Benjamin Schell & Mary McGill

Benjamin Schell was the son of Johann Christian Schell Jr and Elizabeth Paul Seghner.  Sources conflict as to the birth year and place of Benjamin Schell.  Birthdates range from 1796 to 1802 and locations in Upper Canada (now Ontario) of Louth Township in the Niagara District to Markham Township in the Home District.  Land records indicate that his Uncle Henry had petitioned for Crown Land on June 11, 1798 on behalf of himself and brothers in the Niagara area and then relocated to the Markham Township area in 1800.  So the years and locations are feasible for Benjamin's birth.

Mary McGill was the daughter of Thomas McGill and Jane McGee.  Similar to Benjamin, there is much conflict to the birth year of Mary - ranging from 1811 to 1822.  The 1871 census indicates a 1811 birth in Ireland, but all other records indicate birth location as Scotland.  Most censuses indicate that Mary was deaf and dumb [mute].

Benjamin and Mary were married July 20, 1827 at St. John's Anglican Church in York (now Toronto), Home District.  Various reports indicate that Benjamin had previously been married in 1819 in Niagara to a woman named Amelia.  I have not been able to verify anything on Amelia - all of the information I have is from other people's trees, which are often prone to errors.  According to those records, Amelia was born in 1800 in Niagara and died in 1825 also in Niagara.  As far as my research has been able to determine, all of Benjamin's children were with Mary.

Benjamin died April 30, 1876 in Innisfil Township, Simcoe County, Ontario after a 3 week illness of gravel [debris formed from a fragmented kidney stone].  The Registration of Death does not indicate a burial location and I have not been able to locate an entry for him in records for any cemeteries in that area.  As a farmer, there would be the possibility that he was buried on the family farm.

Death Registration of Benjamin Schell (1876)

Marriage Registration: widower William Potter & widow Mary Shell

Widow Mary married widower William Potter on January 19, 1880 in Bracebridge, Muskokda District, Ontario.

I have not been able to locate a death record for Mary McGill Schell Potter (or any variations of her name).  Nor have I been able to locate William and Mary Potter in the 1881 census which was not long after their marriage.  Were they both deceased, moved away from Ontario or are they "hidden" in the census by errors in transcriptions of indexes?













 
The children of William and Mary are:

 1) Jane married James Henry Ross Sr (a first cousin)
 2) Thomas married 1. Rachael Mix ; 2. Margaret Bell
 3) Letitia married Ormus Sopher
 4) John Alexander married Mary Jane Ross
 5) Margaret married David Prentice Jr
 6) Ellen married Thomas Grant Middlebrook(s)
 7) Benjamin Jr married Mary Jane Beers
 8) James married Elizabeth Foster
 9) Jessie married George Wheeler
10) Benjamin William (Bill) married Jane Schell (his niece, daughter of Thomas Schell Sr & Rachael Mix)

More detailed information of these children and their families will be covered in future blog postings.


1851 census (Roll: C_11760.  p. 71, lines 31-40): Canada West. District 42 York County. Subdistrict 403 King Township. Enumeration District 1. 

Although referred to as 1851, the census in Canada West was already enumerated in 1852.  The ages given were to have been on the next birthday.


The family consisted of head of household Benjamin Shell (age 50) and wife Mary (age 36) as well as children: Jane (age 23), Thomas (age 22), Latitia (at 17), John (15), Margret (age 12), Ellin (age 10), Benjamin (age 5) and James (age 3).  Mary was listed as born in Scotland but the rest of the household was listed as born in Canada.  Benjamin's occupation was listed as farmer.  Church of England is listed as the religion for everyone in the household.

1861 census (Roll: C-1073): Canada West. Simcoe County. Innisfil Township. Enumeration District 2. (p. 60, lines 28-34)

1861 Canadian Census (agricultural schedule)

 I have not yet been able to locate an online image of the Benjamin Schell household in the 1861 census.  Ancestry has him listed as head of household in the Agricultural Schedule.  That schedule shows that he owns a 100 acre farm on Lot 9 on Concession 12 with only 7 acres cultivate and 93 acres still wooded.  FamilySearch only provides a transcription of the Population Schedule.



1871 census (Roll: C-9961): Canada West. District 41 Simcoe (South). Subdistrict G Innisfil. Division 4. (p. 49, line 15 - p. 40, line 7).  Family #170.

1871 Census

This schedule is relevant to my genealogy research as the extended household shows 3 generations of the Schell family: my 3x Great grandparents Benjamin & Mary [nee McGill], 2x Great grandparents John Alexander & Mary Jane [nee Ross] with their 4 year old son Great grandparent John.  As an adult, John eventually purchased a farm in Brentwood for his growing farmily - the same property that I knew as my grandparents home and is still in the Schell family.  It ties Benjamin & Mary Schell to my branch of the Schell family tree.

The Schell household consists of:  married Benjamin (age 74), married Mary (age 59), married John (age 34), James (age 23), William (age 16), Mary Jane (age 8), Elisabeth (age 6), John (age 4), James (age 2), married Mary Jane (age 29).  Also in the household with surname Cake: married William (age 28), married Annie (age 22) and Mary (age 3).  I believe Mrs. Annie Cake would be Hannah Jane Beers, daughter of William Beers and Mary Ann Middlebrook.  Although not a blood relation to Benjamin Schell, various Schells married Beers and Middlebrooks.

Introduction

Welcome!

Having recently made connections with some distant Schell cousins on Facebook and participating in a FB group, I thought I would create this blog to delve deeper into records and information I have come across during my 20 plus years of doing genealogy research.

My Schell family tree is extremely large, with its North American roots in the Herkimer area of the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York state.  Two Schell brothers (Johann Christian and Johannes) from the area that is now Germany settled in that area, married women from the Mohawk Valley area and both had large families.  The area were the farmed is referred to as Schell's Bush.  There are still descendants of Johannes in that area, but most of the descendants from my ancestor Johann Christian relocated to Canada post Revoutionary War with some eventually moving onto Michigan.

In 1896, a Christian Denissen published a book entitled "Schell : or, Researches after the Descendants of John Christian Schell and John Schell"  and covers a fair amount of the family history up to that point in time. 
 
Four of Johann Christian's sons established reighbouring farms in the Markham area of Upper Canada and the area was reported referred to as Schell's Corners as a result.  This blog will concentrate on Benjamin Schell, a son of Johann Christian Schell Junior.  Benjamin and his second wife, Mary McGill, settled on a farm in Innisfil Township in Simcoe County and raised there large family there.  Most of their children went on to have large families themselves - hence the vast number of Schells in the Simcoe and neighbouring counties.  Many of the branches have not ventured far from the Simcoe county roots.

I have read statements that Benjamin's farm was on the site of the current Molson's Park just outside of Barrie Ontario - but I have yet to search land records to verify that information.  That park would be in Innisfil Township, so the rumour may will be true.

Linda Patricia Allen
(Benjamin Schell -> John Alexander Schell -> John Schell -> George Schell -> Pearl Mary Eveleen Schell -> Linda Patricia Allen)