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)