Alexander (Sandy) Scott circa 1920
Sandy was just 8 years young when his father died in 1848. After his schooling Sandy stayed on in Synton where he found work as a Thatcher and remained living with his widowed mother at Dimpleknowe. In 1870 Sandy married Janet Grieve. He was 29 and she was 20. They were wed at Synton Gardens where she lived with her father, Robert Grieve, the widower of Janet Shakleton.
Janet Grieve was actually born in a lovely little village just a few miles to the east called Lilliesleaf. Grieve is a name with a long attachment to the Borders as is Scott. Her father Robert was a farmer which is no surprise as this is a farming community.
It's important to note that Sandy and Janet were wed according to the Forms of the Free Church of Scotland and therefore we can expect that our family led a more pious lifestyle than members of the more moderate Church of Scotland. The Free Church was established during the "Disruption" in the 1840's when the more evangelical members split from the Church of Scotland in a bitter national protest against what they regarded as a patronage system where, amongst other complaints, rich landowners selected local ministers. I've often wondered what tensions existed in our family's community of Ashkirk especially considering that the local Free Church was built right next to Synton Mills, in the heart of Synton, an area mostly populated with our Scott relatives during those years.
To give you some more insights into the character of our family I will tell you that Synton Mills was also the site of newspaper article I found published in 1855. The Kelso Chronicle article was a review of a Temperance meeting hosted by Mr.Thomas Waldie of Synton Mills. Reportedly the meeting room was filled to the door and the speaker from the Scottish Temperance Society was gratified to find that the temperance principles (to reduce or prohibit the use of alcohol) in this district had been "attended with much success". Just how close was our family to Mr. Waldie? Well, I can tell you that not one but two of Alexander's brothers apprenticed under Mr. Waldie at Synton Mills, William and Walter. The principles of the Free Church and the Temparance Society would stay with Alexander the rest of his days.
(note the creek running by the left side of the house)
In 1871 Sandy and Janet Scott were living with his mother when their daughter, Janet Shackleton Scott was born. A year later their first son was born, my grandfather William. By this time Sandy was employed as the Estate's Garderner and his young family was now living at Synton Gardens. Synton Gardens had long been connected to our family and was often used for special events as reflected in the records of births, marriages and deaths. The cottage is still in use today although it's once proud stone wall that encompassed it's huge back year is now in disrepair. When we visited in 2011 a local farmer told us that the house is now owned by a professor in Edinburgh who basically only visits during the summer.
Ashkirk is about midway between Selkirk and Hawick on the A7 road. After leaving Ashkirk and heading south to Hawick there are two turns to the left that take you into the Synton Estate. The first takes you past Synton Mills while the second takes you the Synton Parkhead route.
To find Synton Gardens head south from Ashkirk on the A7 take the second turn left which has a sign to Synton. Turning left off the A7 follow this small country road past a terraced cottage on the right and you will come to the Synton Parkhead farm on the left. Just beyond the last house of Synton Parkhead take the lane that turns left off the main road. Follow the lane up into the fields and stay right at the first drive way which goes up to a new build house that must be quite close to where the old Main Synton Estate house was previously situated. Staying right you continue on the lane and shortly you will come to another driveway, this time to the right. Take that driveway and go thru the gate which was mostly grown over when we visited in 2011. Follow the driveway until you come to the wonderful cottage which is Synton Gardens, the home where my grandfather was born in 1872.
2nd house at Synton Parkhead, 2011.
Lane to Synton Gardens is just to the right of this house.
Lane up to Sinton Gardens, 2011.
Synton Gardens, 2011.
The view from the front of Synton Gardens, 2011.
Synton Gardens is situated with a lovely view of the valley and the pond below was called the Fish Pond on a 1858 map I found. Alexander was employed as the Estate's Gardener and the high stone wall encompassing the back yard must have provided a good nursery and would have served to keep deer out as well.
Over the next few years three more children were born to Sandy and Janet Scott at Synton Gardens. John was born in 1874, Mary in 1876 and Annie in 1879. Then, on April 1, 1880, Sandy's mother Mary died at Synton Gardens at the age of 74. Her passing proved to be a turning point in our family's history.
Many years had passed since Sandy's younger brother Walter had emigrated to Canada in 1866. As a teenager Walter had apprenticed under Mr. Waldie at Synton Mills to be a joiner and he put those skills to work in Canada. Although just a young man Walter quickly established a business in the bustling Ontario town of Seaforth, where he and a partner named Bell set up a furniture manufacturing business. I haven't yet determined if this Mr. Bell was related to our family thru Walter's grreat grandmother's family of Bells. The business did well and I've seen several references that state their's was the first furniture manufacturing company established in Canada.
With Walter well established in Canada by 1880 we can guess that he sent letters home which spoke positively about the the prospects in Canada. By this time in Scotland's history many young men and young Scottish families had already left Scotland for the promises of their own land and of fortunes to be made in Canada, the United States, Australia and elsewhere. The plan to emigrate to Canada must have been on Sandy and Janet's minds for a long time because just two months after the passing of his mother they travelled to Glasgow and boarded a ship to Canada.
They had purchased passage to Canada aboard the Canadian III, an Allan Line steamship which departed from Glasgow on June 5, 1880, and arrived in Quebec city almost two weeks later on June 18th. From there the family made their way to Seaforth, Ontario, where Walter was waiting for them. For the remainder of that year Alexander worked in his brother's furniture manufacturing business but like most Scots the yearning to own his own land was strong.
In 1869 the newly formed Dominion of Canada purchased the vast North West Territories from the Hudson Bay Company and when the Manitoba Act was passed the next year, creating the Assiniboia as Canada's newest Province, surveyors began the work of surveying areas for settlement. By 1880 settlement had steadily moved westward and the large portion of land in the southwest part of the Province had now been surveyed and marked with corner posts and a new Lands Title Office was to be opened soon in Delorraine to handle the expected rush of new homestead claims.
Early in 1881 Sandy left his family in Seaforth and headed west with his friend Robert Campbell. They first travelled by train which took them Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, which was as far as the rail construction had made it by that time. From there the remainder of the trip was on foot as they walked some 30 miles south to claim their homestead only to walk another 30 miles to Deloraine where they were amongst the first applicants to file claims at the new land office opened there. Sandy paid $10 for his homestead claim of 140 acres. Their homestead was located on 30-5-19, one mile north of what was to later become the town of Minto, Manitoba.
The hardships that the pioneers on the prairies faced during this time are difficult for most of us to comprehend today. Thankfully many family stories were documented later and they help shed some light on the challenges and inconveniences our homesteaders faced. In 1979 the good folk of Minto published stories of their families in a book titled Minto Memoirs. Alexander and Janet's family are mentioned often in the book and in sections where you least expect it.
Take for example the homestead story of James Graham and his wife, the first women settler in this part of the prairies. Mr. Graham and his family left Ontario in June 1881 and travelled by train to Portage La Prairie. There he purchased a team of oxen and a Red River Cart (covered wagon) and headed south to claim a homestead in Township 6 Range 19 while his family stayed behind with friends in Portage La Prairie. Travelling with Mr. Graham was a young boy named W. Ellis and at one river crossing he crossed the river by himself, leaving the boy to take care of the oxen and wagon on the other side. Mr. Graham had to walk the remaining 30 miles to the area he planned to claim but when he finally arrived he found that all the homesteads that were any good had already by taken. By this time he was running short of food so decided to head back when he came across two men. They had lots of food and insisted he go with them to the next Township where they said lots of good lots were still available and the next day Mr. Graham picked on a homestead at 12-5-20. These two strangers that had helped him were none other than our Sandy Scott and his friend Robert Campbell.
Of course Mr. Graham's adventure was just beginning and after he filed his claim in Deloraine he then travelled back to Portage La Prairie. On July 12, 1881, the Graham family packed up their covered wagon with some modest supplies and headed to their new homestead. Travelling with them on this journey was Sandy Scott and Robert Campbell. It took a full week to make this wagon trip so Mrs. Graham and the children slept in the wagon at nights while the men slept under the wagon on a straw tick. "The mosquitoes were so bad we were nearly eaten till the men got a smudge made for the cattle". They finally arrived at section 30-5-19 where Sandy Scott was living in his tent.
The first order of business was to build shelter so while the Grahams organized their tent and such Sandy Scott and Robert Campbell travelled on another 10 miles further to collect logs at Souris River. They all lived in tents for some time while the men set about building 'soddies' to better protect them from the elements of that first winter. After the soddies were built they could then begin the work of digging wells and building more substantial log houses for themselves and barns for their animals.
Mrs. Graham reported that the first snows of that winter came on 12th of November and she didn't see another person outside of her family until April 1st, when two men came across the prairie walking on top of the snow. The snow was so hard packed it would carry a team of horses or oxen and sleigh any place.
Early the next year, 1882, Sandy Scott collected his wife and five children in Seaforth and brought them west. They travelled on the Canadian Pacific Railway which had been extended by this time to Brandon, which was nothing more than a cluster of tents and shacks. From Brandon they made the final 30 mile trek to their homestead by oxcart which took 3 days.
Just how challenging life was to the homesteaders on the Canadian Prairies is really too difficult for us to imagine today. A wood stove provided the means for cooking although not very efficient. A well had been dug by hand and fortunately provided good water. Light was provided by coal oil lamps but was not conducive to reading. Beds were of wooden frames and laced with heavy cord to support the mattresses which made of hay or straw. Horses were of the utmost importance. They were shipped from Ontario to Boissevain and purchased there. The family was very proud of their fine animals.
Almost immediately upon his arrival in the area Sandy began playing an active role in the development of the community. Establishing the municipal district of Riverside was the first order of business and Sandy became a member of its first council which was established in 1881. Religion was important to the homesteaders and with no church the first religious services began in 1882 in Sandy's home. From that time until his death Sandy's home was to be the home for visiting ministers in the district.
Over the next years Sandy and his family built up their farm while adding three more children to the family: Alexander (junior) was born in 1883, Isabella in 1885 and Nellie in 1887. They also continued to buy up what little land they could afford as the Land Grant Applications held by Archives Canada shows Alexander purchased the North East section of 30-5-19 in 1886 and the South East section in 1887.
Sandy must have sent word back to Ashkirk about the opportunities in Canada because in 1887 his brother George's two sons, William and Robert, emigrated and joined Sandy in Riverside. The two young brothers eventually homesteaded three quarters of a section on 14-5-20 which was three miles southwest of Minto. In 1890 their father George and the rest of their family also emigrated from Scotland and joined them on the farm.
In 1898 a branch of the Northern Pacific Railyway (later to become the CNR) came through the area which allowed the farmers to ship their grain by rail. A daily rail service to Winnepeg was quickly established and with it the construction of the Minto townsite began in ernest. A number of stores were soon offering a wide variety of goods. A lumber yard, a bank, a school and all the other critical pieces were quickly constructed and a thriving community soon emerged.
A small post office was built next to Grout's store and Sandy became the first Postmaster for Minto in 1898 and remained in the position for the rest of his life. Each day he would walk the mile from his farm to the Post Office until 1905 when they moved into a new house in the town of Minto.
Regardless of the short stay in Seaforth, Minto was our family's first real home town in Canada and Sandy and Janet had become an important part of this community. Sandy Scott died suddenly on December 31, 1920 and an obituary tribute titled "ALEX. SCOTT, MINTO PIONEER, IS DEAD", was printed on the front page of the Manitboba Free Press the very next day, January 1, 1921. The obituary stated "...the exemplary life he spent among us for over 40 years cannot fail to leave upon us an impression of the things that are noblest and highest, impressions which will ever be green and fresh and of great value to all who knew him." Janet died six months later. They had come a long way from Ashkirk and were buried side by side in the Minto Cemetery.
Minto circa: 1908
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