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Berczy’s Life
Johann Albrecht
Ulrich Moll, better known as William Berczy, was born in Wallerstein,
Germany in about 1744. Berczy, the son of a prominent diplomat, while born into
privilege,
rejected many of
the principles of traditionalism
in the old European world.
He was quite an
adventurer in his youth and traveled throughout Europe. More than
once this adventurous spirit got him into trouble. He once found
himself in a situation where he was captured and held hostage by a
band of people referred to as “brigands”. His personality so
impressed his captors that they gave him the nickname “Berczy”,
meaning “Little Albert”, a name that stayed with him for the
rest of his life. |
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It was this same adventurousness
that eventually led him and some 200 men, women and children from their home in Europe to
start a new life in North America.
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Berczy the Artist |
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Berczy’s talents extended beyond
his ability as a leader of pioneer settlers. He was an accomplished artist in
painting, an architect, and a writer. During his youth, Berczy studied art in Vienna,
Italy, and made a living painting miniature portraits of people.
This was a popular way for the wealthy to have their likeness
captured before the invention of photography.
Berczy was able to turn to his
artistic talent for financial support in difficult times in his
life.
It was during these hard times
that he
created
some of his most celebrated works of art. While in Europe
he painted, among many others, King George
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III, the Battle of
Trafalgar, and
Admiral Horatio Nelson. During his years in Canada he painted
portriats of many prominent people such as Isaac Brock, Joseph Brant, and Lieutenant Governor John
Graves Simcoe.
Berczy the Entrepreneur
In 1791 Berczy was in London,
England when he heard of the plans of two men, William Pultney and Robert Morris, to purchase 1,250,000 acres of land in New
York State.
This land had
belonged to the people of the Six Nations Confederacy who had left the
United States for Upper Canada (Ontario) after the American Revolution
(1775-1783).
Berczy arranged to bring settlers from German states to the new
settlement in New York State. When Berczy and his settlers discovered
that they would be only tenant farmers on the New York State lands,
Berczy led his settlers further north to Upper Canada.
The
Mystery of Berczy
Some aspects of William Berczy’s life are somewhat of a mystery. No
one is entirely sure when he was born. Even his son, William Berczy
Jr., was not certain of the exact date of his father's birth. The circumstances
surrounding Berczy’s death are even more mysterious. When Berczy died
in New York City in 1813, his coffin was found to be filled with
rocks instead of his body.
Furthermore, the names of the witnesses and the minister who performed
the ceremony were left off the death certificate.
The fact that
the name “William Burksay” appeared on his tombstone instead of
“Berczy” is not as unusual, since names were frequently misspelled at
that time due to poorer literacy rates and less standardization of
spelling.
What may be the greatest mystery of all, is that until recently
William Moll Berczy was all but forgotten by Canadian History.
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The Story of
Markham 