Her obituary in the June 28, 1913 issue of the Berlin (Kitchener) newspaper reported:
One of Berlin's well-known and highly respected residents passed away on Friday afternoon shortly after five o'clock in the person of Margaret Strub, beloved wife of Jacob Wellheuser, at the residence 43 Peter St. During the past two weeks Mrs. Wellheuser had suffered three paralytic strokes, the first coming two weeks ago today, and from the effects of these afflictions she never recovered. During her illness she was unfortunately rendered speechless. Previous to this, she had enjoyed good health.
Mrs. Wellheuser was a woman of many fine qualities and was a highly esteemed member of St. Mary's church and the Christian Mothers' Association.
A story of wry humour in the family recalls that their mother Margaret used to remark that she didn't want to live past sixty, because "after sixty you're an O-OLD WOMAN!" That comment is very much out of date today, but for many pioneer women it may have been true. And when Margaret gave up the battle of life the day before her sixtieth birthday, as her children observed, she seemed to prove that she believed it.
The report of the funeral mentions that
Rev. A.J. Fischer, C.R. conducted the funeral service
at St. Mary's church.Pall-bearers were Messrs. F.X. Schmuck, Joseph Wuest, Andrew Englert, Joseph Dorschell, Ignatz Wey, and Albert Schelhaus.
Among the relatives from out of town were Mrs. David Strub, Hamilton, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Helm, St. Clements, Mr. Joseph Gatschene and Miss Agnes Gatschene of Josephburg, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Strub and Miss Agnes Strub of St. Agatha, Mr. Robert Cardy, Toronto, Mr. R. Hewer, Guelph, Mrs. Wellheuser, Guelph, Mrs. Albert Schultz, Woodstock, Mr. Matthew Wellheuser, Detroit, Mrs. Joseph Deemert, Preston, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Deemert, Hespeler, Mrs. Strauss and Mrs. Schuler, St. Agatha, and Mr. Leo Gatschene, New Hamburg.
Peter took over his father's north farm in the fall of 1885 though it didn't become officially his till January, 1893. That year he built a new barn. Peter and his father-in-law were admiring it when Jacob said, "Next year you build a new house." (They were living in a log house.) Peter protested that his farm was, mortgaged and he had had to scrape up every cent to build the barn,-there was just no money to build a house. Jacob said, "Go ahead and build it. I have the money,"
Jacob also had his own rig for making lumber."You have plenty of bush on your farm. Get out some logs and we'll make you some lumber." So it was done. House and barn are still in use. The white brick house has been painted red.
The day they moved into the new house, Peter's only son at the time was too eager to get his own possessions moved. It was arranged, in order to keep him out of the way while the furniture was being loaded, that his things would go on the important last trip. As the last load was arriving at the new house, mother Ann observed her four-year-old son standing on the stoneboat, clutching in one hand a vest made for him by a seamstress aunt and his personal-sized pot in the other. She was quite amused to see what his prized possessions were.
In March 1905, Peter sold the farm to Albert McNab, and worked for a farmer that summer. On March 1, 1906 Peter bought two Lots on the Townline north of Forrosa, a hundred acre farm and ninety acres of swamp with fifteen acres cleared to serve as a grass farm. The next winter the Fischer team hauled brick for building the country school, just as the Fischer team had hauled brick in the winter of 1902-3 for building the new Chepstow Church. Their farm had a new barn built in 1895 and a frame house. In 1913 they built the red brick house which they lived in for many years until first, Peter with the gangrene problem, and after his passing, Ann had to be taken to daughter Emma's for more care.
The older grandchildren from Windsor and Kitchener who used to enjoy some weeks at the Fischer farm in summer, remember bits of style about the place. There was the rubber-tired buggy with steel axles which curved upward to raise the topless buggy a few inches higher than those with wooden axles, to carry passengers with a smoother ride and a few inches higher in the world. So, on fine days, the Peter Fischers rode in style. Sons Edgar and Bert had early models of cars for transporting larger groups, including the grandchildren. Above the woodshed was an upper floor where curious outdated items still in excellent condition were kept.
Peter also had a pair of lively grey driving horses, the darker grey, Harry, being Peter's own driver and pet. Peter used to tell the story of an incident at Cargill where he had driven one cold day for supplies. When he had made his purchases and was stowing them in the buggy, a passing truck with canvas cover flapping startled the animal. Two men rushed from the sidewalk to grab the reins at the horse's head to save the poor old man with the elegant white mustache from a dangerous runaway. But those strangers tugging at Harry's bit only made things worse, and it took some time before Peter could persuade his rescuers to let go the horse. When they did let go, Harry stood like a sheep,-the truck had gone. With lines still left dangling over the dashboard, Peter took plenty of time wrapping his buffalo robe about him and pulling on his mitts. The men gawked in disbelief. When Peter was well set, he picked up the lines, giddap, and Harry trotted off. There was something between Peter and Harry. Peter knew that Harry wasn't going anywhere without Peter.
The Peter Fischers spoke English. Ann knew German not well, because her mother was a Fisk and English speaking. Peter had learned German at home. In fact, his mother knew only enough English to speak the necessary and important things to her grandchildren, such as "Would you like a cookie?" So when a carriage, or later a car, arrived from Waterloo with Fischer relatives, Peter stopped work pronto and spent happy hours reminiscing and slinging the German with them.
Edgar was a locomotive fireman for the Grand Trunk Railway until conscripted for overseas service in 1917 with the 48th Scottish of Toronto. After the Armistice was signed in November 1918, his Regiment, the second battalion of the first Canadian Division marched 320 miles via Charleroi, Namur, Liege and Aachen into Germany and right past the famous Cologne Cathedral. Because of his railroad experience, he was picked for guard duty on the supply trains when the Belgians started plundering them. In late spring of 1919 he returned to Canada on the steamship Baltic, the same ship which had transported the regiment to England.
About 1922 he rented the home farm for three years, as his father, Peter, was handicapped by lameness due to rheumatism. Edgar put cement stabling in the barn, dynamited and cleared some big rocks from two fields and drained a low-lying field. He bought a McCormick "Titan" tractor, the first one sold by the Chepstow Agency. He instructed later buyers on how to operate them. When it was decided that Albert should have the home farm, Edgar worked for his uncle Ralph Waechter and other farmers, either with his tractor, or where his mechanical skills were required. In winter he worked in the Donnelly logging camp.
In February 1929 he married Margaret Clancy, a daughter of farm neighbours, James Clancy and Elizabeth Cronin. the newlyweds soon left for Saskatchewan where they had an offer to operate a farm on shares where Edgar and Albert had worked before.
Because of the share agreement, and because they intended to move to Heisler, Alberta for the next season, the wheat was hauled to the elevator almost as soon as it was threshed. The wheat crop was good that year and selling at a good price. They had banked the grain cheques for their share before worldwide disaster struck, - the stock market crashed, the elevators stopped buying wheat, which became almost worthless when it couldn't be sold. A farmer with fairly new horse-drawn equipment who was retiring, realizing that it would be difficult to sell his equipment for cash, sold Edgar a team of horses and some implements at a bargain price.
Though at Heisler they endured hail and drought, they came through the bad years fairly well, with more social life activities when there was not much crop to harvest.
After several dry years in the Forties, they moved to a farm fifty miles west of Edmonton. Edgar built a new house there and another at Wabamun after Margaret died and he sold the farm. Even into his early eighties he has kept active with his skills, helping neighbours. He now lives in Heisler.
Michael McNab, b. 1857 at Heidelberg, Ont. d. 1931 at Chepstow Monument for both in the old Chepstow Cemetery. Son of Michael McNab who emigrated from Ireland and Magdalena Brohman, daughter of the Gottlieb Brohman of New Germany, now called Maryhill. The McNabs have already been fully charted in the Brohman Book. See it for Michael's brothers and sisters and their families.
At Chepstow Michael and Elizabeth farmed for seven years on a farm purchased from John Coumans Jr.. Michael was also a drover, selling to the Buffalo market.
They next bought the Riversdale Hotel which they operated for seven years till they sold it and returned to the farm for seven years. In 1906 they purchased the King Edward Hotel in Chepstow from Lawrence Baumann and operated it until 1922 when they retired in their new red brick house next to the hotel. Daughter Lena took over the hotel and with her son,James Fleming, operated it until it was sold to Victor Willi in 1951. Lena and James moved to Walkerton.
Michael McNab served on the Greenock Twp. Council for two years and as Reeve for five consecutive years, and finally as chairman of the Bruce County Highways Commission. As chairman he achieved a major coup for taxpayers of the county by purchasing for the county six gravel deposits outright.
Feeling health declining, the McNabs celebrated nearly fifty years of marriage in 1931. There's a memorial stained-glass window in the Chepstow church donated by Michael McNab. They also donated one of the side altars carved by one of the Kraemers of Greenock. The side altars have since been removed.
It's also worth mentioning that the Lawrence Baumanns moved to Walkerton where they donated the fine stained glass window representing the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Walkerton church.