Early Life and Times of Stephen Richmond

Stephen Richmond (1878-1962), my paternal grandfather, left his family home in the Owen Sound area of Ontario in the late 1800s and is known to have worked in various locations in the western Canadian territories before settling in the Touchwood Hills area of what was then known as the Assiniboia District.

Our family story on the Canadian Prairies touches on the early history of settlements of Qu’Appelle, Lipton, and Leross, and makes reference to the history of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, the Carlton Trail and the Touchwood Hills Trading Post. All of these were significant to the life of my grandparents, parents, and my own early life.

Family origins and westward migrations

Stephen was the eighth of ten children born to Daniel and Emily (Fields) Richmond in the area of Owen Sound and Collingwood on the southern shore of Georgian Bay in Ontario. Both towns were important ports for the three upper Great Lakes, with Collingwood active in shipbuilding and refitting.

Of possible relevance to our family is the fact that the Toronto, Simcoe and Huron Railway, completed in 1859, was the first railway in Ontario. It connected Toronto directly to Collingwood, providing the best connections to sea transport on the three major Great Lakes. So from here, there was access to Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) on the west end of Lake Superior and Chicago at the south end of Lake Michigan.

There are indications that Stephen may have left home with his young brother, George, as early as 1894. Like his older brothers, he may have spent some years in the western Canadian territories before settling in what became the new Province of Saskatchewan. For them, departure from home could have been by sea, first to Port Arthur (now, Thunder Bay) and then by CP Rail to Winnipeg.

By the early 1900s it appears that many of the family had moved west. Stephen’s father, Daniel Levens died in 1903 and is buried in Winnipeg, while his mother, Emily (Fields) Richmond, may have subsequently returned to her home area. She died more than 20 years later (1925) and is buried in Thornbury ON. More details on Stephen’s siblings and genealogy of the family are included below.

Early settlement along the CPR

The Canadian Pacific Railway had been completed through western Canada by 1885. West of Winnipeg, major stopping points included Qu’Appelle, Regina, Moose Jaw, and Swift Current (all significant supply points for early homesteaders in what would later become Saskatchewan).

On first arrival young men would find work easily, perhaps helping with harvests in Manitoba before moving on to work with railway expansion (construction of spur lines), forestry (logging and saw mills), and construction of buildings on farms and in towns. Farm boys were experienced in manual labor and would commonly have skills to engage in most types of available work. A young man could easily support himself.

Five of the youngest of the Richmond brothers later took up permanent residence in Saskatchewan.

Early work in the West

Stephen is known to have worked on building a railway spur line (CPR) that was completed as far at Lipton in 1904. This brought rail service closer to the Touchwood Hills near which Stephen would soon acquire land and buildings.

It is not known exactly when Stephen chose to settle, but three brothers, closest in age, took up homesteads in 1906 near Gull Lake (a village on the CP line west of Swift Current). Within a few years, they were operating a harvesting business known as the Richmond Brothers Threshing Outfit. By 1914, Sylvester, the older of the three, was elected President of the Saskatchewan Grain Grower’s Association. He never married. He is buried in the Regina Cemetery on 4th Avenue.

Stephen chose to settle on land located a day’s drive by ox cart north of Lipton in a developing community known then as Eden. It was located adjacent to the Touchwood Hills and was some 60 miles or more north of the Town of Qu’Appelle. (The town is not to be confused with the trading centre, Fort Qu’Appelle, nestled within the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley.) Since 1883 when the CP line first pushed through this part of the Territories, the town of Qu’Appelle was a major administrative center for the Assiniboia District and was a supply center for settlers for some distance around.

It was common during these years for families to take up homestead land (at low cost, but with conditions for breaking land and building a house). In the case of our family, however, we never heard my grandfather referred to as a “homesteader.” We conclude, now with good evidence, that he was not a first owner of the farm property.

I have been able to explore some local history where I’ve learned of attempts in 1906 to establish Eden School. Stephen, single and at twenty-eight, seemed to be part of this process. This and other intriguing facts have piqued my interest regarding conditions prevailing in those early days.

Our earliest farm photo

In recent years a number of old photos have been received from my grandmother’s family in Ontario. Skipping details for now on the marriage of my grandparents, I will focus here on one photo which has prompted questions into the purchase of the early Richmond farm.

The huge barn in the photo I remember well from my boyhood. But the large secondary building looks strangely out of place. It’s a two-story structure, built more like a small-town business place than a family farmhouse. In the dozens of early family photos, the barn appears from time to time but never to be seen again is this mysterious second building.

Unfortunately, most of what my sister and I learned of my paternal grandparents was filtered through the perspective of our mother. Father had a major speech impediment, a stutter, that always made conversations difficult. Mother’s interests and views thus easily prevailed in conversations. But two things we did know: the barn was by far the largest in the local community and the Richmond family home was nothing to be proud of. The house never appears in the background of any of our farm-era photos, and I was much too young to remember anything of it before our family left the farm.

Meanwhile, there are good reasons to reject the idea that the store-like structure could have been the family home. Its location was not in keeping with many other family photos that were taken about the farmyard.

Early transportation routes

To understand the history of Grandfather Stephen, it will be helpful to understand some details of the early history of the Canadian West.

The earliest transportation routes on the prairies commonly followed the trails of First Nations peoples. These trails became more heavily traveled during the days of the early fur trade. Of much significance to the story of our family and the settlement area was the Carlton Trail. It provided the major overland link from Fort Garry (on the Red River, now Winnipeg) to Fort Carlton (on the North Saskatchewan River).

The growing number of Metis people had their origins in the trade and were the first settlers, too, in these parts. The ethnic group had emerged from the practice of early French and Scottish traders marrying native women. Fluent in the languages of both local and European cultures, the Metis became valuable middle-men in the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade. Over time, and especially as the buffalo disappeared from the western prairies, the Metis chose to settle in communities, first in the area of Winnipeg (the Red River settlement) and later further west at Batoche in what became the Province of Saskatchewan.

By the early 1880s, and even before the railways were established, new European immigrants were starting to settle. Kutawa and Round Plain were sizeable English settlements first established along the Carleton Trail. About 20 years later, the area of my grandfather’s community was developing about 10 miles farther east with the name Eden.

Along the Carlton Trail, at a point where there was a ford on the South Saskatchewan River, a significant Metis settlement was established at Batoche. It was here that that the famous North-West Rebellion took place. Grievances had arisen as the Metis felt they were being excluded from decisions regarding settlements. It was along this trail that General Middleton travelled with his troops (carting along the famous Gatlin Gun). The historic battle at Batoche ended the rebellion of 1885, but created heroes of the Metis leadership that are fondly celebrated to this day.

For a time, horses were also used on the Carlton Trail when a stage coach service delivered mail to the emerging trading sites and developing communities. Such traffic cut deep ruts into the prairie landscape on this and other connecting trails which were easily visible for many decades to come.

Of significance to my grandfather’s story, was my recent discovery that the Carlton Trail passed through the farm of Stephen Richmond. I had been aware that remnants of this trail were still preserved at points near Lipton and also at other points in and near the Touchwood Hills, but an article in the local history of the community explicitly identified the passage of this trail was through the Richmond farm. All of this added some new insights into the history of our family.

So what, indeed, had drawn my grandfather to this land of Eden? Was it simply the farmland, or could it have been more? We somehow knew that my grandfather had acquired the barn with the land, but the mystery building in the photo we knew nothing about. Who had built it, and for what purpose? Perhaps the secret to the mystery did involve the Carlton Trail.

Stopping places on early travel routes

It now appears rather certain that the property acquired by Grandfather Stephen had been earlier used as a “stopping place,” one of those many locations along the Trail where travelers and their animals would need to stop from time to time for food and rest. By 1905 the trail would have been functioning already for perhaps 40 years.

A year after Middleton had put down the Rebellion, a telegraph line was erected along the length of the trail. It passed through the Touchwood Hills Trading Post less than 10 miles farther west from Eden. And just a bit farther along was Kutawa, a significant mail and telegraph stop. So, what did my grandfather have in mind when he acquired his property?

An entrepreneur providing services to travelers would need to have adequate stock of supplies since travelers came unexpectedly during all seasons. Supplies originally would have been brought from Winnipeg, but later after the railway opened in 1885 from Qu’Appelle. By the time Stephen acquired the site, early farmers would have less dependence on a local carting service. As noted above, a spur line of the CPR arrived as far as Lipton in 1904.

So, it now appears that Stephen acquired his farm following this time of working on railroad construction. It appears he may have purchased what may have been a rest stop and possible local supply shop. How seriously had he considered continuing and extending this type of business? The extra-large barn and the two-story, false-fronted building were on a major transportation route. Did Stephen Richmond entertain even larger dreams?

No towns existed for miles around. Why should Eden still not continue to grow and develop as a village and trade center itself? With more and more settlers nearby, and each family with a growing number of children, there was also need of a school. It might make good sense to see a school become established in Eden.

Maybe, rather than purchasing property primarily for farming, my grandfather was interested in a real estate investment. Unfortunately, we may never know his intentions.

The Touchwood Hills Trading Post

The history of the settlers was also linked with the history of providing reserve land for the First Nations people. Four reserves were established in the Touchwood Hills, with a government agent located first on the Carlton Trail in Kutawa. For years the Hudson’s Bay Company had traded with these First Nations communities through the one and only trading post ever built inland far from the normal river trading routes. This history was all relevant to the emerging story of our family in Eden.

An amazing collection of stories from these original settlers was assembled for the provincial jubilee anniversary (50 years following the creation of the province). The publication, Tales of the Touchwoods, was edited by sisters Madeline (Roberts) Runyan, Marion (Roberts) Jeal, plus an early neighbour and friend, Mary Cossar. These were from the early settler families in the Kutawa and Round Plain community (and were close friends of our family).

Our province has more recently attempted to keep this history alive by upgrading a small Saskatchewan provincial park at the site of the historic Touchwood Hills Trading Post. More information and photos of the trading post, past and present, can be found by following links below.

Meanwhile in those early years, Eden must have appeared to be a great place to settle and commence farming. It was on the eastern flank of the Touchwood Hills. This area was a rise of land on the Prairies second only in altitude to the Cyprus Hills. It received above average rainfall (then, as now) and was well-wooded with aspen trees. The pulpy wood of this forested area was great for firewood. It was easily ignited, too, by the ancient process of striking flint stones, hence the word “touchwood.”

The land was fertile. Today this belt of Saskatchewan, just north of the vast flat prairies, is known as parkland, a mix of open meadows and aspen bluffs (scattered groves of trees).

The ground formations of the Touchwood Hills differs markedly from the flat plains further south. It has numerous hills and many low-lying ponds (commonly known as “sloughs”). Geologically, this formation is explained in terms of the ice movements of the last great ice age, where pulverized rock (glacial till) was pushed up by advancing and receding ice sheets into the many hills.

Constructing the Grand Truck Railway

By 1905 plans were underway to build a second major rail line from Winnipeg through a northern route to Saskatoon and on to Fort Edmonton. Initially known as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, its destination was the Pacific coast, specifically Prince Rupert. It’s route through the Rocky Mountains was known as the Yellowhead Pass.

With his earlier experience building railway lines, Grandfather Stephen functioned as a construction foreman, using horses and hand-operated scrapers to move earth onto the railway roadbed as staked out by the surveyors. Much work would have been done by local farmers, and other laborers who would have followed the construction westward. Eventually the ties and rails were laid and the first steamer-type train made its appearance here in 1908.

If my grandfather was a land speculator, his involvement with the GTP Railway proved to be a disappointment. Alas, the route chosen did not pass through Eden, but rather a full mile to the south of the Richmond farm. Neither did it pass near the site of the Touchwood Hills Trading Post nor the community centre at Kutawa. By 1909 the HBC post was abandoned.

Leross was given as the name of a new village along the railway line. A new application to start a school in the area was now formally approved by the provincial government. It would be named Leross School. And, yes, my grandfather, Stephen, was named as one of the first three trustees, serving for five years to 1914.

Interestingly, officials of the GTP Railway (later nationalized to become part of the Canadian National Railway) determined that all the planned communities along this line should be named in alphabetical order. So, to this day, adjacent towns from the east of Leross have names including Ituna, Jasmin, and Kelliher, while westward, and of significance to our family history, towns are named Punnichy, Quinton, Raymore, Semans, and Tate. (As to be explained later, I was born when our family farmed at Leross, attended school in Punnichy, had my first teaching job in Raymore, often shopped with my mother’s relatives in Semans, and we celebrated Tate as the postal address of my mother’s farm family.) In those early days, the railway was highly significant in binding communities together.

Following completion of the Grand Trunk Railway through Saskatchewan in 1908, there was need for railway track maintenance and section foremen to oversee the work. This work was needed year-round, whereas farming operations were always seasonal. Stephen is known to have worked on the railroad after its completion. (Of possible significance is the fact that the company building the new line here was the same one that had built the first railway line in Ontario to Collingwood, Stephen’s family hometown. Could there have been a longer-standing family interest in railways?)

Stephen was also known to have engaged in construction of some of the early graded roads throughout the immediate countryside.

It does appear that Stephen was not really settled completely as a farmer. He had his fingers in a number of enterprises. But like many would-be entrepreneurs, business success is never guaranteed.

Courtship and marriage

By 1912, Stephen was focused on finding a wife. Again, we are not at all clear how this developed. He was now 34 years of age. He courted Mary Coburn from the Cumberland area east of Ottawa. Her family informed me in recent years that Mamie (or Manie), as she was more affectionately known, had been a teacher. How Stephen would have met and courted her, our families have no idea. For many farm bachelors, advertising for a wife was often accomplished by newspaper ads and letter-writing. Certainly, the new rail system greatly aided such communication. Did she teach for a time in western Canada prior to meeting Stephen? There is no record, at least, of such in the immediate Leross area. Nevertheless, finding a husband who had helped establish a local school may have seemed promising enough. Mary was 33 by the time they married.

It is highly probable that Stephen took a train to Ottawa to meet his pen-pal bride. But, the discovery of more family photos taken in a studio in Owen Sound ON strongly suggests that he stopped there first to visit his family before continuing his journey to Ottawa.

Stephen, understandably, made the trip in winter, and may have stayed for a few weeks. He and Mary were married in the local Bearbrook Trinity Anglican Church the day following Christmas, 1912. It would have been a convenient time to celebrate a marriage. After having a formal wedding portrait, they traveled back to Saskatchewan by train to start their new life together.

What is not so well known is whether Mary really knew what she was getting into. If she had been a teacher in the West, she would have known better what to expect. Back in those years, farmers in the Ottawa area were well-established. Sixty years had passed since her grandparents had immigrated from Ireland. She would have been the third generation of Coburns living in the Cumberland District. In contrast, Saskatchewan farm life would have been much more primitive.

I’ll pick up the story of the family of Stephen and Mary Richmond in the next article of this series.

Solving the mystery?

Late in the process of my family research here and writing of this history, including references to a mystery building on that early photo of my grandfather’s farm, I noticed a photo on the inside cover of the Leross history book. The mystery building on the Richmond farm and the building seen centrally in this 1912 town photo appear to be a very similar, if not the same. If so, it follows that the building was moved into the newly established village on the railway line most likely in advance of Stephen’s marriage. It also suggests, that the early photo of the farm could have been sent to Mary during their time of courtship. It was retained there by her family for more than a century before finding its way back to Saskatchewan.

But, how would a building of that size be moved a distance of about 1 1/2 miles to the new town site? Today it would be mounted and hauled on wheels, but at that time skids may have been placed beneath the building and it would have been dragged the distance to Leross. How many teams of horses would have been required to pull such a load?

Genealogy and more family connections

My father spoke at times of family history dating back to very ancient times, including talk of some records of Richmonds arriving with the Norman invasion of England in 1066. My mother, as might be expected, was highly skeptical of such stories, and there were other details (such as the possible connection of the family with the state of Virginia) that were found to be without foundation. But, yes, I knew early in my life of a book on the history of the Richmond family that had been written a long time ago. When I got to university, I learned of a service called Inter-Library Loans. I ordered in the family history book, and actually photocopied numerous pages at the time (which I failed to retain). Just recently, my second cousin Linda Mazzuca from Edmonton, has shared with me the existence of an online digitized version of this book: Joshua Baily Richmond (1897), The Richmond Family,1594-1896, and Pre-American Ancestors, 1040-1594. A link to saved pages of this resource is provided below.

The family of Daniel and Emily Richmond, my great-grandparents, as described to a degree in this article, picks up just at the point were the Richmond Family book closes. Daniel is noted as one of 11 children in his family, is given a numeric code, but no further details are provided in the book.

Thanks to my daughter Heather, I once did a DNA test with Ancestry.ca which yielded a map showing degrees of similarity with people groups in Europe and America. It showed high correlation with peoples of Normandy, England, Wales, Scotland, and Scandinavia. Since Normandy was settled by the Vikings, not to mention their raiding along the coasts of Scotland and Wales, I feel confident in affirming I must surely have some Viking blood!!

But closer to home, the family of Daniel Levens Richmond from the Owen Sound and Collingwood area of Ontario, was found to be celebrated in a large photo received from the estate of my grandfather, Stephen Richmond. Of special note is the appearance of Stephen front and centre in the studio photo, dressed identically to his wedding photo. It is most likely, then, that the photo was taken early December 1912 at the time of Stephen’s stop to see his family while en-route to Ottawa for his marriage. Siblings in the photo would be of family still living in the Owen Sound area in 1912.

Not all siblings here are positively identified, but most likely we have (starting at the left) sister Harriet (who would have been already married locally), Willmar, and Cyrus (who later lived in Saskatoon). To the right of Stephen are sisters Evilena (who never married) and Emily May (who later married and lived near Regina, SK).

Added later by Stephen, are pictures of family members then settled out West. Names of these, clockwise from the top right, are: Albert (most likely then in Port Alberni, BC), then George, Herbert, and Sylvester (homesteaders in the Gull Lake area, SK).

First published: 2020/07/14
Latest revision: 2020/12/23