A visit to the cemetery at Manson’s Landing is a journey into the past. A number of pioneers are buried here. One family name that always captures my interest is that of Teuber, or is it Tiber? August Teuber and Henry Tiber. And what of Rose Tiber? The spelling of August with a backwards “s”, was this by design or ignorance? Their grave markers lay not far apart. I always wonder if these are one and the same family? The quick answer is yes they are the same family.
The father Augustus Teuber, his son Henry Tiber, and Henry’s wife, Rose, are all laid to rest at the end of Cemetery Road. A search of the B.C. Archives and the records of birth, marriage and death certificates yields a lot of information that confirms the relationship between August, Henry and Rose. Not all records are available on-line, but enough are that the lineage can be proven.
A Marriage Certificate lists the date of birth of the bride and groom, their birth place, and their parents names. From four Tiber marriage certificates we can determine that August and his first wife Mary Peach had at least four children, Mary born in 1877, Henry born in 1878, Alphene born in 1886 and Annie in 1889.
In 1908 August remarried, his status listed as widower, to Anna Deoring, herself a widow. On the marriage certificate, August spells his name as Teuber and lists his birth place as Prussia.
An interesting note from Henry’s marriage certificate, Henry did not marry Rose until December 31, 1923, although they had a daughter Myrtle born in 1901.
Mary Tiber, the first child of August Teuber, is listed as being born in Ontario, Canada, and Henry, Alphene and Annie are recorded as being born in North Dakota. Alphene’s marriage certificate lists her birth place as Tiber County, North Dakota.
A google search reveals that North Dakota has an area known as the German Russian Triangle, named after the German-Russian immigrants who flocked there in the 1880s attracted to the offer of free land.
Could it be that the children, Mary, Henry, Alphene and Annie adopted Alphene’s birth place Tiber as their surname? As a German immigrant community, perhaps adopting the name Tiber over Teuber, was seen as a way of leaving their European heritage behind in an attempt to assimilate themselves into North American culture. It is a coincidence that is hard to ignore! Regardless of the reason, the children did go by the name Tiber.
One question answered but now left with a mystery!
