MATERNAL NAMES
HOMESTEADERS IN CANADA'S WEST (PART I)
13-6-2015 STEPHANIE BELL-BOISSONNEAULT
Many reasons encouraged the people of Eastern Canada to move west and settle. The decision to do so was not taken lightly, and there were many not prepared for what awaited them. Some returned to their original roots, while others embraced their new home.
One key part of the populating of the west was the completion of the Railway. This made the west accessible to the rest of the nation.
Canadian Pacific Railway Crew Fraser Valley (1881)
THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY—C.P.R.
DONALD SMITH
With MacDonald in power as Prime Minister, the central focus would be building a railroad from coast to coast. The deadline for its completion was 1891.
After the economy had turned around, Donald Smith of the Hudson Bay Company and George Stevens, President of the Bank of Montreal, teamed together to form The Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The terms they proposed to their crony MacDonald and the Canadian government did not come cheap. If they were to undertake the operation, they wanted millions of dollars and millions of acres of land in the west, the control, and ownership of the entity, control of the work that had already been completed as well as a perpetual tax exemption and a no competition clause for a railway south of them for at least twenty years.
Time was crucial if Canada did not want to lose its West to the United States.
GEORGE STEVENS
WILLIAM CORNELIUS VAN HORNE
Their choice of William Cornelius van Horne as Chief Engineer to construe the railroad proved a wise one. The section from Fort William to Winnipeg was completed by 1882. It then moved across the Prairies setting records for the speed at which the construction took place and caused the price of land to reach heights unfathomed. With this speculation caused boom towns to pop up all through the west and the CPR used their inside knowledge of routing choices to generate enormous amounts of money. What they did not see was that the cost of this railway gobbled up these profits.
By 1883, most of the money depleted, the Canadian government was compelled to pass a bill to provide additional funds if they wanted to finish the project.
Again, in 1885, coffers empty, it looked like the end of the line for the railway. The Northwest Rebellion led by Louis Riel changed all that. The railway served as the sole means of transporting Canadian Troops to Saskatchewan to defeat the Metis, prompting the government to inject additional funds.
“Craigellachie” in honour of the last stand of the highland clans in Scotland, became the final rail siding, November 7th 1885. The railway completed six years early contributed chiefly to the quash of the rebellion in the west. It also dashed the ambitions of the United States toward western Canada and secured the nation from coast to coast. It was the longest railroad in the world and had conquered two incredible barriers; the Canadian shield and the Rocky and Costal Mountains of the west.
Craigellachie Last Spike
THE 1890’s
With the economy slumping many of the original settlers left the west to settle in the U.S. and the infiltration of newcomers was at a low point.
Once Laurier was in power and the gold rush was growing it encouraged more to move westward. Manitoba and the Northwest’s draw was the possibility to grow wheat.
There is a story of the young Scot who sent a sample of a certain type of spring wheat that would grow quickly. His friend planted the wheat in the fall and all but a few grains survived.
The recipient of the wheat was able to increase his production and in 1868 when the wheat in the west was destroyed by grass hoppers, this new wheat was sent from Ontario.
Named Red Fife due to its reddish hue, this wheat variety thrived in the latter spring, safeguarding it from frost damage. It also had a quick growth rate, which enabled farmers to harvest it before the arrival of cold weather in the fall. It became the choice for farmers in the area.
Later replaced by Marquis in 1904, which was even faster growing and more durable meant farmers even further north could produce the grain. This created Canada’s breadbasket.
The land in the U.S. was all but full and with the railway infrastructure, Canada was ripe for development in agricultural machinery, the likes of McCormick and Massey-Harris.
Between 1881 and 1896, only 40,000 of the 57,000 people who had applied for free land had moved west. This happened because The C.P.R. had not yet selected millions of acres of land that had been granted to them when they first constructed the railroad.. Clifford Sifton, minister for the interior and a resident in Brandon, took hold of the situation and issued an edict forcing the railway to choose their acreage or lose it. This way, he could know what would be available to immigrants.
Regulations for Land
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The authorities established regulations for acquiring land in the west, enabling young men still at home to claim their own 160 acres of free land in the west.
If we look at the Ontario families, we can see the attraction. Many of the farmers had large families. Most often, the family farm would go to the eldest in the family, leaving the younger boys in the family with nothing. Those wishing to farm had to find their own place. This provided a needed opportunity for these young men.
Sifton sent land agents to many communities to sell his idea and assist and hasten the process of land acquisition. He also sent many advertisements to the U.S. and Britain encouraging settling the west. From there, he sent agents to Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, France, and Eastern Europe. His plan worked.
In 1897 the numbers had increased from 16,000 in 1895 to 32,000. From 1896 to 1911 over 2,000,000 had arrived in Canada raising the national population to 7,206,643. The arrivals were as follows:
38% Great Britain
34% United States
26% the rest of Europe.
During those years, the population of Manitoba doubled, and the populations of Saskatchewan and Alberta increased from 164,281 to 867,095
Among these settlers were many from my family. William James Bell and Bertie Ryder-Vance, from my father’s family.
My mother’s side saw many more.
Simeon Charles Ostrom, Frances Knight-Ostrom, Simeon D. Ostrom, Bertie Ostrom-Clark, Jenny Ostrom-Medforth and some of Fanny May-Knight’s sons.
This week I am focusing on my great-grandfather, Simeon Charles Ostrom. He was a bit of a scoundrel, but colourful nonetheless.