Chapter 1
My family name was Manzer, then changed to Manser by my grandfather. I will tell the story as I believe it happened. Through the years will show how the families are connected and how events came together to bring us to this point in time.
The Manzer’s migrated across Europe, and were in Holland at the same time as the Cook’s, then to England. Here the Trefry’s are getting ready to head for America. The Atkinson’s (Marina’s side of the family) are also there. James Manzer is heading for Bermuda, Thomas Trefry heads for Marblehead, Francis Cook heads for Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower and Thomas Atkinson boards a ship as a carpenter.
These people who don’t know each other will become connected by their descendants. The Trefry’s migrate up to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The Cook’s also migrate to Yarmouth. The Manzer’s migrate to New York, then New Brunswick, To Weymouth, Nova Scotia and on to Yarmouth. The Atkinson’s arrive in Barrington, Nova Scotia and on to Yarmouth.
The Deveau family came from France, to Prince Edward Island, and then to Yarmouth. And are now connected by Marina. The Manzer’s, Trefry’s, and Cook’s are connected through myself. We bring all five families together through our children.
I also created a huge family tree using computer software connecting the families and their descendants along with all the documentation. Here I will tell you about each family name as I know it, starting with the Manser family.
My Manzer family came from a small Celtic village in Switzerland called Manz; a citizen of Manz was called a Manzer. This village is now a part of the town of Appenzell and the local graveyards are full of Manzers. The early Manzers left this area for England when Queen Ann offered sanctuary from the religious persecutions (Lutherans and Quakers) and wars that were going on in the Palintine area in the early 16 century.
On May 2, 1635, James Manzer, born 1608, sailed to the Barbados from England on the ship "Alexander". James settled there and raised his family. Generations later there were Manzer's in the war of Barbados. After the war ended,the British raised the taxes so high many could not afford them, which caused the Manzer’s to move on. They headed for New Amsterdam, which later became New York. In 1778 the Manzer property was located near what is now the Long Island end of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Manzer’s moved inland across the eastern states.
