The Seibert's Make Logan Township Home, Anchoring their Roots on Concession 1, Lot 1

There are places in Ontario where the past still lingers in the fields, and the wind seems to carry the memory of those who first broke the soil. Once known as Logan Township, tucked into the northern stretch of Perth County, is one of those places. Now known as a greater part of West Perth, its earliest roads, once little more than rough trails through dense hardwood forest. Shaped by hands and hearts that believed in the promise of a new beginning. Among the first to carve out a life here were the Seiberts, a family whose story has become woven into the quiet fabric of the township’s early years.

Franz (Francis) Seibert (1803 – 1897) arrived in 1837, settling on a corner lot surrounded by dense unexplored wilderness. This lot was listed as Concession 1, Lot 1, on the 1851 agricultural census. His name is noted here as Sibert, keeping in mind that spelling and handwriting sometimes leaves much to be desired when researching records.  

In 1837, the land was thick with maple and beech, the kind of forest that swallowed sound and made a person feel very small and alone. Alas, he was not alone. Together with his wife Catherine (Gordner)(1809 – 1890), and at least one daughter, Margaret (1832 – 1919) in tow, they set their sights on the new world. Franz hailed from Bayern, Bavaria, Germany, with marriage records connecting he and Catherine in 1832, also in Bavaria, prior to their decision to come to Canada.

Although it is unsure if they made the journey together, it is known that Catherine's parents, Johann Georg Gordner (1783 – 1860) and Margaret (Langacker (1784 – 1855) also joined them in Logan township as records show. Whether they were following dreams of their own or supporting their daughter and her young family, we will never know. But the call of a new adventure was loud and inviting.

The Seiberts, like so many pioneer families, carried with them a stubborn faith that the land would reward their labour. The promise of hope and prosperity far outweighed the hard work and struggles that lay ahead; it was a gamble they were willing to make.

From the very first day, hard work welcomed them with blistered hands. They needed to build a cabin, clear enough ground for a first crop, and slowly begin the work of turning forest into farmland. To ensure they earned their land, a set number of acres were required to be cleared each year, failure to do so may result in forfeiture and loss of the property.

In those days, life was measured in seasons, by the steady rhythm of planting and harvest, sunrise and sunset with no reprieve on frozen mornings. All the while, adding to the growing community with the addition of sons Frederick (1839 – 1909), Franz (1841 – 1869), George (1843 – 1869), Phillip (1845 – 1924), and daughters Katharina (1846 – 1869) and Anna Maria (1853 – 1919).

What set families like the Seiberts apart was not only their endurance but their willingness to build community where none yet existed. When the first township meeting was held in 1844, it was settlers like the Seiberts and others who gathered to discuss roads, schools, and the shared responsibilities of a growing settlement. Their decisions were practical, shaped by the realities of frontier life, but they were also hopeful. They imagined a township that would outlast them, one where their children and grandchildren could thrive.

As more families arrived, some from the British Isles, others from Pennsylvania or the German states, the Seiberts became part of a network of neighbours who relied on one another for survival. Barn raisings, harvest gatherings, and shared labour were not just traditions but necessities. In those early decades, a family’s prosperity was often tied to the strength of the community around them. The Seiberts contributed to that strength in quiet ways: offering help when illness struck, lending tools, sharing seed, and opening their home to newcomers who needed a place to rest before claiming their own land.

Over time, the township changed. Roads improved, mills were built, and the dense forest gave way to open fields. Children who had grown up in log cabins longed to attend proper schools, and as the first churches rose on land donated by the very families who had once worshipped in their kitchens.

Through all of this, the Seiberts remained rooted in the place they had helped shape. Their descendants spread across the township, marrying into other pioneer families and carrying forward the values of hard work and neighbourly care. All contributed to building a community, but there are always a select few that stand out and make their mark a little darker or deeper.

From the Seiberts brood, it was Phillip, securing land and remaining in the area. Records show Phillip and his brother Frederick, shared a farm and a saw mill, located on Concession 3, lot 5. A portion of this property would be sold to erect a school for local children. More details can be found in “A Historic look at The Township of Logan Perth County, Ontario Pride in our Past – Faith in our Future" by James L. McCallum.

His writings mention Phillip and his connection with the S.S. #9 and reads as follows “The first schoolhouse of S.S. #9 was built in 1877 on the east side of the road and south from the present school house of “Gordner's Hill". It was built on Lot 5, concession 3, one hundred rods north of the corner on a half acre of the farm then owned by Phillip Siebert. The land was purchased from Mr. Siebert for $50 by the trustees John Ingram, John Busch, and Samuel Harris on November 9, 1878. The school was 38 x 26 and of a brick construction. There was no gate but there were steps up and down each side of the fence. It had ten windows, four rows of double seats, and a box stove. It was built on sand and the foundation crumbled, forcing the replacement of the school. This building was sold to Charles Bain and brick was used in a home in Mitchell.” Which home, I do not know.

The second mention of Phillip Seibert, in the same publication honours him as acting Deputy Reeve in 1879, showing further his interest in contributing to a growing community and nation. Thus, solidifying the family’s place in early days of West Perth and finding their place on the list of Pioneering families that we pay our respects to.

Today, most of the family remains together with members resting peacefully at the First St. John Lutheran Cemetery, in Sebringville, Ontario. As you walk the grounds you will find the stones and Franz and Catherine Seibert, Johann and Margaret Gordner, her parents, and their children Francis, George and Katharina. Phillip was laid to rest in Mitchell at the Grace Lutheran Cemetery with his family and the eldest daughter seemed to travel the farthest, with Margaret taking her last breath surrounded by her family in Brandon, Manitoba.

Today, when one drives through what was once Logan Township, it is easy to overlook the traces of those early years. The farms are modern, the roads smooth, and the hardships of the 1830s and 1840s feel impossibly distant. Yet the legacy of families like the Seiberts is still present. It lives in the layout of the concessions, in the old stone foundations hidden in the woods, and in the stories passed down through generations. It lives in the quiet pride of those who still call this place home.