Biographies

Levi D. Yoder (YR233746), 1844–1916 — From Iowa to Alberta

Introduction

Levi D Yoder was born in Pennsylvania, USA in the year 1844. The United States of America had existed for 68 years, since 1776, and the “colonial period” was over. But, the “ownership” of the North American continent was still very much in dispute. Alaska still belonged to Russia and ownership of the west coast from California north was still in question, with Spain, Russia, England, and the United States claiming part or all of the territory. Just 41 years before, in 1803, the Americans had completed the Louisiana Purchase, buying a large part of central North America from France. “Indian territory still existed”. The word “Indiana” was used to denote the territory set aside for the Indian populations to live in. Canada did not exist as a country (1867), but as several separate British colonies, and all the land which “drained into the Hudson Bay” belonged to the Hudson Bay Company, with buffalo running free and aboriginal peoples living out the last years of a doomed way of life. The territory which became the province of Alberta (1905) was still open country.

The year 1844 was before the American Civil War (1861) and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Levi’s future home states were very young. Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, Indiana in 1816, and Iowa would not become a state until 1846. 1844 was before Thomas Edison (b. 1847) and the invention of light bulb (1879), and before Henry Ford (b. 1863) and the invention of the assembly line system for manufacturing automobiles (1903 - the Model T). The “golden age” of the railroad was just beginning in the United States and the Monroe doctrine, which said that the American continents were not to be treated as subjects for European colonization, had just been proclaimed. 1844 was an exciting time to be born, and Levi D Yoder truly did live in a time when change and newness were a part of everyone’s daily experience.

Levi D Yoder - Biographical Sketch from:
Katie Yoder Lind, “From Hazelbrush to Cornfields - The First 100 Years of the Amish Mennonites in Johnson, Washington, and Iowa Counties of Iowa 1846-1946”, 1984

“Levi D. Yoder came to the Johnson County settlement as a single young man. Descendants do not know the exact date of his arrival but his marriage to Catherine Lehman took place at the home of the bride's mother and stepfather, the Isaac Eashes.

“In 1869 the Yoders were living in section 16 of Sharon Township, on the southwest corner of the crossroad at Sharon Center. Here were born their three daughters. In 1876, when scarlet fever came into the community, three-year-old Magdalena died of the disease. It was on this occasion that her step-grandfather, Isaac Eash, set aside land for a family cemetery . Eight months later Catherine, Mrs. Levi D. Yoder, died and was buried beside her daughter. Nine years later, in 1885 (seven years after Levi Yoder had remarried) Annie, firstborn of Catherine, died of diphtheria and her remains were laid to rest beside those of her mother. But when Catherine and Levi's third daughter , Sarah, died she was buried beside her husband in the Upper Deer Creek Cemetery.

“Levi D. Yoder and Lydia (Swartzendruber) were parents of eight sons and two daughters. All except the youngest son, Vernon, were born in the house cater-cornered (we said "catty-cornered") from the Sharon store. In 1897, Levi and Lydia gave a home to their six-year-old niece, Mary Miller (Mrs. Chris J. Yoder). Mary Miller was a part of this family for four years.

“At this point in time, the Amish Mennonites were selling produce to customers in Iowa City and Levi Yoder was among them. The Yoders churned their cream into butter which Levi delivered to housewives on an established route. He also took garden produce from the large truck patch and grapes from the vines he had set out for that purpose.

“In March of 1900 the Yoders sold their farm at Sharon Center and moved to Greene Township in Iowa County, into the Poplar Grove school district. This farm is two miles north of the present West Union Mennonite Church and was on the northern edge of the Amish Mennonite community. Levi arranged with a boss carpenter who brought his crew to replace the old barn "which was nothing more than a shed"; an orchard was planted with apple, plum and cherry trees, and a large outdoor brick oven was made. Levi set his boys to fixing fences and pulling cockle-burrs. Lydia and the girls planted, hoed, and put up the produce from the large gardens and also cooked for the workmen. The whole family was busy.

“In the next few years the older children were leaving home. George and the girls married; and Dave, the second son, felt the call of the West as had his father before him. He went to Nebraska, found work among the Mennonites at Milford, and in August of 1909 married Lucinda Stauffer of that place. Evidently his letters to the home folks were full of enticing opportunities for when Jake became twenty-one he also went to Nebraska. While there he married Barbara Stauffer, a cousin of his sister-in-law. The marriage took place in October of 1910 at Tofield, Alberta, and that winter Dave and Jake brought their wives to spend a time with Levi and Lydia.

“The young folks reported Nebraskans were finding that land in Alberta, Canada, was available for homesteading. After due consideration, Levi and Lydia Yoder, their four youngest sons -- John, Ezra, Ray and Vernon -- their daughter Kate and her husband, Joe Kauffman, and their family, and son Henry and his bride joined Dave and Jake in emigrating to Tofield, Alberta, Canada.

“Again Mary Miller was with the family but this time as their hired girl. She often told of the bushels of apples and other fruit they dried in the brick oven in preparation for the move. The Yoders filled a train car with their farming equipment and household goods and sent son John along to care for it. The rest of the family took the train to the end of the railroad line in Alberta, Canada, near Tofield, where friends were waiting with wagons to transport the emigration party to the property Levi Yoder had bought for himself and his sons.

“The move was permanent. Only three of this family of ten established homes in the States, and none in Iowa.

“The place Levi D. Yoders owned in the Popular grove school district was bought by William Y. and Mathilda (Fisher) Yoder who later sold to their daughter Blanche and her husband Alpha King. More recently the farm was owned by Daniel and Kathryn (Yoder) Yoder.

“There are no descendants of Levi D. Yoder living in the area.
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The Children of Levi D Yoder

Levi D Yoder. Born on 5 Dec 1844 in Somerset Co., Pennsylvania. Levi D died in Tofield, Alberta, on 11 Apr 1916; he was 71. Buried in Salem Mennonite Cemetery Tofield, AB. On 22 Feb 1868 when Levi D was 23, he married Catherine Lehman, daughter of Benedict Lehman & Magdalena Shrock, in Johnson Co., Iowa. Catherine was born on 8 Apr 1849 in Cambria Co., Pennsylvania. Catherine died in Johnson Co., Iowa, on 9 Feb 1877; she was 27.
They had the following children:
1. Anna (1869-1885)
2. Magdalene (1872-1876)
3. Sarah (1875-1911)
On 31 Jan 1878 when Levi D was 33, he married Lydia Swartzendruber, daughter of George Swartzendruber & Mary Shettler, in Johnson Co., Iowa. Lydia was born on 26 Oct 1858 in Johnson County, Iowa. Lydia died in Tofield, Alberta, on 16 May 1930; she was 71. Buried in Salem Mennonite Cemetery Tofield, AB.
They had the following children:
1. George L (1878-1959)
2. Mary L (1880-1974)
3. Katie L (1883-1973)
4. David L (1884-1976)
5. Jacob L (1887-1974)
6. Henry L (1889-1975)
7. John L (1892-1979)
8. Ezra L (1894-1963)
9. Raymond L (1897-1967)
10. Vernon L (1903-1993)

Note: In the family Bible, which lists the children of Levi and Lydia, only the first names are given. The “second name”, the “L”, was apparently added later and is the father’s first-name initial. This follows the custom of this family. The father of Levi D was David C. The father of David C. was Christian C. whose father was also named Christian. The custom of using the father’s initial as second name for the children lasted for four generations, but was not used after this family.

Tofield Standard - 1916 -- April 13 - HEADLINE - front page
Runaway Ends Farmer’s Life
L. D. Yoder, Well-known Farmer and Respected Member of Community Victim of Fatal Accident

Levi D. Yoder, one of the most respected farmers of the Tofield district, was the victim of a fatal accident three o’clock Monday afternoon when a team attached to a farm wagon became unmanageable and in running down the farm lane by the house charged into the old gentleman who unsuccessfully sought to avoid them. The team was in charge of a son, Ray, who had been harrowing on the fields and who had come up to the farm buildings for a fresh double-tree, the one he had been using having been broken. He had attached the horses to the wagon to go back to the field and just climbed into the wagon when the animals, one of which had been a fractious beast for some time, made a break to run away and charged down the lane leading by the house. Just at this moment Mr. Yoder, senior, came into the lane and while he a second or two later saw the team coming and ran to the side of the lane to the wire fence to get out of the way, the runaways headed directly unto and over him. He was carried into the house and surgical aid was immediately secured. Besides receiving several external cuts and bruises it was found that grave internal injuries had been sustained and at four o’clock on Tuesday morning he breathed his last.

Deceased was one of the oldest farmers in the district, being over seventy years of age and the oldest member of the Salem Mennonite church. He came from Parnell, Iowa, to this district in 1912 and leaves besides a widow, eight sons and two daughters. One of the sons, George, lives in Iowa, and John in Montana while Dave, Jake, Henry, Ezra, Ray, and Vernon all live in this district. The two daughters are Mrs. J. E. Kauffman and Mrs. J. E. Swartzendruber, both of whom live in this district.

Deceased was a kindly old gentleman with a bright, cheerful and pleasing personality who endeared himself to all who knew him. The district sincerely mourns his loss and sympathises with the family in their bereavement.

Crossing the Line

The Levi D Yoder family crossed the USA/Canada border on their way from Iowa to Alberta on March 6, 1912. This group of immigrants included Levi and Lydia Yoder and their 5 youngest sons, and Henry and Vinnie Yoder, and the Joesph E Kauffman family.
In 1912 the railroad from St. Paul, Minnesota to Winnipeg was the only connection between the railroads of the USA and those of Canada in the Prairie section of Canada. Immigrants were required to register their arrival as the entered Canada. Clerks recorded their names and usually listed families. In this case only the name "Levi Ioder" is recorded, and misspelled by the clerk (fifth line from the bottom.)
From this form we see that on 6th of March 1912 Levi Ioder enterered Canada at Port of Emerson. He was 67 years of age, a farmer, country of birth was U.S, country of citizenship was U.S., He travelled by G.N. (Great Northern) on train #7, (St. Paul, Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba) on this journey from Iowa, to Tofield, and he had $400.00 with him.
A page from the border crossing lists for "the Port of Emerson" in Manitoba, on the U. S. border, south of Winnipeg. This document was copied from microfilm in the Provincial Archives of Alberta, Edmonton.

Alberta Connections - Three Yoder 'Branches':

1. The Yoders of Tofield, Alberta and the Yoders of Smith, Alberta:

YR23374 - David C Yoder, m. Susanna Miller. They had several children.

Two of them -- Brothers:

YR233746 - Levi D - (our "grandpa" Yoder, movewd to Tofield, A l berta, 1912)
YR2337467 - David L
YR23374671 - Edna (Yoder) Wideman

YR233747 - David D (brother to Levi D.)
YR2337473 - Charles Yoder
YR23374735 - Willis Yoder (of Smith Alberta)

This shows a "second cousin" relationship between the Yoders of Tofield, Alberta and the Yoders of Smith, Alberta.

Another Alberta Yoder branch:

YR12a3338 - Grant Yoder homesteaded in Hanna, Alberta in 1909. Comparing the YR numbers for Grant Yoder of Hanna, Alberta and David L Yoder of Tofield:

YR12a3338 - Grant Yoder

YR2337467 - David L Yoder

From these two numbers we see that:

1. The common ancestor is YR - the unknown father of the two Yoder brothers who immigrated in 1742.

2. Grant descends from YR1 - the brother who "died at sea" leaving "Widow Barbara" to raise the children.
3. David L descends from YR2 - Christian Yoder, immigrant in 1742.
4. Grant and David L are sixth cousins.

A son of Grant Yoder of Hanna, Alberta is Jim Yoder. Jim provided the following information about his "Alberta" Yoder family:

"Levi David "Lee" Yoder (YR12a333) was my grandfather. I (Jim Yoder) was born at Hanna, Alberta, on May 12, 1929. My father, Grant Yoder, came to homestead there from Oregon in 1909.

Tofield rings a bell. Sometime in the 1930's (probably) some government agricultural agent who travelled all over Alberta had come to our farm at Hanna, and told my father that there were a bunch of Yoders at Tofield. Our family in 1945 moved to Chilliwack, B. C., here in the Fraser Valley, which from sometime before World War II had been heavily settled by Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren of the type from the fair-haired areas of Germany and Holland that went to Russia about 1870 and then migrated to Canada after 1917 -- many via South America. That was the first time I had lived near any Mennonites. As a young adult over 40 years ago when I had been in Edmonton I looked up Tofield in a northern Alberta phone book, and found indeed that there were a number of Yoders. That was the extent of my research at the time.

My grandfather, two of his brothers and one sister, as well as an uncle and two aunts had migrated from McLean County, Illinois, to Clackamas County, just south of Portland, OR. Most of them had sojourned for up to 12 years in the Ozark corner of SW Missouri, which had hopelessly poor farm land. Since 1935 most of those settlers and their descendants have had annual Yoder reunions at Yoder, Oregon, on the first Sunday of August.

My great-great grandfather, Jonathan Yoder, YR12a3, born in Berks County, and who then lived in Mifflin, Center, and Juniata Counties in PA, was an Amish bishop who about

51 moved to McLean County, Illinois where he and wife lived out their days. There he was an Amish bishop but in the ministers' meetings of that period he was one of the change-minded Amish, who built buildings, had Sunday Schools, etc. The church he led at Rock Creek became, after his death in 1869, the North Danvers Mennonite Church. Most of his descendants did not remain Amish. By the time the four grandchildren that included my grandfather Levi moved to Oregon, most of them started the Smyrna church at Yoder that was briefly Presbyterian but then became Congregational and now is United Church of Christ. Once when I visited there before 1976, they had a Moody grad as pastor. Some more recent pastors have perhaps been a bit less evangelical. So my dad was not a born-again Christian when he went to Alberta. My mother from eastern Oregon had been converted as a girl attending Methodist and Baptist churches in her village. My dad was won to faith in Christ through Pentecostal and Nazarene preachers in country schoolhouses in the 1920's. Our family from my early childhood attended an Apostolic Church of Pentecost ("Full Gospel") until we moved to B.C. at which time with some preachers that moved away from Pentecostal teaching through their own Bible study, we left that group and became Baptists.

Our Oregon relatives did some history research in 1976 (the US bicentennial) that got my interest. Then in 1995, while my wife and school teacher daughter were on a trip to the Maritimes, we flew to Toronto and drove to the maritimes by way of Pennsylvania. There with no plan in particular but some placenames in hand first visited Penn State Library where I heard of the Gingerich & Krieder book, then got to Belleville and in a country bookstore run by Harvey & Nancy Yoder found a pile of family and Mennonite history material, and bought a number of books including the big Gingerich genealogy book. Since then I have connected with Illinois & PA Mennonite historical societies, the Hostetler newsletter and about a year ago the Yoder NL. After I retired I got a computer and several brands of genealogy software, so it has been fun to explore family history.

I'm glad to make contact with a genuine Tofield Yoder descendant!
Jim