Picture this, Maunchenheim 1690: Hans Bahl was born. He married, had children and lived and worked in Mauchenheim. Finally, some generation of the family left the country to escape religious persecution and headed to England. From England they emigrated to the US where they owned property that has now become "Wall Street". They participated in the Revolutionary war then emigrated to Canada becoming United Empire Loyalists. They served with General Brock in the War of 1812 at Niagara on the Lake. John Ball fired the first canon in the Battle of Niagara. They hung around with Laura Secord. They were given General Brock's uniform hat when he was killed. One section in the Niagara on the lake Museum is the Ball Wing. They owned the property that is now known as "Balls Falls" One of them was the father of my grandfather. My grandfather was the father of my mother. I am now in Mauchenheim picturing this, 1690 Hans Bahl was born.
The purpose of this part of the trip is to see the town where it all started. Mom and I have been talking about coming here for years. I wandered through the only graveyard in town and Bahl is not on any of the headstones; but the current cemetery was started in 1900. There is no sign of an old cemetery. No one in town that we can find, speaks English and we don't speak any German.
It is a cute little town; simple houses that appear to be mostly new and by that I mean post WWII. Maybe the town didn't fare well in the war? There is the odd building that looks significantly older and like it might have been around in 1690 but I can't tell as I can't recognize the style of anything except for two Lancet windows.
We drove on every street. I wandered and took some detail architectural photos. I spoke with a 10 year old girl who told me the correct pronunciation of Mow-en-hime. She had a big smile on her face when she told me as neither of us could speak the other's language. It was cute.
The purpose of this part of the trip is to see the town where it all started. Mom and I have been talking about coming here for years. I wandered through the only graveyard in town and Bahl is not on any of the headstones; but the current cemetery was started in 1900. There is no sign of an old cemetery. No one in town that we can find, speaks English and we don't speak any German.
It is a cute little town; simple houses that appear to be mostly new and by that I mean post WWII. Maybe the town didn't fare well in the war? There is the odd building that looks significantly older and like it might have been around in 1690 but I can't tell as I can't recognize the style of anything except for two Lancet windows.
We drove on every street. I wandered and took some detail architectural photos. I spoke with a 10 year old girl who told me the correct pronunciation of Mow-en-hime. She had a big smile on her face when she told me as neither of us could speak the other's language. It was cute.
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