1st Story – Eichel or Oickle

Johann (John) George Eichel (1755 or 1763 – 1830)

This is the story of the Hessian soldier Johann (John) George Eichel and his descendant path to our present-day Tennant family. All genealogical errors and other mistakes in the story are ours and we always are interested in learning more from readers about our ancestors. To this end, we have included siblings of our direct ancestors to share our research with cousins yet to be discovered. Our direct ancestors are highlighted in bold type. For a more detailed description, see our family tree on the Ancestry genealogy website.

One line of the Tennant family tree stretches back to the 18^th Century and a Hessian soldier by the name of Johann (John) George Eichel who came to America from Germany. This was during the time of the American Revolution where the thirteen colonies decided to seek independence from King George III of England. As the British were having a difficult time putting down this rebellion by the colonists, the King looked to hire armies from other countries. Germany at this time consisted of a number of relatively small municipalities each with a ruling prince. Several of these “tiny kingdoms” signed lucrative contacts with England to provide companies of soldiers complete with uniforms, weapons and commanding officers. In this way the soldiers maintained their cultural identity and were not mercenaries in the usual sense of the word. Over the course of the war (1776 – 1783), these German principalities sent over 30,000 troops to fight alongside the British. As the majority of these men came from the two areas Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Hanau, these German soldiers came to be known collectively as Hessians.

John George Eichel was born in 1755 or 1763 (varies in records) in Wolfenbuttel in the Province of Saxony in Germany. These two conflicting dates arise from records involving a John Eichel during the war. A possible solution to this might be that there are two different people named John Eichel. An interesting paper titled, Will the Real John Eichel Please Stand Up (2009) written by Jeff Oicles goes into excellent detail in an attempt to answer this question. Oicles concludes that there is only one John Eichel and that a mistake probably was made on the date of birth on one of the records. Another brief description of John Eichel comes from papers written by Canon Harris who was Reverend E. A. Harris, rector of Mahone Bay and Honorary Canon of All Saints Cathedral.

“He was a native of Germany and a soldier in the British Army. After the American Revolutionary War (he was) in North West (a community near Lunenburg in the present-day province of Nova Scotia) and then moved to Maitland. He was married in 1784 in Lunenburg to Mary Elizabeth Bouteiller, born 1763 died 1863 age 99 yrs. 10 mos. 20 days. In later years he longed to see his old home in Germany. He was a good old man to his grandchildren. He owned Lot #28 N.W. which he sold to his son John for 50 pounds in 1810. John Jr. sold #29 N.W. in 1818 for 203 pounds.” (From Canon Harris Papers)

Not much is known about John Eichel during the Revolutionary War, what battles he played a role or even his movements about the colonies. If he was one of the many Hessians who were captured by the American forces and spent time as a prisoner of war, he might not have told many stories about his experiences after the war. Perhaps new research will shed light on his military years.

The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 officially ending the American Revolution but the armies on both sides had known the outcome previously for two years and there was not much military activity during this period. Military documents place John Eichel at a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1783 and describe him as deserting from the British army around this time. It was not unusual towards the end of the war for Hessians to leave their posts to blend into communities in the colonies and in Canada. Additionally, the British were quick to list them as deserters as this meant they did not have to repatriate them back to Germany. From Halifax, it appears that John Eichel made his way some sixty miles to Lunenburg a growing township of settlers where he had probably heard about German immigrants living there.

Shortly after arriving in Lunenburg John Eichel met a woman named Mary Elizabeth Bouteiller whose parents immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1752 from Montbéliard in present-day France. Her family was part of a group of early settlers known as the “Foreign Protestants” who settled primarily in Halifax and the Lunenburg area.

John George Eichel and Mary Elizabeth Boutilier were married on 29 August 1784 in Lunenburg and began to raise a family. Harry Bishop Oickle a present-day descendant of John and Mary Elizabeth has compiled a comprehensive work, Eichel Genealogy: The Descendants of John Eichel and Mary Elizabeth Bouteiller (1993), which includes the following description of John Eichel.

“John Eichel came from Wolfenbuttel in the Province of Saxony in Germany. He was in the employ of the British Army and served in the Revolutionary War with the United States. In July, 1783, John was in a military hospital in Halifax and the German records show, in English, that he was ‘found absent’. Other records show that he was declared a deserter from Hinrich’s Company of the Hessian Chasseurs. At this time he was listed as being nineteen years old. Perhaps he would have known that there was a German community in Lunenburg and he found his way there. He was obviously accepted in the community and met a young lady there. In the records of St. John’s Anglican Church, Lunenburg, is listed the marriage of John Eichel and Mary Elizabeth Bouteiller on August 29, 1784. Mary Elizabeth’s family had come to Halifax in 1752 from the Principality of Montbéliard which became part of France in 1792. John acquired land in the Mahone Bay-Maitland area and he and Mary raised their family there. John died Sep 13, 1830 and Mary died in 1863.”

(From Harry Bishop Oickle’s Eichel Genealogy)

John and Mary Elizabeth Eichel had thirteen children who are listed below.

1. John; b. 11 May 1785; m. 21 Dec 1803 to Catherine Margaret Robar; d. 27 Apr 1851
2. (George) Frederick (called Fritz); b. 4 1787; m1. 26 Dec 1809 to Susanna Wynacht, m2. later to Mrs. Marie Elizabeth Carver; d. Oct 1866
3. Mary Elizabeth; b. 19 June 1789; m. 8 Dec 1807 to John Peter Lowe; d.
4. George; b. 6 Nov 1790; d. 3 Mar 1801
5. Catherine Elizabeth; b. 14 Nov 1792; m. 1809 to John Michael Morash; d.
6. John Nicholas; b. 6 Sep 1795; m. 1817 to Mary Magdalene Veinot; d. 30 Sept 1837
7. James Frederick; b. 28 Sep 1797; m. July 1822 to Susannah Catherine Veinot; d. May 1868
8. Mary Catherine; b. 20 Nov 1799; d. 16 March 1801 of smallpox
9. (John) Peter; b. 17 Dec 1801; m. Dec 1823 to Mary Sarah Barry; d.
10. Mary Catherine; b. 20 Jul 1803; m. 4 Jun 1822 to Frederick Robar; d.
11. Hanna Magdalene; b. 22 Nov 1805; m1. 19 Jul 1825 to George Christopher Veinot (d. 1852), m2. After 1852 to Jacob Speidel; d.
12. George; b. 2 Nov 1808; d. 24 April 1826 (killed by a falling tree near Blystainer Lake, North West Range)
13. Paulus; b. 14 Aug 1810; m. 6 Mar 1834 to Sophia Robar; d. 3 Sep 1847

Many of the 13 children of John Eichel and Mary Elizabeth Boutilier had children of their own with a few having very large families as well. Harry Bishop Oickle’s work described above, catalogues that John and Mary had around 90 grandchildren. Now, several generations later, this makes them the progenitors of hundreds or perhaps thousands of Eichels and Oickles throughout Nova Scotia and beyond. As for the various spellings of the surname Eichel (Eichel, Eikle, Oickle, Oikle, and Oicle) for the descendants of John Eichel, there may be a simple explanation. The German name Eichel when enunciated has particular sounds like “oy” and “k” that when written by a clergyman or census-taker using English might record it as Oickle or some similar variation. And so, in the generations after John George Eichel, most of the descendants are referred to as Oickle, Oicle, or Oikle with a few retaining the surname Eichel.

John George Eichel, the Hessian soldier, died on 13 September 1830 at the age of 75 at Blysteiner Lake, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. If this age is correct this would agree with the birth year of 1755. His wife, Mary Elizabeth (Boutilier) Eichel died in 1863 two months shy of her 100^th birthday. The people of this particular region of Nova Scotia have been long studied to learn possible reasons for their longevity.

Our family’s search to clarify our direct line to Johann (John) George Eichel, the Hessian soldier, has not been without contradictions. Our family tree has a branch to John Eichel through one of his granddaughters, Mary Eichel (1836-1919) in Lunenburg County. Most likely, John Eichel’s 13^th and youngest child, Paulus Eichel (1810-1847) was Mary Eichel’s father although there are conflicting accounts in various genealogies. Paulus Eichel was born on 14 August 1810 and married Sophia Robar on 6 Mar 1834 and died on 3 September 1847 at the young age of 37. In the 1838 Nova Scotia Census, Paulus was listed as a farmer and married with two daughters under the age of six at the time. Note, this 1838 census does not include names of wives and children but these two daughters under age six would be Rebecca and Mary Elizabeth. Paulus and Sophia Eichel had five children in total as described as follows.

1. Rebecca; b. 2 May 1834; d. 8 Jul 1842 (8 years old)
2. Mary Elizabeth; b. 11 Jan 1836; m. 31 Oct 1858 to John George Conrad; d. 6 Feb 1919
3. John Jacob; b. 15 May 1839; d. 2 May 1863 (23 years old)
4. Benjamin Albert; b. 29 Oct 1841; m. 19 Nov 1864 to Druscilla Elizabeth Hirtle; d. 16 Jan 1915
5. Sarah; b. 1842

When Paulus Eichel died in 1847, he left four remaining children ranging in age from 5 to 11 years old. Some genealogists show Paulus’ brother, James Frederick Eichel as perhaps being the ancestor in our family’s direct line to the Hessian soldier, John Eichel. Speculations such as this perhaps can be made from the 1838 Census of the Lunenburg area. This early census, lists only the name of the head of the household and occupation along with the numbers of children by gender and age range (under 6, between 6 and 14, and above 14). Listed on adjacent lines of the census are the brothers, Frederick Eichel and Paulus Eichel. Paulus has two daughters on the census with ages under 6. Frederick has seven children with ages as follows: one daughter under 6, two sons between 6 and 14, and two sons and two daughters above 14.

Since Paulus and Frederick appear on adjacent lines of the census, it could mean they were neighbors perhaps living in the same house and were therefore quite close as brothers. When Paulus died in 1847 at age 37 leaving four children ranging in age from 5 to 11, it may have fallen on his brother Frederick to take on some of the parental responsibilities for his children. This perhaps could explain why Frederick appears in some of the family trees for Paulus’ children.

At least two of Paulus’ children (Mary Elizabeth and Benjamin Albert) raised families of their own. The eldest, Mary Elizabeth Eichel (1836-1919) married Johann George Conrad (1823-1895) on 31 October 1858 at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. George and Mary Conrad had eight children as described below.

1. George Edward Albert; b. 20 May 1862; m. 18 Mar 1884 to Victoria Matilda Garber; d. 11 Nov 1949
2. Anna Samaria Elizabeth; b. 5 Dec 1863; m. 30 Dec 1884 to John Robert Randall; d. 25 Feb 1897
3. James Benjamin; b. 13 Sep 1866; m. 21 Mar 1895 to Clara Abigail Randall; d. 9 Mar 1938
4. (William) Amos; b. 10 July 1867; m. 18 Jan 1894 to Emma Stewart; d. 15 Aug 1936
5. Mary Gertrude; b. 30 May 1871; m. 16 Jan 1896 to John Steadman Shand; d. 8 Nov 1925
6. Sophia Victoria; b. 5 Jul 1874; m. 16 Feb 1899 to William Norman Randall; d. 16 Feb 1962
7. Margaret (Maggie); b. 11 Aug 1876; m.20 Jan 1897 to Johnston Wilkie; d. 23 Sep 1926
8. Mary Ellen; b. 21 Dec 1879; m. 15 Jun 1905 to Nicholas Knee Philpitt; d. 3 Oct 1961

For the most part, the children of George and Mary (Oicle) Conrad remained in the Lunenburg area with several raising families but Mary Gertrude would venture beyond the region when she married John Steadman Shand from Bridgewater in 1896. John was a lineman and later a supervisor in the telephone company and worked on laying phone line across parts of Nova Scotia including some of the first lines on Cape Breton Island. Consequently, John and Gertrude moved from Lunenburg to Cape Breton Island to Halifax, finally settling in Amherst Nova Scotia around 1906.

Mary Gertrude and John Steadman Shand had eight children listed below.

1. Elsie Mae; b. 23 May 1896; m1. 1917 to Charles Ernest Hall; m2 1925 to Isaac Leslie Bagnell; d. 22 Jun 1989
2. Carroll; b. 11 Jan 1897; d. 9 Aug 1918 (killed in action during WWI, buried in France)
3. Winifred LaPage; b. 3 October 1901; m. 29 Jun 1921 to Carl Rayner; d. 5 May 1964
4. Merlin; b.11 Oct 1903 ; d. 1972
5. John Ingram; b. 14 Jul 1906; m. 24 Jan 1930 to Wella Almine Teed; d. 28 Nov 1980
6. Florence Vivian; b. 20 Oct 1907; m. 1933 to Richard Cudworth; d. 5 Apr 2000
7. Mildred Gertrude; b. 13 July 1911; m1. 1934 to Edward O’neil; m2. 1950 to Frederick Tennant; d. 15 May 1976
8. Ruby Marguerite; b. 16 Dec 1912; d. unknown

In the 1920’s, the five Shand sisters emigrated to Massachusetts with the eldest, Elsie, settling near Boston and the other four moving to Pittsfield, MA. In the 1930’s, Florence and Mildred settled in North Adams, MA and raised families. Mildred Gertrude Shand married twice. She married her first husband, Edward Francis O’Neil, in 1934 and they had one daughter, Thelma Marie, born in 1939. Edward died in 1941. Subsequently, Mildred married her second husband, Frederick Ferguson Tennant, and they had one son, Raymond Frederick, born in 1950.

And so, the line from the Hessian soldier, John Eichel, to the current generation is summarized with this list.

1. Johannes (John) George Eichel (1755-1830)
2. His son, Paulus Eichel (1810-1847)
3. His daughter, Mary Elizabeth (Eichel/Oickle) Conrad (1836-1919)
4. Her daughter, Mary Gertrude (Conrad) Shand (1871-1925)
5. Her daughter, Mildred Gertrude (Shand) O’Neil Tennant (1911-1976)
6. Her son, Raymond Frederick Tennant (1950- )