Bill Scott circa:1935
My grandfather, William Scott, was born in 1872 at the Synton Gardens cottage in Ashkirk Parish, Selkirkshire, Scotland. (An explanation on how to find Synton Gardens is included in the Generation 4 chapter of this blog.)
William, who was called Bill, was my family's last direct ancestor to be born in Scotland as he and his family emigrated to Canada in 1880 when Bill was seven years old.
Bill's parents were Alexander and Janet Scott who emigrated to Canada with 5 young children in tow, ranging in ages from 1 to 9 years. Their Atlantic crossing took over 2 weeks and must have been quite the adventure for the young family. They landed at Quebec City and made their way to Seaforth, Ontario, where Alexander's brother Walter lived with his family. Living quarters were found for the new immigrant family and Bill's dad went to work for Walter in his furniture manufacturing company.
Like most Scots the desire to own their own land was a driving force and early in the next year Alexander left his young family in Seaforth and went west where he filed a homestead claim for land located about 30 miles south of Brandon. Alexander quickly built himself a little sod house for protection from the elements while he set about establishing his farm. First order of business was digging a well by hand and luckily good water was found. Next he built a log house for his family and a long barn for some farm animals. By early 1882 the farm was ready for his family so Alexander went back to Seaforth to collect them.
The family farm was located at 30-5-19, about a mile north of what was later to become the townsite of Minto. Bill's father was of the stern and religiously pious stock common of many Scots of that era and children were to be seen but not heard. Growing up on the farm the children were all expected to work and what schooling they received was at the Riverside School situated on the Thos. Wood farm. These were lean years and money was scarce so going to school meant walking which meant barefoot in the summer and with nothing more than gunny sacks covering their feet in the winter. As the years passed Bill was kept home more to help on the farm and really only went to school for a few months a year. But it wasn't all work on the farm and somehow Bill and his brother Jack found time for some sports. Baseball was their favorite game and since there was the two of them, one became the cacher (Bill) and the other became the pitcher (Jack).
When Bill was old enough he purchased the north half of 29-5-19 and built a house on it. In 1898 Bill married Hannah Newton who was one of xxx children born to Robert Newton and .....Kinsella. Hannah's parents were Irish and for those counting they were Protestant.
add more about Hannah....
When they married Bill was 26 and Hannah was 24. For their honeymoon, the young couple enjoyed a free trip to Winnipeg on the first train to go through Minto on the C.N.R. After their honeymoon they returned to reside on his farm where they lived for the next 20 years.
Bill and Hannah had 4 children, Lillian, Ruth, Marion and my father Bob. They attended school in Minto travelling there from the farm by either horse and buggy in the summer, horse and cutter in the winter, or walking the two and half miles distance. The children participated in the Annual Boys and Girls Club Fair held in Minto where Ruth was a perennial winner with articles she had sewn. During the war years 1914-1918, when help was scarce, Lillian and Ruth drove a four horse team in spring and fall, and grain wagon during harvest to help Dad on the farm. The parents were both active in Church work so the children spent many pleasant Sundays attending Church and Sunday School - transportation to Church was in a Surrey, a two seated buggy with top and sides to put on if it rained.
Because of Hannah's poor health the family left the farm in 1919 and moved to Winnipeg. The family farm was rented out until sold to Russ McArter in 1949. Bill found work in Winnipeg and they lived there for two and half years until he developed a heart condition. Bill's father was the Post Master back in Minto and when he died in 1920 Bill moved his family back to Minto to work at the Post Office and was appointed Post Master in 1922, a position he held until his death in 1938 at the age of 56.
add more about post office legacy......
Like his parents, Bill and Hannah became very active in Church work, he serving as an elder on the board of stewards and as Sunday School Superintendent. Bill became a school trustee when the new school was built, held offices on the Memorial Hall board and the Canadian Order of Foresters, and was secretary of the Curling Club. Hannah held offices on the Ladies Aid and the Missionary Society, of which she was a life member, and the Sunday School.
Bill and Hannah Scott, circa 1935
circa 1935
In 1938 Bill died suddenly of a heart seizure while walking home from the Post Office. He was active in every movement for the betterment of the district. He took a keen interest in sports and was an outstanding baseball player. In later life he excelled as a curler. The Memorial Hall was dear to his heart and for several years he had been its Secretrary Treasurer. The Church has always held first place in his life and for many years had been an office bearer. The Church had been too small to accomodate the sorrowing friends who gathered for his funeral service.
Hannah had not enjoyed the best of health for some time but her death in 1950 followed only a short time in hospital. Both Bill an Hannah Scott are buried in the Minto Cemetery alongside his parents.
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