Whenever I travel, I find myself drawn to making connections back to Mississauga. We recently returned from a wonderful vacation to the Maritimes, which provided an ample and vibrant canvas to explore.

On our trip, we had the chance to visit Ministers Island (Consquamcook) in Passamaquoddy Bay near St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick. A drive across the ocean floor along a sandbar at low tide (itself a fascinating experience!), brought us to Covenhoven, the summer estate of Sir William Van Horne (1843-1915). Covenhoven and its expansive grounds became a National Historic Site in 1978 and is open to the public today through the charity Van Horne Estate on Ministers Island.

But it is the name Covenhoven itself that brings our story back to Mississauga. Earlier in this article series, we reflected on the name and family. However, in that article we found an error in our chronology of the family, so here is a brief recap with the corrections.

Wolphert Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven (1588-1662), a Dutch immigrant, arrived in New Jersey around 1615. Various spellings of the family surname have been used over time. Wolphert’s son, Garrit Wolfertsen Van Couwenhoven (1610-1645) is also referenced with the surname spelling of Counover. Subsequent generations used Couenhoven and Covenhoven. Garrit and his wife Aeltje had several children, including sons William Gerreste Couvenhoven (1636-1728) and Jan Gerreste Couvenhoven (1639-1724).

Sir-William-Van-Horne-at-Covenhoven_-Ministers-Island_-NB.

William’s great-granddaughter, Anne (Antje, Ann) Covenhoven (1767-1840) married Abraham Van Horne (1763-1840). Their eldest son was Cornelius Covenhoven Van Horne (1794-1854), and his son was Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915), the Canadian railway tycoon and the builder of the Covenhoven estate on Ministers Island in New Brunswick.

Our Mississauga connection to the family comes from Jan’s descendants. Jan’s great-grandson, Samuel (1738-1835) came to Canada with his wife, Nancy, and at least two of their sons, Peter and James, as Loyalists following the American Revolution. Samuel appears to have anglicized the family name from Covenhoven to Conover, although the names were used interchangeably for some time. One of Samuel’s brothers, Edward Couwenhoven, operated a famed hotel in New York during the revolution. We had mistakenly recorded Edward as the father of Peter and James, whereas he appears to have been their uncle. The family first settled near St. David’s in the Niagara area and the sons petitioned for land. James received land in Trafalgar Township (now Oakville), while Peter received land here in historic Mississauga.

James Conover (1778-1848) and his wife Julia Lambert had at least eight children: Elizabeth (1803-1856), Anne (1807-1881), Samuel (1807-1865), James (1813-1871), Elenora (1816-1866), Peter Nelson (1822-1896), Arthur Wellington (1826-1898) and George (1830-1889). Descendants of this branch of the family include brothers Major Reginald VanEvery Conover (1891-1969) and Lt-Colonel James Douglas Conover (1895-1961), amongst others. Reginald lived in historic Mississauga near the lost village of Derry West. His son, Lt. James McClelland Conover (1920-1942) lost his life in the Second World War.

As for Peter’s property here in historic Mississauga, he received 200 acres of land (Lot 33, Concession 1, SDS), on December 26, 1807. In modern terms, this property is largely part of the Sheridan Homelands area of Mississauga today. From local history references, it appears that Peter was engaged in activities other than farming, with references that he kept a hotel and operated a brewery. Peter served with the 2nd Regiment of York Militia during the War of 1812 and pay lists place him on service during the Battle of Queenston Heights. While much of the Covenhoven / Conover family is buried at St. Peter’s Anglican Cemetery here in Mississauga, Peter is buried at the Palermo Cemetery in Oakville.

Peter’s property passed to his younger brother, Garret Covenhoven / Conover (1780-1866) in 1823. Garret and his wife Sarah Kenney had seven children: Samuel (1809-1906), John (1814-1835), James (1815-1905), David (1819-1905), Lucinda (1820-1906), Peter (1822-1906) and Garrett (1829-1905).

Garret sold 4 acres of his land to his son Samuel in 1835. Samuel lived a long life, passing away at the age of 97 in 1906. The property remained in the Covenhoven/Conover family until 1901, when Samuel’s son, George Samuel Conover, sold the property. George Samuel Conover (1853-1919) was a watchmaker and jeweller by profession, and by 1901 was living in Toronto after having aided his father on the family farm for many years and later living in Georgetown.

Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915) of Covenhoven in New Brunswick and George Samuel Conover (1853-1919), the watchmaker and jeweller with connections to historic Mississauga, were distant cousins. They were both seven generations removed from their common ancestors, Garrit Wolfertsen Van Couwenhoven (1610-1645) and his wife Aeltje Cornelius (1615-1683) from Sleepy Hollow, New Jersey. Sir William, the railway magnate, and George Samuel, the watchmaker, certainly lived and walked in different social circles and were of significantly different economic means, but one wonders if they knew of the family connection, or if there was knowledge within both families of their ancestry and their extended relations. In a fanciful mind, I wonder if, by chance, George Samuel ever travelled to New Brunswick, visited St. Andrew’s, and looked across the bay to Ministers Island, Covenhoven, and the lavish estate crafted by his cousin, Sir William. Or just perhaps, when Sir William checked the time on his watch, did he perhaps unknowingly look upon on a watch made by his cousin George Samuel? Idle musings, I know, but an interesting link, nonetheless.

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Finding Mississauga in the Maritimes – Chapter 1

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