Stories of Other Schneiders

Caroline Contine

Though Contine is a rare name, its rarity does not make it any easier to trace. To date, the only information of substance is that there were Contines living in Ithaca, New York around the time of the American Revolution [STC]. Ithaca is south of Kingston, Ontario, and Carleton Island. There were Hesse-Hanau Chasseurs stationed at Carleton Island. However, this does not prove Caroline's origin.

It is also possible that Contine was a translation from the French Cantyn,  Quantin, or Cantin. In 1846 Augustin Cantin founded a ship building company along the Lachine Canal.

In the record of her marriage , Caroline is called Carolina. [Transcripts]

Charles Schneider

Since we have no record of the birth of our ancestor Charles, we do not know his exact age when he moved to Vaudreuil. He was probably about 20 years old. He had already been married 2 years. The marriage record says that  he was an tavern keeper at the time.

Once in Vaudreuil, he owned several farms, was active in the militia, was prominent in church and community events, and helped run the inn. Rev. Royle [HSAPV 1- 8] thought that Charles and his family lived at the inn with William and Caroline, his parents. That would seem unlikely. The inn has been described as a "large house", and it probably was for the times. Still, if Charles and his large family, plus his parents lived in the inn, there could not have been much room left for paying guests. It is possible that Charles moved into the inn when his parents were elderly. In 1829, the year of William's death, Charles' brother John moved out of his house [Timeline - 1829], but the source does not say where he moved to.

Military Career of Charles

There are articles which say that Charles was a Hessian soldier. One even says that Charles may have been soldier in General Wolfe's army at the Battle of The Plains of Abraham. Since Charles himself said that he was born in Montreal, he clearly was neither a Hessian, nor on the Plains of Abraham. Charles's father William, and his uncle John, were the ones who were Hessian soldiers.

Charles served in the militia during the war of 1812. On December 6, 1812, Charles enlisted as a lieutenant in the Lower Canada Militia, District of Montreal, Vaudreuil Division [OBFC1812]. We know from baptism records of his daughter Hannah [Timeline -1814] and son Andrew [Timeline - 1817], that Charles was a was still a lieutenant in 1817.

Roderick Clarke [RCD – Charles] notes that Charles was also in the militia (Loyal Vaudreuil Volunteers) during the rebellion of 1837-1838. Charles was a Captain. He also gave a deposition concerning the activities of William Whilock, an alleged supporter of the rebellion. Reference to the deposition is available from a website on the rebellion and the 'patriotes'.

On the Patriotes/Rebellion website [RBC – Schneider] choose: “Recherche dans la banque des acteurs de 1837-1838”. Type 'Schneider' into the search box, and you will get the following result:

Schneider, Charles:

Le courrier canadien et la quotidienne. il déclare que william whitlock est l'auteur des articles ci-dessus mentionnés et portant la signature de john gripe.

Déposition signé (e) par Charles schneider, de vaudreuil. en date du 18371222. Centre d'archives de Québec, E17 (1922-00-00148), dossier 3891, disponible sur microfilm M165/7

(Translation: In the Canadian Newsletter and The Daily: He declares that William Whitlock is the author of the articles mentioned above and bearing the signature of John Gripe.

Disposition signed by Charles Schneider of Vaudreuil on December 22, 1837. The Quebec Archives Center, E17 …)

Mrs. Charles Schneider's Name: Marie Josette

Conrad Marstellar and Frederick Stern were witnesses at the marriage of Mary Kingsbury and Charles Schneider in 1802.

John Conrad Marsteller was a land owner in Montreal around that time. He owned a property on the north side of rue Notre-Dame, between rue Saint-Francois-Xavier and rue Saint-Gabriel. Marsteller owned the property from 1776 to 1805. [Adhemar]

Marsteller's was married to Marie-Josette Coquillard. Her name is interesting because at her burial, Mary Kingsbury's name was recorded as Marie Josette. [HSAPV 1-7, 4-6] Small world, for names anyways!

C. W. Schneider, Postmaster

Charles William Schneider was the son of Mary and Charles (see their children). He was the brother of our direct ancestor John William.

The postmaster in Carillon, Quebec, in 1861 was C. W. Schneider. (The listing is on the Alberta Family Histories Society's Post Offices in Canada webpage.) However Charles William of Vaudreuil and the postmaster may not have been the same person. See the Census of 1852 - Other Schneiders for a discussion of the confusion.

John Edmund Schneider

Francis Clarke Schneider referred to his father as Edmund. On the census of 1881 he is listed as John E. The burial record calls him Edmund.

Edmund died at the age of 59. When he died his son Francis, who is our ancestor, was only 8. Edmund's youngest daughter was only five. Frances recalled her father, Francis, saying that after his father died the family lived for a while above Mullan's store.

Duncan recalls his father saying that Edmund was a gentleman farmer, that is he had hired help to work his land. Another story told to Duncan by his father, was that Edmund had a St. Bernard dog. The children would swim in the river under the supervision of the dog. If they went too far from shore, the dog would drag them back by the swim trunks.

There is a family story that Edmund went to England to marry his wife Mary Dobles. This is obviously not correct, since the marriage is recorded in the Registers of St. James' Church. It is possible that he had met her in England, but we have no record of his travels.

Mary Elizabeth Dobles

In various documents, Mary's family name is spelled as Dobles, Dobbles, or Dobels.

Frances told the story that Mary Elizabeth had a stoke and was paralyzed for the last 20 years of her life, being only able to move her eyes. If true, this would mean that she had the stroke shortly after her husband died in 1897.

Invalid people were mostly cared for at home in those days. Mary Ann cared for her for some time. Mary Elizabeth's daughter Georgina may have also cared for her for a time.