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a collection of family histories

Ever since the village of Theresaville or Birdtown (now the town of Simcoe) made its appearance in the forest of Norfolk, the name of Steinhoff has been familiar to its people. One of the original brothers settled near the place in the beginning of the century, and the old homestead is still in possession of the family. The Steinhoffs are of German descent. The grandancestor settled in one of the American colonies, and after the War of the Revolution, seven brothers—Andrew, Emmanuel, Joseph, Frederick, John, Benjamin and Leo—came to Upper Canada.¹ The had a sister, Hannah, who married William Dell—which became Dill—and settled in Windham. The Steinhoffs settled, at first, in the Niagara district, but when Long Point settlement began to attract settlers Andrew moved up from Niagara and settled on Lot 2, in the 6th concession of Woodhouse, which had previously been taken up by one Jacob Lamb. Lamb’s Government patent was dated August 15th, 1803, and he sold the lot to Steinhoff for £100.

Andrew Steinhoff and his brothers—John, Frederick and Emmanuel—were in the settlement before this, however, as the old court journal shows that all four sat in court as petit jurors at the fall term of the court of Quarter Sessions held in the Monroe House, in 1801. Only three of these brothers settled in Norfolk—Andrew, Frederick and Emmanuel. There is nothing to show where John settled, or what became of him; indeed, it is quite possible that the seven were not all brothers. It is said that Benjamin and Leo settled near Toronto, and that Joseph settled above St. Thomas.²

Andrew Steinhoff married Jennie Malcolm, and had four sons—Peter, Finley, Levi and Hugh; and five daughters—Sarah Ann, Katie, Elsina, Emry and Arsula. Mr. Steinhoff died in 1814, with a fever brought on by exposure while engaged in military service.³

Rev. Peter Steinhoff, eldest son of Andrew, married Elizabeth Dill, and settled on the homestead. He was a Baptist preacher, and did his ministerial work, not as a pastor, properly speaking, but rather as an evangelist, working wherever his sense of duty led him, or where the field seemed most inviting. He died in 1871, in his 70th year.

Elder Steinhoff had eight sons—Andrew, William, Finley, Abram I., Hiram F., Walter, Peter N., and Benjamin F.; and two daughters—Maria and Clarisa.

Finley Steinhoff, second son of Andrew, married Sarah Ann Smith, and settled on land adjoining the old homestead. He had two sons—Hugh and Orlando; and five daughters—Elsie, Loiva, Adeline, Juliet and Emily.⁴

Levi Steinhoff, third son of Andrew, married Anna Beemer, and settled in the States.

Hugh Steinhoff, fourth son of Andrew, married Alvira Fero, and settled in Windham. He had two sons—Lewis and Leamon.⁵

Sarah Ann Steinhoff, eldest daughter off[sic] Andrew, married Richard Dill, of Windham, and had five sons—Jacob, Peter, John, Levi and James; and four daughters—Harriet, Samantha, Jane and Ann.

Katie Steinhoff, second daughter of Andrew, married Jacob Smith, and settled in Townsend. She had two sons—Squire and McFarland, and several daughters.⁶

Elsina Steinhoff, third daughter of Andrew, married Abram Petitt, and settled in Windham. She had eight sons—Lyman, Duncan, Finley, Abram, Ford, Isaac, Esmond and Walter; and six daughters—Theresa, Melissa, Eliza, Louisa, Susanna and Mercia.⁷

Emry Steinhoff, fourth daughter of Andrew, married William Landon, a Baptist preacher. She had no children.

Arsula Steinhoff, fifth and youngest daughter of Andrew, married into the McLean family.

Frederick Steinhoff, the original pioneer brother, married Mary Barnhardt, and settled in Woodhouse. There was a mill privilege on his land and he built and operated a sawmill and cloth factory. He died about forty years ago, being about seventy at the time of his death.

On one occasion, during Mr. Steinhoff’s early pioneer life, a big lubber of a bear seized one of his porkers and walked off with it. The porker weighed about 200 lbs., and it aroused Steinhoff’s combativeness to see his meat carried off in this manner right before his eyes, so he rallied the forces at his command and started in pursuit. Bruin hugged his squealing captive to death as he waddled off with him, and when he reached a good place in the woods he buried his prey by the side of a log. Before he had finished the job, however, his pursuers were upon him, and he went up a tree. The guns were turned upon him, and a fusilade kept up until the ammunition gave out, but Mr. Bear never even changed his position. Thinking that the riddled and lifeless body of the pig-thief was lodged in the tree in such a way as to prevent it from falling, they proceeded to cut the tree down. After a good deal of hard work the tree fell; and the supposedly dead bear jumped up, and, after putting his human and canine assailants to an ignominous flight, leisurely made his way off into the forest.

Frederick Steinhoff had seven sons—Andrew, Jacob, John, Joseph, William, Isaac and Hiram; and one daughter, Hannah, who married Alexander Van Brocklyn.⁸

Of these sons the only one living is Isaac Steinhoff, of Simcoe, who has reached his 81st year. (book published 1898)

Emmanuel Steinhoff, the original brother, settled in Woodhouse also. He had no family.⁹