Histories

A brief history of Adam VanValkenburg and Anna Diamond

Establishing the heritage of Adam VanValkenburg and Anna Diamond has been somewhat of a daunting task.  Thru no fault of their own,  they do not appear on any census data that we have been able to find.  This has made it difficult in tracking their family as it moved westward across Canada from Kingston to SW Ontario.  But, we have finally linked several of their children to them thru documentation. 

Here is what was generally known:

Anna Diamond was born ~1793.  Anna was the daughter of John Diamond, U.E.  John served in the King's Rangers during the Revolutionary War and settled in Upper Canada(Ontario) on Crown Land Granted land in Fredericksburg,  near Kingston.

Adam VanValkenburg was born ~1795.  We have not been able to determine who his parents were even though there are several hints in research papers written by H.C. Burleigh in the 1930's.  These papers are housed at Queen's University in Kingston and are part of their collection of the H.C. Burleigh Fonds.  We have tax records in Ridgetown, Ontario for each tax year from 1851 - 1858.  There we established, thru his listed age,  his birth year around 1795.

Adam VanValkenburg and Anna Diamond were married on April 2, 1811.  The marriage is recorded in the McDowall Register.  Rev McDowall was a minister known as a circuit rider.  These circuit riders traveled from town to town performing marriages and baptisms.  Most, if not all of these, were performed in people's homes or other public places so there are no other church records available.  Adam served as a private in the 1st Regiment of the Addington Militia during the War of 1812 and was granted a Crown Land Grant due to military service in 1850.  His profession is listed as Stone Mason on several documents as the family moved from Kingston to Ridgetown.    

Catherine VanValkenburg was born on April 5, 1816.  Her parents are listed as Adam and Anna VanValkenburg.  This is known from an entry in the Lutheran Church Register in the County of Lennox.  

Henry James VanValkenburg was born in 1830.  His Marriage Record in 1879 in the County of Bruce to Catherine Hannah Norton lists his parents as Adam and Anna VanValkenburg.  We are still searching for a birth record of some kind for him.  He is a Cooper by trade as are his brother, and brother in-law(s).

Here is what we have recently discovered:

John Diamond VanValkenburg was born in 1816.  John married a Flora Lauzau at the Mohawk Parsonage on February 12, 1837.  John was a Cooper by trade and eventually lived out his life in Woodstock after living in Kingston, Portland(?) and Brandtford.  My brother and I are proud owners of John's Coopers Knife that was handed down to his son Adam Francis and eventually to us.

There are two documents that prove John's parents were Adam and Anna: 

The first one is part of a set of documents where Adam is requesting Crown Land for his service in the War of 1812.  One of the documents is an affidavit signed by John in 1849 stating that "he is the reputed son of Adam VanValkenburg."  His signature, John D VanValkenburg, is recorded here. 

The second document is the Land Record sale of two hundred acres in Sombra Township and states that "The said John Diamond Van Valkenburg being the eldest son and heir of at Law of Ann Van Valkenburg the Patentee of said two hundred acres of land."  This was Anna's Land Grant being the daughter of John Diamond, U.E. and is documented in earlier Land Records in Kingston and for Sombra Township.

Little is known of Maria VanValkenburg.  She married James Greer in 1835 and is likely to have died during childbirth early in their marriage.  James Greer remarries a Ruth Ann Ayers in 1838.  A later census reveals a child named John aged prior to James and Ruth's marriage suggesting this child was James and Maria's. 

Other points to consider:

Adam VanValkenburg's Land Request in 1819 states that he "has lived in this Province for 15 years and has a wife and three children."  This would support children of John, Catherine and Maria with Henry being born later in 1830.  However, there is still research by William Perkins Bull that states that "there were three brothers, Adam, John and Henry all Coopers"  John and Henry were Coopers by trade.  This Adam(Jr) has not been found, as yet. And, we are seeking additional information about Maria.   

The marriage of Charles Lauzau to Catherine in the Mohawk Parsonage in Brantford in 1836.  Charles Lauzau was Flora Lauzau's brother, so it would appear that they knew each others family.  Flora later marrying John also in the Mohawk Parsonage in 1837.  Charles and John were both Coopers and may have known each other thru their trade.  Also, an 1881 Census from Burlington,Halton County that shows Charles Lauzau, a widower, is living in a hotel just down the street from his sister Lucy Lauzau and her husband Nelson Ogg.  The 1851 Census also shows Charles without his wife Catherine living with his sister Lucy and Nelson.  Both references would suggest that Catherine died early in their marriage, before 1851 at least.  No children have been listed in either Census.

****A newly found 1851 Census from Brantford, Brant Co, Ontario indicate Charles and Catherine had 7 children aged 6 to 16.  Charles is listed with his mother Catherine(St. Germain) along with the children.  This alludes to Catherine death somewhere between 1845 and 1851,  the birth of their youngest child and the time of the census, respectively.  It may have even been 1851 and may account for Charles and his mother being counted in Brantford and Burlington on the census.  Charles may have been in a situation where he had to have his family raise his children in Brantford and was there for that before returning to Burlington.  More to come on this.

The marriage of James Greer to Maria.  John and James possibly knew each other by their trade, Coopers.

Further supporting this new data is John Diamond VanValkenburg's signatures that appear on his affidavit for his father Adam's land grant,  the Marriage Bonds of Maria VanValkenburg, the Marriage Bonds of Catherine VanValkenburg, his wedding to Flora Lauzau in the Mohawk Parsonage Register and the witness to his wife Flora's brother Oliver Lauzau and Charlotte Paurdock(Oliver was also a Cooper).

John's five signatures.