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Are there other origins of the Besner name?
At this time, there are Besners in Montreal who are Anglophone and of the Jewish faith. At the Mont Royal cemetery, which comes under the "Shaar Hashomayim" congregation (established in 1846), we find a lot with a monument on which we see the Besner name, Biblical verses written in Hebrew, a star of David and given names that are typically Jewish:
Aaron, Judah, Seth, Ruth, Sarah, etc. The birth and death dates that we find on the monument range from the end of the 19th century to the present day.
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From other sources, we know that at the end of the 1800's a large number of Jews immigrated to Québec, of East-German and Austrian origins, the Jewish surnames from these European regions often end with "er" (Berger, Faber, Wagner, etc).
A fellow Besner citizen told me that in Lahr, Germany, while on a trip with his brother to visit his nephew, who was a soldier of the Canadian contingent posted at this ex-military base, they were taken out for a meal in an establishment whose sign clearly read "Besner"!
Unfortunately, the tourists failed to photograph this curiosity; steps are currently being taken to correct this oversight. Currently, the son of a cousin lives in Germany to establish a business. He confirms that there are German Besners, but they are rare, and they are Catholic.
I read and noted somewhere ( but I cannot find my notes) that a "Besner", of German origins, immigrated to Pennsylvania at the beginnings of the 1800's and founded a Mennonite congregation in Southern Ontario around 1850.
Mennonites in Canada
http://www.mcc/menno-guide/index.html
Some research on the Internet, of which Sympatico's 411 directory, revealed the Besners we believe to be related to the present study. Here they are as they are registered:
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