The Documented Story

The Story from the Documents

(For references, see the Ancestor's Timeline, and the General Timeline.)

In the 18th century Germany was not a united country, as it is today. Rather there existed many principalities, each of which kept its own army. One principality was named Hesse-Hanau.

When the American Revolution started in 1775, Britain was short of soldiers. To obtain troops Britain contracted with several German principalities to rent regiments for use in the war. The troops from all of the regions of Germany are often referred to as Hessians.

The regiments were transported to numerous places in North America. A Jaegers regiment (Rangers in English, Chasseurs in French) from Hesse-Hanau was sent to what is now called southern Quebec. William was a Hesse-Hanau Jaeger. It is likely that his brother was also a Jaeger.

At the end of the war, the Schneider brothers were discharged in Canada (in 1783). After being discharged, William probably lived in Montreal, for his son Charles stated in the 1852 census that he was born in Montreal. Later they must have moved to Lachine on the island of Montreal. We know this because John Frederick, the eldest son of Charles, said in the 1852 census that he was born in Lachine. While in Lachine, the Schneiders were probably innkeepers. In some documents Charles is identified as an innkeeper from Lachine.

Around 1804 the brothers moved from Lachine to Vaudreuil, which is just west of the island of Montreal. It is not known if all of William's children moved to Vaudreuil at the same time, but several did. In Vaudreuil, they purchased several farms and an inn. The inn had been in operation since 1792, which is when it was built by Francis Schroder. It would remain in the Schneider family until 1858. Along with the abilities of the owners, the success of the inn was likely due to the presence of independent traders in the Vaudreuil area, the North West trading post across the river at Oka, and most importantly, that the the route used by the fur traders passed directly in front of the inn.

The fur traders of the Hudson Bay and North West Companies departed on their voyages to the interior from, and returned to, the town of Lachine. Between Lachine and what was then Montreal (the area we call Old Montreal) are the Lachine Rapids which were not passable by boat. The trip between Montreal and Lachine was made overland. The voyage to the interior took the traders up the Ottawa river, and right past the Schneider Inn.

Even starting from Lachine, getting to the area of the Schneider Inn was a substantial trip in the early 1800's. Travel was by canoe or Durham boat. The Rev. Joseph Abbott traveled to the area in 1818, and it took two days to get there. He had to  sleep a night in the bush with nothing to eat [HSAPV 1-9, 2-2].

Travel was much easier after 1827 when steamboats started working the lower Ottawa river. The inn had a large wharf where the steamboats would make regular stops. The presence of the steamboats helped keep the inn a focal point of the community even as the fur trade declined. One of William's granddaughters married a steamboat captain.

The presence in Vaudreuil of William's brother John is known only from the family's oral history. When he left the area or died is not known. There are no documents referring to him, and he seems not to have had any children. Perhaps it was his death that prompted William to go in with William Whitlock and purchase land for use as a cemetery, but this is only speculation. John quickly and silently disappeared from all written record.

William and his descendants were prominent in Vaudreuil for several generations. While he was at St. James' Church in Hudson, Quebec, Rev. Royle wrote a history of the parish - "An Historical Study of the Anglican Parish of Vaudreuil" [HSAPV]. Since he was writing a parish history, Rev. Royle concentrated on the ministrations received by the people of the area, and the development of the church. Still there is much local history in the Study, and many references to the Schneiders. Duncan does remember that his father Frank spoke to the Rev. Royle several times on the phone to provide help with the Schneider story.

Geography

To follow the story of the Schneiders in Hudson, it helps to know the different names used for the area.

Originally the whole area was called Vaudreuil. Later, the area where the Schneider Inn was located was called Cavagnal or Pointe-a-Cavagnal. In 1847, the "Ottawa Glass Works" company was established not far from the Schneider Inn. From about that time, the post office and the surrounding village were known as the Ottawa Glass Works. In 1855 the village was renamed Como to avoid confusion with the city of Ottawa.

Hudson Heights was the name used for the area around St. James' church and the cemetery. Nowadays, Como and Hudson Heights are part of the village of Hudson, in the county of Vaudreuil. Como and Hudson Heights are sometimes still used to refer to sections of the village of Hudson.

Rigaud is a town west of Hudson. Argenteuil is a county located across the Ottawa river from Vaudreuil. Chatham was a village in Argenteuil county on the banks of the Ottawa, a little west of Hudson.

Carillon is a town located upriver (west) of Chatham. There were rapids at Carillon that were impassable by boat. When steamboats started working the Ottawa river, they could only travel as far as Carillon. Travelers from Montreal would go overland to Lachine. There they would get on a steamboat and travel to Carillon. At Carillon, they would travel overland around the rapids, and then get on another steamboat to complete the trip to Ottawa.

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