George Hosbach - ship Abby Blanchard
George Hosbach was born on April 28, 1828 in the village of Altenburschla, in the Electorate of Hesse. He was the youngest son of Johann George and Maria Elisabeth Forst Hosbach. Nothing is known about his boyhood in Altenburschla, but when he was a young man he learned to be a locksmith. His decision to follow this career may have been made because he, as the youngest son, was not eligible to inherit the family estate. His obituary states that he traveled at this occupation for three or four years. This may explain why the passenger list for the ship Abby Blanchard shows the town of Schlitz as his origin rather than his birthplace, Altenburschla. Schlitz was the town where his future wife Louise Duchardt was living. Louise was the daughter of Heinrich and Sophia Hof Duchardt, and was born on October 12, 1832. Since there are no pictures of Louise available, a physical description of her can be found on her passport, elsewhere in this book.
In 1854, when George was twenty-six years old, he and Louise decided to emigrate to North America. Years later George's son John recalled his father telling him that when George and Louise arrived in Bremen, their port of departure, they could not board the ship which they intended to sail on because it was already loaded to capacity. This ship was the New Era which sailed on September 28, 1854. They were forced to wait for the next available ship. This was the Abby Blanchard, which sailed on September 30, 1854. When they arrived in New York, they heard that the New Era had been wrecked near the coast of New Jersey with great loss of lives. Newspaper accounts of this tragedy can be found on another page in this book. It must have been a rough voyage crossing the Atlantic Ocean for George and Louise. The story is told that because of the rough seas George fell into the hold of the ship and landed on the ballast rocks, injuring his leg. He was forced to remain there for quite some time before his accident was discovered and he was helped back on deck. They finally arrived at the Port of New York on November 21, 1854, after a voyage of seven weeks. George's obituary states that they stayed in New York for a short time before continuing on to Canada. Exactly where they stayed in New York has never been learned. From New York they traveled by train to Hamilton, Ontario, and from there by stagecoach to Baden, near Kitchener, Ontario. * see note below. There George went to work as a blacksmith and Louise worked as a servant girl at a tavern owned by the man who owned the stagecoach line. In April, 1855 George and Louise were married by Pastor Diehl, a Lutheran minister in that locality. Later, George operated his own blacksmith shop in a little town called Waldau, which was near Baden. It was here that seven of their eight children were born. The children received a basic education, and learned both the English and German languages.
In 1869, after living about fifteen years in the Kitchener area, George decided to move north to Grey County, Ontario. This move probably was for economic reasons. At that time many German immigrants and Germans from the Kitchener area were settling in Grey County. This area was also known as the "Queen's Bush", since much of the forested land there was "Crown"(government owned) land. George was not a pioneer in the sense that he "staked a claim" on the land, since the land he bought had been taken from the Crown about three or four years previously, and then resold to George. He probably had to clear much of it before it could be farmed. They lived in a log house located on Lot 15, on the 7th concession, in a little community called Lamlash. The Canadian census for 1881 shows George's occupation as a farmer, although he did operate a blacksmith shop on his property. Land records show George to be the third owner of the property since 1865 when it was taken from the Crown.
Since there were many German Lutherans in the area, a Lutheran church had been established near Lamlash about two years before George arrived there. This church was St. Peter's Lutheran church. According to the church record book, George joined the church in 1870, his name being recorded as the twelfth member. He became an active member of the church, leading the congregational singing, and accompanying the singing with his violin. Music was one of his many talents, including making and repairing violins. He also made locks, the trade he learned in Germany. He made many locks for wealthy farmers who were building large houses in Bentinck and Brant townships in Grey County. There probably are many locks still in use today in that area that were made by George Hosbach. In 1861 his daughter, Emilie Misch, showed us the lock on the front door of St. Peter's church in Brant township that was made by her father.
A few years after settling in Lamlash, Louise was afflicted with some kind of throat ailment. She died on February 29, 1880. Her obituary states that she was hoarse for the last few years of her life. Her two youngest children at the time of her death were six and eleven years old. In 1897 George went to live with his daughter Emilie Misch and her husband Louis. He lived there for about a year and then went to live with his daughter Elisabeth Hoffman and her husband Christ in Brant township. When he died on May 28, 1913, he had been an invalid for about three years as the result of a broken leg.
He was a respected member of his community, a devout Christian, and fondly remembered by his children and grandchildren. Louise Mortimer, his granddaughter, showed us the location of his room in the Hoffman house where he died. He and his wife Louise are buried in St. Peter's Lutheran cemetery in Bentinck township.
*added note
John Hosbach said his parents traveled by train from New York to Hamilton, Ontario. Whether he meant from the Port of New York City, or Buffalo in New York state is not known. From 1825 to the 1850s the most popular route from New York City to Buffalo was via the Hudson River and the Erie Canal. However, by 1854 railroads had been extended across New York state and were taking much freight and passenger business away from the Erie Canal. So it is possible George and Louise could have gone from New York City to Buffalo by either the rail or canal route.