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From "Two Hundred Years With The Siders" compiled by Harold Sider and Ron Sider -
John was born in Pennsylvania having been brought to Canada at the age of three. He grew up in the area near Stevensville at a time when much of this area was still forest. He farmed about three miles west of his father's home on land first purchased by his father, and paid for by John a few years after his marriage. This land was near the west halves of lots 11 and 12 of the 14th Concession of Bertie Township. This land has been passed down through this family to the present.
John was an astute businessman, following his father's example he purchased farms farther west in undeveloped areas for most of his children. John and his wife are buried in the Old Black Creek Cemetery.
From: ANCESTORS OF CHRISTIAN SIDER (1817-1885)
Moving from Pennsylvania to Canada in those days was truly a strenuous and hazardous experience. Stories of that trip passed from grandmother to grandchild tell us that the trip lasted for four months, arriving in Canada just before the long, hard winter. They had to travel slowly enough for their cows to keep up while still producing milk and butter for these pioneers.
Arriving at the Niagara River they faced immense challenge. In spite of a deep and reasonable fear of being swept over the Niagara Falls, they spent two weeks cutting down trees and constructing a raft which their horses could pull across the mile wide river landing them safely on Canadian soil near the site of the present Niagara Christian College.
After crossing the Niagara River, these pioneers pushed west about 25 miles to the "Short Hills" of Pelham Township and began clearing land and planting crops. Here Anna Wenger married Henry Damude, and the three families formed the nucleus of a church which Jacob Engle, one of the founders of the "River Brethern", is said to have visited before 1790.
In 1791 a hurricane or tornado swept across this area destroying much of what the hardworking people had developed. In the words of Jacob Seider's petition to the governor of Upper Canada, "The hurricane laid waste the tract he took up his residence…. Your petitioner therefore prays your Honor would allow him such a tract of land for himself, wife and three children, as your Honor might think proper."
Although Henry and Anna Damude stayed on in Pelham Township, John Winger and Jacob Sider soon moved their families east to within a few miles from the Niagara River in Bertie Township.
On June 7, 1800, Jacob Sider purchased 400 acres of land from Captain John Powell, composed of Lots 10, 11 and 12 on Concession 10 in Bertie Township. This farm was developed and remained in the family for several generations. A contract, dated December 23, 1803, between Jacob Sider and Jacob Hamm, committed Hamm to "saw fifty logs this winter for the halfs, and saw Sider's share first." This contract was witnessed and signed by James H. ------ and Henry Climenhaga.
In 1799 another German speaking immigrant from Pennsylvania, Henry Climenhaga, purchased land near that of Jacob Seider in Bertie Township. The Wingers, Climenhagas and Siders established in Bertie Township by 1800. Others joined this group of River Brethern which soon became known as "Dunkards" or "Tunkers" because of their practice of baptism by immersion.
Life was difficult and primitive. Their buildings were log cabins which they built themselves with very few tools. The nearest store or mill was at Niagara Falls, about twelve miles away. We are told that to get flour, a man would walk to "the Falls" carrying a bag of wheat on his shoulders, to be ground into flour. After the wheat was ground he would shoulder his bag of flour and walk home again. Food and clothing was produced at home. Winters were cold and survival was never certain. Wolves were a threat to lonely travellers through the woods. Progress was slow, and a generation later many of the same problems persisted.
David Climenhaga, born 1826, a grandson of Henry Climenhaga, and also of Henry Damude, as an old man wrote about how things were in those days. "This country was new and the people were poor…. There were no buggies to be seen in the country. The roads were poor around stumps and stones and creek and mudholes that it was almost impossible to get along. No wagon makers, no blacksmiths, hardly any iron to put on the rigs."
He described the trip to visit his maternal grandparents in Pelham as follows. "We would try to get ready the day before then all get in the poor wagon, put some straw or hay in the bottom. We had to go to Black Creek, then along the road to Chippawa, then down to Niagara Falls, then down to Lundy's Lane, then west to Allanburg, then across the canal to Poor Bridge, then up the Canboro road to Fonthill. We were glad to see Grandpa Damude's house down the big hill that was some eighty feet down."
A hand made birth certificate with border of birds and flowers tells in German that "Johannes Seider first saw the light of day in Pennsylvania, April 30, 1785, son of Jacob Seider and wife Maria." Johannes, "Hans" or "John" was just three years old when his parents made the long strenuous and dangerous trip to Upper Canada. Growing up in this rigorous environment gave John the toughness and skills needed to succeed as a pioneer farmer.
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Rainham Builders
1785 - 1863 (78 years)