ALBERTA HISTORY 1895-1898
ALBERTA HISTORY Return to ALBERTA INDEX
1887
Richard Hardisty (1831-1889), Metis is promoted to Inspecting Chief Factor, the highest commissioned officer rank at Fort Edmonton, the H.B.C.
David McDougall wintered near Morley, Alberta.
William Pearce arrived Calgary from Winnipeg an employee of the Federal Government.
We often envision a small backward community at Fort Edmonton, as the population counts exclude greater Edmonton, but the population of Edmonton proper numbered 150 and hosted weekly stage coach service to Calgary.
Banff National Park is established this year basically because of the hot sulfur springs of Sulfur Mountain.
A group of 41 Mormons from Utah under the leadership of Charles Ora Card established the town of Cardston. Charles Ora Card was wanted by the US marshals on charges of polygamy and had fled to Canada to avoid persecution.
A trading post called Kennedy's Post is located on the Wild Horse Creek, a tributary of the Milk River and five miles due north of Wild Horse Lake. G.E. Sanders noted that the post was in ruins when he visited the site in October of this year.
Between 1887 to 1896 Alberta suffered drought after drought.
March 6: Lac La Biche (Alberta) birth Patrice Boucher, Metis, son Narcisse Boucher Jr., b-1864 Athabasca District and Caroline Ladouceur, b-1862 Fort Pitt (Saskatchewan).
June: A group of forty Mormons from Cache Valley in Utah, under the leadership of Charles Ora Card, traveled the long trail to the Foothills (southern Alberta). Five inches of snow greeted them on their first morning, at the present town of Cardston. The Roman Catholic Church was against the immigration of any Jew or Mormon. A local rancher, Billy Cochrane, uttered these famous words to his help: "leave 'em be boys, they'll winter-kill, anyway." Soon after the Mormons arrived, a party of painted Blood warriors rode up. Their leader, Red Crow, demanded that the settlers get off the reserve. The Mormon served food to the Blood, suggesting the Government decide whether they were trespassing on Indian land. This simple act forged a bond of friendship with the Blood that has endured throughout the years.
June 27: The first group of Icelanders arrived Alberta to settle 100 miles north of Calgary on the banks of the Red Deer River. They were led by Sigrudur Bjornson and S. Goodman. These Icelanders were almost penniless and lacked the skills to survive. The knew nothing about growing grain, they had no wood working experience so built sod huts or dug caves into the hillside. More settlers came to settle on the Medicine River or near Sylvan Lake. A small community developed called Markerville.
July 4: Fort Calgary, marriage Campbell Deschamps, b-1845 son Francois Deschamps alias Rabasca Jr. and Marguerite Heneault dit Canada, (1829-1870); married Mary Beauchamp daughter Pierre Beauchamp Jr., b-1837 son Pierre Beauchamp Sr., b-1812 and Marie Morin, b-1810 and Nancy Ward, born June 1844.
September 1: St. Albert (Alberta), birth Magdeleine L'Hyrondelle, Metis, daughter John L'Hyrondelle, b-1851 St. Albert (Alberta) and Angelique Callion, Metis, b-1865 Lac Ste Anne (Alberta).
September 12: Egg Lake (Alberta), birth John L'Hyrondelle, Metis, son Jean Baptiste L'Hrondelle, Metis b-1854 and Elizabeth Beaudry, b-1861.
November 1: Alex Taylor of Edmonton and Hugh Richardson of Battleford made telephone history, completing the first long distance call made on the North West Territories Prairies.
1888
Pierre Blandion, Metis, b-1888, St. Albert (Alberta), son Antoine Blandion, b-1833 and Josephte Klyne, b-1855, Red River.
Lesser Slave Lake (Alberta) marriage William Chalifoux dit Labouteille, Metis, son Pierre Chalifoux, Metis born March 20, 1806 Lac Poisson Blanc and Marie Cartier b-1821, Lesser Slave Lake; married Marie Gladu, Metis, born August 1889, Lac La Nun, (Alberta) daughter Toussaint Gladu (1843-1898) and Angelique Atonkapow Cree b-1939.
Lawrence Garneau, Metis (1840-1921) the displaced Metis of Red River, is finally issued a Certificate of Ownership (April 6, #402 dist. 44 lot 98) for an estate (as they called it) of 234.88 acres. His personal land ownership struggle is over, but it is not over for the majority of the people of the Metis Nation or the First Nation peoples. It is interesting that a second entry is backdated January 18, for the transfer of 2 acres of Garneau land to La Cooporation Episcopale Catholique Romaine de St. Albert, which was a gift to the Church. Given that he didn’t have title January, technically he could not gift the land.
Malissa (Millicent) Garneau, Metis, is born July 4, 1889 Strathcona, District of Alberta daughter Lawrence Garneau, Metis, (1840-1921) and Eleanor Thomas, Metis, (1850/52-1912).
Fort MacLeod, birth Alexander Gladstone son William Gladstone Jr., (1845-1891), and Marie Samat Vandal, b-1855.
Jack Gregg settled at Prairie Creek (Alberta) aka Mas-koo-te-oo Se-pee (Muskuta Creek) or later Meadow Creek on the Jasper Trail.
Richard Hardisty (1831-1889), Metis is appointed to the Canadian Senate this year.
Frank Oliver (1853-1933) having successfully driven the Indians from south Edmonton, is elected to the Legislative Assembly of the North West Territories (1888-1894). It is noteworthy that the overwhelming majority of inhabitants did not have a right to vote.
Dr Edouard Rouleau (1843-1912) and wife Catherine built a modest house in the Metis village of Calgary. It would later becalled Rouleau Village and then the Mission District of Calgary. His original house was still standing in 2003.
Mary Sharples, b-1869 visited the Rocky Mountains with Mary Vaux of Philadelphia and her brothers William and George Vaux. They traveled to the top of Rogers Pass. Visited Nakimoo caves, a few miles west of Glacier House. Mary would marry 1889 Dr Charles Schaffer, d-1903 and they would would visit Lake Louise in 1893.
June: The first group of Icelandic settlers had reached the Red Deer River on their way to homesteads a few miles north. There were 50 of them, 11 families and 4 single men. They had first emigrated to North Dakota but found it not suitable to their needs. They sent scouts out like Sigrudur Bjornson to find more suitable land and traveled as far as Vancouver. Returning to Fort Calgary he joined S. Goodman and together they explored land 100 miles north of Calgary and found it suitable. They lived off prairie chicken, partridge, ducks and rabbits. Mostly they lived off salted fish caught in Medicine River and Sylvan Lake. They were ill prepared to homestead. They knew little about working with wood so built sod huts and dug caves into hill sides. The weren't grain farmers because grain doesn't grow in Iceland. They called their new home Markerville (Alberta).
October 28: Edmonton prostitute Nellie Webb, shot and wounded three drunken Mounted Police Constables: Thomas, Carney and Cudlip, from Fort Saskatchewan. She wouldn't let the drunken police in, and they threatened to wreck her house. They had previously blundered into three private homes, but were run off by the angry householders. She is arrested on malicious shooting. She shot Carney in the leg. While she is being held in jail, the RCMP stationed two more Mounties in her house to protect her possessions. They got drunk on Nellie's booze and passed out, allowing some stranger to enter and steal their guns.
November 19: The Papaschase Indian Reserve #136 is listed for sale. The folks of Edmonton quickly forget their peaceful neighbors which they drove from the land.
1889
Maggie Brayson b-1889
Flora Brayson b-1884 Saskatchewan daughter James Brayson b-1851 Saskatchewan, an interpreter and Louisa b-1858 Saskatchewan, all living Calgary 1891.
Saskatchewan daughter James Brayson b-1851 Saskatchewan, an interpreter and Louisa b-1858 Saskatchewan, all living Calgary 1891.
Dave Cochrane stole an RCMP kitchen stove piece by piece at Fort MacLeod. He used extortion methods to get what he wanted and was involved in whiskey smuggling. He told Dr. McEachran that if he didn't buy his holdings one matcj could burn down McEachran's holdings. Lou Murry, John Heron and Billy Hyde acted as arbitrators to determine a transfer price of $2,700.00.
Mary Courteoreille, Metis born November 23, 1878, Alberta daughter Louis Courteoreille, Metis born August 16, 1849 Alberta, married about 1877 Alberta most likely Lac Sainte Anne, Sophie Metis born May 19, 1849, Alberta, living La Sainte Anne 1901.
Maggy Gray, Metis born November 8, 1889 daughter Magloire Gray, Metis born May 15, 1849, Alberta married about 1877 most likely Lac Ste Anne, Genevieve Metis born April 30, 1850 Alberta, living Lac Sainte Anne (Devils Lake) 1901.
Sigurdur Grimson b-1861 Iceland arrived Canada 1885 settled Burnt Lake, Alberta 1889.
Mr Kinnard married Kate Wilson Garnet in Edmonton.
William Pearce, d-1830 of Calgary, Alberta built a 15 room sandstone residence that locals called Pearce's Bow Bend Shack. It was claimed the first Calgary home with indoor plumbing and hot and cold running water. It had 3 fireplaces, steam heating, natural gas, two panties, a billiard room and a wine/beer cellar. The house was located on a developed 80 hectare estate.
Bishop Tache, prior to 1870, conducted an effective campaign to discourage French immigration into the Canadian West, claiming to be protecting the Indians and Metis from the conceptions of White French Society. After 1870, the Church policy is reversed to encourage French settlers into the west. The new Church policy claims to protect the Indian and Metis from the English speaking, Protestant Ontarians. The past twenty years of Church effort had failed to attract many French settlers. The major reason for the poor immigration rate was because of the previous lies spread by the Church in Quebec to discourage colonization.
1889 TRAIN IN CALGARY
Photo of train station in Fort Calgary.
Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902), of the Diocese of St. Albert, North West Territories, had been refused financial assistance from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in Paris. He turned, on November 20, 1889, to start his own French settlement campaign, with his letter to Taschereau, Cardinal Archbishop and the Archbishops and Bishops of Quebec. This campaign would eventually undercut the Indian and Metis gains, especially at St. Paul de Metis. He complained that ninety percent of immigrants were English and Protestant; that the Dominion Government Indian Department was conducting war on the Church by taking the Indians out of their control and forcing them into Protestant Schools; and that the persecution of the Church is more keen than ever. Our Roman Catholic Schools are being hunted down. The Dominion Government marked out the electoral districts, dividing the French Catholic centers to ensure that there was no French representation. This is the same man who said: "We instill in them (the natives) a pronounced distaste for the native life so that they will be humiliated when reminded of their origin." This is also the same man who the Roman Catholic Church wishes, in 1937, to raise to sainthood? How can one forget the enormous suffering, and the contempt for the most basic human rights, which is inflicted upon the Native and Metis peoples by someone baptized under Christ's single commandment to love one another? Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902) went on to say that most of the representatives of the Northwest, save two, demand the abolition of French language and the amendment of the school laws, in order to impose the anti-Catholic schools on us. As a result of being told by the Dominion Government that the Church is working against them, the Metis Catholics were believing them and losing trust in their clergy. He admitted that they had supported and sustained constituted authority in the past. He was implying, to the detriment of the Indians and Metis, who are second in consideration to the French. He considered the Mennonite and Mormon exposure to the Blackfoot a great evil. He concluded by requesting assistance in securing a great flow of French Catholics to the North West from Quebec in order to secure a majority or significant minority. Frank Oliver,(1853-1933), son Allen Bowsfield, February 15, 1890, directed the Federal issue of the teaching of French vs. English to the natives, especially at agriculture schools. He believed that the issue was the loss of Roman Catholic control over Indian Affairs and wanted to provide some influence through Quebec by way of Ottawa to compensate for lack of numbers of French Catholics in the North West Territories. Frank Oliver, (1853-1933), son Allen Bowsfield, therefore, opposed- to the fullest extent- the demands of Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902) and his Quebec allies. The Oblate historians would have us believe he was dedicated to bringing Roman Catholicism to the Indians and Metis. His actions verify that he wanted to bring French Catholicism, in the form of settlers, at the expense of the Indians and Metis rights.
A small group of Austrian Germans settled at Josefsberg (Dunmore near Medicine Hat, Akberta). After 2 years of drought they abandoned this area for the Fort Edmonton area.
A group of 50 Icelandic settlers arrived Markerville (Alberta) to join the original 50 settlers to this area. Others trickled in mostly from North Dakota or Gimli (New Iceland) (Manitoba). Stephen Gudmundsson Stephansson, a poet, (1853-1927), married 1874, Wisconsin, Helga Jonson, and was among this second group of settlers, as was their three sons, Baldur, Stephan and Jacob. A son was Gestur was born 1893 and finally a daughter Rosa..
The Oblate grand plan considered St. Albert, Grand Brule (Morinville), Lamoureux, Legal, Girouxville, Beaumont, and Picardville as their French settlement targets, and the priests would be happy if the French quietly settled on the land, retaining their French pride of being meek and their respect for Church authority. They settled unnoticed. St. Paul des Metis would be just one more that would be later added to the list. St. Albert and Egg Lake (Grand Brule (Morinville) and vicinity) are Metis communities, and the Church must move quickly to displace the Metis from these locations.
A fire destroyed much of the Calgary business district this year.
The Canadian Anthracite Co. opened a coal mine at Canmore, Alberta.
The 1889-90 flu effected 40% of the world population and killed seven million people world wide. Europe reported 250,000 people died from this influenza.
The Government contends there was only 3 families of the Papaschase Band on reserve lands at this time. They contend they were paid out to surrender their interest to the land. The Supreme Court of Canada on April 3, 2008 dismissed the descendents claim for compensation under the limitations statutes.
April 17: Lac La Biche (Alberta) birth Marie Boucher, Metis, daughter Narcisse Boucher Jr., b-1864 Athabasca District and Caroline Ladouceur, b-1862 Fort Pitt (Saskatchewan).
1890
William Brester, homesteaded Pine Lake, 20 miles S.E. of Red Deer. Sold his homestead in 1891 to Robert Page.
Pat Burns, b-1856, son Michael Burns and Bridget opened his head office opposite the Palliser Hotel in Calgary.
(I)-David Shannon of Ireland claimed squatter's rights to a quarter section of land at Olds (Alberta).
Pierre Thomas Laurion, b-1865, Rocky Mountains, near Smoky River, son Thomas Laurion and Angelique Metis; married 1890 Dunvegion, Athabasca, Dileman Tastawitch, b-1872, Dunvegan, Athabascia daughter Francois Tastawich and Josephte (Suzette) Iskewais Squasis (Beaver and Cree).
David Shannon, born Ireland, selected a 1/4 section of land near the sixth siding of the CPR Railway out of Calgary. In July 27, 1891 it was renamed Olds after George Olds a CPR railway manager.
Fort Edmonton, birth Magloire Vandal daughter Norman Vandal b-1857 and Julie Munroe, b-1859.
(I)-Norman Williams, b-1870 arrived Canada 1885 and arrived Calgary (Alberta) 1890 and settled at Archordown Ranch east of Priddis. He married 1898 Millerville (Alberta) to Maude Deane Freeman who arrived Millerville 1886.
FORT EDMONTON 1890-1915
This is the last fort built in Edmonton. The photo is dated 1890-1915, but I thought the
last one was built earlier. (1874?)
The big house in Fort Edmonton burnt down in 1906.
Fort Edmonton records recorded the baptism, March
22, 1890, of Henri Joseph Garneau, Metis. The records say that Laurent Garneau,
Metis and Eleanor Thomas, Metis claim him as their legitimate child. Baptiste
DeRchanger and Marguerite McDonal witness this action. Family records
do not include this child, and he is likely the illegitimate child of Archange
Garneau, Metis.
METIS CART TRAIN
This is likely the last Metis cart train into Calgary from northern locations.
The railway was built between Calgary and Edmonton putting many Half-Breeds
(Metis) out of work as freighters.
At Duhamel aka Battle River Crossing, some Metis had 150 Red River carts and owning less than 25 carts had no consideration. Several had over 100 head of cattle and horses, they were as happy as a man could be, but after a few years, they were destitute and dispersed all over the country, due to the coming of the railway.
Wilfred Laurier said the French Canadian father, who today does not have his son learn English, does not do justice to his child, for he forces him to remain behind in the struggle for existence. The stage coach was making transportation and mail runs between Edmonton and Calgary. The Anti-trust Act of this year in the United States of America formed the basis for the Standard Oil Company breakup in 1921.
The railway earlier was being built from Calgary to Strathcona, and they needed the Papaschase reserve land for their right of way. The Cree brothers of Lawrence Garneau, Metis refused, claiming that the Treaty had given solemn assurance that no further claims would be made against them. The railway's response was: If we can't get the right of way, we will make the terminal at Ellerslie, on the south end of the reserve, and will not build into Strathcona at all. This was a deliberate act to incite the citizens of Edmonton, as it would have been easy to bypass the reserve. The Natives contend that some white folks from Strathcona and Edmonton threatened physical violence if the Indians stood in the way of progress. The Cree band, to avoid violence, dispersed and sought refuse in the remote valleys of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This discussion took place about 1888 or earlier.
Father Jean Baptiste Morin of Montreal, an Oblate and Immigration Agent of the Federal Government, also headed the Catholic Colonization Society of Canada to encourage French immigration to St. Albert and district.
Efforts to attract people to settle in Alberta attracted few people so the Federal Government offered free land.
Father Lacombe (1827-1916) estimated there was some 12,000 Metis in Western Canada. Writing of them before the white man had demoralized them, he said they were courteous and generous in rendering service to their fellowmen. The Metis are now doomed. They have sold their lands for a song; they are children and they have been reduced to poverty. Bishop Grandin considered the Metis a doomed culture. He however noted they are courteous and generous in rendering service to their fellowmen.
The Old Man River at Lethbridge was at this time known as the Belly River. The Blackfoot and Bloods camped on the Belly River between Fort Kipp and Fort Whoop-up about 20 miles apart.
Lethbridge (Alberta) became a town this year.
Calgary installs electric street lights this year.
The Canmore Hotel is built this year and is still standing in 2005. It served as a hospital during the 1918 flu.
McDougall a Metis had settled near Mission, B.C. (Kelowna) on 480 acres of land, two miles from the lake and built a fir-trading post, and a nice framed house, raising cattle and horses. He sold his holdings including 70 head of cattle, horses, wheat and farm implements this year to John Campbell Gordon, the Earl of Aberdeen for $10,000.00 and it had no water rights. He was Governor-General 1893 to 1898 and he wanted a shanty in Canada. Coutts Marjoribanks moved on to manage the estate and sold the cattle for $20.00 a head as they didn't have enough hay for them next winter without buying. Their farming adventure included one small vegetable patch and one beautiful apple tree thanks to the Metis previous owner. Lady Isabel Gordon envisioned 200 acres of apple trees and other fruits when they made their first visit to their holdings. John had bought it sight unseen.
Some suggest the old square type nails called cut nails were phases out for round nails about this time. I had a house in Edmonton built about 1904 and it still contained some square nails..
June 25: Lac La Biche (Alberta) birth Albert Boucher, Metis, son Narcisse Boucher Jr., b-1864 Athabasca District and Caroline Ladouceur, b-1862 Fort Pitt (Saskatchewan).
1891
Susan Callihoo Metis born May 16, 1891 Alberta daughter Jean Francois Callihoo, Iroquois Metis born August 29, 1855 Alberta most likely Devil Lake (Lac Ste Anne) married about 1890 Elizabeth British Metis born August 25, 1871 Alberta, living Lac Sainte Anne 1901.
Gabriel Dumont (1838-1906) is reported to have gone east in April to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
Lewis and Edward Garneau, Metis are actively engaged in farming the Garneau Estates in Strathcona, according to the census and family photographs. Some sources suggest Lawrence Garneau, Metis is disposing of one and two acre parcels this year. This report is probably based on the gift, and subsequent sale, of additional land on the east side of the estate, to the Roman Catholic Church. The census suggests Victoria Garneau, Metis born 1871, is married before April 6, 1891, probably to Jack Lacombe who appears to be absent at this time. Pierre (Jack) Lacombe from St. Laurent near Montreal, is a baker who moved to Boston Massachusetts. The family claimed him as a relation to Alberta's famous Father Lacombe (1827-1916). He then moved from Boston to Montana, Pincher Creek and finally to Fort Edmonton. In Edmonton he married Victoria Garneau, Metis born 1869, and they moved to Saint Paul de Metis where Victoria died. They had no children. Pierre Lacombe then married Duchene of Pincher Creek, who died 1916. Pierre Lacombe died in St. Paul 1932.
Lac La Biche, marriage Adam Gladu, Metis, born 1867 to 1872 Calling Lake (Alberta) son Toussaint Gladu (1843-1898) and Angelique Atonkapow Cree b-1839; married Mary Auger, Metis b-1874 Wabiscaw district of Athabasca daughter Michel Auger and Mary Anne Lechasseur, b-1852 Lac Poisson Blanc, a native.
O.R.F. Kirkpatrich departed Calgary for Edmonton to establish its first bank- The Imperial Bank. It is noteworthy that Calgary already had two banks. When the Edmonton bank opened, it was not uncommon for 1-2 people to visit the bank per day and on some days no one.
Jean M. L'Heraux b-1837 France, a Big Foot Interpreter, living Gleichen, Alberta
(I)-Dad Sharples arrived Montreal from Scotland then relocated to Moose Jaw in 1881 and in 1891 he setup and ran the Strathcona Hotel until 1895.
H. Wheatelzinger b-1852 India is employed 1891 as a Big Foot Protector in Southern Alberta, living Gleichen, Alberta 1891..
Father Lacombe (1827-1916), a Metis, is supported by Monsieur Adelard Langevin of Saint Boniface, in having a Metis community. But, at Saint Albert, Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902) is less than enthusiastic. This led to the Lacombe Philanthropic Plan to redeem the half-breeds of Manitoba and the North West Territories.
James Naismith of Plmonte, Ontario invented the game of basketball using two apple baskets.
Calgary, the Beaulieu House at 707 - 13 Avenue S.W. was built for James Lougheed and his wife Isabella Hardisty.
Calgary has a population of 3,867.
Edmonton installs electric street lights this year.
A small band of Icelandic women are living in Calgary while their husbands built homes for them in Markerville (Alberta).
The Edmonton census records 700 people and this year lists five people still involved
in gold mining.
Charles Chable b-1842 France - gold miner
Donald McDonald b-1869 N.W.T. - gold miner
Justavie Giva b-1856 U.S.A. - gold miner
Owen Osborne b-1858 England - gold miner
FORT EDMONTON
Some of the early residents, considered
as old timer from pre 1883 of Fort Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona and
St. Albert (Alberta). They are gathered in front of the Alberta
Hotel, Fort Edmonton. I doubt very much this is an all inclusive picture
as a lot more were in the Fort Edmonton area from pre 1883
The Austrian Germans from the abandoned the Josefsberg settlement (1889-1891) near Medicine Hat after two years of farming failure due to severe drought, some resettled in Stony Plain, aka Dogrump Creek, Horse Hills, River Qui Barre and east of Fort Saskatchewan. They had fled Austria government persecution.
The Strathcona Hotel was run by Dad Sherples and his wife from 1891 to 1895.
A fire swept from Beaverhills (Strathcona) to Cooking Lake.
Unknown parties drilled two oil wells in Cameron Creek, (Waterton Park) later to be called Oil City but didn't strike oil.
April: News reports state that, although the railway is, as yet, one hundred miles away, and is not likely to reach Edmonton for months, there has already been a surprising rush for land in the district. Some of the best men who have come this season are from the Dakota's, and more are reported on the way. The list of Canadian's living in the United States, for a few select areas, are as follows: Michigan - 190,350, Minnesota - 52,073, Dakota - 42,627 and Oregon - 31,376. Both the Government and Church were approaching these Canadians to immigrate to Canada, where land is cheap. Father Morin represented both Government and Church.
April: Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902) had obtained the services of the Oblate Abbe' Morin to organize the French he planned to use to displace the Metis in his dioceses.
April 5: The population of the west is: Manitoba 152,506, B.C. 98, 173, and NWT 98,967.
April 18: Father Jean Baptiste Morin brought the first seventeen United States French families to Grand Brule, which is renamed Morinville, as part of their Metis replacement policy. Other sources suggest they were recruited from Quebec and just happened to team up with a United States contingent of mixed nationality in Calgary on their way to Edmonton. It was made very clear, unofficially, that Morinville (Grand Brule) is to become a French speaking town with no room for non French.
This is a typical United States or European wagon train in transit from the Dakota's
to Alberta. If you look at the larger view, you will notice they are four
wheeled wagons pulled by oxen. Canadians and Metis used two wheeled Red
River carts, pulled by horses.
Three more contingents of United States settlers arrived and are encouraged to go north of St. Albert in a land called Le Grand Brule because a forest fire cleared much of the woods. They would later call it Morinville after Abbe' Morin. He built the first chapel in November. Paul Auve, Omer Gouin, George Muller, Jean Pallier and others are known to have been previously farming this area. Little mention is made of the Germanic settlers in these areas. Father J.B. Morin also established large colonies of French at Villeneuve, Legal, Vimy and Picardville. Father Morin implied that Stony Plain- as the name suggests- was not suitable for farming. This deception was to ensure they settled where the Church wanted them to.
May: In early May a large contingent of German families arrived from the Dakota's and divided into four parties. Five Roman Catholic families, originally from Hungary have entered for homesteads north of St. Albert. There is a good possibility that some of the Salzl clan was in this group but they were from Austria. ((IV)-Marion Salzl claims that (I)-Paul Salze and family and (II)-Johaunes Salzl and family arrived Grand Brule (Morinville) from South Dakota in 1896.) The Salzl farm is located one mile south east of Morinville (Grand Brule) and had a coal mine on the property. Twenty five families went to Horse Hills, twenty five to Stony Plain, and the balance went to various locations south of Edmonton. The Dakota newspapers suggested that the government distribute seed grain to destitute farmers to induce them to abandon their plans of seeking homes in the North West Territories.
May 2, 1891, fifty-three families - 250 people in total - arrived by wagon train in Edmonton from Red Deer. They were German speaking immigrants from Galecia and Poland. They settled in Josephburg area, east of Fort Saskatchewan (Alberta). This likely refers to the above.
August 11: The Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company finally arrived on August 11, 1891, town of Strathcona, across the river from Edmonton. Others suggest it was July 27, 1891. It is suggested that Garneau plays a Shadow-Caster fiddle brought from Winnipeg on the railway. The Railway had demanded the removal of the Indians from their right away. This is at the expense of the Papaschase Cree, a black mark on Edmonton's history. Edmonton's population was seven hundred, and the surrounding district contained three thousand, eight hundred and seventy- five people.
September 16: The first party of Ukrainian settlers arrived at Strathcona by train; peasants from the Provinces of Galicia and Bukovyna in the Austria-Hungarian empire. They wintered in Edmonton then moved to the Edna-Star District, east of Edmonton. Ivan Pylypin and Vasyl Eleniak selected the location earlier as sixty four hectares of farmland for ten dollar's registration fees couldn't be overlooked. Some settled at Stony Plain and Horse Hills.
Strathcona decided, now that they had the railway, that they should get the land titles office, which would establish Strathcona as the center of business rather than Edmonton. The Government agreed and Thomas Anderson, the Land Titles Office agent, began loading the records for the move to Strathcona. The Edmonton Home Guard, called out by Major McCauley and placed under command of Major Osborne; the postmaster, attacked Thomas Anderson and removed the wheels from his wagon. Others said they pushed his wagon into the river. Strathcona dispatched a second wagon, but the Home Guard stopped this wagon also. Strathcona appealed to the police to stop this uprising against authority. The Edmonton Home Guard sent a detachment to Rat Creek to intercept the Mounted Police, who were headed to Fort Saskatchewan, with instructions to shoot their horses if they tried to interfere. The Home Guard defied the Mounted Police to enter the town so the Police turned tail and ran. The citizens of Strathcona were now assured that the Mounted Police were inept at providing justice. As a result, Edmonton became the center of business and the only reprisal was that Major Osborne lost his postmaster job as a result of his insurrection against the government. This action insured the Hudson Bay Company's land would increase in value, and the railway was forced to build a bridge across the Saskatchewan.
1892
Joe Andrew Clarke (1869-1941) arrived Regina to join the Mounted Police. He was charged with desertion. He then moved on to Edmonton in 1908 and would become mayor 5 (2) times and an alderman 8 times. Clarke Stadium would be named after him.
Calling Lake (Alberta), marriage, Edward Cardinal, Metis, b-1872, Lac La Biche (Alberta) son Francois Cardinal, Metis, b-1831, Lac La Biche (Alberta) and Adele Angele Desjarlais, Metis, b-1820; married Josephe (or Suzette) Gladu, Metis, b-1872, Calling Lake daughter Toussaint Gladu (1843-1898) and Angelique Atonkapow Cree, b-1839.
Father Lacombe (1827-1916), the secular priest, wanted to build an orphanage and old peoples home to alleviate suffering among the Metis at St. Paul des Metis. The Oblates deemed this as insufficient . First, the able-bodied must be taught to become self-supporting and sedentary (not migratory). In other words, get the Metis to clear the land, which takes about ten years, then it will be ready for the French immigrants. During the debate, only some script millionaires and some ecclesiastical folks- as the Metis called them- opposed the creation of St. Paul des Metis. Buffalo Lake near Bashaw and St. Paul are considered by the Church to be Metis wintering sites. Buffalo lake is rejected by the Church due to the number of white settlers in the area.
Abram Pearce of Nova Scotia arrived Edmonton (Alberta) to operate a sawmill near Moranville (Morinville, Alberta)
Dr. William Saunders and sons crossed Red Fife wheat with Hard Red Calcutta wheat from India, calling it Marquis, shorting the ripening period to 104 days.
The population of Calgary is 3,876, of which 31 are Chinese men.
Fort Edmonton is incorporated into the town of Edmonton with a population of 700..
Fort Macleod became a town this year.
British Law is imposed on Canada and birth control and abortion are made illegal.
A few Englishmen squatted in Beaser (Alberta) about 16 miles west of Cardston. Later this year a major influx of Mormon firmed up the area.
The town of Haneyville is created as the Calgary-Edmonton railway stopped short of Fort Macleod and Jeff Davis created a stage line to transport passengers to Fort Macleod. The CPR tried to get the business men to move from Fort Macleod but they refused. Neither a cafe, store nor hotel was ever built in Haneyville. The inhabitants were mostly railway families. The railway finally backed down in 1906 and constructed a bridge to connect to Fort Macleod..
Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada is passed into law to protect teachers and parents from child abuse. They are given immunity for spanking or thrashing as it was called. Women and children were considered non-person and therefore property. It is noteworthy that the natives of American considered this European practice as barbaric.
Mrs John Leod McDonald thought that Atim Ozwe Sipi or Dog Rump Creek was not an appropriate name for their growing community and proposed it be called Stony Plain. The only problem was that Spruce Grove was called Stony Plain and the entire region west of Fort Edmonton was also called Stony Plain since the early 1700's. The won the battle by establishing a post office called Stony Plain..
April: Thomas Pearce of Perry Sound, Ontario led 300 settlers into south Edmonton (Strathcona, Alberta) and they eventually settled Agricola, Partridge Hills and the Good Hope District.
May 17: Lac La Biche (Alberta) birth William Boucher, Metis, son Narcisse Boucher Jr., b-1864 Athabasca District and Caroline Ladouceur, b-1862 Fort Pitt (Saskatchewan).
June: The Calgary Smallpox riot began when a Chinese working at a laundry contracted smallpox after a visit to Vancouver. Civic authorities burn the building and all its contents, and its occupants are quarantined. Nine Chinese fall ill, and three die. The town's citizens allege that the disease was spread by the Chinese' unhygienic living conditions. When the surviving four Chinese are released on Aug 2, a mob of over 300 men smash the doors and windows of all the Chinese laundries, ransack the Chinese district, destroying and looting property, and assaulting Chinese residents. The local police do not act until the riot is effectively over. The Chinese community is badly shaken by the violence and seeks refuge at the Mounted Police barracks or at the homes of clergymen. The North West Mounted Police patrol the town for the next 3 weeks to protect Chinese Calgarians against further attacks. A very sad day for Calgary citizens.
September 16: Calgary became a city. The Scandinavians began arriving and would occupy seven hundred and eight square kilometers of free land around Wetaskiwin. Wetaskiwin means having peace, which was coined when the Cree met the Blackfoot at this place in 1873 and agreed not to fight. Many Scandinavians would sell wheat in Edmonton for basic necessities. An ill equipped Jewish band settled east of Red Deer. Failed at farming, they disbanding into the towns, which some allege was more suited to their skills. Others suggest discrimination is the root cause of their failure. The search for oil continues in the Edmonton and Athabasca districts. Samples of petroleum tar are found along the river, but no one has discovered the spring. A local company formed to bore for oil, but their equipment is not suited to this purpose.
November 11: Strathcona (Alberta), Conrad Diethelm and Benjamin Ficker, Norwegians who had arrived yesterday from Calgary after a long trip from Crookston, Minnesota. In east Strathcona, they stumbled across the body of P.O. Skaalent who the previous evening resided in the Edmonton Hotel with a man called Ole Micklson, a Swede. Skaalent, Micklson and Sanders had breakfast together. John Longmore had noticed a man of the description of Ole Micklson fleeing the scene. Skaalent carried about $300.00 which was missing. They placed a reward of $200.00 on the head of Ole Micklson. He was spotted heading south walking the rails. He entered the store of W. Maedonnell at Bear's Hill Plain (south of Wetaskiwan) where he purchased some apples and biscuits. The wife of William Stent north of Red Deer noticed Ole Micklson walking the rails and notified her husband. Edward Plumb entered the sceine on his horse, ran Ole to ground and ordered him to throw up his hands. Ole offered him $10 and then $100,00 to let him go. Realizing he was taking the law into his own hands he lowered his shotgun. At that moment Ole raised his gun and fired but missed Plumb who fled. The locals organized a posse that included William Bell, R. Armstrong, George Smith, John Jones, Edward Plumb and Stent. Ole was running towards the farm of F.E. Wilkins when Edward Plumb's shotgun hit him in the back. Ole fell but got up and continued to run. Ole was hit a number of times before a shot fired by William Bell caught him in the head at a distance of 75 yards. Two men a Richards and Brunpton arrive to see the posse grouped around the fallen Ole.
1893
Thorictine Callihoo (f) Metis born May 30, 1893 Alberta daughter Jean Francois Callihoo, Iroquois Metis born August 29, 1855 Alberta most likely Devil Lake (Lac Ste Anne) married about 1890 Elizabeth British Metis born August 25, 1871 Alberta, living Lac Sainte Anne 1901.
Kenny McLeod (1858-1940) he opened the first sash and door factory and planing mill in Edmonton, which he operated for seven years before selling it in 1900.
Strathcona is declared the second Statute Labour District in the N.W.T.
Calgary is upgraded from a town to a city this year.
Edmonton is upgraded from a village to a town. Others suggest this happened in 1892.
As part of the exodus out of the Dakota's, Isaac Ingram d-1907 arrived in Edmonton and settled in Clearwater, Alberta.
Peace River wheat won the championship at the world fair in Chicago. The only problem was that no one knew where Peace River was. Even the newspaper men were asking," Where in hell is Peace River?
Twenty families of Moravians from Volynia in Russia homesteaded in Bruderheim, (Alberta) giving the town its name.
Father B. Desroches established the parish of St. John the Baptist in Morinville, Alberta. Father Nordann, a German speaking Oblate, greeted another contingent of German Catholics going from the U.S.A. to Morinville.
Two brothers set out from the tar paper shack town of Calgary, in the spring of 1893, and were able to track down and kill a bull buffalo near pioneer stopping house of Content (Trail Creek), Alberta. They had been paid $50.00 by a wealthy westerner to get a souvenir of an bygone era. It is noteworthy that this region was a favorite place of the buffalo in bygone years.
The tumbstone of '12 foot Davis' reads, H.F. Davis, born in Vermont, 1820, died, at Slave Lake 1893, pathfinder pioneer, miner and trader." He was every man's friend and never locked his cabin door.
July 1: George D. Clark b-1877 arrived Edmonton, Alberta.
1894
Josue Courteoreille, (m) Metis born January 20, 1894, Alberta son Louis Courteoreille, Metis born August 16, 1849 Alberta, married about 1877 Alberta most likely Lac Sainte Anne, Sophie Metis born May 19, 1849, Alberta, living La Sainte Anne 1901.
Albert Warren Bragg homesteaded in Bragg Creek, Alberta
Charles Hill arrived Strathcona (Alberta) and ran a bakery and confectionery store on White Avenue.
John Jackson Young (1867-1923) purchased the Calgary Herald for $15,000.00.
Bishop Grandin was very cool to Father Albert Lacombe (1827-1916) efforts to create St. Paul des Metis administered by the Oblate Order for half-breeds (Metis) from all over, to settle.
Laurent Garneau, Metis a local farmer and community leader, founded a Catholic School Division in Strathcona this year. He would later become the Chairman of the South Edmonton Roman Catholic Separate School Board. Father Lacombe (1827-1916) finally obtained approval for four townships of land for the Metis. Guided by Metis Pierre Orkanes (Desjarlais), Abbe J.B. Morin, Adeodat Therian and Cyprien Boulenc explored the country beyond the old mission of Saint Paul des Cris, north of the Saskatchewan River. Lacombe (1827-1916) named it St. Paul de Metis after the first Metis settler in that location. The Metis preferred the Buffalo Lake Area; as it was highly favored by the Buffalo and the Metis had used this location for a long time. Burgess did not favor this highly productive agricultural land, as it would be taken out of white settlers reach. Lacombe (1827-1916) had a vision of an ideal community to facilitate the transition of the Metis and Indian into a unique Native based culture. Father Lacombe (1827-1916) deemed it possible, even desirable, to perpetuate the Metis Race. A.M. Burgess, Deputy Minister of the Interior, wanted nothing less than total integration with the French, but he and Father Joseph-Adeodat Therein kept their plans from Father Lacombe (1827-1916) and the Metis people. Both missionaries are well versed in the history of the Metis. The crass neglect and callousness of the Government along with exploitation by white settlers, supported by the Mounted Police and Government. The Oblates, Father Therein and Bishop Vital Justin Grandin (1829-1902) knew exactly what they were doing and the inevitable results. Father J.M. Jolicoeur replaced Father B. Desroches at Morinville, Alberta.
W.E Ross built a brick building near the CPR railway station and Garneau, a
Metis, the best fiddler in the district plays jigs and reels until sun-up.
The first mayor of the newly created City of Calgary is Wesley Fletcher Orr.
Red Deer became a village this year.
Medicine became a village this year.
March: Robert Ochsner built the Ochsner Brewery on the credit of John Walter below Saskatchewan Drive, 10542 Fort Hill, Strathcona (Edmonton), Alberta. He sold it in 1907 and it was called Strathcona Brewing and Malting co.
April 8: The Societe Saint Jean Baptiste is formed at Fort Edmonton to encourage Francophone to settle in select communities at the expense of other cultures.
September: Fort Calgary, death. (II)-James Farquharson MacLeod, b-1836 Scotland, leaving his wife Mary Frever and five children nearly destitute. He is the NWMP who named Fort Calgary after Calgary House on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.
ALBERTA HISTORY
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