Born 1829 Died ?
Married: Jane Tilt
Isaac Bechtel was the son of John Bechtel of [illegible] and grandson of Jacob Bechtel, one of the earliest settlers in the area. When Isaac grew up he worked for William Tilt who owned a brick and tile yard in Doon. He also married Jane Tilt the daughter of his employer.
About 1869 he seized the opportunity to manage the brick and tile yard in Bridgeport, but in 1876 he moved to Waterloo where he became a town policeman. When the Waterloo brickyard came up for sale in 1880 he decided to return to his old occupation of making bricks. Two of his daughters became wives of important personages in the Waterloo area. Roxy (b.1856) married Homer Watson, the famous landscape painter from Doon. Beral married Robert Dobbin who was manager of the early Waterloo P.U.C.
In 1884 the firm was brown as I. Bechtel and sons (Byron and Wilson) made a white brick enclosure that is so much part of our Waterloo Heritage homes. After 1892, the two sons took over the ownership of the brickyard.
Sources:
Ellis Little, Brickmaking in Waterloo Township, Waterloo Historical Society Volume 82, 1994
Daily Telegraph, Waterloo Co Outlook Ed. August 1914
Ezra E Eby, A Biographical History of Early Settlers and their Descendants in Waterloo Township Eldon D Weber, Editor 1971.
Roland Pike, Policing in Waterloo County 1850-1973 Waterloo Historical Society, Volume 77, 1989.
Isaac Bechtel Biography
Description
- Creator
- Little, Ellis, Author
- Media Type
- Text
- Item Type
- Articles
- Description
- This is a handwritten biography of Isaac Bechtel from the Ellis Little Papers. This biography has been transcribed exactly as written. Ellis Little was a local historian, who was the principal of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School. On his retirement, he invested much of his time in researching and writing about Waterloo's history. The Ellis Little Papers consist of extensive notes, papers and historical works.
- Notes
- To see the original document please visit the Ellis Little Local History Room at the Main Branch of the Waterloo Public Library
- Date of Original
- 1829
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Bechtel, Isaac ; Tilt, Jane ; Bechtel, Beral ; Dobbin, Robert ; Watson, Homer ; Bechtel, Roxy ; Tilt, William
- Corporate Name(s)
- Waterloo Brickyard
- Local identifier
- ELP 51.16
- Collection
- Ellis Little Papers: Men and Women of Our Past
- Language of Item
- English
- Copyright Statement
- Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Location of Original
- Ellis Little Papers
- Contact
- Waterloo Public LibraryEmail:askus@wpl.ca
Website:
Agency street/mail address:35 Albert Street, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 5E2
- Full Text
