William Berczy

William Berczy, The family of Peter Leopold of Tuscany, 1781-1782, Galleria d'Arte moderna, Florence
William Berczy, The Woolsey Family (1809)

William Berczy (December 10, 1744 – February 5, 1813) was a German-born Upper Canada pioneer and painter. He is considered one of the co-founders of the Town of York, Upper Canada, now Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Biography

Berczy was born in Swabia, Electorate of Bavaria (part of the Holy Roman Empire and now in Germany) as a son of the Wirklicher Hofrat (Albrecht Theodor Moll) and Johanna Josepha Walpurga Moll (née Hefele). Berczy was originally named Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll, but later changed his name.

He studied at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna and at the University of Jena in Saxony. His early career was spent in several European countries, including Italy (meeting with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Florence) and England, where he exhibited at the Royal Academy.

In 1792 Berczy sailed for the Americas, settling in Philadelphia, then setting up a business in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto). A few years later, his work took him to Lower Canada (Quebec).

Berczy married, on November 1, 1785, Jeanne-Charlotte Berczy née Allamand (1760–1839) of Lausanne (canton of Bern, now - since 1803 - canton of Vaud), Switzerland. They had two sons, William Bent Berczy and Charles Albert Berczy. His son Charles Albert Berczy became the second postmaster of Toronto.

Berczy helped John Graves Simcoe establish a settlement north of York, which became the town of Markham.[1]

"William Berczy, co-founder of Toronto, along with his German Pioneers, cleared part of the townsite of York (Toronto), erected houses and a magazine, built 15 miles of Yonge street (Eglinton to Elgin Mills some without shoes) in addition to 30 miles of roads in Markham township and also cleared 24 miles of the Rouge river waterway for navigation."[2]

Berczy built homes in York and Markham, including Russell Abbey in York.

Berczy painted. His two best known pictures are a full-length portrait of the Mohawk chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) (c. 1805)[3] and a group portrait of the Woolsey Family[4] (1809). Although best known for his portraits, he also carried out religious paintings and architectural work, including plans for Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal in 1803, and was a surveyor.

Berczy travelled to New York City during the War of 1812 and was stranded when attempting to travel. He first stayed in Middlebury, Vermont with friends, then to Albany, New York then to New York City from which he planned to travel to England. He fell ill while in New York and died while in the care of friends. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Trinity Church as William Burksay.[5] His wife moved in with her son William and died on September 18, 1839 in Sainte-Mélanie, Lower Canada.[6] Berczy was also survived by his other son, Charles Albert Berczy.

Legacy

An elementary school in central Markham is named William Berczy Public School[7] in his honour. The school, founded in 1967, has approximately 600 students in grades K-8. Current principal is Lindsey Reehamey. Vice Principal is Alex Pasta. Also in honour of this founder, the then Town of Markham named one of its densely populated neighbourhoods after him, the Berczy Village. Berczy Creek is a tributary of the Rouge River in Markham. A bronze statue of Berczy will be situated in at Berczy Square, a park to be built at Berczy Village near Kennedy Road and 16th Avenue in Markham.[8][9][10]

William Berczy Boulevard is a major road from Major Mackenzie Drive to 16th Avenue in Berczy Village, Berczy Gate is a short street near Highway 7 and Ninth Line and Berczy Creek Way is a short road near 16the Avenue and Warden Avenue in Markham. In Toronto Leader Lane was renamed from Berczy Lane. There is also Berczy Street in Newmarket.

Berczy Park is a small park located behind the Gooderham Building at Front Street and Wellington Street in Toronto, Ontario. The park had been vacant for many decades and once used as a parking lot after the buildings on the site were demolished. A tree-lined city park emerged after the late 1980s and has undergone renovations from 2015 to 2016.[11]

Berczy Street Park and Berczy Street are found in Barrie, Ontario. Berczy-Strasse is a street named for him in Wallerstein, Bavaria.

In 2016, Berczy was named a National Historic Person.[12]

References

Bibliography

  • Ronald J. Stagg: Berczy, Williem [...]. In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Francess G. Halpenny, General Editor, vol. 5. 1801-1820. Toronto, Buffalo, London 1983, pp. 70–72.
  • B[eate] Stock: Berczy, William (Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll). In: (K[laus] G[erhard]) Saur [Publisher]: Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker, Bd. 9. München, Leipzig 1994, pp. 255–256.
  • Hartmut Froeschle [Fröschle]: Adler auf dem Ahornbaum. Studien zur Einwanderung, Siedlung, Kultur-und Literaturgeschichte der Deutschen in Kanada. Herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Lothar Zimmermann. Toronto 1997 (Deutschkanadische Schriften, B. Sachbücher, Bd. 7), pp. 53–63: "Williem Berczy, ein deutschkanadischer Pionier".
  • Hartmut Froeschle [Fröschle]: Berczy trifft Goethe. In: Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch / German Canadian Yearbook 15 (1998), pp. 89–97.
  • "William Berczy Co-Founder of Toronto" written by John Andre in 1967 as a centennial project for the Borough of York.
  • Pioneers of the Don by Charles Sauriol 1995 ISBN 0-9699685-0-7 (pp288–298 "The Story of the German Mills")

Notes

  1. ↑ "Berczy Park". Toronto Parks and Recreation. Retrieved May 13, 2017. Berczy Park is named after William Berczy, a German-born architect, surveyor, and writer often considered a co-founder of modern Toronto with John Graves Simcoe. Berczy was also a painter, most famous for his portrait of Mohawk chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant).
  2. ↑ "Historical Events and Personages "German Mills"". Karlheissler.com. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) | National Gallery of Canada | National Gallery of Canada". Cybermuse.gallery.ca. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ Woolsey Family
  5. ↑ http://www.echoworld.com/B13/B1302/b1302berczy.html
  6. ↑ "Biography – ALLAMAND, JEANNE-CHARLOTTE – Volume VII (1836-1850) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Biographi.ca. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ William Berczy Public School
  8. ↑ Markham Life, Spring 2015
  9. ↑ Unionville Plan Earns Kudos, Yorkregion.com
  10. ↑ Mayor's Inaugural Address, 2014
  11. ↑ "More dogs, taller trees: Berczy Park is (partially) back in action". CBC News. December 5, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ William Berzcy (1774-1813) (sic), Parks Canada backgrounder, Feb. 15, 2016
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