 1792 and the youngest c. 1804. Christine died sometime before 1810 when Nathaniel remarried.
[10] Anna (Buchner) Howey was born on November 17, 1788 according to her gravestone in Delhi Cemetery, so it is reasonable that she was one of the babies during the 1789 move from New Jersey to Upper Canada. However, it is unlikely that Henry Buchner Jr. was the other. His vital dates have not been found, but his oldest son Lewis was born in 1795, so Henry was one of the older children.
[11] Harmonius Van Alstine married Christopher Buchner’s sister Mary. Harmonius and Christopher exchanged locations, the former taking Christopher’s farm in Crowland Township, Welland County and Christopher taking Harmonius’ location in Middleton Township. (Abstracts of Deeds Registers of Crowland and Middleton Townships).
[12] Henry Buchner Sr. had additional daughters. The oldest, Catherine married Nicholas Yost and remained in New Jersey. Margaret Buchner, born on April 28, 1777, married Robert Stringer. Elsie Buchner married Henry Buck, and Mary Buchner married Harmonius Van Alstine. Source: Willliam R. Yeager, Sources in Buchner-Boughner Genealogy, p. 127
[13] Jacob Buchner came to Upper Canada in 1786 and settled first in Willoughby Township, Welland County. In 1796, he moved to Windham Township, Norfolk Co. (Upper Canada Land Petitions “B” Bundle 2, Doc. No. 49 and “B” Bundle 6, Doc. No. 62.