MySource:Herrmoody/Memories of Wilfrid Knisley Bingleman

It was in the very early 1800s, this carpenter was at work in the basement of a house minding his work, never looking up at what was going on above him. German army officials were scouring the country looking for able-bodied men for the army. Seeing the man below, who had grown grey early in life, they said, "No, he is too old!"

It was then that my great-grandfather, Andrew Bingleman, decided to leave the city of Ülm in Württemberg, Germany and immigrate to America so that his family would not be subjected to the German military system.

Thus Andrew Bingleman (b1801-11-25 d1876-12-25), his wife Mary Shiveley Bingleman (b1802-04-03 d1880-03-19) and four children, among whom was my grandfather John Shiveley Bingleman, sailed from Germany in or about 1830 settling in New York State.

When a young man, my grandfather John S. Bingleman (b 1828-07-21 d1903-07-27) came to Haldimand County, Ontario. There he married my grandmother Elizabeth Knisley Bingleman (b1824-01-10 d1904-08-04). Elizabeth Knisley was the daughter of David Knisley and Elizabeth Hoover Knisley who were born in 1787 and 1796 respectively. The Knisleys were Swiss born Mennonites in religion and about 1671, because of religious persecution, immigrated to Alsace, Holland and other parts of Europe. From there they immigrated to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, U S A, along the Susquehanna River, finally settling in Haldimand County, Ontario.

Our dad, John Henry Bingleman (b1855-08-21 d1940-03-23), was born north of Selkirk, Ontario. Aunts Catherine Elizabeth (b1851-05-21 d1930-02-15) and Mary Victoria (b1853-05-24 d1875-09-04) were also born near Selkirk. Aunt Kate married Sam Knisley and lived in Buffalo, New York, while Aunt Victoria married George Booker who lost his right arm in Michigan and stayed once at the old farm at Walsh when I was a boy. Aunts Barbara Fidelia "Dell" (b1858-04-30 d1936-02-15) and Clara Rosanne (b1866-10-11 d ) were born here in Charlotteville as well as William Alfred "Will" (b1863-06-22 d1945-12-19) whose twin, George Albert (b1863-06-22 d1864-06-31) died a few months after his birth.

The original Bingleman farm was at Lot 10, Concession 4, North Part. The buildings being on the Fifth Concession Road west of the old Walsh school in the Township of Charlotteville which was incorporated as a municipality in 1850. The Township is now part of the Township of Delhi which is made up of the former Townships of Charlotteville and Windham and the Town of Delhi.

Now we must approach another angle, for we had to have a mother. She was Lydia Jane Stuart Bingleman (b1859-02-13 d1941-10-07) whose origin was Scottish and was a direct descendant of the Royal House of Stuart. She was born along the Wapsipinicon River not far from an Indian Reservation in Chickasaw County, Iowa. Her father, Charles A. Stuart (b1825-02-10 d1863-06-06) was crippled by some bone disease and had made for himself some sort of wheelchair. Some time before he died, he also made the coffin he was buried in.

The Indians of this particular tribe buried their dead, the braves at least, upright, their bodies from the waist up out of the ground. Cooking pots, their bow and arrows beside them and their dogs staked just beyond reach. My mother (Lydia) heard the dogs as they howled, starved and died staked near their masters. She said the squaws often came to their house, she was afraid of them and tried to hide behind her mother. The first shoes she had were moccasins made and sold by the same squaws. On leaving Chickasaw County, my mother remembered crossing the Mississippi River on a barge.

In the early 1860s the nearest railway station to the Long Point District was at Ingersoll. There the family left the train and came by stagecoach to Port Rowan. They lived in town for about a year before moving down to the old Mabee homestead overlooking Long Point Bay and Lake Erie. There my mother grew up and lived until she married my dad, John Henry Bingleman, on June 11th, 1879.

Between the mainland and Turkey Point, which is a mile or so long, there is a marsh area nearly two thousand acres. Years ago this was used as mutual pastureland for the local farmers. In early springtime this was always set afire and burned off to improve the pasture. When burning well, Mother said it made a light enough to see to pick up a pin in the front yard.

Mother was the youngest of a family of three. Her older sister, Eliza, married a man by the name of Shaw and continued to live in the U S A and a brother Merrit became a sailor on the Great Lakes.

Mother remembered well the Confederation (1867) Celebration in Port Rowan and a fire in the town the same day which destroyed a large part of the town. She was eight years old at the time.

In June 1879 Dad was farming north-east of the Village of Forestville. 'Twas there Mother came as a bride to his farm-house. I remember the story of a neighbour girl, who was also very fond of Dad, coming to the house and strewing about every-thing moveable all over the place. Dad happened to come in about that time and made the young lady put everything back in order before she left.

From their first farm home they moved to the old Mabee homestead on the Front Road where children Charles (b1881-05-26 d1963-06-11) and Laura (b1883-06-25 d1918-11-30) were born. Another move takes them to a farm "The Pines" in Mother's words, just east of the Village of Walsh or Charlotteville Centre as it was sometimes known. While living there, Dad and his brother-in-law bought a steam threshing outfit. Dad eventually sold the threshing outfit to his brother William who continued to "thrash" until after Audrey and I were married. Uncle Will was known as a very good thresher. Henry (b1885-09-07 d1964-03-24) and Leota (b1888-02-25 d1963-06-01) I believe, were born when Mother and Dad were living on the outskirts of Walsh.

From "The Pines" farm Mother and Dad moved to the 50 acres west of Walsh, known as the "Honey Place", where brother Herbert (B1893-09-26 d1963-10-14) was born. While living there the neighbours' (Engell) house was destroyed by fire and the family - old and young - lived in with Mother and Dad and five children. Henry has told of some amusing escapades with the Engell boys. One, such as shooting a hole in the bottom of old Grandmother Engell's chamber pot with a cross-bow and not telling anyone about it until after it was used.

Shortly before the 1900s, Dad bought 50 acres of slash and stumps and bush about one half mile west of Walsh and built the original house and barn. Clara and I were born there on what became known as "The Old Farm". (Clara b1899-10-16 and W K B b1903-07-16). Dad subsequently added 20 acres more, from the McCall farm, to the original purchase.

It was on this same ground when Dad was in his teens that he killed his first deer. I remember him showing me the approximate spot - at the foot of the hill on the west side of the lane. Dad was a sportsman and a "dead shot" who loved to hunt and fish. When he was 17 years old while hunting he thought he heard shot moving in his gunbarrel. Placing his left hand over the muzzle to check, the gun discharged, carrying away the knuckle of his third finger. This ended his playing the violin as well as hampered his milking. I never knew him to milk a cow. To finish that story, he wrapped his red handkerchief around his hand and kept on hunting. Next morning Grandmother Bingleman asked what had happened to him and he answered, "Oh, I hurt it." Grandmother wanted to see it so it was unwrapped, the center of his hand was gone. All the doctor did was pull a silk handkerchief through the hole to remove any bone splinters - the powder burn had seared it so well that it bled but very little.

Dad was also an athlete - standing six feet, and built like an inverted wedge. As a boy I grew up listening to the lumber camp and mining town stories between he and his old cronies. But, perhaps, enough of old reminiscences.