Gravestones for Elizabeth and Abraham Stouffer in Altona Ontario 2010

Abraham Stouffer (January 8, 1781 – October 27, 1851) is the founder of the town of Stouffville,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Background and early years in the United States, 1781-1804

Abraham Stouffer was born January 8, 1781, near Chambersburg, Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, to Abraham Stauffer (1747–1809) and Barbara Hershey (1750–1795). Abraham was a descendant of Christian Stauffer (1579–1671), a

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

"obstinate"

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

(

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

) preacher in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Immigration to Upper Canada, and the founding "Stoufferville", 1803-1805

In October 1804, Abraham Stouffer emigrated to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

from Pennsylvania with his wife's family, the Reesors. Their entourage of five Conestoga wagons reached Markham Township after a six-week journey. The information on Stouffer's Affirmation of Allegiance states: "farmer, hazel eyes, brown hair, six feet one inch high, born in Pennsylvania, 28 years old, a Menonist." Abraham and his wife Elizabeth initially settled north of Cedar Grove on the Little Rouge River, but soon acquired 400 acres of land on the Markham-Whitchurch Township Line. In 1805, Stouffer purchased Lots 1 and 2, Concession 9, on the Whitchurch side of the township line, and soon after he acquired lot 35 on the Markham side. Stouffer, who had learned milling from his father, built a saw and a grist mills on Duffin's Creek (near what is today Mill and Main Streets), and a village soon developed around the mills. The settlement became known as "Stoufferville".

Leading figure in Stouffville

Abraham Stouffer was a leading figure in the larger community. In 1825, he became a director of the Farmers' Storehouse Company, an enterprise of millers formed to counter the power of the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

merchants. In 1832, when a post office was established, the name of the village was shortened from "Stoufferville" to Stouffville. Stouffer was also one of the first trustees of the Altona

Meeting House.

Death

Abraham Stouffer died October 27, 1851, and is buried at the Altona

Meeting House

Stouffer family coat of arms, and the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville

Today, the coat of arms of the Town of

Whitchurch–Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in the ...

includes a star and chalice which come from the Stouffer family (Swiss) coat of arms.Cf. Jean Barkey, et al.
Whitchurch Township
p. 99. See also

.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stouffer, Abraham 1781 births 1851 deaths American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Whitchurch-Stouffville Canadian Mennonites Canadian farmers Canadian people of Swiss descent People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Immigrants to Upper Canada