In 1883 Ontario Methodists, wanting to escape the liquor trade, decided to set up a
"dry" community in the rapidly-growing prairie region. Their organization, the
Temperance Colonization Society, first examined this area (Saskatoon) in 1882
and found that it would make an excellent location for their community.[1]
Robert &
Joseph Caswell were in the party to arrive the second year of the founding of the Temperance
Colony. The CPR ended at Moose Jaw and
from here the settlers travelled by wagon.
On April 19th, 1883 they left for Clark’s Crossing.” Hugh Donnan and John Caswell were not too far behind them.
During a meeting of the Saskatoon Historical Society in 1922, Frankie
Caswell (wife of Robert Caswell) shared some of her memories of early
Saskatchewan life:
“They called it the City of Saskatoon, but when we
arrived there were seven houses, and not one properly finished. People had told me not to go but we thought
since it was called a city, it must be a good sized place. We expected to find wheat fields, with wheat
growing over our heads, and wagons piled up with strawberries.”
Hugh
Donnan’s Saskatchewan land application mentions that by 1884 he had broken 5
acres. Daughter Ida was born in Winnipeg
in 1885. Looks like Hugh preceded his
family to Clark’s Crossing and did what he could to prepare a home for his
family. Hugh also mentions on his land
application that the family home was built by the summer of 1886. Daughter Stella was born in Osler in 1887
& Delle in 1889. My best guess would
be that the family joined Hugh in the summer of 1886.
Although
Stella and Delle both give Osler as their place of birth, I think it was
probably Clarks Crossing, as Osler did not come into existence until the early
1890’s. Clarks Crossing and Osler are
only about 8 km apart.
The Donnan land was
the SW ¼ section of 18, Twp 39, Range 3, west 3rd meridian. Hugh obtained homestead entry 15 March 1888
and the first mention of the family that I have found is in the 1888 McPhillips
Alphabetical & Business Directory listing for Clarks Crossing:
Caswell,
Joseph w1 39 4 w3
Caswell,
RW e2 39 4 W3
Caswell
JJ e 12 39 4 w3
Caswell
JD n 12 39 4 w3
Caswell
David w2 39 4 w3
Donnan
Hugh w18 39 4 w3
Information from Hugh’s land
application:
1884 broke 5 acres
1886 20x20 house erected in summer 1 cow
1887 broke 8 acres & cropped 5 acres 3 head cattle
1888 broke 12 acres & cropped 15 acres
1889 broke 3 acres cropped 18 acres 5 head cattle 4 horses
At one time most of the
Caswell siblings gave farming in Saskatchewan a go. A quit deed registered in Palmerston in 1897 shows
the siblings in the following locations:
Palmerston
Samuel
Caswell
Manitoba
Andrew
Caswell, near Neepawa, farmer
Saskatchewan
Robert
Wallace Caswell & Fanny Buchanan Caswell, near Saskatoon, farmer
Mary
Jane & Hugh Donnan, near Prince Albert, farmer
James
Dickson Caswell & Mary, near Rosthern, farmer
Sarah
& Ephraim Case, near Osler, farmer
John
J & Patience Caswell, near Osler, farmer
David
Caswell, near Osler, farmer
Joseph
Caswell, near Osler Famer
United States
Alexander
Kennedy Caswell, Philadelphia, Penn. Clergyman
Thomas
and Mary Oneida Caswell, Cherokee, Iowa, Farmer
William
Caswell, Sacramento, California, Carpenter
Margaret
& Robert Styles. Williams Co., North Dakota, farmer
The following is an edited letter written by
Patience Smith (Mrs. John J.) Caswell[2], the
time period was probably the summer of 1884. Again, I am borrowing a bit of
history from the Caswells as they were very good about leaving a written record
of the various places they lived and where the Caswells were, so were the Donnans.
“We had so much stuff to start for the Colony John
hired a rail car then he bought two cows, a team of ponies, and three pigs.
Well that left Grandma (Mary Jane Caswell) and I to go on the train for John
would have to go with the car.”
“Grandma had seven canaries to take and a big dog
so you see we had some luggage. We went through to Moose Jaw. Regina had a few houses and the Mounted
Police Barracks. Moose Jaw was not much
better, only it had an Emigration Shed instead of the Barracks. Our household
goods were all piled in the Emigration Shed and I did not see any of it till
the next November. I had the baby clothes and a change of underwear and the dress
I had on. That constituted my wardrobe
that summer.
We left Moose Jaw for Clark’s Crossing with the
wagon loaded to its capacity. “The meteorological instruments to go to Clark’s
Crossing were in the front of the wagon.
Then the spring seat with the bed mattress on and down far enough for my
feet to rest on so I would not get cold.
Back of that was the hen and chickens, the canaries, pigs, and any other
thing that could be crowded in, even the top of our kitchen cupboard that John
made.
The first day after leaving Moose Jaw we drove till
about six o’clock when a terrible thunderstorm was almost to us. We turned into a little shanty to keep from
getting wet, put the ponies in the lea side to protect them. Brought the mattress in to keep it from getting
wet and put it down on the ground for Grandma and I to sleep on. Sometime in
the night I awoke to find the bed full of water for the rain had flooded the
ground and wet our clothes. I had to sit on the end of a box by the stove the
next day till my dress dried.
We pitched our tent every day on account of rain
till we got to Saskatoon, nine days in all. The prairie was simply beautiful
with wild flowers.
When we arrived at Saskatoon “which is now Tutana”,
there was one good house, a makeshift of a store, a blacksmith’s bellows on a
post and an old scow on the river. The scow was paddled across by four men.
In those days if our coal oil ran out we lit
shavings on the hearth of the stove to see to get the evening meal and get the
baby ready for bed. The men went to Moose Jaw twice a year for our provisions
and clothing. One time the horses got away and it was several weeks before we
got our supplies, so we had to do without flour and sugar for two weeks.
We used to take our clothes to the river in the summer
time to wash them, and had to melt snow in the winter time. The water in the well was so hard we could
not use it to wash with.
Bert 1891, Ray 1893 & Arthena 1894 were all
born in Prince Albert. “The Qu'Appelle,
Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railroad and Steamboat Company
(QLSRSC) arrived in Prince Albert in October 1890 as a means to link the three
major cities of Saskatchewan through one railroad. For the next few years the
line was seldom used, and in order to raise capital, QLSRSC leased the line out
to the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Canadian Pacific soon realized the economic
uncertainty of the line, and the lease was cancelled after only a few years of
service.” A job opportunity for Hugh that appears to
have fizzled in very short order.
No wonder the family was on the move again to Grand
Forks, Hugh needed a railway and the Kettle Valley & Great Northern Railways
were competing for service through the southern Kootenays.
Again a child was left behind in a lonely grave –
Ray Donnan only survived a few weeks, born 30 January 1894 in Prince Albert and
died 22 February 1894.
The 1890’s were a time of drought on the prairies. Although the Caswells made quite a success of
their farms, the drought years were hard on everyone. For various reasons - harsh winters, drought,
and general living conditions some of the Caswells brothers moved on to
California. Certainly Hugh’s job with
the railway accounted for much of the Donnans many moves, as did, I think, the
adventurous spirit of Hugh Donnan and the Caswell brothers.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saskatoon
[2] Copy provided by the Saskatchewan
Archives
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