Faced with starvation, frigid winters, and abandonment by their sponsors-‐among them Benjamin Franklin‐-the settlers defied the odds by not only surviving, but prospering. The Stief family finally settled in what is now Hillsborough, Albert County, New Brunswick.
In the Return of Inhabitants of the Township of Hillsborough taken in 1783 the Stief name disappeared and was anglicized into Steeve. The Walling Map of 1862 records the name as Steves and after a couple other subsequent ‘clerical errors’ the name has become Steeves. Steeves descendants now number upwards of 300,000 worldwide.
A full gallery of the museum has be dedicated to this theme and includes displays of ‘all things Steeves’. The exhibit has been carefully selected from over 700 Steeves related artifacts in the museum collection, with each artifact on the display having some special historic significance.
The highlight of the exhibit is the original 18th century clock that Heinrich and Regina Stief brought from Germany.