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- From Hoover Heritage Commemorative Calendar 2001
Moerschfelder House
Christian Moerschfelder was born in 1811 in Alsace Lorraine and came in 1833, first to Pennsylvania and then possibly living in Humberstone Township, Welland County for a time. The Moerschfelders were of Mennonite persuasion and this house is classed as a "Six Bay Two Door Plain Folk House". The one and a half storey frame house, which replaced an earlier log cabin to its west, was built by Christian by 1851, on the West Half of Lot 17, Con 3, Rainham, which he purchased in 1841 from Edward Evans. He lived here with his wife Magdalena Weaver, son Nicholas and six daughters. In Christian's Will of 1856 he bequeaths the house and farm to his son Nicholas with reservations for his daughters. Nicholas Moerschfelder married Elizabeth Hoover, daughter and only child of Henry Hoover and Anna Picard and great granddaughter of Henry Hoover Sr. who purchased Lot 18, Con 1, Rainham in 1807. Elizabeth's father Henry donated the land for the Sweets Corners Union Cemetery only to become the first burial there in 1837. Nicholas and Elizabeth Moerschfelder raised seven of their ten children here, losing three little daughters to diphtheria during the winter of 1881-82. Their son Joseph and his wife Eliza Ullman would be the next to occupy the farm raising their six children here, the youngest of which, Allan Moerschfelder and his wife Jennie Nagel lived here where their two sons Floyd and Fred grew up. The house was occupied by Allan until his death last year and is now owned by his son Floyd. Thus the farm and home have been owned and occupied by five generations of Moerschfelders over a period of 160 years. This picture was taken about 1915 at harvest time, we assume, by the abundance of pumpkins and apple boxes on the porch. In the picture are Harvey, Allan and either Percie or Edith Moerschfelder.
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Rainham Builders
1837 - 1904 (66 years)