Daniel Tohm, b. 7 May 1860 at
Zhitomir Parish, Poland, d. 16 March 1943 at New Westminster, British Columbia
Father: Martin Tohm
Mother: Rohina Burke (Rohina or Rosina/ Barke or Burke; this lady was a widow, maiden name was Schwiderski )
The information about Daniel's birth was found in data from St. Petersborg stored on the website "
Odessa".
[http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/stpete/volhynia/link/vol186xb.txt] This file contains birth records from the Parishes of Volhynia, South Russia for the decade 1860. At first glance this information appears to be true but it's not conclusive. Julia, Daniel's reported sister, does not show. Perhaps Julia was a half-sister.
Spouse: Caroline Bittner b. 25 September 1858 at Poland, d. 22 December 1944 at Duncan, British Columbia
Married at Poland.
Children and grandchildren:
(Minnie) Wilhemena Ellen Tohm b. 5 October 1880 at Poland, m. Thomas William Smith, 1898 at St John's, Norway, East Toronto, d. 28 September 1957 at Duncan, British Columbia; 8 grandchildren
Laura (Tillie) Tohm, b. 25 September 1885 at Poland, m. Jake Dirksen; 2 grandchildren
Lena Tohm, b. 28 November 1896 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, m. Abdul Haddie Nasserden, 4 June 1918 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
adopted by Caroline Bittner and Daniel Tohm, 1898 at Winnipeg, Manitoba; 4 grandchildren
John Tohm, b. 28 October 1893 at Minnesota or Montana, m. Lydia Rau, 1915 at North Dakota, d. 28 November 1946 at California,
adopted by Caroline Bittner and Daniel Tohm, 1898 at Winnipeg, Manitoba; 2 grandchildren
Name and Signature
Tohm has been spelled "Tom", "Thom" and "Tohm". The spelling used by Daniel was "Tohm". His signature has been confirmed on two documents: a deed of land (see below) and the wedding certificate of Lena Tohm.
Siblings
Julia Tohm, b. 10 September 1847 at Poland, m. Daniel Benke; 4 grandchildren
Gottlieb Tohm , b. 4 October 1864 at Shitomir, Poland
Julia Tohm reportedly came to Canada about the same time as Daniel. Lena Tohm mentioned Daniel's sister "who lived nearby" in a letter to Hilda Hart. Her husband was Daniel Benke who farmed at Rabbit Hill; SE 1/4 section 24 Township 51 Range 25 west of the 4th. (W4); was also counted in the 1891 census at Medicine Hat. Their children follow:
Olvina Benke, b. 25 October 1881 at Poland
John Benke, b. 5 April 1884 at Poland
Lydia Benke, b. 29 November 1890 at Edmonton, Alberta
Frederick Benke, b. 8 September 1892 at Edmonton, Alberta, d. 1950
Land Purchase Documents
160 acres (NW1/4; 17-1-5 E. 1st M) at Emerson, Manitoba, originally a Dominion Land Grant to Peter Coutts but sold to Daniel for $160 because of default on payments, February 8, 1904 was sold December 5, 1905 for $2250 to Meketo Kriewtsky and Stephen Oosianyk.
320 acres at Waldheim, purchased Oct 29, 1909 sold Oct 27, 1913; $5750 (Prince Albert Land Titles #185)
160 acres at Waldheim, purchased Oct 9, 1913 sold 1914; (Prince Albert Land Titles #172)
Arrival in Canada
According to the 1901 census, Daniel and family arrived in 1887. The passenger list of the ship, Sarmatian, sailing from Liverpool to Quebec City September 7, 1888, shows Caroline with daughters Mina and Tillie but not Daniel. Daniel may have arrived earlier.
The first record of settlement is in Medicine Hat in 1889. The families of Daniel Tohm, Daniel Benke and John Hiller are all listed in the 1891 Federal Census of Assiniboia West and in the census for Edmonton the same year. A discussion of the Medicine Hat settlement and the subsequent move to Rabbit Hill, South Edmonton can be found in MacGregor, James A History of Alberta p165-166 The Rabbit Hill settlers were part of a small group of German-speaking immigrants who came from the Volhynia area of Poland. Liaisons among the three families and a fourth family (Edward Stelter) after the move to Rabbit Hill, resulted in the founding of the Heimtal German Baptist Church, known today as the Rabbit Hill Baptist Church. The four families are mentioned in a local history book.
Daniel helped at least two families come over from Europe. (August Bittner at Waldheim, 1914 and Michael Buller at Rabbit Hill, 1896) These men worked for Daniel to pay off the incurred debt for passage.
Canadian Census 1891 and 1901
Daniel also showed up living in Medicine Hat in 1891. Note: religion is "F Baptist".
John and Lena are listed as "adopted". Daniel is listed as arriving in Canada in 1887 and becoming "Naturalized" in 1897. Wilomena has married and moved away
Ludwig Tohm is first on the same page. Hilda Hartt suggested that this may have been a relative of Daniel. Ludwig is 18 years older. He arrived in 1889, two years after Daniel.
Caroline Bittner, b. 25 September 1858 at Poland, d. 22 December 1944 at Duncan, British Columbia
The following information is gleaned from many sources. 
Daniel was one of the earliest immigrants to settle on free prairie land. He helped bring at least two others along to Canada; August Bittner in 1908 and Adolf Bittner in 1913. He had a working knowledge of several languages and may have received a commission for helping immigrants enter Canada. His native tongue was German as was Caroline's. Religion was very important to them. They became 7th Day Adventists about 1900. Adopted son, John, was sent to an Adventist college to become a minister.
The second earliest group to turn to Alberta was a small band of Germans who in 1889 had been advised to try their luck on the dry, treeless plains at Dunmore near Medicine Hat and had been given all the land their hearts could desire- miles of it, ready to plough, and free of stick or stump. Like the Mormons, this small group, freighted with so much presage for Alberta's prosperity, were deeply religious but unlike them had no financial backing from their church. They were merely a part of a much larger group which had settled mainly in Saskatchewan and which had come fleeing financial persecution and injustices imposed on them by the government of Austria. Two or three generations earlier the Russian government had induced them to settle in the old Ukrainian province of Galicia, but after they were well established as farmers there and after that province had been taken over by Austria, their new governors made it advisable for them to move on to Canada, where they hoped to be free of persecution.