Stephen John Van Tassel (John Leonard)

Stephen John Van Tassel born 11/23/1880 died 11/7/58

Stephen John was married 9/29/1898 to Maria Elizabeth (Weagle) of Lunenburg, NS. She was
on born in 1877 died 5/1/1965. Stephen was the son of John Leonard Van Tassel of Digby who
also was from a large family. Until recently the connections to the family line were not made.
Stephen and Maria had 10 children names are listed under Maria Elizabeth Van Tassel. Stephen John was employed at the Digby wharf where the ferry from St John to Digby docked and had a small farm to keep himself busy and to feed his very large family. His neighbors were also his family members Howard Burton and Dorothy Harlow, his son and daughter. He was also involved in the Digby Fire Dept. He was a dedicated family man, hard worker and an asset
to his community. During the war years he had 3 sons and 1 daughter that served in the Military (1939-45) 2nd WW. His grandchildren and great grandchildren followed in the same direction and several of them joined the forces, the RCMP and also the Fire Dept. They served in Korea, Peacekeeping Missions and Canada. Pictured above are Stephen John, his son Ronald Eugene, his daughter Myrna Madeline, his wife Maria Elizabeth and the good looking young lady is Evelyn (Clark) Sullivan. You see Grandpa's you planted the seeds

You see Grandpa's you planted the seeds

A Family Gathering at Grandpa and Grandma Van Tassel' s

I for one have never seen nor remember such a large gathering of the Van Tassel family. I thank Douglas Van Tassel of Digby for sending me this picture. He was going through some old pictures and came across it. The picture itself is priceless. Back row L to R - Clyde Richard Van Tassel, Evelyn Clarke, Leona McKee, Florence Van Tassel, Ronald Cowan, James Van Tassel, Norman Van Tassel and Victor McKee. Front row L to R - Pauline Van Tassel, Joan Van Tassel, Donna Van Tassel is the baby being held by Howard Jr Van Tassel, Paul Winchester, and Lowell & Ronnie (Butch) Winchester. Judging from Donna's picture and & birth date which was 1940 we can assume that this picture was taken in 1940 or 1941 during the war years. We thank Doug for the picture.