REUNION 2026
Stouffville, ON, Canada
July 24 & 25, 2026
The Code H44 Casper Sherick/Shirk Story
The 2026 reunion is over. Many good connections were made by cousins from as far west and south as Victoria, BC and North Hollywood, CA. Kurt and Judy Schürch from Switzerland came the greatest distance. The youngest attendee Mackenzie-Rose Shirk was five years old. The oldest attendees were two ninety-one year olds - Jacqueline Bellamy and John Stouffer.
The Markham Whitchurch-Stouffville area is where Casper Sherick/Shirk, H44, an older brother of Joseph H46, settled in 1804, along with 13 other families and individuals from Pennsylvania. This is their story.
Routes to Roots Reunion Recap
By Rick Evans H44112664
With the help of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society a Conestoga wagon was present on the first day of the 22nd biennial Schürch Family Association Reunion in Stouffville, Ontario on July 24 & 25, 2026. Seventy-five gathered via several routes to revisit the roots that were established in this area in 1804. Casper Sherick/Shirk settled in the Markham area, along with thirteen other families and individuals from Pennsylvania. They had researched the area and found it to be suitable for their family’s needs.
Attendees came from 8 states, 3 provinces and Switzerland. Next to Kurt and Judy Schürch from Switzerland, Cary Adams and Gary Olvido travelled the furthest from North Hollywood, California, USA and Carol Erickson travelled the furthest within Canada coming from Victoria, British Columbia. They ranged in age from 5 to 91.
Casper with his wife Esther and their 5 children settled closer to Gormley than Stouffville and in 1826-29 built a lumber mill on lot 34 of concession 5. He later built a grist mill using the lumber from the first mill which served the area. Casper died in 1840 and the mill later was purchased by the Bruce brothers and today is the conservation area known as Bruce’s Mill.
After a warm welcome by Rick Evans, our MC, and a descendant of Casper Code H44, the stories of the routes taken began. Stephen Shirk, also a descendant of Casper H44, told the story of Casper’s journey from Lancaster to Markham in 1804. Fred Robbins, a local historian, filled us in on the history of the Stouffville area. The name Stouffville is based on one of the settlers who travelled with Casper, Abraham Stouffer. One of the attendees John Stouffer, is a descendant of an offspring of Abraham.
Larry Hogg spoke about the Heise Hill church and cemetery and told us more about the Tunkers or Dunkards as they were known for their faith principles of being peacekeepers, the separation of church and state, and their belief of water baptism as an adult. He told of the church celebrating 200 plus years of existence starting first in homes, then gathering in a meeting house. The cemetery came to be with the offering of land by Christian Heise in the early 1800’s.
Ruth Burkholder, another local historian and genealogy researcher, was interviewed by Rick Evans, a 7th generation Shirk living in Stouffville, about the Anabaptist beliefs as well as her involvement in the gathering of cemetery information of old graves in many of the surrounding cemeteries including Heise Hill. She compiled her research into a little book. Isobel Fishley and her sister Ann Barnsley spoke about the route of their family’s migration from the Markham area to other parts of Ontario and then on to Saskatchewan. Their grandfather Isaac joined a harvest excursion in 1898 to Saskatchewan, in 1899 he rented some land there and then purchased the Home Quarter in 1904, which is today known as Gormlea Farms.
The association offers a heritage tour every 5 to 6 years back to Switzerland. Ken Sherk and his wife Erli were delighted to take in that tour and graciously agreed to share their photos and impressions of the 2025 tour. A lot of ground and history was covered in that tour from the Netherlands to Switzerland.
To sustain us for the evening’s activities we feasted on pizzas from a local restaurant, Nonno Crupi’s Pizza. Following the meal we were entertained by Anne Walker, an Ontario born singer/songwriter, teacher and historian. The lyrics are well-crafted and present vivid images and stories about her heritage. Her family emigrated from Scotland five generations ago.
A few crokinole boards were set out for a little competition but the attendees had had a full day and only a handful wanted to participate. Some had never experienced the game and so many practice shots were taken with no scoring.
Day 2 started with Cathy Hooker (nee Cummings) talking about her family cider mill in Altona bringing to light the vibrant community and rich heritage of the area and how the land was expropriated for the potential airport. Up until that time the cider mill produced many gallons of cider which was distributed to local grocery stores.
Often at reunions we like to ask the question “What are Sherks doing now?, so we had Lisa Carriere from Minnesota and Kurt Schürch from Switzerland share. Lisa spoke a bit about her symposium talk on June 13, 2026, which was created with her two sisters, about maintaining the family legacy and how one could go about creating a presentation about one’s own family. Kurt showed a few pictures of the Swiss Schürchs’ latest meeting and was very excited to announce that some of the next generation are taking an interest in participating and working in the association.
The highlight of day 2 is always the bus tour and this reunion was no different. We boarded a Top Bus coach and headed east to our first stop in Altona. Graham Fretz the caretaker of the Altona Meeting House greeted us, told of the history of the Meeting House, and took us into the cemetery which is rich with Stouffville descendants including Abraham Stouffer and his wife Elizabeth Reesor. We then went inside and heard more about the building and how meetings were held. The acoustics are beautiful and were noticeable when Sue Shirk led us in ‘Amazing Grace’. Graham shared of the ceiling restoration beginning the following week. Many chose to make a donation to help the worthy cause of seeing this piece of history stay open.
Our next stop was Bruce’s Mill to see the mill in its setting. Even though it’s no longer operational, the group was delighted and encouraged to envision this mill working when Casper operated it. From there we travelled onto the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum where guides took us through and showed various aspects of the history of the area with the one-room school house, the Baker house and log cabin. The next stop was the Heise Hill Cemetery where 20 Shirk relatives are buried and 20 more Wideman relatives, who are directly related to Shirks by way of Casper’s daughter Elizabeth who married Adam Wideman. Rick Evans, who manages the cemetery, arranged for a little “find a descendant grave” challenge. Within 7 minutes the first person returned with a completed sheet. The activity was enjoyed by all.
Our last stop was the Gormley Missionary church, a historical church leading back to the early days of the area. Ron Warder a long-time member of the church shared its history.
When back on the bus Ron Warder, our bus captain, shared more history of the area as we returned to the Legion for a group photo. Many were delighted with the family and area history that was shared.
Another tradition of our reunions is a live auction of items donated by family members. This year was made extra special with Craig Wilson coming as our auctioneer. He engaged the crowd and encouraged family members to bid. He was very entertaining and raised a good amount for the association.
A Sherk/Shirk/Sherick reunion wouldn’t be complete without our closing banquet meal together and this year’s reunion was made special with the Texas style brisket and chicken meal by BBQ Gourmet out of Markham. The banquet was concluded with a short business meeting where the slate of officers for 2026-2028 was introduced.
A Musical Surprise
by Lisa Shirk Carriere N3684111
I was at once surprised and captivated by Friday night’s concert by Anne Walker at the 2026 SFANA Reunion. Anne is a Canadian singer-songwriter who writes strong, well-crafted lyrics that present vivid images and stories about her heritage including her growing up years. She used her guitar, her voice, and a multi-media presentation to draw us into her songs. She reminded me of a female version of Gordon Lightfoot, infusing her heart, soul and mind into melodies and lyrics that told engaging stories through more than just words. Her performance drew me clear pictures of the emotions she associated with each set of memories, and gave me a real sense of connection to the places, people and experiences she sang about. I especially enjoyed Anne’s use of video and photos, projected on a screen and choreographed with her songs, to enhance the audience experience. I was so impressed she could do this as a solo performer with no audio visual support crew! As a musician, I appreciated Anne’s talent, and as a family historian, I appreciated her ability to tell her family’s stories. What a fantastic combination!
Reunion Tour Stop: Altona Mennonite Meeting House
Sue Shirk, E1673273
The Altona Mennonite Meeting House, built in 1852, is located outside Stouffville, formerly at the Pickering-Uxbridge Townline, Ontario.
A number of Mennonite families, emigrants from Pennsylvania and other areas, gathered for worship in their homes until 1825 when the present building was constructed. Settlers hauled bricks from the local Cherrywood brickyard to construct the building. It features unpainted pine pews and original floors – and a significant hanging hat rack. German was spoken until the 1920’s when the congregation transitioned to English. Later this year/early 2027, the church’s historical group will begin inside renovations of the breaking/peeling lath and plaster ceiling.
The building is surrounded by a cemetery with graves of pioneers who settled in the area in the early 1800’s. The first burial was Elizabeth Stouffer, wife of Abraham Stouffer who founded Stouffville, and occurred in 1835. Other local cemetery family names include Ressor, Wideman, Fretz, Nighswander, and Hoover. It remains a semi-active cemetery with a few burials annually.
Continuous worship services, although not every Sunday, were held in the church until 1974. Commemorative Services have been held since 1980, including a hymn sing in mid-September.
Reunion attendees enjoyed singing “Amazing Grace” inside the acoustical church.
Reflections on the Sherk Reunion 2026, Stouffville Ontario
By Sarah Bellamy H42181234/H44115234
Granddaughter of Myrtle Sherk-Bellamy H421812/H441152
I was fortunate to attend the 2026 Schurch Family Reunion held in Stouffville Ontario this past July 2026. I myself am a Sherk, from my grandmother Myrtle May Sherk-Bellamy, and I attended with my mother Jacqueline, and brother Stuart. We descend from the Casper Schirch (immigrated 1732) "H" family line. Myrtle May Sherk had many siblings all born to Asaph Elin Sherk and Elizabeth Shirk Sherk. That's odd, Elizabeth was a Shirk Sherk. I learned that my Great Grandparents were in fact COUSINS, both from the "H" line. Seems a little scandalous if you ask me. I wonder if they met at one of these reunions. It would seem that their kinship was distant enough. I still have to go back and work it out on the family tree but I am confident that they were not first cousins. As you all know, this means that Myrtle May Sherk, all of her siblings, and all of their offspring down the line are double coded "H" descendants. Well that certainly cuts down on the family tree research!
I am shocked that I got this far into my life without knowing anything about this group. My family home in a little community, Richvale Ontario (south of Richmond Hill), was an addition to my grandparents’ home, so I spent a lot of time with my Grama. Since I was right there, I also spent time when her sisters Ruth, Mary and Rebecca (Rebe) along with Rebe's husband Jack Logan, when they came to visit. As a family we made several trips to Bradford Pennsylvania where my grandmother's brothers Harold Francis Sherrick and Lloyd Winston Sherk had taken up residence. Note Harold's surname spelling, an act of rebellion I am given to believe (see "Looking In On The Sherrick Family" by Frances Vanerstrom Gross). In terms of family history, I was aware that my Grandmother's Uncle Michael Gonder Scherck had written a book, "Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life," written in 1905. I always thought having an author in the family was pretty cool. We are fortunate to posses a leather bound copy. This book has been copied and re-printed, and is currently available at a very reasonable price. I was also aware that Michael Scherck had attended Rockwood Academy, located in Rockwood Ontario. For you movie buffs Rockwood Academy was used as a set for the 1985 movie "Agnes of God" staring Jane Fonda and Meg Tilly.
I have always had some interest in family trees and family histories and when I came across Find-A-Grave, I was very intrigued. I learned about my family connection to Waterloo, as the first settlers at Doon. I learned about my Great Great Grand Father Abraham Brecht Sherk and his marriage to Rebekah Gonder Sherk of the Niagara Region, Ontario. There is a Gonder Family Cemetery at the Gonder Family Homestead (see City of Niagara Falls, Pioneer Cemeteries). Then, recently my mother handed me a sheaf of papers that had come from my Grandmother's sister, Mary Sherk Pettigrew, which was about a previous Sherk Family Reunion. That was the thread I began to pull on, which led me to attend this Stouffville Ontario Reunion 2026 .
Between my first discourse with my newly found cousins and the date of the Reunion, I only had telephone contact with a few of you (namely Vanessa Warner, Stephen Shirk, and Betty Sherk). Margaret Sherk had also reached out via email, but I am not very attentive to my inbox, so I finally talked to her for the first time at the Reunion. I found everyone to be so friendly, so welcoming, and so interested in how my family fit into the larger family.
I kept in touch with Betty Sherk enough to track and attend this Family Reunion, with my Mother and Brother. I had no idea about my family connection in Stouffville and especially Bruce's Mill Conservation Area, where I coincidentally swam as a child during family day trips. The speakers were all incredibly interesting. I was able to learn more about my family in this specific area and enjoy pictures of the, ‘back to our roots’, trip in Europe. It is so fun that this family has made those re-connections back to before the 1700's migrations to the New World.
The opportunity to pick up various books about the family, right there during the Reunion, to take home for further reading and research was quite awesome. A special thank you to those that acquired and brought that great selection of books on-site (namely Margaret Sherk).
It was helpful that Stephen Shirk was on-site with his mobile office, to assist with honing in on individual relationships and personal codes, print information, and scan in the pictures I brought to add to the family repository.
In addition to the particulars of family, learning about the evolution of religion and religious practices was also enlightening for me. I very much enjoyed the stop at the Altona Mennonite Meeting House and Heise Hill Cemetery. It was great to go on the bus to mingle and enjoy some hands-on experiences with my new found cousins. The commentary on the bus was very helpful as well.
All and all the degree to which we enjoyed this event is difficult to put into words. It was not only fun, it was up lifting. My mother, at age 91 was particularly impressive with regard to the energy and enthusiasm she displayed at this event. I feel like covid restrictions tended to shrink everybody's world, so to get together with a group as friendly as these cousins was like a dose of medicine.
My biggest take-away perhaps is that the Sherk family can all be defined by their friendliness and welcomeness. That characteristic was so prevalent in the cousins I met at the Reunion, that it must be a family indoctrination, passed down through the generations.
I highly recommend that Sherks attend these reunions for the largely intangible sense of community you will experience, or strengthen, that feeds our human soul.
I hope to see all of this reunion’s attendees, and meet many additional cousins, in Ohio in 2028.