The Berczy settlers of Markham Township.

The Berczy settlers of Markham Township.

In 1794 William Berczy led a group of 64 families from his home in Hamburg Germany, to take up free land just north of York. They named their settlement Markham, after William Markham, the Archbishop of York. It wasn’t an easy trip up to Markham! Yonge Street was not yet cleared, and in order to get to their lots near Bond Lake, the settlers had to work alongside the Queen’s York Rangers to clear Yonge Street.
This list from William Berczy’s memoirs lists the names and lots for each of the original 64 families.

William Von Moll Berczy (1748-1813)

1812