The information on the Hugh McPherson family was written by Murray McPherson for inclusion in the "The Brandon Hills story: a publication marking the centenary of the Community", July 1979.

 On February 5, 1875, Hugh McPherson and Margaret Esther Sellars were married at the Sellars home at Six Mile Brook in Nova Scotia. The couple lived at Watervale until they moved to Manitoba with the Brandon Hills settlers. Prior to leaving Nova Scotia they had three children; two daughters, Georgina Jane and Hattie Margaret, and one son Johnston. Their youngest son, Angus, was born in Manitoba.

Leaving his family in Nova Scotia, Hugh travelled to Brandon Hills with the Roddick group in 1879. He selected the N.E. 1/4 of Sec. 10, Twp. 9, Rge. 18 as his homestead. This farm has been the McPherson home since that time and is currently owned by Kenneth and Mary McPherson. In the fall of 1879, Hugh walked to Rat Portage (now Kenora) where he worked in a lumber camp for the winter. Upon returning to Brandon Hills in the spring, he found a letter from his wife stating that she was selling their farm equipment and coming west to join him. He therefore returned to Winnipeg to meet his family.

During the latter part of 1879 Margaret decided to leave Nova Scotia early in the spring and join her husband. After a long trip via Boston and Minneapolis with her two young daughters and baby son who was very ill, she arrived in Winnipeg. There she was shocked by the appearance of the inhabitants as well as her husband for they all had masks over their faces. She soon learned that the masks were a form of protection against the western variety of mosquitoes. Following a day or two of shopping for provisions, the family made their way behind a team of oxen to Brandon Hills. Mr. McPherson had purchased the oxen who bore the names Snooks and Snider in Winnipeg when he was on his way home from Kenora. As the two daughters were five and four years of age their recollections of this wonderful journey across Manitoba were quite vivid.

In the years that followed, the family enjoyed life in the new log home which Hugh had erected on the slope facing the Little Souris River. During the winter of 1880-81 Hugh returned to Kenora leaving his wife and children to look after Snooks and Snider as well as some poultry. Soon after he left, Margaret experienced the thrill of hearing a coyote, an event which she later described as causing her to be truly afraid for the first time. Farming expanded rapidly as more land was broken the following year, and with this came buildings, fences and other additions. Situated as it was just north of the river and slightly to the east of the end of the hills, the McPherson home became a stopping-house for travellers from the south making their way to and from Grand Valley and later Brandon. The family records show that literally scores of people stayed with the family during the early years. To facilitate crossing the Little Souris River, Hugh and some of the neighbours built a pile bridge at a point near a beaver dam half-way to the Chapman home. Later he constructed an annex to the barn to accommodate horses as on occasion as many as forty teams were known to stop at noon hour. The fee charged for a meal for the driver plus feed for a team was thirty-five cents. Nellie McClung later described the farm and the stopping-house in one of her early books.

In the fall of 1892, Margaret's brother, Angus Sellars and his family arrived at the McPherson home. He had sold his farm at River John in Nova Scotia and was seeking land in Manitoba. The party which arrived in November included Mr. and Mrs. Angus Sellars and their six children, Margaret's mother and father (Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Sellars), her two sisters (Jessle Murray and Libby Sellars), Jessie's daughter Marguerite, and two hired men. Needless to say this group proved to be a considerable addition to the white house which had been completed in the 1880's. The Sellars family remained at Brandon Hills until mid-summer of 1893 when they moved to their new farm at Bunclody. The experience of having seven cousins as well as their grandparents with them for nearly a year made a deep impression on the four McPherson children and accounts for the lasting friendship within the group which included Bannie, Bill and Henry Sellars, Tena (Sellars) Kirbyson, Minnie (Sellars) McKeen, Emma (Sellars) McKinnon and Marguerite (Murray) Fryer. Hugh and Margaret played a major role in the development of the community. Through the associations of the stopping-house and on municipal council, Hugh was well-known. Margaret was active in church activities, local women's projects and a life member of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society. A very devout person, Mrs. McPherson believed that the best way to spend Sunday afternoon was to gather her family and friends at her home; consequently Sunday evening dinner usually found a large group at her table.

In 1904, Blanche, the wife of Arthur Prowse, passed away leaving her daughters Winnie and Kitty with their father. As it was difficult for Mr. Prowse to care for the little girls he accepted Mrs. McPherson's offer to care for them. There-upon the two girls became part of the family and lived with the McPherson's for many years until Winnie married Alex Brown and Kitty married Frank Allbright. Other members of the community who lived with Hugh and Margaret over the years included Bob Morrison, Jack (Bingo) Speers, the Watt brothers, Harold and Mrs. Laycock and Edith Reisberry.

After an extensive battle with cancer Hugh passed away in 1916. Margaret continued to live at the "White House" until her death in 1935.

Georgina Jane McPHERSON (1875-1953) or "Georgie" as she was known, lived at home most of her life. She was a loyal member and supporter of the Women's Missionary Society, the Busy Bees, and Brandon Hills Church. Due to ill health she lived for a time in the 1940's at Ninette Sanatorium. During her last years she resided with her sister Hattie Morrison, at Rounthwaite.

Johnson McPHERSON Born in Nova Scotia in February 1879, Johnston (Jack) McPherson was one of the youngest boys to come to the Brandon Hills District with the early settlers. Travelling west with his mother and sisters, he arrived early in 1880. As he grew up, he attended Brandon Hills School and later completed high school at the old Central School in Brandon. As part of a developing farm operation Jack was involved in a multitude of activities such as: breaking sod, erecting log buildings, hewing timbers, and erecting stone foundations for buildings. During the first few years of this century he worked for a few months each year with a land agent in Weyburn looking for new farm land. This provided Jack with an opportunity to see Saskatchewan close at hand as he walked over much of the western part of that province.

Ella Harvey McKay, the eldest daughter of Simon and Sarah McKay, was born at Brandon Hills in 1885. As a girl she left with her family to live in Trail, B.C., where she worked for Mr. Blaylock, the president of Consolidated Mining and Smelting. On July 26, 1918, Ella married Jack McPherson at the McKay home in Trail. After a honeymoon at Banff, the couple returned to make their home at Brandon Hills. As Ella wished to live in the old McKay home, Jack traded farms with his brother Angus and the newly-married couple settled into the old home.

Over the years that followed both Ella and Jack were involved in community activities. Jack served as chairman of the schoolboard, elder and trustee of the church, as well as a leader in a host of short term projects. As they had no family of their own, their home became a "home away from home" for a host of people. Their nephew Murray lived with them when his mother, Ethel McPherson, was burned and for a number of periods on other occasions. Jim Grossart worked for them for a few years before he married and several McKay nieces spent their summers on the farm.

As a partner in the McPherson threshing operation, Jack was the separator man for more than forty years. Stories of this activity are legion as over the years they threshed the crops for Blights, Bakers, Rices, Ramsdens, Prowses, Bertrams and later Grossarts, Foxalls and for George Roddick Jr.

Upon retiring from the farm in 1962, Jack and Ella moved into Fairview Home in Brandon. In the new dwelling they enjoyed the fellowship of many friends from southwestern Manitoba. Jack passed away in September 1966 and Ella continued to live in the Fairview Home until she died in November 1971.

ANGUS MCPHERSON Angus McPherson was born at Brandon Hills on March 1, 1884. While attending the local school he was taught by Mr. Morrison who was known as a strict disciplinarian. Angus was urged to continue his education and to study medicine; however, he was determined to farm and upon completing grade eleven at Brandon Collegiate, he returned to Watervale farm.

On July 16, 1913, Angus married Ethel Pentland of Justice. Ethel had attended the Winnipeg Normal School and taught at Brandon Hills as well as a school in the North Brandon area. They rebuilt the McKay home which had been vacant for some years and lived there until 1918. Following the marriage of his brother, Angus and Jack exchanged farms, and Angus and Ethel built their new home, "the yellow house", on the home farm.

Over the next eleven years their three sons were born: Howard (1920), Murray (1923), and Kenneth (1930).

For nearly two decades following the return of Angus and Ethel to Watervale Farm, three generations lived in the same yard. Mrs. Hugh McPherson and Georgie along with the men who worked for Angus resided in the "white house" while Angus and Ethel lived in their new home. The three boys lived in between, partly at Grandma's and partly at home!

A shanty, which was really a two-storey frame house, was also located in the yard and housed a cream separator, two washing machines, a small gasoline engine, plus a multitude of treasures from the past including an ancient trunk which bore the label "Mrs. Hugh McPherson, Brandon Hills, North West Territories". Each Monday the ladies gathered at the shanty to do the week's washing, using the old engine which chugged away in the corner. This all came to an abrupt end one bright morning in 1932 when someone saw smoke rising from the back wall of the shanty. As the building was covered with cedar shingles, it soon became apparent that the fire would not be put out and only a superhuman effort would save the "white house" which stood less than forty feet away. The response to a few telephone calls on the party line was immediate and soon the yard was swarming with men. The water tanks from the steam engine were put to work and water from the creek was pumped and carried onto the roof and walls of the "white house". Angus put on a heavy overcoat to withstand the heat and directed a hose from a position on a ladder. The back of the coat disintegrated completely before the job was done. The shanty burned completely but due to the efforts of more than seventy men, the "white house" was saved, although it had lost its paint and many of the shingles from the roof. Farm tools and other family articles including the boys bicycles and sleighs were lost in the fire; however this loss appeared to be insignificant compared to that which would have occurred had the second house burned.

The summer of 1937 was also memorable as this was the year in which the drought in Western Canada was most severe. The Palliser prediction had come true and the crops of southwestern Manitoba and Saskatchewan were a complete disaster. Early in July a steady stream of men from Saskatchewan appeared, some on bicycles or motorcyles, but most in older cars. Before the harvest at Brandon Hills was completed from twenty-five to thirty men had come to the farm to work. The "white house" and the threshermen's caboose served as home for a goodly number. Through the efforts of members of the community most of these gentlemen returned to their homes with sufficient produce to survive the winter. During the 1930's many young people worked or visited at the McPherson farm and most of them became part of the family. These included: Alice (Bevza) Angus, June and Jessie Alldred, Mary Miller, Ernest Nicol, Elia Milne, Bob and John Watson as well as Jack and Angus Murray. During this period methods of farming also changed. Horses became less important as farming became mechanized. The sign of change came in 1940 when the Case steam engine which had provided the power for threshing for thirty years was retired.

Wartime activities dominated life at Watervale farm during the early 1940's. With Howard in the R.C.A.F. and Murray and Kenneth away at school during most of the year, Angus and Ethel found themselves alone much of the time. However, both were busy with Red Cross and church work as well as the farm so did not find time heavy on their hands. Ethel became president of the Women's Missionary Society for Manitoba Conference and represented the women of the United Church in Manitoba at the Dominion board meetings.

During these years Alex Boyes began holidaying at the farm. Starting when he was seven years old, he spent ten summers helping Angus with a multitude of tasks truly becoming a part of the family.

Angus became ill during the summer of 1953 and passed away in September. Ethel continued to live with the boys until 1957 when she moved to Brandon. In 1970 she moved to Central Park Lodge and resided there until her death in 1976.

Howard graduated from Brandon Collegiate in 1938 and joined his father on the farm. In 1941 he joined the R.C.A.F. and trained as an air engine mechanic. After a brief stay at Rivers, he sailed for England aboard the Queen Elizabeth in 1942. There he was stationed at Southhampton, York and finally at Gransden Lodge where he served with the 405 Pathfinder Squadron. Upon returning to Canada in 1945 he lived at home until 1955 when he married Jessie Walsh of Sceptre, Saskatchewan. For twelve years Howard and Jessie lived in the "white house" and during this time their three children were born. In 1968 the family moved to their new house constructed on the Robert Roddick farm, now known as "Shady Oaks".

Murray trained as a teacher at the University of Manitoba and taught in Dauphin Collegiate for several years. In 1951 he married Margaret Raven of Winnipeg. The couple moved to Winnipeg in 1953. Murray taught at St. John's High School before joining the Faculty of Education staff at the University of Manitoba in 1963. Murray and Margaret have two children.

Kenneth attended Brandon Hills School, Brandon Collegiate and Brandon College. He began farming with his father and has always lived at the family home. In 1956 he married Mary Spratt of Elgin. Mary had trained as a nurse at Brandon General Hospital and was on staff at Souris Hospital prior to her marriage. Ken and Mary have been active in church, community and agricultural activities as well as the Assiniboine Historical Society. They have two children.

Hattie McPherson was born at Watervale, Nova Scotia in 1877. She came to Brandon Hills with her mother, sister Georgie and brother Johnston in 1880 to join her father, Hugh who had come west the year before. She attended Brandon Hills and Central School in Brandon. Hattle received her teacher training and taught school at Chatfield and Dunrea.

Robert Morrison was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1890. Because he was the eldest of a large family and they were very poor, he was raised by his grandmother

After working for some time on the railroad he decided, along with a friend Jimmy Watt, to immigrate to Canada. They parted company after they arrived and Bob worked on the C.N.R. However, he wished to farm so he tried to get work on a farm. Many farmers would not hire you if you were "green"; that is, if you were new out from the Old Country and inexperienced.

After being refused work several times he tried a new tactic. When he was asked by Angus McPherson, who was looking for help, how long he had been in the country he replied, "three years." He was hired and they started home. During conversation on the way he discovered that his friend Jimmy Watt was already working at McPhersons. Bob's first thought was: now he (Angus) will know I am "just out" and he will fire me. Nothing more was said and when they got home he went up to bed where Jimmy was sleeping. The light was rather dim but Jimmy asked, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Bob growled, "No, I've never seen you," and finished getting ready for bed. He put out the light and got into bed beside Jimmy. All was quiet for a few minutes and then Bob grabbed Jimmy around the ribs in a bear hug. Needless to say, he nearly scared the life out of Jimmy Watt.

Several farmers at Brandon Hills hired a "water witch" to come and look for the proper site for a well on their property. This practice was unknown to the newcomers from Scotland and they began to wonder if their new employers were a bit queer. The witch" selected a spot in front of the barn and placed his coat on it while he went behind the barn to see if he could locate the stream. Bob and Jimmy decided to see if this fellow knew anything so they moved the coat a few feet away. When he returned, the witch would not work over the coat and he eventually moved it back to its original location! A small quantity of water, but of poor quality, was found on the site at a depth of 160 feet. Bob worked at McPhersons until he enlisted in World War I in the Fort Garry Horse and went overseas in 1917.

Following the war he returned to Brandon Hills. In 1920 he married Hattie McPherson They rented a farm (14-8-18) at Rounthwaite for one year. At harvest time the owner wanted his share of the wheat stored but Bob wished to sell his so he loaded two cars of wheat at Rounthwaite and put one in the granary. Upon delivery he received $2.85 per bushel but when the owner hauled his out in the spring he received about $1.00 a bushel. They purchased the farm the following year. After spending several winters in Brandon, they sold the farm to Bill Granger of Rounthwaite in 1964 and retired to Brandon. Following the closing of Rounthwaite United Church in 1955 they became active supporters of Brandon Hills Church. Hattie was organist for many years and was a life member of the W.M.S. and U.C.W. Bob was a member of the Wawanesa Legion and served on the church board until his death.

Bob and Hattie had two children: Bob Jr. and Margaret. Bob Jr. was born on April 27, 1924 and served in World War II. On January 8, 1949 he married Lila Berdux of Elgin, Manitoba and they have two children. Jim was born on August 16, 1951 and Lynne was born on July 25, 1952. Bob was well known in the Brandon area as a salesman of men's clothing, cars and farm machinery. In 1965 they moved to the west coast where Bob is presently employed in a men's-wear store in Nanaimo.

Margaret was born in 1928. She married George Walton of Toronto who was serving in the Army at Shilo in 1947. They had two children. Robert was born on January 19, 1949, and Lorraine was born in 1956. George was killed when his car went into the Assiniboine River on 1st Street in Brandon in 1958. He is buried at Brandon Hills. Margaret married Ash Hudson in 1961 and they now live at Burns Lake, British Columbia.

Hattle died in 1965 and Bob in 1975. They are buried in Brandon Hills Cemetery.

Jimmy Watt worked for Bakers before going to Hartney. He enlisted in the army in World War I and was killed in 1916. Two brothers, Ed and Alan were well known tailors in Brandon.