Week 47 - Margaret Helen Milne Grant Switzer

Margaret Helen Milne Grant Switzer (1907 - 2006)  

Frank Grant and Margaret Milne wedding day October 27,1928

Margaret Helen Milne was born on December 7, 1907 at Virden, Manitoba.  She would have been named in honour of both sides of her family as her dad had a sister Margaret (nee Milne) Chisholm in Scotland and her maternal grandmother Margaret (nee Duncan) Jamieson, had died in Chesterfield, England two years before she was born.  It would seem both these women were known as "Maggie" but this Margaret was not.  Her father had another sister in Scotland called Helen and she came to Canada the year after Margaret Helen was born.  Helen Milne Mearns Connon has an interesting and tragic story, stay tuned to this blog for that one....

On the 1911 and 1921 Canada census, Margaret can be found living with her father Alexander and mother Jeannie in the Wallace Municipality.  Sisters Frances and Nan have been featured in previous blog posts as well as brothers Charlie and William. Other Milne siblings were John, Alex and Jim.  We know the family spent a couple of years in the Keremous, BC area when Margaret was young. 

She married Francis George Penny Grant on October 27 in 1928 in Hargrave, MB. "Frank" Grant had been born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1893.

Margaret and Frank began their married life in McCreary, Manitoba engaged in farming. They moved to Winnipeg for a while and  later settled in the Gainsborough district near Portage la Prairie, MB.  Initially they farmed but later both Frank and Margaret worked at Southport, the former Candian Forces Base at Portage as did many of their neighbours.  Those were tough years in the thirties and money was hard to come by.  

Margaret Milne in the middle with her sisters - Nan on the left and Frances on the right in 1955.

Margaret raised her five children and after Southport, cooked at Portage General Hospital for several years.  She belonged to the First Presbyterian Church and was a member of the Women's Missionary Society and Ladies Evening Guild. Margaret's first husband Frank died in 1961.  She remarried to Edgar Elmer Switzer, who was born in 1912 in Steele, North Dakota,  in 1969.  He died in 1985 and she on March 25, 2006 .

Family of Frank Grant and Margaret Milne:

• Douglas George (1929 - 2008) married Winnie
• Allan Milne aka "Red" (1930 - 1997) married Helen
• John Adams aka "Jack" (1933 - ) married Helen 
• Kenneth Alexander (1935 - 2004) married Shirley
• Jean Isobel (1938 - 2012) married Ray Lesprance, a hydro lineman in Portage

Her obituary says she was a great volunteer, always ready to lend a helping hand.  She loved to play cards and bingo. It also says she cared deeply for her family and loved to visit with her 13 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren before she died at age 98 in Pilot Mound, MB.  Her granddaughter Lynne (with the middle name Margaret) tells me her own daughters knew Margaret as "G.G." and enjoyed a special relationship with her.  Margaret was always upbeat and happy, no matter what came her way.  She sounds like a special lady indeed and I'm glad I got to know her through this blog post.

Week 46 - Annie Mary (Nan) Milne Clarke

Nan Milne Clarke ( 1915 - 2004)

Nan Milne and Stewart Clarke' on their wedding day in 1945

Annie Mary Milne was born on July 18, 1915  at Keremous, BC, near Cawston.  Her father Alexander Milne and mother Jeannie Jamieson had immigrated from Scotland in 1905 and 1906 respectively and after farming for a few years in the Wallace area, they sold and moved to BC to work on a ranch.  "Nan" was the younger sister of my Grandma, Frances.

The Milne family can be found on the 1921 Canadian census where she is called "Annie" and is five years old.  Her siblings are Charles (8 years old), Margaret (13), Frances (15), William (18) and Alex (20).  Her parents are 45 and 44 years old.   The census says they are farmers and renting their home on 17-11-26 W1 in the RM of Wallace.  They declare themselves to be Presbyterians.

Nan tells in the Binding Out Districts history book from 1989 that she moved to the Hargrave district with her parents in 1924 where they farmed on NE 14-11-27 and she attended Grade 3 at Hargrave School. She continued there until grade 11 after which she stayed home to help on the farm.  In her words:

I can still remember the path through our pasture I took to walk to school and to the store and post office for mail.  Then when bonspiel time came, with just one sheet of ice, sometimes I walked it two or three times a day.

Nan at back left with Sybil and Gladys O"Neil and her brothers Charlie and Jim Milne in 1933.

Sisters Frances Kinnaird, Nan Milne and their mother Jane Milne in the Milne garden near Hargrave.  Marjorie Kinnaird is in the front.  I love their polka dotted dresses and hats which Marjorie thinks likely came from the Eatons Catalogue.  This photo was taken about 1936.

In 1945 she married Stewart Clarke of Virden and they moved northeast of Virden to NE 25-10-26 until 1949 when they moved to Virden.  In 1952 they moved to NE 14-10-26 in the River Valley District.  They had a family of 2 girls and 2 boys, Morris, Lois, Sandy and Phyllis and eventually 8 grandchildren.  

Nan was very involved with the Lady Forester Lodge in Hargrave, Court Harmony No. 14 and was the first president when they organized in March of 1945. She was also a part of the Maples Society which provided many comforts to the soldiers overseas in WW2.  The name "Maples" came from the district and the elevator siding that was once 3 miles south of Virden.  After the war, they were known as the Maples Young Peoples Society and held bake sales, bazars, teas and dances to raise money for charities and local causes needing support.  She and her family were also involved in the Virden Riding Club, showing in the Virden fair, having overnight trail rides and riding in parades.

 Stewart died in 1985 and Nan passed away in 2004.

Week 45 - Alexander Milne

Alexander Milne (1848-1873)

In my 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks blog, I have previously written about my great grandfather, Alexander Milne but have recently come across an item that leads me back a generation to his namesake.  The framed cardboard card below was among a collection of items that belonged to Alexander's daughter who was my Grandma, Frances Kinnaird.

A trunk of these old keepsakes belonging to my grandparents was recently lent to me by my cousin Judy and inside was the framed memorial to Alexander Milne pictured above.  Text of the card is as follows:

In Memory of

Alexander Milne

Who died 25th July 1873

Aged 25 years

Safe in the dust the body sleeps,

Christ his blood-bought treasure keeps;

Safe the soul enraptur'd stands,

Mingling with angelic bands.

When the trump the tomb shall break,

Then the sleeping dust shall wake.

Join the pure seraphic soul,

Glorifying in redemption full.

In online research, I found that the in memoriam cards became popular in the days of Queen Victoria after the death of Prince Albert in 1861.  This also is where many of our modern ideas of mourning, including wearing black,originated.

I believe that this Alexander Milne appears on the Family Search website as being born on May 14, 1848 and being christened on June 11, 1848 in Keith, Banff, Scotland.  Parents are listed as Lewis Milne and Ann Brown. 

The Scotland census from 1851 shows the family of Lewis Milne (from Week 32 of this blog) age 35 and his 33 year old wife Annie Brown.  The family has 5 children listed: Helen 9 years old, Clementina 7, William 5, Margaret 1 and a three year old Alexander Milne.  They are farmers of a small piece of land at Bogbain in Keith, Banffshire, Scotland and Lewis' mother, Helen Gordon, lives with them.

On the 1861 census when Alexander would have been 13 years old, he is not listed as living with his family.  He might have been working and living somewhere else, even at such a young age by our standards today.

Searching for "Alexander Milne" after that turns out to be difficult as so many men with that name show up in that area.  It has been compared to searching for a "John Smith" !  There are a few marriages and some children born to Alexander Milnes in that area before 1873 and any of these may or may not be our Alexander! 

When this young man died in 1873 , his brother John Milne (from Week 5) chose that name for his eldest son three years later.  The memorial plaque came to Canada with my great grandfather Alex and it remained among his possessions. Aunt Marjorie remembers that it always hung on the wall in her Grannie and Grandad's house at Hargrave.  The gravemarker pictured below in Keith Cemetery, Banffshire, Scotland includes an inscription for Alexander.   Thanks to Greg and Donna Marie for this photo and the transcription below.

“Erected by William Milne, Bogbain in memory of his daughter Clementina Milne who died 16 August 1819 age 6 years and 6 months.  Also his wife Hellen Gordon who died 20 April 1858 age 85 years.  Also his son Lewis Milne who died 17 Feb 1867 age 52 years. Also his grandson Alexander Milne who died 25 July 1873 age 25 years.  Ann Brown his wife of the above Lewis Milne who died 4 April 1901 82 years.”

 Although ever knowing anymore about this Alexander Milne is not very likely, it is interesting to find out the story behind the keepsake.

Week 44 - Charles Duguid Milne

Charles Duguid Milne (1913 - 1999)

Charles Duguid Milne and Amy Louise Dryden's wedding day in 1940

Charles Milne was born February 18, 1913 in Wallace Municipality in Manitoba.  He was the second youngest of 8 children of Alexander Milne and Jeannie Morrison Jamieson Milne and he was the younger brother of my Grandma Kinnaird, Frances.

Charles Duguid and Mamie Milne Duguid - 1920's

He was named for his father Alex's sister Mary Jane (Mamie)'s husband Charles Duguid.  This Charles had come from Banffshire Scotland in 1906 at the age of 21.  He became a Candian citizen and then returned to Scotland.  He and Mamie had married in Huntly, Aberdeenshire on February 17, 1911 and then immigrated and lived at 862 4th Street in Brandon with Mamie and Alex's father John Milne.  Charles Duguid and John were both employed as millers at Purity Flour Mill in Brandon and since Charles and Mamie did not have children of their own, were close to their nieces and nephews and in fact my mom recalls that he attended her wedding in 1960.  Mamie had passed away in 1955 and Charles Duguid followed her in 1963. 

As an infant, Charlie Milne travelled west with his family for a couple of years to ranch at Keremeos, British Columbia where his youngest sister Annie Mary (Nan) was born. The Christmas Card below would have been sent back to relatives and friends in Manitoba when they were living there.

Charlie attended Montgomery and Hargrave Schools after his family returned to the Wallace Municipality around 1917.  He married Louise Dryden on April 2, 1940.  They first lived south of Elkhorn where Charlie worked for a farmer but moved to the Hargrave district to the NE quarter of 10-11-27 later that first year of their marriage.

Charles and Louise had 5 children:  James Alexander, Kenneth Allen, John McGregor, Murray Ross and Wendy Louise.  Wendy and I recently became "friends" on Facebook and comparing the lives of ourselves and our families, we certainly can say it is a small world and our DNA leads us into similar fields and circumstances!  

A local history book called "Binding Our Districts" says Charlie played ball for the Hargrave baseball team and also enjoyed curling and skating.  He was a community volunteer with the Pool Elevator Board, the Hargrave Co-Op Store Board and the Hargrave Rink and Community Centre.  He was an active member of the Lebanon Masonic Lodge in Virden. My cousin Karen remembers that he could really dance well!

Louise was a curler and skater as well.  She enjoyed knitting and crocheting as well as yard and garden work.  She entered and won prizes at the Virden and Elkhorn fairs for her beautiful needlework.  Charlie and Louise spent many hours in Old Time Dancing and playing cards.
They retired from active farming in 1982.  Louise passed away on October 27, 1998 and Charlie the following year on August 4, 1999.

Week 43 - Thomas Henry

Thomas Henry (1870 - 1949)

Thomas was the brother of my great grandmother, Elizabeth Henry Sinclair and the son of the Widow Mary Henry.  This blog has also previously featured his sisters Ellen Turriff, Janet McKenzie and Joanna Braid.  At the age of 11, he came to the RM of Blanshard area with his mother and 10 siblings from Perth County, Ontario in 1881 after the death of his father three years earlier. 

Thomas lived the rest of his life farming this soil on the quarter known as "sixes".  He never married but lived with family, mainly his brother Jack.  Thomas was the engineer on the Henry brothers threshing gang.  They had bought one of the first portable steam threshing units around and for years they toured the district, threshing grain for neighbours who didn't own their own machines.  He also helped in the organization of the United Church in Oak River.

In the 1891 Canadian census, 20 year old Thomas lived with his 54 year old mother Mary, elder brother John (also known as Jack) age 23, and younger sisters Mary (17) and Joanna (15).  Brothers Edward (29), William (27) and Charles (25) are enumerated on the next farm.

The census of 1906, shows 36 year old Thomas and 37 year old Jack at 6-13-21 in a stone house with their mother Mary.  They indicate that their farm has 17 horses, 17 milk cows, 30 other cattle and 35 pigs.  Three unrelated people are also in the household, 2 hired men and a servant, Agnes Brown.   Purebred Aberdeen Angus cattle were raised at the Henry's and the 1959 Blanshard history book says they supplied breeding stock to many farmers during the early part of the century.  This same book says Thomas had a Model T in 1912.

The 1916 Canadian Census lists Thomas living with his brother Jack and wife Winnie with their sons Homer and Orville. Thomas and Jack are named as partners in the farm in this document.  A lodger in the home at the time was a 45 year old named Alex Galician.  I happened to notice farther up the same census page there was another man with the same name but 23 years old.  Their birthplace is listed as Galicia and scanning through the surrounding farms, there are several men of Galician birth noted.  Today, this Eastern European region is divided between the countries of Poland, Romania and Ukraine.  Widespread emigration from this area to Canada started in the 1880's due to poverty and it continued until war broke out in 1914.  I suppose that the English speaking census takers could not begin to write what the men's names were so they were all given the surname "Galacian".  How sad for their ancestors trying to track these mens' journeys without their real names on the census documents!

The photo above was taken of the surviving Henry siblings in 1948.  Back row left to right- John (Jack) who was 80, Thomas at 79, Edward (Ned) at 86, and Charles (Charlie) at 82.  Sisters in the front are Joanna Braid ( 72), Janet McKenzie (88) and Mary Wilson (74).  This may have been Jack's 80th birthday celebration since he is wearing a flower boutineer on his lapel.  (Jack lived another ten years, until age 90 in 1958.)

 Thomas died on September 14, 1949 with his sister Elizabeth Sinclair's family at Bankburn farm and is buried in Whitebank Lea Cemetery.  His obituary says he was well known for his generosity and kindness to those in trouble and need of help.