Wellesley Township Heritage & Historical Society
  • Home
    • About Us
  • Built Heritage
    • Heritage Designations
    • Historic Neighbourhood Study
  • Cemeteries
    • Rushes Cemetery - Cryptogram Tombstone >
      • Bean Cryptic Tombstone
  • Church History
  • Digital Collection
  • Exhibits
  • Family History
    • Wellesley Roots
    • Family Histories in Our Collection
    • Marriage and Wedding Notices
    • Obituaries and Death Notices
  • Historical Room & Collections
    • Research Guide
    • Photograph Collections >
      • Wellesley Then and Now
      • Charles Ottmann jr Photograph Collection
      • Deborah Glaister Hannay Collection
      • Jessie Harkness Collection
      • Views of Wellesley Village
    • Historical Records in the Township Office
  • History of Wellesley Township
    • Settlement Patterns of Wellesley Townshiip
    • Queen's Bush Settlement
    • Huber Cider Mill Explosion 1908
    • Linwood Clippings 1868 - 1952
    • Linwood Scrapbook
    • Wellesley History In The News
  • Land Ownership
    • Tax Assessment Rolls
    • Maps
    • Township Papers
  • School History
  • Walking & Driving Tours
  • "Wellesley Maple Leaf" Newspaper
  • Wellesley Township Council
    • Wellesley Township Council Minutes
    • Wellesley Township Councillors
    • Waterloo County Councillors from Wellesley
  • Women's Institute
    • Wellesley Women's Institute Minutes
    • Wellesley Women's Institute Poster
    • Wellesley Women's Institute Slideshow
    • Tweedsmuir Histories
  • Gift Shop
  • Events
  • Contact Us
  • Membership Form

John Zoeger

​Born: 1825, May 24
Died: 1890, Jan 18; buried at Milverton
Municipality: Wellesley
Years on local council Deputy Reeve 1854; Reeve 1855-58, 1864
Years on County Council 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1864
Occupation: General merchant and postmaster; innkeeper
Origin: Sinsheim, Baden, Germany
Migration date: c 1837; came to Wellesley village in 1851
Spouse: Julianna
Children: John; Lewis; Peter; Caroline; William
Politics: Conservative
Religion: Lutheran
Notes:
  • 1847-married
  • 1851-came from Petersburg and built a store and a hotel in Wellesley (WHS1917 5:63)
  • 1854-1880-Wellesley postmaster
  • 1867-ran for MPP for Waterloo North against Moses Springer and lost
  • 1875-Thomas Pearce’s school report: "Wellesley Village School doing fair work. Mr John Zoeger and the other Trustees are entitled to no little praise for the pains they have taken and the money they have spent towards making the budding and premises an ornament to the village and a credit to the section."
  • 1876-provided land for St Mark’s Lutheran Cemetery, Wellesley
  • c1881-"entered the hotel business" (obituary New Hamburg Independent)
  • Captain of the militia
  • Justice of the peace
  • Issuer of marriage licenses
  • Commissioner of Queen’s Bench
  • advocated direct railway connections with the trunk lines
  • Township treasurer; clerk 1868-1873
  • 1881 - moved to Newton (WHS1967 55:51) died at Millbank Station (obit)
  • "was always an enthusiastic participant in the rise of his new homeland" (obituary Berliner Journal) "He was of a kind disposition and had gained many friends" (obituary New Hamburg Independent )
Businesses and Organizations: 
  • Wellesley Hotel
Sources: WHS1967 55:51; WHS1917 5:63; translated obituary from Berliner Journal 23/1/1890; obituary New Hamburg Independent 24/l/1890 p3; 1871 census

This information is excerpted from: "Waterloo County Councillors: A Collective Biography," researched and complied by Elizabeth Bloomfield and Linda Foster. (c) 1995 Caribou Imprints. It is reproduced by permission of Dr. Bloomfield.    ​The full text of the book can be seen here. ​