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Families Forsyth Hans MacIntyre
 Richards Wilsons
The Wilson Family
Adams Francis (Frank) Wilson and Mary (Hans) Wilson

The information below was written by Ron Wilson
Frank was born in Ontario. He and his sister Carrie were orphaned at a very young age and were taken in by relatives. Frank attended school until age 9 when he had to help on his uncle's farm. At age 18 the call of the West brought him to Moose Jaw in 1890. His greatest desire was to become a rancher. So from 1890-93 he worked on the Turkey Track Ranch, a huge ranch stretching west to Swift Current. Then from 1893-95 he worked for Bob Martin who owned a ranch near Crestwynd.

It was Frank's job to herd and feed the cattle during the winter. Many cold nights were spent in a shack listening to the coyotes howl and reading. In the spring the cattle had to be herded to Moose Jaw. Upon reaching Moose Jaw they found that the spring run-off had swollen the river so the cattle could not get across. A week had to be spent camped on South Hill until the river went down. South Hill was also a favorite camp-ground for Indians, and after reading western thrillers all winter, this was not too comfortable an experience.

In 1893 Frank came to Caron where he met the Hans family. He homesteaded near Rowletta, on what was later Dan Ferguson's farm. John Hans persuaded Frank to move closer to Caron, so in 1894 Frank homesteaded the NE 12-18-29 next to John (#1 on the map below).




The land was broken and wheat sown. Frank left for the summer to work on a ranch. In the fall he returned to Caron and walked to his land. Before him stood a beautiful crop of waving wheat, so thick that it supported his straw hat, which he had thrown upon it in delight. He said to himself, "This is grain country and here I'll stay."

In 1897 Frank married Mary Hans, and they settled on the farm.  They had 4 children, Viletta, Loretta, Bernice and Ralph.

Villeta on the right
 Loretta
Bernice
 Ralph - far left


During the early days on the farm, Frank and Mary hosted many other families coming west and it became a popular stopping place. Farms and settlements were few and far between and much time was spent driving by team and wagon, or buggy if you had one, to visit the neighbors. A trip to Moose Jaw for supplies or entertainment meant a rough ride by team and wagon for 20 miles.

Frank imported a purebred Clydesdale stallion from Scotland and began raising work horses for sale to the farmers in the district. Money was scarce so Frank would barter horses for land. Word spread and soon he had traded horses for land at Moose Jaw, Mitchelton, Mossbank, Brownlee, Eyebrow, Central Butte, Rowletta, and Grayburn.

In 1911 the family moved to Caron, and from there in 1912 to Moose Jaw.


Mary and her children


A lot of the threshing in the early days was custom done by huge steamers and threshing machines. The sheaves were gathered and stacked in the yard to await the thresher. One year in the early 20's the thresher arrived at Frank and Mary's on Christmas day, complete with 25-man crew. Can you imagine the Christmas dinner Mary had to prepare that day! Frank decided he'd had enough waiting for the threshing outfit, so he bought a Reeves steamer. Tom Ferguson bought a thresher, and they formed a threshing syndicate.

Bernice attended the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1918, received her certificate and taught music from the family home in Moose Jaw, until 1960. Viletta, deceased in 1924. Loretta married Jack Taylor and lived in Port Colbourne, Ont.

1929 proved disastrous for many people. Frank saw stock investments go tumbling, ending up worthless. Struggling to recover from his losses, he let farm after farm go until finally he was able to save the home farm, one at Mossbank, one at Moose Jaw, and another at Rowletta.

Frank and Mary continued to live in Moose Jaw, and were together to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on June 30, 1967
Seated: Catherine Peever, wife of John Hans and mother to Mary Hans. Far right: Frank Wilson and next to him his wife, Mary. Frank and Mary's 70th Wedding Anniversary


**************************************

John Ralph (Cully) Wilson & Hazel F. (McDairmid) Wilson




In 1931, Ralph married Hazel McDairmid whose family had come from Wisconsin to the Briercrest area. They took up residence on Frank's Moose Jaw farm which now lies beneath the runways of the C.F. Air Base. In 1932 they had a son, Ron.



Ralph, Hazel and Ronnie

In 1933 Ralph and Hazel moved to take over Frank's homestead at Caron plus another half section he had acquired.  Ralph and Hazel took part in sports. Ralph became a good hockey player. He acquired the nickname of "Cully," from a professional player in the Western Hockey League, Cully Wilson.  Ron attended school at Caron Prairie until 1945 when the family moved to a farm south of Grayburn.







L to R: Hazel, Marcia Hans, Amy Hans, Cam Hans, Cully, Ricky (Ron's son).
In the Wilson's new house on their property at SW-17-18-28.
At this point it was only a basement.




L to R: Ralph, Hazel, Amy Hans, Cam Hans

Hazel passed away in 1971 and Ralph in 1987.

Ron married Lena Rekunyk in 1952. Lena's family lived at Dunkirk, where they had come from the Ukraine after WW I. Lena and Ron have 3 sons and a daughter. Rick, Rhonda, Kevin, and Jayson. Rhonda and Rick received their education at Grayburn and Mortlach, Kevin at Grayburn and Caronport, and Jayson at Caronport.

In 1975 Rhonda went to live in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. Kevin became an auto mechanic in Moose Jaw, and Rick worked on the farmily farm.  The family farm is now operated by Ron, Rick and Kevin. Ron and Lena live in Moose Jaw whilst Rick and Kevin live with their families in homes on SW-17-18-28.


Credits
The information above was written by Ron Wilson and is extracted from the book "From Buffalo Trails to Blacktop" The photographs were generously donated by Ron.